Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1903-03-25
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From under the hat two big gray
eyes fixed upon sthe doughnut which
Miss Eliza held in her hand; not long,
however. .forfweiying all ceremony, the
boy took it quickly from between her
fingers, and the doughnut disappeared
in three mouthfuls, SO much to Miss
Eliza's alarm, that she ran for a glass
Of milk; for she cften remarked that
sponge cake and doughnuts, be they
ever so light, did beat all for sticking
in ones throat, and for her part she
never could cat either without drinking
at least two cups Of tea to get them
down.
The milk followed the doughnut, and
evidently met with some degree OF ap-
probation, for the hard and weary little
face softened as it was lifted to Miss
ELIAS, and the boy said,-
5 Gimme sumpin' ter do"
miss Somers regarded all boys as her
natural enemies. Living alone for the
past twenty years since her father,
Farmer Somers, died, she associated
them only with stolen fruit and tram
pied flower beds, and SO declared them
"imps and pests" and impatient with
herself for relenting toward one OF the
race to this extent, said sharply
Eyes, wash your face"
/. She closed the door, drove the bolt
in with a good deal of force, and went
back to her task of clearing up.
> This. done, and having eaten her fru-
gal dinner, she went upstairs and
made ,her afternoon toilet.
Before sitting down to her small
mending she thought of her plants ne
elected this busy day; so taking the
watering pot from its hook in the
porch, she went out to the cistern to
fill it, for she always maintained thai
no plants ever fourished like those
watered with pure rain water.
6 This was a day of upsets. There, BY
the side of the cistern, cuddled up in
heap, his head pillowed on the butter
frkin, that served for bucket, lay hel
small acquaintance of the morning, fas
: asleep y
zIHis face, streaked by his recent anna
tSur ablutions, looked so drawn ant
pAnched that Miss Somers was startled
aid took hold of his shoulder.
1.-THE boy jumped to his feet, ducket
rAder her arm, and ran to the othel
sS5e of the cistera.
HT-I washed RE face. gim me sump
In ter do" he said, for he felt there wa!
need of propitiating this woman, who
notwithstanding her kindness, spok
and looked so sternly.
"You needn't be so scairt; what d,
you mean, going to sleep in my yard
right side of the cistern, too; yo1
might a. fallen in and drowned, thel
.there'd been a pretty how-de-do."
"Me names Mugsy, and come fror
the city; guess was clean beat. XII
work"
"Humph! beat you may be, but
don't seq anything clean about you; a
for work, I'd like to know what yo
kin do"
81 kin scrub floors, an sift ashes, al
If there was one thing Miss Eliza dis
liked to do it was to sift ashes. Sh
said she never got on the south ga
of the barrel but what the wind ole
from the north, and il she chS4ged
the north side, the wind waeoound
shift to the south. n
The idea of boy beJfg useful, an
such specimen as tl-.s appeared to b
haunting the prs4dses all day like
:disconcerting Spirit
There's a sitter full over on tn;
barrel; you kin sift that, if you're
terrible. anxious, and then you
straight home"
Miss Elfza went back to her plan