The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1905-11-29
Is DRIVERS
! STORY
ESTHER sEARIE KENNErH

teams for, Take you and the lady
60 Echo lake. cathedral aud Dianss
baths for Two dollan-thFes for large
load. Reasonablsi Yes, cir People
tsneraily like my prices
Step right Ia. Heres linen cover Ia
Lsep the dust Oh the lady's dress. Roads
arc a little dfy iusl nov, This season
warner than the lasl-less rain, Mo-
people here. though. We always have
more ~ less summer visitors IN this To-
salliy. bat 'lisaI often NC arc egoNdsc
az Nc are this year. Lots II parties cora
Ing ~ got their ladies lnlo lhr holsis,
and then tho asi riinlea cut All
foFiAblsi Here &c So
Pretty lane ! amp You're Fisht slr
lhsre Shouldn't think ! could drive -
veil, nul my Aghis are all rlEhi, sir
frip az god ~ sfer u Nas, iloe lid u
happen. ms'amf rect ifussh, Lake 10
hear the story u "a As lief tell ~ iss.
ma'am. just a. lief A. not,
Always lived round here Al the foot
q the mountains, ma ani. Nas born IN
the shadow Of these old hills ies, and
thank the Lord Was married her.
You wouldn't think ia love story Ina
s-Eoing 10 tell you. bat am.
IN let the horses 80 SLOW aiong IN
the shade Of these trces. Hey. Nancy,
Good horses. these buckskins Of mine.
Dir. Fond of hors-s ma'ams so 10 my
wife.
Pretty place here. Here's old Kiar-
sarge looming up. Yes. and lis all
about KlarSarge aud my wife that I'm
going 10 tell you.
don't mind saying along Of my story.
that I was considered likely young fell
low when I was four-and.iseniy.
used TO drive stage from the lake up here.
I didn't drink. or smoke. or swear. aud
the Girls said ! wasn't bad looking
know there was no fellow around here
puld beat me on the hunt
lived back there. with my father and
mother. on the intervale. right In sigh, %
ihe river Just long side Of ne lived
Widow Kent aud her daughter LAyola.
always thought heap Of Layola. she
wasn't handsome: but abe was good
We used 20 10 TO school together. and !
tnew her just like book. one Of them
steady girls-slow. but true as steel
Now. I was n fond Of likely girls. ana
a good frolIc. M any other fellow: bu;
! also had sense enough 10 know the
stuif for n good wife when | see Il. and
the consequence was that when Layola
was 20 and was -. We were engaged 10
be married. ! wasn't quite ready TO
have the day named. but there was other
fellows stepping round Lsyola. and
knew she liked me. and 80. thought II
best to make sure OF her.
Well. Just below our house on the 9TH
tr side Of the river. stood the old Marse
place that hadn't been occupied for five
years. Nice place Man built Il. and
died. His heir wasn't OF age. and there
IL stood empty. and Just escaping one
year. being carried away by the freshet.
Well. that summer that Layola and
got engaged. man named May got the
renting OF II. and came here with his
family to spend the summer.
He was a dark. odd sort OF q chap.
with gold rings in his ears. They said
he'd been a sailor. and that II was In
some foreign country that he'd picked
up the queer names for his children
Monica for the girl. and Juan for the
boy.
This Monica was mighty pretty. about
II years old. and just "a rosy as peach.
| got going there first because May
played the flute beautiful. and In little
while was on easy terms with the
whole family.
Seeing Monica every day, got sort o.
bewitohed by her Shed be sitting C:
the door step. with her curls round her
face. In the moonlight. while her father'd
send his music stealing down the river,
and I'd get so confused with the pleasure
of looking at her, and hearing 1t. that
I'd hardly know which was Monica and
which was the music.
Then she'd dance on the grass-bless
you! she'd dance like wild thing-some
kind of foreign dance that her father
taught her--her little feet twinkling and
her arms tossed over her head. Then.
again, she'd sing songs couldn't UNDER
stand a word of; but they'd be mighty
pretty.
Now, Of course, this was a great deal
pleasanter than sitting in Widow Kent's
kitchen, with Layola admitting: and
though ! meant every day to 60 and see
~ xxst1 . he