The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1910-03-10
ONLY A COUNTRY BOY

y
like spun gold. big brown eyes and
red mouth like a 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 and
slender. too; that her clothes were
dainty and her hands white. AS he
came nearer she stepped out from the
arbor and asked. with 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? Nor'
But you must be-" persisted the
girl. They said | would see you.
and" she added, with glance which
took in every detail of James cos
tune from the bare feet to the "hick-
ory' shirt, they said you were a
handsome lad" And with that she
shifted a disdainful little sniff and
walked stitfiy toward the house.
Jim stood looking after her. a 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 a 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 a 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 a 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
! llilV ttlt W L4lt NltthS VI lllt niue Eplu-
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
] 81, N-oI
She hated boy with dirty hands who
! couldn't dance and who was awkward
and stupid.
one morning she started out for a
| 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 aud 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 a
supreme effort caught ii, but could not
! pull it in. one end was caught fast
under a stone in the middle of the
| brook. She thought Of the fish she
meant TO catch and gave two or three
J hard tugs. There was 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 great rustling among
! the bushes, white face and a crown
Of red hair appeared for a second. and
then both had plunged into the water.
Nell felt her hair being pulled very
! hard. She wondered afterward why
1t 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 a 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 calfs
head and smiled sweetly. Jim flushed.
| He stammered something about not
having done anything extraordinary.
] INNut L. L 1