Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-04-21
- SAo-
= = Chronicles
= = OF Electra


to Electra ut breakfast time. Miss
Wagner went downstairs and en-
- tered Mrs. Barker's little sitting
room Just as the clock was striking D.
Electra. with her hat already OH. stood
by the table, writing something upon
the margin of the Weekly Chronicle.
Her forehead wore q puzzled frown
and she heSitated now and then. NOV
ing her lips in apparent perpleNity and
gazing abstractedly at her pencil But
she welcomed Miss Wagner with Il
beamng smile and as soon as she had
written the last word folded the strip
of paper into squares and tucked it in
differently into her pocket.
In her longest and most stiiiiy starch
ed calico tier Electra had an air of be-
ing in full dress. 1t was pink-the
pale. delicate pink that ranked next to
cross barred muslin itself among her
tiers-and she knew how to make II
rustic with indescribable elegance rs
she walked. In almost anybody else
the rustling and the elegance might
have betokened self consciousness.
| With Electra they were but part OF
the natural development of things. NO
more to be considered in the general
scheme Of we'll being than dimplcS OF
laughter.
\ sudden anxiety overspread her face
rs they went down the steps. and. with
q murmured exclamation. which her
companion failed to understand. she
| flashed swiftly across the yard and out
of sight around the corner of the house.
The sun seemed to shine little less
brightly In her absence Miss Wagner
even fancied that she felt slight chill
| lincss In the mir. whereupon sh" step
ped inside the door again. throwing her
tlIin cape over her shoulders and fas'
| taning it at the throat with an impulse
of habitual caution.
Cold, Miss Wagner" Mrs. Barker
stopped OH her way from the dining
room to the cellar, her eyes resting kind
ly upon the listless figure s.iE3retted
against the lavish spendOr of the sum
mer morning It's this entry Goes it..
she went on. Most anybody II shive'
in it. no matter what time of day It's.
could use 1t for an ice chist an done
with it, tell 'em, if 'twaSn't quite so
public"
Years of experience had familinriZed
| Mrs. Barker with nearly every phlS"
of the genus summer boarGer. but this
| languid young woman WAS new type,
not easily classified. The average oc
cupant of her best chamber. for exam
pie would have thought it ONLY courte'
Gus to reply to her remarks. Miss N"g'
ner either did not listen to them at ali
or quite forgot to answer.
Its lucky for her she seems TO take
to Electry So" Mrs. Barker soliloIrized
as she descended the cellar S'AirS
"She'd be mortal lonesome If she didn't
AS a gen'ral thing. she amt no better
N Il mute at funeral when try to
talk with her. an here they two Ii
travel off together. day in an day out
like pair o lambs
A moment later Electra came back.
her steps unhurried now, her whole
small person radiating serenity. An
ancient looking bag Of Java canvas
hung upon her arm. the faded spendor
of its embroidery brought into bold re-
lief by significantly bulging outlines. 1t
sent forth tempting orchard fragrance
Mt close range. and before the front gate
had fairly clicked behind them Electra
drew from it a mellow. richly tinted ap-
pie, streaked here and there with vivid
crimson by the August SUM-
Mother says vittles cheaper n doc
tors any day" she announced. with Sc
rious wisdom. as she tasted 1t. the reg
ularity with which one rapid mouthful
followed another demonstrating her
hearty concurrence in her mothers
opinion. For perhaps five minutes after
this she trudged along the narrow coun'
try road ut Miss Wagner's side in con
| tented silence. her feet raising clouds
of yellow dust tfat obscured at inter
walls her sturdy little shoes and home
knit openwork stockings. At the END
Of that time she launched briskly into
conversation.
"See that brown house over acrost
the field, Miss Dorothy? Mis- McDan'
iel lives over there. Father called her
a blamed fool once. guess you'd ike
to hear about that" her gray eyes fol
lowing the closely bitten fragment OF
apple core that was just describing
prolonged curve over the fence.
"She come over to stay with me one
time so mother could go down to the
Center with father. He'd got to have
wisdom tooth hauled Well. they
hadn't been gone no time before her
daughter Llzbeth's husban' come after
her. He said they'd got company to
home, an she must go right back with
him at any rate. So she got ready IN
an orfle hurry an took me along with
her. But she looked out to put away
mothers silver spoons, oil six of 'em,
In the parlor stove before we started.
An she Just wrote out in great big let
ters," balancing herself on her toes
here and speaking with dramatic fer
Eor. AN. B.-I've put the silver In the
stove an she pinned 1t right up out
side the winder. She did that, she
said. so mother shouldn't worry one
mite about the spoons. an when father
saw 1t he called her blamed fool"
A little red squirrel glided past on
stone wall and darted up into
chestnut tree with the mysterious
grace which nature has bestowed upon
her woodland creatures Electra watch
ed it eagerly. She made low. CHR
ripping sound which the squirrel ap-
parently saw fit to regard as threaten
ing. There was swift scurry among
the branches. a sudden swirl and fiut
ter of the leaves and then perfect 81
lencc.