The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1908-01-16
CHAPTER TX.

TT was Sunday evening, "beau
night in the social circle OF the
| Morningstars. and Ollie dressed
4 in her best furbelows, was seated
in the front room, which was never
opened except on the Sabbath Ollie
was awaiting the arrival of her FOL
| lower" She was looking very com
| placent as she rocked herself in the
big. stuffed rocking chair. She had
been slower than most of the girls in
! the neighborhoOd in attracting a
sutton, and now that a young man Of
means who owned his own farm clear
had begun to wait upon her with sig
niicant regularity every Sunday night
she was feeling encouraged.
Eunice was seated near her at one of
the windows, an open Bible on her
lap.
She was not like Ollie, dressed in
her Sunday clothes. The truth was
Eunice did not have any Sunday
clothes. But the fresh Bingham
wore, with bit of cheap lace around
her neck, threw out the fairness of
her face and hair and did for her what
all Ollie's finery could not do for that
young wOman's fat, round yisage.
A few feet away, in the open door
way leading out to the porch, DR.. Kin
ross sat smoking pipe and reading Il
Sunday paper. Unlike Mr. Morning
star and Abe, he did not celebrate the
day of rest by sitting about in toilet
consisting of Sunday pants, white
shirt without collar and no vest or
coat. He wore his overals as usual
His reading of his newspaper was
varied with speculations as to why
Eunice SO industrially read the Bible
Was she devout? He had always be-
lieved that he had constitutional dis
like of devout people-unless they
were Roman Catholics, in which case
they were rather picturesque. But
evangelical devoutness, even in the
illiterate, from whom one expected no
better, was generally nauseating. Or
was it the girls mental hunger which
led her to read the only book per-
mitted on the Sabbath to any one over
whom Mr.. MOrningstar had any au-
thority?
Ollie MorningJtar was regarding
with pride the furnishings of the best
front room. Her parlor boosted of
some elegancieS that no other parlor
in the township possessed for besides
the inevitable plaster of paris cat
and crazy jug (the latter consisting of
large sized bottle covered with putty
and succeed with various objects
such as buttons, beans, pieces of glass,
and so forth, and the whole gilded
over to produce a wonderful effect
there was the large, elegant colored
picture-Swift & Co.'S advertisement
Of lard-portraying two great, fat,
oval hogs leaning drowsily against a
fence, with lurid sunset in the back
ground. Ollie thought it lovely.
though of course not SO beautiful as
"Rock of Ages" framed in red plush
and gilt, representing a young lady
In nightgown hanging to a cross,
the angry pillows dashing against the
rocks on which she kneels and her
long and remarkably abundant hair
flowing in ripples far down her back. |
These things were among the compen-
sations of Ollie's sordid lot.
Presently her complacent expectation
and the reading of Kinross and Eunice |
were interrupted by Georgiana and |
Daisy, who strolled into the parlor |
and seated themselves, Daisy on the |
front doorstep near Peter and Geor-
giana on the window sill beside Eu-
nice. Georgiana carried over her arm |
the skirt and waist of a pretty white
gown. She and Daisy, having held
counsel and reasoned that the girl |
Eunice must feel her shabbiness in
contrast with Ollie's gorgeousness, had |
decided to offer her few Of their