Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1913-10-04

wonder what's on his mind"
Probably that Mondays payday
and he don't know whether he can
scratch through" said the jocose Josh.
Berry did not say anything She
felt the interest In Cannon that she
did IN all conQuering, successful peo-
pie, and in her heart 1t gave her a
sense of added importance TO think
that the family she had married into
and who refused to know her was on
| friendly terms with the Bonanza King.
A half-hour later they had found
seats in front OF the band stand in the
park, and, settling themselves with a
great rustling and preening Of plum
age. prepared to enjoy the music Han
nah and Pearl were given two chairs
at the end Of a row, and Hazel and
Berry, with Josh az escort, secured
four on the line Immediately behind.
Dominick had not yet appeared. so the
sisters spread their skirts over a va
cant seat between them, and Berry. IN
the intervals of inspecting the people
around her, sent exploring glances
about for the tall figure of her hus-
band.
She was very fond of the park and
band stand on such Sunday afternoons
To go there had been one Of the great
diversions of her girlhood She loved
to look at this holiday gathering Of all
| types, among which her own class was
largely represented. The outdoor am
phitheater Of filled benches was to her
what the ballroom and the glittering
horseshoe at the opera are to the WON
an OF society. She saw many old
friends among the throng, girls who
mao been contemporaries of hers when
she had first gone to work" end had
long since married in their own world
and now dragged children by the hand.
she looked them over with an almost
passionate curiosity, discounted to
see the fresh youth of some, and
Pleased to note that others looked
weighed down with maternal cares
berny regarded women who had chill
dren as fools, and the children grouped
ABOUT these mothers of her own age
three and four sometimes, with the
husband carrying a baby-were to her
only annoying, burdensome creatures
that made the party seem little r.
dlculous, and had not half the i'm
pressiveness or style of her elegant
costume and lilac frills.
Inc magnificent afternoon had
brought out throng of people. Every
seat In the lines of benches was full
ana root passengers kept constantly
coming up, standing for a few meas.
ures, and then moving on. They were
OF all kinds. The beauty of the day
had even tempted the more fashion
able element out, and the two sisters
saw many elegantly-dressed ladies of
the sort on whom Hazel fitted hats all
DAY, and that evoked in Berry a deep
ana respectable curiosity. Both WON
en-, sitting high in their chairs, craned
their necks this way and that. spying
through breaks in the crowd, and fol-
lowing attractive figures with lodging
movements of their heads. When
either one saw anything she liked or
thought interesting she laid a hand on
the others knee. giving it a slight dig.
and designated the object Of her at
tennon In a few broken words. de-
tached and disconnected like notes
for a sentence.
They were thus engaged when Ha-
eel saw Dominick and, rising. hailed
MIN with reckoning hand. He made
his way toward them. moving DELHI
erately, once or twice pausing to greet
acquaintance. He was taller than
any man IN the surrounding throng
and Berny, watching him, felt a sense
OF proprietary pride swelling in her
when she noted his superiority. The
son OF an Irish laborer and a girl who
had begun life as the general servant
IN miners clearinghouse, he looked
as II his forebears might have been
the Hover Of the nation. He wore q
loose-fitting suit Of gray tweed. a wide.
gray felt sombrero, and round his
waist belt Of yellow leather. His col
lar turning back from hi neck exposed
the brown strength Of his throat. and
on lifting his hat in a passing saluta-
ton, his head with its cropped curly
ha1r, the ears growing close against
1t, showed golden brown in the sun.
light.
With a phrase Of greeting he Joined
them. and then as they swept their
skirts of the chair they had been hid
ing, slipped in front of Berry and sat
down. Hazel began to talk to him.
Her conversation was Of a rallying
joking sort, at which she was quite
proficient. Berry heard him laugh and
knew by the tone of his voice that he
was pretending and was not really
amused. She had nothing particular
to say to him, feeling that she accom-.
plished enough in inducing him to Join
them, and, sitting forward on the edge
OF her chair, continued to watch the
people. A blonde couture some rows
In front caught her eye and she was
studying its intricacies through the in.
terstices that came and went between
the moving heads, when the sudden
emergence into view Of ~ unusually
striking female figure diverted her at.
tention. The woman had come M
from behind and, temporarily stopped
by the crowd, had come to a standstill
a few rows in front of where the sis.
tiers sat. She was accompanied by
a young man dressed in the Sunday
dignity Of frock-coat and silk hat. As
he turned to survey the lines Of filled
| chairs, Berry saw that he had a nale