Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-12-12

lou pay Nhut bStauSN "" "'' h'au too kind to have reflected enough perhaps. An accident-the happiest accident in the world for me-has given me q chance to see something of you, Lady Betty, but do you un- derstand that only by an accident could rough fellow like me have any place at all in your life, no matter how small or temporary? I don't want to take advantage of that sweet kind ness of yours, which is partly all your own and partly the essence of your youth and innocence"
 "Now, you are making me very cross," said I. "I won't hear you talk so. You may laugh at me, be- cause we've known each other such short time, but really and truly you are the best friend I've ever had. / I wouldn't lose you for any one or any thing In the world, and 1 don't mean to- unless you get tired of me-so, there"'
 Hired of you, Good heavens, tired of you"
 "very well, then" said I fippantly,
 "so far as Pm concerned you needn't say 'goodby' to the Valley farm until you feel the first symptoms coming
 on.'
 Lady Betty" remarked Mir. Brett,
 q wonder If there's another girl like
 you in the world:'
 According to my mother, there isn't
 another so vexing," replied.
 We both laughed, and then he sud
 denly said, Here is Aristo."
 stared about wildly. "Where,
 where" asked.
 He laughed great deal more. "Why,
 you're looking right at the postoffice
 and the grocery and dry goods store"
 Sure enough, there was brown
 wooden building at the top of dusty
 hill we were just climbing, but there was
 nothing else anywhere, except a clear
 brown creek and some sweet smelling
 meadows with white horse gazing in
 q bored way over rather queer fence,
 and some cows asleep under clump of
 maple trees on our side of young
 birch grove.
 Where's the rest of it." l went on. "Where are the other shops and the houses and the people?
 "Oh, the other shops and the houses } aren't built yet, but they may be any time. and then the people will come.
 But the fact that they haven't come yet
 doesn't prevent this from being Aristo. , But you mustn't think this is the only , place you will have to do your shop ping when you're at the Valley farm. l Wait till you see Hermann's Corners. : There's q great emporium there, and
 you'll rutIle the feelings of half the l ladies of Summer county if you don't { 1 fall in love with it and Its proprietor, Whit Walker Promise you'll let me be the first one to introduce you to 1 both?"
 | We were in a sweet and gracious
 country now. It looked as if Mother , Nature would never allow any of her children who obeyed her 10 be poor | or unhappy here. As we whiZzed along r the up and down road between bill : lowing meadows of grain we could see , here and there farmhouse showing l between trees or peering over the brow , of rounded hill, but there was sone where longed to stop until we came In sight of a dear, old red brick house ; really old, not what some Americans oll .,at hnaI rnI b,t,, dred yards from the road and an ave ? nue of magnificent maples-each one a : great green temple-led up to the com r fortable, rose draped porch which shel- tered the door. There was an old , fashioned garden on one side, with a l running flame of hollyhocks hemmins l 1t in. The background was a dark greer oak and maple grove, and in clover I meadow beyond the garden was a col | ony of beehives. It looked an ideal, !. story book place, and I wished il l might be the Valley farm, but thought 5 such thing too good to be true When one is going to stop at house 2 one has never seen, as Vic says, il
 lul Out tO Uc tuC oHC oI ) others you like least.
 So l was delighted when we turned
 in at the open gate, with its guardian l apple tree on either side We sailed :. up the avenue under the naples, but | instead of making for the front en
 trance, turned off into a farm road l which led round the side of the house and the footing of our horn brought 3 three women smiling and waving to a .. door under long, narrow veranda l before we stopped.
 g One was a tall, thin, middle aged 0 woman, with gray-brown hair pulled
 away from her forehead and done in n a knob at the back of her head. Her F skin was sunburned; she wore a black
 and white print frock, without so much v as ruf1e or tuck, and her sleeves
 were rolled up over her sun-browned - arms above the elbow; she had no rea s pretensions of being pretty, and yet
 somehow, she was one of the incest Q looking women I ever saw. She had 0 the sort of expression in her eyes ans ; In her smile you would like your | mother to have, If you could haze had
 your mother made to order exactly ac t cording to your own ideas.
 On her right stood a very pretty giri | with a dazzling white complexion
 all the whiter for a gold powder ot ] freckles, black eyes rather deep set