The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-01

dust with no thought of the grim deeds
to be done upon them
In the court house yard, and so sin
ming in the very eye of the law, two
swarthy. shifty-looking gentlemen were
operating with some greasy walnut
shells and a peal what the fanciful or
unsophist icated might have been pleas
ed to call a game of chance; and the
most intent spectator of the group
around them was Mr.. James Bardlock,
I the town marshal. He was simply and
officially and earnestly interested. Thus
the eye of justice may not be said to
have winked upon the righteousness
now under it's vision; it gazed with
strong curiosity, an itch to dabble, and
Gt must be admitted) a growing hope
of profit The game was so direct and
| the player so sure. Several country
men had won small sums, and one,
charmingly rustic stranger, with a pc
Culiar accent Che said that him and
his goil should now have a smoot' old
time off his winninks-though the lady
was not manifested), had won $25 with
no trouble at all The two operators
seemed depressed, declaring the luck
against them and the PlattVille peo-
pie too brilliant at the game.
1t was wonderful how the young
couples worked their way arm-in-arm
through the thickest crowds, never sep
arating. Even at the lemonade stands
they drank holding the glasses in their
outer hands-such are the sacrifices
demanded by etiquette. But, observing
the gracious outpoUring of fortune
upon the rustic with the rare accent
youth in green tie disengaged his
arm-for the first time in two hours
| from that of a girl upon whose fin
ger there Shone a ring, sumptuOus and
golden, and, conducting her to IA cor
n he nd ho1 hnV-
until he returned He had to speak to
Hartley Bowlder, he explained.
Then he plunged, fed-faced and ex-
cited, into the circle about the shell
manipulators, and offered to lay a
wager.
'Hor on there, Hen Fentriss," thick
ly objected a flushed young man be-
side him, ''iss my turn"
I'm first, Hartley returned the
other. you can hold yer bosses a min
ute, l reckon"
Plenty fer each and all, chents,' in
terrupted one of the shell men, place
yer spOndulicks on de little ball. WITCH
| is de next lucky one to win our
money? Clients bets four sixty-five
he seen de little ball go under de mid
| die shell. Up she comes! Dis time we
wins; Plattville can't win every time.
! Who's de next chent?"
|
Gle, sabashed, and with rapidly whiten-
ing cheeks. He paused for moment,
outside, slowly realizing that all his
| money had gone in one wild blind
| whirl-the money he had earned so
! hard and saved so hard, to make a
holiday for his sweetheart and himself.
He stole one glance around the build
| ing to where a patient figure waited
for him. Then he fed down side al
ley and soon was out upon the coun-
| try road, tramping soddenly homeward
| through the dust, his chin sunk in his
breast and his hands clenched tight at
! his sides. Now and then he stopped
and bitterly hurled stone at a piping
bird on a fence, or gay Bob White in
the fields. At noon the patient figure
| was still waiting in the corner of the
court house yard, meekly twisting the
| golden ring upon her finger.
But the flushed young man who had
! spoken thickly to her deserter drew an
! envied roll of bank bills from his
| pocket and began to bet with tipSy
caution, while the circle about the
gamblers watched with fervid interest,
especially Mr.. Bardlock, town marshal
From far up Main street came the
| cry, She's a-comin'! She's a-comin!"
| and, this announcement of the parade
proving only one of the dozen false
alarms, "a thousand discussions took
| place over old-fashioned silver time
| pieces as to when "she" was really
due. Schohelds' Henry was much APP
| pealed to as an arbiter in these dis
| cussionS, from a sense of his having a
good deal to do with time in a general
sort of way; and thus Schofields' came
| to be reminded that it was getting on
| toward 10 O'Clock, whereas, in the ok
citement of festival, he had not yet
| struck 9. This, rushing forthwith to
do, he did, and, in the elation of the
moment, seyen' or eight besides. Miss
Helen Sherwood was looking down on
the mass of shifting color from a Sec
ond-stOry window-whither many an
| eye was upturned in wonderland she
had the pleasure of seeing Schofelds'
emerge on the steps beneath her, when
the bells had done, and heard the cheers
| Qed by Mr. MARTINI with which the
laughing crowd greeted his appearance
after the performance of his feat.
She turned beamingly to Harklcss.
What a family it isl" she laughed.
Just one big, jolly family. 1 didn't
know people could be like this until
| l came to Plattvile."
THAT is the word for it," he an
swered resting his hand on the case
ment beside her. 81 used to think it
was desolate but that was long ago"
| He leaned from the window to look
d
| Carlow folk had never seen there; and
somehow he seemed less thin and tired;
| indeed, he did not seem tired at all
| by far the contrary; and he carried
| himself upright (when he was not
| STOPPING to see under the hat), though
not as if he thought about it, 81 be-
| lieve they are the best people 1 know"
| he went on. Perhaps it is because
| they have been so kind to me; but they
are kind to each other, too; kind, good
people"
Il know" she said, nodding-a flow
er on the gauzy hat set to vibrating
in tantalizing way. Il know. There
are fat women who rock and rock on
piazzas by the sea, and they speak of
country people as the lower classes :
How happy this big family is in not
knowing it is the lower classes"
1--WE havn't read Nordau down here. i"
said John. "Old Tom Martins favor
lite work is The Descent of Man Miss
Tibbs admires Topper, and 'BerCSil. ;
and some of us possess the words of
E. p Roe-and why not?"
Yes; what of it," she returned.
''since you escape Nordau? 1 think the
| conversation we hear from the other
windows is as amusing and quite as
loud as most l hear in Rouen during
the winter; and Rouen, you know, is
just like any other big place nova
days, though suppose there are Phil
adelphians, for instance who would be
slow to believe statement like that"
oh, but they are not all of Phila-
| delphia-" He left the sentence smiI-
ingly.
And yet somebody said, The fur
! L..