Middletown transcript., 1911-10-14

aunt's display ut Aspen villa
The hour was justafter breakfas
and she wanted to poke ct some
thing that would keep her out o
doors for an hour. When the
gardner saw her ''poking" hc
swore q few swear words under
his breath, but he dared not in
terfere. Miss Dora was hel
aunt's favorite, and it might have
cost him his place to tell the
young lady that she was roofing
out creeping Charlie instead Of
weeds.
There was some one coming
down the road, however who had
no fear of losing his job through
giving a few words Of friendly
advice. He was about twenty.
two years old, and his suit show.
ed that he was visiting some
family near by, and his lazy gait
that he was also out to ''poke. !"
He came along and leaned on the
fence for three or four minutes
and then said:
But you are pulling up all the
creeping Charlie, you know.
Miss Dora uttered q little
scream of surprise and straight
ened up. He was a young man.
He had q smile on his face. She
had never seen him before. How
dared he come along and speak
to her-aye, even chide her! She
didn't know creeping Charlie
from burdock, but was that any
of his businessH And if she want.
ed to pull every flower and plant
up by the roots would good Aunt
Sarah have chided her for it?
For a long minute the girl looked
straight into that young mans
face and then turned away with
q sniff. A girls sniff isn't a |
''humph!" and it isn't a snort,
but it is q sound Of such indifer-
ence and contempt that it makes
a young man sit up and wonder
if he is growing baldheaded.
Walking into the house with red
cheeks and angry eyes, Miss
Dora asked:
Aunt Sarah, who is that young
man hanging around here?
Young manF Why, I haven't
seen any. Where is he?
Look out of the window.
Why said the aunt after taking
q look, that must be the young |
man that has come down to visit
the Nortons. I heard the other
day that they we're expecting a
cousin or something. Did he
speak to your
He tried to boss me. That is,
he told me in bossy way that
was pulling up creeping Charlie.
You ought to have seen me
freeze him!
And served him right, too. He
must be what you city folks call
fresh.
Two hours later, as Miss Dora
was lying in hammock under
the cherry tree the young man
repassed the house. Twice he
almost came to q stop as if to
make suggestions or tender ad.
vice but he changed his mind and
went on. Miss Dora had an eye
on him.
A few rods below the house
was a creek leading into q river
not so far away. After q day or
two Miss Dora wandered down
there. She saw fish, and she re-
turned to the house for pole and
line and bait. AS the gardener
had nothing Of the sort she made
an outfit for herself. The hook
was a bent pin, the line Of groc.
er's string, and the baita bit of
cold roast beef. She had been
fishing for half an hour when
"that young man" came down
the road and stopped to watch
her. She never looked up. She
knew he was smiling but she
kepther head turned away and
hummed the air Of a tune to her.
self.
You'll never catch a fish with
any such q rig-out as that, was
finally remarked; and her visitor
moved away to return tn about
20 minutes with a real pole and
hook and line and some worms
for bait. They were laid on the
bank almost at her feet, and he
said as he strolled away:
You will use them if you really
want to catch fish.
There was no sniff this time.
It was something worse. He had
not gone ten feet when the outfit
was picked up and heaved into
the creek. He heard the rattle
of it and turned around tosee and