The Richfield recorder. (Richfield, Idaho) 1909-1931, 1909-07-15

fleeing q cOuntenance before 1t, care
fully combed his hair and then stepped
into the spacious room that served the
double purpose Of kitchen and dining
room. Before he reached his accus
toned chair in the corner he paused II
open mouthed establishment. There
was a new hired girl in the kitchen.
Now, during the past ten years jim
Ben had seen hired girls come and &C
from the Weaver kitchen by the score
There had been long procession OF
tall girls and short girls, fat girls and
lean girls, maids and widows, girls
with compilations like peaches and
cream and girls with no complexion
whatever. The new girl had freckles
and red hair.
"Je-rusalemv' exclaimed Jim Ben.
"Don't you dare come swearin' 'roun'
my kitchen" admonished the red head
ed girl "'cause I won't stand it-not q
bit of itp' Her tone was severe, but a
comical smile played around her
mouth. Not being a society man, Jim
Ben was at loss for reply. He COM
promised by shutting on toward his
chair.
"Fer the land sakesl 1 don't know
what yer name is" Here Jim Ben
volunteered the desired information.
"Well, then, Jim Ben, you go straight
We, a-trackin' up my clean floor in that
stylev'
That was the beginning Of it.
After dinner Jim Ben did an unex-
pected and wholly unprecedented
thing. OF his own motion he took the
empty pail from the bench by the
kitchen door, went to the well, manip-
ulated the heavy old Sweep" re-
turned with the pail trimming full of
water and set 1t carefully on the
bench.
"Look-ee at We nowI If you haven't
spilled some water on my clean floor,
you great, big, awkward hulk! I've
a notion to- And she grabbed dip
per, and only the hasty exit of Jim
Ben in the direction of the barn saved
him a liberal sprinkling.
Jim Ben smiled to himself occasion
ally as he plodded along behind the
pillow that afternoon. When he and
Mr.. Weaver stopped to rest at the
turning row, Jim Ben sat on his plow
beam and industriously Whitfield a
c1od Of moist earth in a preoccupied
we-. When he had fashioned it into
a cube he turned to Mr.. Weaver and
asked:
''Say Who is she?"
who's who?"
"W'y her-the new hired galw
ooh, that's Randy Higgins. Her
folks live down on Scatter creek. You
know old man Higgins-him ats got
the sawmillY
Jim Ben nodded assent Then he
said: "Goshl Amt she freckled2
Sort o. red headed too. 1 bet she's
got temper The red headed kind
always has"
Randy utterly ignored Jim Ben at
the supper table, although he went so
far as to ask, "Whats them?" when
she passed him the plate of biscuit
that gave outward evidence of the in
ward presence of a superabundance of
soda. After supper he further vio-
lated all precedent by getting the kin
dlings for the morning fire and filling
the box with wood.
When he had performed this work
of supererogation he sat down just In
side the kitchen door and watched
while she washed and wiped the
dishes. She handled them deftly and
swiftly and moved about with light
foot. Her sleeves were rolled to her
shoulders. Jim Ben would have been
less than human If he had not bestow-
ed sly, admiring glances on her white
and shapely arms. She turned on him
suddenly and caught him fairly.
"What you gawkin' at me for?"
81 wasn't gawkin'! I was just won
derin' if they hurtp
"What? My arms?"
"No, ma'am; them freckles!"
For answer she clotted him about the
ears with the wet dishcloth, but when
be had ingloriously fed from her prov
ince she gave utterance to a series Of
delighted giggles.
Jim Ben kept clear Of the hired girls
kingdom for three days, mealtime al
ways excepted of course. Randy con-
fided to her mistress that of all big, |
awkward, clumsy stand-up-and-fall- /
downs he was the very worst she ever
did see. 1t made her laugh to look at
him. Perhaps that is why she would
look at him with a twinkle in the tail
Of her eye while he was stolidly eating
his meal and answering her questions
in curt monosyllables. Then, woman
ike. she began to make advances.
Jim Ben had lifted a barrel Of salt
lnaided from the wagon to the ground.
Randy, who was on her way from the
wood yard with an apronful of chips,
stopped to watch this athletic feat.
When he had set the barrel on the
ground with apparent ease she COM
1limcnted him. She said
"NIyl 1t must be awful nice to be
hat strongl" Then she ran toward
he Kitchen saying, II b'lieye l smell
ny cookies burnin'p'
jim Ben followed. He asked the
Iueen regent Of the Weaver kitchen If
10 ,,ofrht hava q cun of Trash hutfpr-