The Red Cloud chief., 1911-09-07
MESSlSSESSS MGAAHAHSE
SCOTCH HEATHER
BY MARY wEsrcorr
By MARY WESrcOTT

John Bowditch. botanical.case on
shoulder. hurried along the wood path
to test his pet experiment For years
he had been nlling hidden places In
these Maine woods with foreign plants
which. left to work out their own sal.
walton for q time. he later revisited
with almost fatherly delight Today
he would see how some Scotch heath.
or had weathered . year of New
England.
Suddenly with a distant rustlins Of
leaves. a girl came through the trees.
following the winding path toward
him. John Bowditch. 40 years old.
ignorer Of women. saw only that the
gleam Of her crimson dress In the
light OF the September afternoon was
not unpleasing. Stepping aside 40 II
to examine tall sumac. he. was leav.
ing the narrow path to her. when his
eyes fell on bunch Of flowers In her
hand. He scowled. His near-siehted
eyes strained at her. She had not
seen him. He must get better look
unobserved. He slipped behind the
shelter Of the sumac. Now she was
only ten steps away7-and he could
see. II was his heather. She played
with the fioweds. Embarrassing the
tiny. pink sprays. There was
dreamy. sentimental look on her face
that reused an evil temper In the
man OF science. ....I.l.
He glared at her as she passed.
half.minded to protest, but. the right
second thought lost. stood looking
angrily after her retreatins figure.
soon hidden by the curve Of the path
Turning. he plunged ahead through
the tangle OF asters and goldenrod,
with frequent stumbles over twisted
roots. He was too cross to watch his
feet. II was science vs.. sentiment.
and science seemed to have the worst
OF It. Before him In clearing lay
the heather patch. He stopped over
II. smoothing the plants with loving
fingers. Broken stems. empty spaces
told their story. The roots would live
on; for that he was thankful. but for
the present this experiment must re-
main incomplete Rising with a
ehrug he tried to turn his mind to
the other plant life around: but for
once even botany had lost its charm.
Science and John, 3pwditcL. were out
Of trine."and he stamped 4,ome~ard IN
disgust. ,,..< =, /S1>,- 4.>t,A.,
Meanwhile Scotch sMysie Cameron
rapturously arranged her .plufider In a
bowl.c The veryi touch of it, tiny.
prickling leaves made her realize how
the days Of her visit to her American
were flying. and awoks In her a slid
den home.hunger. But how came
heather into Maine wood to make a
Scotch giri honesiek?-,. The puzzle OF
It haunted her, Her neighbors had No
knpwieasf3 sqaIthN plant, oHe at last
suggested that .she ask, that old bot
anisti rBowdftth. WHO lived alone on
the. hill; and impulsively- she wrote
him note Of eager inquiry.
John Bowditch next day grunted
over It and tossed 1t onto his crowd
ed desk. But each time ne giasced up
from his microscop, he caught sight
Of its white back. Bother thesthing !
Impatiently he turned II OYER
She writes fair hsp1-bxt scae.
sar. what an ending! III too. am
stranger from Scotland dlS Sentimental !
Sickeningly sentimental Well 6he's
got my heather. How the Djstens
shall keep her from my othye Y }ufi
out thsrs.Sand, from babbling ~ ever
town to set people hmting?' 49,
At last he wrote her triefy. asklng
her to show him the heather in
growth, Before the time came. he
thought. he might. contrive sonnet ing
to tell her Meanwhile. anticipating
such boredom. he felt himself truly a
martyr to science. t", -.
Two days later he kept his appoint.
ment with her. He felt oddly out OF
place in his familiar woods as he fol.
lowed her swishing skirts along the
path. serenely unconscious of his
embarrassed silence. the girl supplied
a friendly chatter. until triumphantly
she stopped over the disputed patch.
rs that anything but heather. Mr..
Bowditch?"
.,e took the spray she handed him
and examined It. t,SNN hftsV
Consct tous5o OF her. r.scrutinyehe pulled
scientifically at the leaven. Finally,
with an air Of congratulation and sur
prise. he faced hss.sl .sSstssSss;'s
1T is Calfuna vulgaris, l VOW. How
unexpectedly plants do turn up! MI.
grating birds. ~; huRdrs4ss different
mediums Sscsfry them. Tdl rathAr not
cohmAt mybelt t6 anH theory mere.
Suppose we cQnsidera4it, one of ma.
ture's experimeptss anu wStsh the re-
suit" :. sc;tstN
He nushJa AsttAsands. ,6eA pleas.
cd. un(efsticnins, asisaf, ,I3s had a
guilty consci ciouSnssl which hs hoped
did NOT ahaw. Yet % Ne stood looking
awkwasdly down At the heAthet lin \its
glow of f>&utuMn Ntunlight. and at the
bright girl,faes above It. he somehow
telt glad to be there. Less shyiy he
began to speak again Of the plants.
First of all We must keep this now
to ourselves" hs said decidedly. "The
flowers are small and 06 tho beaten
~