The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1906-05-17
A LOVE STORY.
THE MYSTERIOUS CHARM OF
ANNIE BOCKTE.

Hair the so children In Miss Barton's
kindergarten class were running
around In a large circle agilely waving
their arms under the fond impression
that they were brides as they had
Deen informed. They unfortunately
settled down into human beings again
Wneh Miss Barton stopped smiling and
turned toward the little chairs where
the rest OF the class was supposed to
be primly sitting.
Willie Sypniewski!" she called.
Put your chair right back where 1t
Was!"
A stocky little boy, with solemn
brown eyes. who had not yet lived up
TO family expectations by growing to
ut his next brothers trousers, which
cascaded forlornly about his square an
kles, got up glumly and, picking up his
red chair. moved it couple of yards
away from where 1t had been planted
for five minutes until Miss Barton de-
| tected it,
The spot from which he removed it
was as close to another little red chair
as was possible, and on that other
chair sat very homely little girl.
She could not even attract by the pleas
ant frankpess of childhood, because she
had sullen, brooding face. Her pale
iiaXen hair stretched backward from
knobby forehead; her small eyes were
washed-out blue and her complexion
dough. There We're cheap earrings in
her large ears and holes in her stock
ing legs. BY what ocult means Annie
had fascinated Willie it was hard to
figure out, but ii he could sit next her
and gaze at her devotedly he was
blissful.
AS his rightful seat was six removed
from Armies. in the interests Of dis
cipline, Miss Barton could not coun-
tenance the romance. Besides, it an
noyed her because she could not under
stand it. IL it had been beauty which
irresistibly lured Willie Sypniewski
she could have sympathized with him;
even brilliance would have made it
forgivable, but nobody could accuse
Annie Bockte of anything better than
being glltterlngly stupid.
AS for Annie herself, whether Willie
were sitting beside her or across the
room made no noticeable difference.
She rarely glanced at him. being deep
in pessimistic meditauons of her own.
See here, Willie" said Miss Bar
ton, this Is the seventh, 2, 3, 4, 5,
&, 7-seventh time you have disobeyed
me this morning by trying to sit next
mind me?"
Forty-eight children were breath
lessly listening. The forty-ninth, she
about whom the trouble had arisen,
was as usual placidy indifferent. Will
lie nodded his bead And wriggled his
feet
Then why don't your" demanded
Miss Barton, helplessly.
Willie squirmed and swallowed hard.
He stared at the northeast corner of
the ceiling and gulped. Dunno" he
muttered and twisted his feet around
the chair rungs.
IF you move your chair again." Miss
BARTON pronounced in awful tones, Il
shall punish you! | shall not allow
you to sit in the circle With the other
children for two whole days. You will
have to sit over in that corner by your
self in the big chair! Now remember"
Willie Sypniewski stared at the floor
and his ears burned. That threatened
corner looked terribly apart and lone
some and it was even farther from
Annie than where he sat. He stole a
stealthy glance at the cause of all his
difficulty. She was stolidly reciting a
rhyme in obedience 10 Miss Barton's
request. When she had finished she
sat down and looked straight ahead.
Wilie's heart beat in admiration Of
that magnificent repose. She was so
mysterious, so aloof!
Suddenly the children in the other
half of the circle We're resolved into a
snowstorm. Drifting snowfakes, they
wavered through the air to and fro.
There was the old twoyard space be-
tween his chair and Annies. Long
Willie gazed at her crudeiy carved pro-
file, at her brass earrings, at her faded,
grimy blue dress. He edged over an
inch and stopped, for he remembered
the threatened corner. Where were
her eyeashes-didn't she have any eye
lashes? A feverish desire to solve the
question about those absent append
ages stirred his soul.
In a twinkling 1t was done. While
the snowstorm ragged between him and
Miss Barton Willie Sypniewski picked
up his little red chair, hurried over and