The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-12-28

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always greeted her with smiles. and
threw more money to her than the
Others
Not that the piano she followed
played any better than the rest, ior
IFS strains were discordant, and the
old man who turned It was far from
thing Of beauty.
But she, slight Of stature, with a
roundness at bosom, and eyes big and
black, and hair that hung in long,
shiny braids from beneath little ker-
chief she wore. made one think Of
Italy and sunny skies, and soft scent
ed fields far away.
Even her worn dress had a graceful
limpness about It, as It iiuttered with
every motion Of her 1.-THE figure, when
sne would keep time 10 the music
ia the very poetry Of motion, that was
al Italian, and the shabbineas about her
throat gave charming glimpses OF
creamy undulations, here and there
a tawdry jewel flashing against the
smooth skin.
At one of the big houses set back
in large plot Of green she always
fingered longest. not for the pennies
they threw, but because in the gay
party seated on the massive brown
stone steps there was one who smiled
more sweetly upon her than ali the
rest.
He was wonderfully good looking in
her eyes, with a cleanness OF face she
was not accustomed to see in men Of
her race, and hair and eyes that re
minded her OF the pictures she saw
in the church where she went to say
her prayers.
When he would throw pennies at
her like SO much sand from the street.
he would smile ever SO sweetly, and
sometimes when she would come near
enough to take them from him in
her own chubby brown hands, he
would call her Little Italy" and the
caressing cadence IN his voice thrilled
her strangely.
Once he called her sweetheart; I"
she had never heard the word before,
and she did not know the meaning
OF it, but it made her tremble very
much, and the color came and went
in her face. All that night and the
next day she pondeied over the word,
but II was still strange to her.
She had no one to ask, for her fa-
ther spoke only his own language.
even II she had not felt vague
shame to ask him-and among the
women in her street few knew more
English than she did herself
At last one day she heard the word
from woman who sat on the door.
step next to the house in which
she lived.
With little cry Of surprise, Rita
that was the name Of the girl who fol-
lowed the piano dropped her work
as she was sitting in her own door
jammed close beside the one where
the woman sat holding her baby, and
stood over her.
What ees Eat you call ze baby?''
she asked, looking down on the moth
er and child with flushed face, and
eyes large and liquid.
What you mean? I call-a menny
names"
"Ah, but zat one you Just now zay,'
the girl interrupted with an impa-
tient gesture-"zat one what soun so
SORT and lofty, lik-a musick; zay II
some more, she coaxed.
"Oh, you mean-a 20 word my hus-
ban zay. an learn frum heem, an
Gala babee, like zeesg the woman
asked, repeating the word softly ana
bending over her baby all the time.
~Ah. yes! Eat eez III" Rita was
radiant. But se meanin', what ees
ze meanin' ?" she asked stammer.
ingly.
oh, You want to know re meanin'
OF Eat word ?" the womans dark eyes
glowed deeper and she folded the
child to her breast. Il tell-a you. II
meanin' ike zees what / feel for my
baby" and there was rapture in her
voice.
Only zat?7 the girl asked, and her
lips Quiyered a little
oh, I Izee.n the woman cried with the
quick intultiyeness Of her race. Il zee
now. what it ees zat Reeta want to
know; Reeta want to know eez It like
lover to ray zat word, zat what Reeta
want to know. amt it?" she queried
showing two rowg Of white teeth.
Yes cat ees II" the girl allowed.
lowering her head to hide the increas,
ing bushes and swaylng herself back.
ward and forward In pretty bashful
ness.
"oh. Reeta ees. got beani Rccta ees
got beaula The woman poked her fore.
finger at the girl teaslngly giving vent
to her discovery by squeezing the
baby till It cried feebly. eoh. Reeta
ees got beaul" she repeated glee.
fully.
but suppose he ees reech, an lief
In beeg house all gran an lofty %
Rita asked, without denying. and her
head was up now and the color had
died out Of her face.
"Oh zai make no llfferen.a p, ~.