Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-05-22
CHAPrER VIII.


 be able to drag him back: that sh
 could not go on without him. Sh
 wanted to tell him how grateful sh
 was for all his care of her. Sh thought of the thousand little thing that she might have done for, him. Sh ongcd to recall every impatient wor, { % him. His gentle. reproachful eye were always haunting her. You mus
 come back. Toby" she cried. "Yo,
 must!"
 ! 1t was only when body ard mind ha, Worn themselves out with yearnin; that numbness at last crept over her and out of this grew a gradual con
 sciousness of things about her and q returning sense of her obligation tc
 others. She tried 10 answer In hel old. smiling way and to keep her mind
 upon what they, were saying instead
 of letting 1t wander away to the past Douglas ard Mandy were oyerjoyed
 to see the color creeping back to her
 cheeks.
 She joined the pastor again fin his
 visits to the poor. The women of the
 town would often see them passing and would either whisper to each other. shrug their shoulders or lift their eyebrows with smiling insinua. tions. but Polly and the pastor were too much absorbed In each other to take much notice of what was going on about them. " | Thnv hoa xnf %n~ Ana- ,t- today because Mandy had needed Polly to help make ready for the social to be held in the Sunday school room to- night. @t ,
 Early in the afternoon Polly had seen Douglas shut himself up In the study. and she was sure that he was writing. So when the village children stopped in on the way from school fo, Mardy's new made cookies she used her customary trick to get them away. Tag; you're itr' she cried and thea dashed out the back docr. pursued by the laughing. screaming youngsters. Mandy followed the children to the porch ard stood looking after them as the mad little band scurried about the back yard. darted in ard out among the trees, then up the side of the wood cd hill, just beyond the church. The leaves once mere were red and yellow on the trees. but today the mir was warm acd the children were wear ing their summer dresses. Polly's 1.-the gir,ish figure looked almost tall by comparison with the children about her. She wore plain. simple gown of white. which Mandy hGd helped her to make. It had been cut ankle length. for Polly was now seventeen. Her quaint. old fa.hioned manner i,ar serl- l ous eyes ard her trick of knotting her heavy brown hair low on her neck made her seem elder
 Mandy waited until the children had | disappeared over the hlIl. then began | bustling about. looking for the step- ladder which Hasty had left under the vines of the porch. It had been busy day at the parsonage. A social always meant perturbation for Mandy. She called sharply to Uasty as he. came down the path which made short cut to the village. ,< a
 Sos youse. back. Is yo'?" she asked 
 Sure Is back" answered Nasty good naturedly as he sank upon an empty box that had hold some things for the social and pretended to wipe the precipitation from his forehead.
 "Massa, John done send yo' to de postotfce two heu-s ngo" said Mandy IS she took the letters and papers from his hand. Five minutes is ple.ty ob time for my nigger to do dat job"
 "I done been detained.' Nasty irawled. "Youse always 'taiaed when dar's my work a-goin' on," Nancy snapped 1t him. "Whar's Miss PollyT Nasty asked, gacrlng Mandy's reference to work.
 "Ncbber. yo' mind bout Miss Polly. She don't want yo. Jes' yo' done etch that stepladder into de Sunday :, chool room" "But wants her" Nasty insisted. 'Is. been on very 'ticular business what she ought to know bout" "Business? she repeated "What ind ob business?" Il got to fiy de Sunday school room" aid Hasty as he perceived her grow ng curiosity. i, "Hou come heah.a niggerr' Mandy alled. determined that none of the illage doings should escape her. "Out ; rld it!'' "Well. it's bout de circus" Hasty ? seating himself again on the :, OK. "Dey's showin' in Wakefield to- IT isht. an next month days comin' u ere" :" Dat same circus what Miss Polly b sed to be wid?" Mandy's eyes grew d rge with Curiosity. m "De very same." and Hasty nodded el ysteriously. s4gis ss ie How 70 know dat?" Mandy was F lcertain whether to believe him. 10 " Cause da's a big red wagon down. SC wn wid de name ob' de show painted ..; 1t. It's de advertisin' one what