Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-05-25
CHA,,PI,sTER, VI


STEPPED in the deep peace Of early au-
Z tumn, Thomas JEFFERSON was fishing
luxuriously in the most distant of the
s upper pools There were three fat
perch gill strung on a forked withe un-
der the overhanging bank, and a fourth
was rising to the bait. yhen the peace
ful stiffness was rudely rent by a
crashing In the underground. and
great dog, of q breed hitherto unknown
to Paradise, bounded into the little
glade to stand glaring at the fisherman.
his teeth barred and his black hairs
bristling.
4, oh, please! Don't hurt my dog!"
said a rather weak little voice out IT
the rearward void.
You come round here and call him
z off o me-"
He is not wishing to hurt you. or
anybody" said the voice. Down. Hsc-
tori.
The Great Dane passed from sus-
picious rigidity and threatening lip
twitchings to mighty and frivolous
gambolings, and Thomas Jefferson got
up to give him room. A girl was try
Ing to make the dog behave. So he
had chance to look her over before
the battle for sovereignty should be-
gin.
There was little shock of disdain-
ful surprise to go with the flrst glance
Somehow he had been expecting some-
thing very different; something on the
n order of the Queen of Sheba- done
small, Of course--as that parsonage
was pictured In the family Bible-a
girl, proud and Sscornful, and possibly
wearing q silk dress and satin shoes.
Instead. she was only a pale. tired
baby in. brier-torn frock; girl
whose bones showed brazenly at every
angle. and whose only claim to a sec
cnd glance lay in her thick mop of
reddish brown hair and in a pair of
great, slate blue eyes two sizes too
large for the thin face. A double con-
clusion. came and sat in Thomas JEFF
ferson's mind:; she was rather to be
scontemptuously pitied than feared;
and as for looks-weIl, she was not to
be thought OF in the same day with
, black eyed Nan Bryerson. When the
dog was reduced to quietude, the small
one repaid Thomas Jefferson's stare
with level gaze out Of the diversified
eyes. s..$
Was It that you were afraid of
Hector?" she asked.
HUH" said Thomas Jefferson. and
the scorn was partly for her queer way.
of speaking and partly for the foolish
ness of the question. Huh! reckon
you don't know who I am. I'd have
killed your dog II he'd jumped on me.
! maybe"
You ore Thomas Gordon. Your
4 mother took care OF me and prayed
4 for me when I was sick. Hector is n
Ian extremely good dog. He would
y not Jump at you"
It's mighty lucky for him he DIDN'T"
Dragged Thomas Jefferson. with very
grim frown. Then he sat down on the
bank Of the stream and hustled himself
with his fishing tackle as II he sconsid-
cred the incident closed.
What ID It that you are trying to
dor Psked sArdea, when the silence
had extended to the third worm Inn
paled on the hook and promptly abb
stracted therefrom by willy sucker
lying at the bottom Of the pool.
II was fishin some before you and
your dog came along and scared all
the perch away" he said, sourly. Them
turning suddenly on her: Why don't
you go ahead and say It? Is 1t cause
s you're afeard tor" 81
Il don't know what you mean"
II know what you're going to say;
you are going to tell me this Is your
Z grandfather's land and run me of. But
amt aimins to go till I'm good and
ready
You are such q funny boy" she re-
marked, and there was something in
B her way Of saying 1t that made Thorn
as Jefferson feel little and infantile
+ and Inferior, though he was sure there
must be an immense age difference n
his favor. II think you are mean,
meant she sobbed. with an angry
stamp of her foot IL want to go
K ho-ome!"
We'll, / reckon there amt anybody
holdin' you" said Thomas Jefferson,
brutally. He was intent on fixing the
sixth worm on the hook in such FASH
ion as permanently to discourage the
bait thief, and was coming to his own
In the matter Of self-possession with
grateful facility. 1t was going to be
notably easy to bully her-another
point Of difference between her and
Nan Bryerson.
Il know there isn't anybody holding
me. but--but can't find the way"
You want me to show you?" he
asked. putting all the ungraciousness
he could muster into the query.
You might tell me, should think:
I've walked and walked"
Il reckon I'd better take you; you
might get lost again." he said, with
gloomy sarcasm. Then he consumed
all the time he could for the methods
cal disposal Of his fishing tackle. 1t
would be good for her to learn that
she must wait on his motions.
She waited patiently. sitting on the
ground with one arm around the neck
of the Great Dane; and when Thomas
Jefferson stole glance at her to see
how she was taking it, she looked SO
4 tired and thin and woebegone that he
almost let the better part of him get
the upper hand. That made him sur
Her than ever when he finally recoy-
cred his string of fish from the stream
Z and said: We'll, come on, If you're
COMM"
He told himself, hypocritically that
1t was only to show her what hard
ships she would have to face If she
should try to tag him. that he dragged
her such weary round over the hills
and through the worst brier patches
and across and across the creek, doub-
ling and circling until the easy mile
was spun out into three uncommonly
difficult ones. But at bottom the mo-
tive was purely wicked. In all the
range of sentient creatures there is
none SO innately and barbarously cruel
as the human boy child; and this was
the first time Thomas Jefferson had
ever had helplessly pliable subject.
The better she kept up. the more de-
termined he became to break her
down; but at tn very last. when she
stumbled and fell in an old leaf bed
and cried for sheer WEAKNESS, he re-
Tented enough to say: II reckon you'll
know better than to go projectin' round
in the woods the next time. Come on
we're most there. now"
But Ardea's troubles were not yet at
an end. She stopped crying and got
up to follow him blindly over more
hills and through other brier tangles;
and when they finally emerged in the
cleared lands. they were still on the
wrong side. of the creek
ssIt,a only about IN tn voIIr chin