Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1911-07-22
~what do you meanr"

"What do you meanr
"How can l know anything about
| M Go on with your story"
when she met me on the road she
said good mornin' ana went by with
out another word. II she nad missed
me she'd "a said. Why don't you go
nshin any morer or somep'n like
that. instead she TUX up with mis-
able galoot OF boy that went TO the
same school as her. he was knock
kneed, slabsided, freckled. ana his
teeth was black as Goals. 1t made me
mad to see him a-carryin' her books
for her. she a-lool1in' sideways at him.
And the meanest part of 1t was her
takin' particular pains to look pleas
ant at him just when | met 'em. to
show me she didn't care nothin' about
me and hadn't all along. II that
wasn't consarnedness l don't know
what consarnedness is"
There wasn't anything consumed
about you, was thereT suggested.
mot a bit. l was as innocent as
dove; got roped In Just to be made
guy OF. was a stupid lunkhead
then. Now l know bettern to trust
one Of the vipers. l tell you. | know
all about 'em now; can't any on 'em
fool me-"
Didn't you fan into any other
trapsT e.
Eyes. onct," he replied haltingly.
TEL me about that one"
at was the same gal. Mary Owen
She went away to boardin' school. and
when she came back she was kind a
cityhed. But she was purity. ] tell
you she was purity as new painted
mowin' machine. When she met me
she talked about when we was boy
and gal and our fishin together, and
all that, not sayin' anything about that
slabsided boy she was leadin' on as
she did me. She asked me to go with
her to see the place where she got the
fishhook into her finger. Like fool
/ fell into the trap again. went with
her to the bank of the creek. and we
stood looSin down on the water. There
had been a turrable lot of rain, and
the creek was high. Mary was laugh
I'm and gigglin' as though she was
mighty pleased about somep'n. She
walked right up to the edge of the
bank The current had washed 1t
away underneath. the piece she was
standin' on broke of, and down she
went with splash into the water.
"Of course jumped in, too; got her
arm around my neck. swan with her
to a place below where the bank
sloped and put her, drippin'. on the
grass. What did she do but just what
she'd done when she rammed the 1sh-
hook into her hand so she could make
me cut 1t out. She pretended to faint"
"What did you doT'
"Oh, | made a fool of myself Just as
L done before. kissed her,"
He looked very much ashamed at
having been obliged to confess that
this imp of darkness had entrapped
him a second time.
what happened them" | asked
what happened then? Why. talk
ed no end of soft stuff to her, and she
shed some crockodile tears and all that
and when we parted we was engaged
to be married But when l got home
and got to thinkin' how many times
I'd been fooled and | was gittin deeper
and deeper into the pit she was diggin
|
Then | went to see her again and told
her that what I'd been talkin' to her
was all rot
'She jist looked at me kind GURUS
for awhile, and then she up and con-
fessed she'd been foolin' me all along"
The farmer paused. evidently having
finished his story. the conclusion OF
which he seemed to consider bore him
out In all his assumptions as to the
wickedness of Mary Owen.
How long ago did this last parting
take placer asked
"Oh, that was only three months
ago"
MARY hasn't married." said, land,
what's more. she won't marry unless
she marries you. Please excuse me for
telling you the truth; but. though I've
seen many big fools, never before
saw so big one as you"
why. stranger. what do you meanT
81 mean that from the first the girl
| fancied you, and since you wouldn't
show any interest in her she practiced
feminine plan to make you do SO.
Then you dropped her. expecting her
to show how she took the slight as
you thought she should show It She
wouldn't have been real girl II she
had Since then she has been giving
you chances to stop making a fool of
yourself. which you have been too stu
pid to take advantage of It's quite
possible that you've made such blum
der of the whole thing that you'll never
be able to straighten 1t out with her
You have probably committed the IN.
pardonable''-
BY this time he was looking at me
wildly out of his eyes. bis color all
gone from his face. apparently con
science stricken at what he had done
At the mention of the objectionable
sin he collapsed
go right or and humble yourself
before her for the Jackanapes you are.
and. ten to one. she will forgive you"
"Do you really mean it?"
Eyes. do"
He left me alone In the house and
went away to learn his fate. went
to bed and to sleep. At midnight he
woke me up with whoop and shout
ed into my ear:
tits all right I've fixed II up with
her. We're Rofn' to be married right