The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-07-20

IL about ffteen, with beautiful blue
eyes, light hair and a delicious smile
on two lips nesting between dinpies.
Fiske gazed long on the scene, tax
ing It Ia as a whole and In part, his
ayes always returning to the central
figure. lie went to other rooms, bus
returned before leaving the gallery to
gaze upon the laughing face Of limo
sence. Nor was this all: be returned
every day for a week sometimes twice
day, each time to gaze upon the face
that charmed him. One day while
thus engaged q man stepped up to him
and said IN French.
aYou seem pleased with my works
"Your work."
YES: l painted Il"
where did you find your model FOR
the central fgure9
I'm Siberia am a Traveller as well
as painter. / found her in a small
village. She is the daughter Of a
peasant"
A week later Fiske WINS on a train
bound for Siberia A desire to see the
original Of the festival scene had taken
possession Of him. and be saw no rea-
son why Il should not be gratifed.
Reaching the village. he sought the
girl and found her in a dooryard spin
ming She had grown a year older
than when the picture was painted,
with a slight budding Of her beauty
Fiske knew only a few phrases Of
Russian. but they suficed to convey to
her the information that be had seen
her face on canvas and had come to
view the original.
However practical a young man may
be, there is one thing about which be
is usually stupidity impractical a
young girls heart. Fiske was insengi-
Bile to the eject his statement was
likely to produce. He was even moro
stupid than this. He did not know
that be had fallen IN love with q pretty
face. But be found It out all on a
sudden, for the girl told him that be
bad arrived Ii time to see her married.
There was in this wireless message
something Ike the clutching Of cold
fingers about his heart. with hls lips
be told her that be was fortunate;
with bis eyes be told her that he had
met with sudden disappointment
Then she told him that The match had
been arranged By her parents
A few days later he went to view
the ceremony. He found the bride in
a tent surrounded hy her girl friends.
On asking where was the groom be
was told that be would soon appear,
and It was further explained that as
soon as the bride saw him she would
run away. The groom would follow
and must catch her before be could be
permitted to marry her. This was the
custom ia that part Of Siberia.
Presently a young man was seen ap-
preaching. The girls told the bride
that the groom was coming and, leav-
ing the tent, she ran ike a fawn to
elude him. The man found himself
trlpped and baked at every turn.
Fiske IN order to get better view
went up on to a rise IN the ground.
The girl was giving her intended
mate a hard run. The American
looked on with a wildly throbbing
pulse, and once when the lover was
about to grasp the prize his heart
stood stili With quick turn she
avoided her pursner and came run
ming toward the point where Fiske
was standing AS she passed him she
looked at him. What her eyes said no
one except the two knew. but they
must have said something of i'm
portance, for Fiake gave d quick turn,
few steps. stopped, then
suddenly started after the beautiful
fugitive.
There was a clamor among the look
ers-on, but the American did not hear
ii. The groom, seeing another chasing
bis bride, stopped a moment in wonder.
then went on as If a fury was squirting
him The girl looked back and seeing
herself doubly pursued, sped on as If
on the wings Of the wind. One would
have thought she sought to elude them
both Fiske, being the fresher Of the
two, soon gained Then when the girl
saw that he led she Jagged and ia a
few minutes more dropped into his
arms.
Thus it was that Spencer F1ske, who
had laid out life plan IN which mar
riage was to be entered upon with cir
found himself the pos
SCISSOR of Russian peasant girl whom
he had caught in a race with the man
10 whom she was betrothad.
The pair were at once surrounded
Dy several hundred people, all talking
1t once, the father Of the girl more
Huriously than Ill the rest The in
ended groom disappeared Finally an
was secured. and Fiske
proposed that the girl be sent to school
Tor three years at his expense. The
proposition was accepted, and at the
md Of the term be married her at the
lime he had intended taking a wife on
he common sense plan
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