The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-02-28
ONLY A COUNTRY BOY.

ike spun gold. big Drown eyes ahu u
red mouth like wax dolls She
stood in the little arbor as James
came up the road. and he Thought he
had never seen anything so beautiful
He noticed that she was little aud
slender, too; that her clothes were
dainty and her hands white. As he
came nearer she stepped out from the
arbor and asked. with a little curl OF
her lip:
Are you my cousin James Cree
ley?
He was only a country boy and SO
stood and stared in amazement. Then
he CALCULATED:
"Me? Yes Your cousin? No.
"But you must be-" persisted the
girl. .They said | would see you.
and" she added. with a glance which
took in every detail of James cos
tune from the bare feet to the 'hick-
DRY" shirt, they said you were Il
handsome lad" And with that she
shifted a disdainful little sniff and
walked stiffiy toward the house.
Jim stood looking after her. flush
mantling the freckled cheeks and the
white forehead under the red hair.
He saw the white dress vanish as she
turned the corner Of the house. and he
walked on. He reached the barn just
as Mary had finished milking the cows.
Don't you know there's company"
she asked as she swung the milk pail
around to see the bubbles dance. And
they're going to stay for week. and
you ought to be dressed"
A week! Jim's heart would have
| sunk into his boots had he worn any.
AS it was it seemed to go up into his
throat and stick there in big lump.
He went around the yard, shutting the
chickens into the henhouse and put
ting the farm tools away. Then he
went to the house. His mother met
him at the door and gave him list
of directions which made his head
spin. The result was he came down
to supper looking like city boy. But
the freckles and red hair were still
there.
AS the days went by the color came
into the white cheeks of the little gold
en- haired girl, and when her mother
had to go back to the city she decided
to leave her to stay another week or
so. Jim felt that the COWS were ugly
now, the horses were slow. the fields
of wheat and timothy and the wild
roses that grew in the hedges were all
dull and drab. He could only find sun
shine when little Nell was with him.
She hated a boy with dirty hands, who
| couldn't dance and who was awkward
and stupid.
| One morning she started out for
! long walk. Jim saw her as she went
out the gate. She had a long piece OF
white thread in her hand and carried
three pins in her mouth. "Fishin',"
said Jim.
She had heard her uncle say that
there were plenty Of fish in the Dee
brook if people were not too lazy to
catch them. She would catch some.
| then Jim would see that a city girl
| could do more than a country boy.
Her proud little nose turned up at the
| very mention Of the name
The brook was soon reached. and
| Nellie sat down and threw her line as
| far out as she could. She watched the
| hook float a moment and then disap-
pear. She listened to the chirp of the
birds in the trees along the bank. She
| saw the sunlight glimmer through the
| leaves, and she became drowsy.
Suddenly she started up. Her line
had slipped from her hand and was
| floating in the water almost beyond
her reach. She leaned over and by
| supreme effort caught it, but could not
| pull it in. One end was caught fast
under stone In the middle Of the
brook. She thought Of the fish she
meant to catch and gave two or three
hard tugs. There was a jerk, the
string broke. her feet slid on the Slip
perry bank, and the next moment the
little girl was struggling in the water,
and the water closed above the golden
head, leaving ever widening circles
| shimmering on the surface Of the
| brook.
There was a great rustling among
the bushes, a white face and a crown
Of red hair appeared for second. and
then both had plunged into the water.
Nell felt her hair being pulled very
hard. She wondered afterward why
it took her breath away and why she
was $3.50 sleepy.
When Jim made his appearance at
| the farmyard with his clothes wiring
| ing wet, his hair standing on end and
| the little bundle of means in his arms
| Mrs. Farmer all but had Mysteries.
She said he was brave boy when he
told the story. but knowing how to
swim and giving ones life up for an
other were quite usual for her boys.
The next day Nell was to go home.
She came out to the barn where Jim
was watering the cows and stood low
ingly caressing the velvet nose of the
spotted calf
Il am going away, jim" she said
shyly, land | came to thank you for
saving my life"
She looked at him over the calf's
head and smiled sweetly. Jim flushed.
He stammered something about not
having done anything extraordinary.
''But you know l would have died,
wouldn't L, If you hadn't comeY'
''Mebbe." said Jim.
Mamma would have been very sor-
ry," continued Nell in her soft little
voice.
$50 wouId - Tim ranapo5 70 cor