Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1906-08-11

mon to children. Sometimes she would
sit or trot along beside him with her
hand in his for an hour ithout speak
ing, and then suddenly begin asking
questions that Roger would have needed
to be wise, indeed, to answer.
Sometimes they lay in the grass on the
river bank and counted the cloud-boats
as they sailed across a sea of blue, and
when there were no clouds in the sky,
as happened often in that perfect weather,
they watched countless yellow butterflies
or closed their eyes and tried to name
the bird-calls.
For the most part they met few people
in their walks, and had their favorite
spot by the river to themselves; when
they did chance to hear voices in the
vicinity they escaped down some leafy
way as noiselessly as poachers.
On the first day it rained very dis
consulate and woe-begone little girl
looked out the farmhouse kitchen win
dow. but when Roger appeared in the
doorway and asked permission to take
Winifred to the barn, smiles chased away
the tears.
Roger borrowed blanket, and when
he had made a throne of hay he spread
the blanket upon it. Winifred settled
back with sigh of content "Ain't this
awful nice?" she whispered happily.
At first they were content to listen in
silence to the patter of the rain, but soon
Roger began to repeat all the Mother
Goose rhymes he knew, feeling ashamed
because he could not remember more.
He wove Winifred a crown of straw
flowers, and when they lay back and
looked at the armament in the rafters,
where a window was the moon and
each tiny hole that let in the light a shin
ing star.
Seems as if we were away off from
the people in the house, don't it?"
breathe the child.
"Yes," answered Roger, with a sigh.
Once, upon a day while Roger and
Winifred rested by the river after long
walk, there came across the field behind
them footsteps that made no sound in the
stubby grass, and so it happened that
they were surprised in their retreat by
a young lady with a book in her hand,
who started at sight of them and would
have slipped away again had not the child
seen her and run to her side.
"Please stay, Miss Hartly," she begged
Rogers going to tell me a story"
Roger had risen to his feet eyes,
please stay, Miss Hartly," he said cour-
teously.
The young woman hesitated, and fin
ally seated herself on the grass with her
back against tree and one arm around
Winifred, who nestled close to the slen-
der figure
She was very beautiful (Roger told
himself this every time he saw herr, with
a fresh, healthy beauty and seemed of
a piece with the green-and-gold world
about them.
"Now you begin the story" COM
manded Winifred, with what was for her
unusual boldness. please tell the one
about the Princess Evelyn"
Roger stirred impatiently. miss
Hartly may not care to hear a story,
your majesty" he said, "and, as she is
our guest, we must please her. Winifred
and are king and queen, and this is
our CASTLE he explained to the new
conner.
Miss Hartly smiled. "The Princess
Evelynp she repeated at is a pretty
title for a story. 1 should like to hear
about the Princess Evelyn
cit is not a pretty story" said Roger;
ct ends badly. No child but Winifred
would care Cor it'
Nevertheless, I should like to hear it."
insisted Miss Hartly.
A short silence followed, during which
Winifred looked from one to the other
of the pair in a puzzled way; there was
something of conStraint in the situation
and the child felt it..
ct know the story" she ventured, hest
tatingly.
Miss Hartly drew the little girl closer
Tell it to me, DEAR" she said.
"Once upon a time" began Winifred,
there was a princess whose name was
Evelyn. She was the most beautiful
princess in the whole world and many
men loved her"
Winifred's hands were folded in her
lap and her eyes looked at the shining
water of the river She had heard the
story so often that unconsciously she
fell into Rogers way of telling it.
Now, there was a shepherd who loved
the princess, and he was sad at heart be-
cause he knew he could never marry her.
Once the queen went TO the country, tax
ing the court with her, and the shepherd
said to himself: Now my princess will
walk in the fields near the palace, and
maybe she will speak to me- l know that
can never marry her because she is so
far above me-the world is full of shep-
herds, but where is there another woman
like the Princess Evelyn ?-but perhaps
we shall be friends CT know this part
by heart" interpolated Winifred)
But princesses don't care to walk in
the fields" continued the child; "they
like to be gay and have the gentlemen of
the court hate each other because they
love them. So the princess hardly no.
ticed the shepherd, who lived and died a
lonely man, and never stopped loving the
princess or wishing they could have been
comrades. That's what Roger says he
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