The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1908-07-25
RAYS WATER LILIES.
(By Ida Cole.

under the pecan tree She ierked herself up sud
denly pushing the elf locks back from her forehead
ana sat staring the sluggish bavou She
had listened to lite Man speaking "up ter err
stoah" last night She felt the awful weight of his
WORDS OF wisdom, and his solemn prophecy was
clear TO her slow brain at last. The sawmi had
come TO eros Bayou; then the hotel had been built
ana Inc schooJhouse. And lite Man Cittle Man
ueIl had aVehred that the next thing would be
bank and department store. Rachel knew what
bank was, but she had a rather vague idea as to
what department store might be. lite Man had
SAID within the next ten years-why, she could not
read and write 'PAnglais" The thought was ter
rible to poor Rachel.
"Ay-yl" her mother had sighed when the
schoolhouse was built and all the neghbors' chill
dren trooped there. But we are CT pauvre! I can
not buy cannot buy" The buying would be a
dozen yards of percale for school dresses The
dresses IN Rachels wardrobe were faded and patch
ed beyond the limits of a school-going frock. All
winter Rachel had witnessed her Young friends 90
ing to school. and envied them in her ambitious
little heart. And to think that only the price of
a few yards of percae had stood between her and
the coveted knowledge of the English language
She had not felt the sting of it so terribly until
at this moment, when the words of 'Tite Man as
sumed an awful Significance A hank and q de-
partment store! And Joseph Lacomb would pass
her by IN his store shrt-perhaps he would hold
position in the store or bank-an educated gentle
man And Angela, her bosom friend would read
the books with the pretty pictures while she Ra-
chel. would be nothing but Cop Cop" an ignor-
ant, lazy CAIN all her life!
She answered her mothers shrll call and went
INTO the kitchen. 1t sitting there and the
OIL lamp smoked and smelled bad. Her mother was
putting cold beans on the table. the coarse bread
and the 'sirop.' All very we'll for her mother to
STIR the bean pot every day thinking no further:
her mother would be an old woman. never stirring
from the bench before the door when the boom
came to Gros Bayou. But Rachel would be
young lady and far behind the age. She went to
bed early that night. and she at daybreak the
next morning. Drawing on her pink sun bonnet
she plunged into the patch of woods behind their
house. Coming out of the thick underbrush the
pond with its shimmering white lilies. burst upon
her sight like vision. 1t proved an inspiration
to her.
Il will gather some of the lilies and bring them
to the blue-eyed lady at the hotel,' she said to
herself
She pot into the canoe and padded out to where
the largest lilies grew Selecting six of the finest
specimens. she cut them. being careful to allow
generous lengths of rubber-ike stems. Away to
the big hotel sped Rachel. 1t was a good miles
walk. She was fortunate enough to meet the lady
upon the steps, Just preparing to take morning
drive in Phillippes barouche. cry of admra-
ton broke from the northern woman as she be-
held the handsome girl standing before her her
arms oerflOwing with the beautiful lilies The
next minute the lady had carried the flowers to
her room, and caioIed Ray into taking the seat
beside the driver. and they rolling along the
country road. Not the chucked-headed Philippe
but Ray. TO act guide, along the bayou and
canal. Ray knew where the Indian mounds were
where the wild olives grew; Ray could point out
the tree distorted by lightning, where the carrion
crowns built their nests. And wild flowers! Whv
nobody cared for such things at eros Bayou: no
BODY but Ray.
With her heart full of school thoughts. Ray
soon tempted TO reveal the state of affairs to
IL IL
plain, sott-spoken person, who understood things
before you finished speaking She did not
give herself half the airs that the Judges wife
did catch Ray telling the judges wife how dear
calico was and asking the price of buttons!
Buttons were precious in the Manaud home
Brown, black, white-bone, china pearl, were used
garments no matter what the color of the latter
might be. Ray often thought how nice it would
be to nave her buttons matched like Angela's al
ways were Buttons at ten and fifteen cents the
dozen! Ay-yi! Mere Manaud could buy white
beans enough for three dinners with so much
money. Had Ray ever earned any money of her
own the lady asked. Yes. last year. she had gone
to the sugar plantations to cut cane but her earn
ings- went to help father build new cowshed and
fence as the old ones had been blown down by a
storm the previous year.
When the returned from their drive the lady
slipped quarter into Rays brown palm.
Saturday | am giving a euchre party. Bring
me more lilies" she said,
So Saturday found Ray in her canoe gathering
the choicest lilies. And she fought her way
through the thorny Cherokee bushes cutting long
branches of the green foliage crowned with the
snowy, golden-hearted blossoms. The hotel parlors
were so bare that lie took no little labor to bring
them into a semblanct of beauty. But the lady
(whose name was Miss Marjory) and Raw glow
ing with excitement, soon brought the mcompro-
missing mantels and walls to shine like bowers of
nature
Not a word of all this did Rachel breathe at
home 1t was her secret. She guarded it well.
And when the three months drew to an end, and