Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1904-01-23
Charcoal and Cupid
By F. II. LANCASTER.
Copyrights. Nos. by Daily story Pub. Col

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Copyright. Nos. BY Daily Story Pub. Coz
! DUT no; work had never seemed
- shameful TO Marie before She HAD
Always tolled willingly at her fathers
side at the kiln or in the field. Had
driven the steers that drew the wood
had dropped the corn and sacked the
coal. And her self-respect had never
suffered. Cest bon; neither had she
lacked the esteem of her neighbors
They counted her a fine gal. vas. /"
Standing staunchly by a father not
over strong; by a mother burdened
with many small children. Sewing,
scrubbing, cooking, doing whatever
her hand found to do and doing il glad
ly. Generally dirty, frequently tired,
Dut, ali oui, always bright and neat on
saturday evening when the sun
dropped behind the pines and she sat
GOWN on her steps to await Donician's
coming.
Tien. When she caught the flash of
his red tie as he swung from saddle
ana heard the creak of his patent
feathers as he strobe up the walk. hap
pier heart had no girl For her love
affair was in that sweetest of all sweet
stages-the certainty of her love for
MIN beginning to blend deliciousIv
with the certainty of his love for her
ana now she was ashamed of her
work, or her clothes, of her love. NAL
hereux. And IL was a wee. winsome
woman who had brought all this shame
upon her.
al
teacher without misgiving. Had
taken up uncomplaininglv the extra
load Of work and gone to sleep in the
shed that the teacher might have "a
room to herself" Perhaps in her heart
she had hoped to get some new ideas
from the teacher-how to do her hair
more stylishly and tie her ribbons into
more fetching bows. VOLTA. She did
indeed, get some new ideas. The teach
er may have learned, mails certainment.
but she had no natural sense. School
had not been running a week before
she showed that. 1t was the morning
mat she met Marie coming out of the
cornheld, where the girl had been pull
Ing fodder since daylight. Marie.
drenched with dew, her skirts tucked
up TO her knees, gave the teacher a
bllthe good morning. The teacher re-
turned the greeting, stared at those
bare, wet legs, and the girl Juggling at
her skirts had run into the house hot
with shame. Sacre. 1t did not occur
10 her that any one so sweet and dain-
" could be so i'll bred. She could only
feel wretchedly in the wrong and for
the first time in her fresh young life.
ashamed
The next morning, ST drole, yes, Ma
RE tried to pull fodder with her long
skirts wrapping about her ankles. She
tired herself terribly and came to the
house so dreadfully bedraggled that
her mother cried out In CONSERVATION:
but she did not pull much fodder.
There was only needed what happened
few days later to complete the girls
undoing. She had been helping her
father load his wagon with sacked
charcoal. He had started his slow
moving team down the road and Marie
had dropped into the grass to rest a bit
when the teacher came by. FLUSHING
with her new-found shame the girl
started to her feet while the teachers
eyes took in every fleck OF coal dust
upon her.
Don't you hate to do such dirty
work." she asked, compassionately.
shades OF sanity! she meant to be
kind
Eth bien. The girl bore up under thu
sense of degradation as best she could
On, mais oui. But her shame was not
her most dreadful dose. A startune
fear had thrown its grim shadow ath-
wart her hitherto fearless future. II
Donician should be made ashamed Also
suppose the teacher should talk to him
and tell him that she did dirty" work
They had been keeping company
only six months. but he never went
with any other girl and for a long
time none OF the boys had tried to
walk home from church with her Ma
RE knew that behind her back her efr,
friends called her Madam Donician.
that everybody was watching slyly foy
the silver ring that would announf.
her betrothal. And-and-ah. Nero ds
Dleu, the last time he called Donician
nad gone all red when he told her he
mad broken the blade of his pocket
KNIFE. When she asked how he had
broken 1t he had gone redder still and
muttered something about cutting a
dime. She had laughed gayly then with
that sudden Quickening of the heart
oeat that true-born 'Cajan girl will
always cover with a laugh.
so simple. to try to cut a dime with
pocketknife." she had jeered. Dom
ician had justified himself awkwardIv
with the explanation that it was the
nrst dime he had ever made. that be
had kept 1t for good luck and then with
rather staggering directness demand
ed II she thought it was going to bring
MIN good luck this time. But to this
Marie had only delicious DISPLAY OF
dimples and dancing eyes. She had
leased him royalty that night and ba
had gone away little sullen at the
last--the foolish boy-to be gone
month. Pourquoi? He was captain of
coal barge. Neither of them had sus-
pected when they parted that he wouId
De gone so long-his sailing orders
had come week ahead.