The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-09-11

SAID so
BY F. n. LANCASTER.

ent. Everything smooth as a sum-
mer sea. Sans pill" She was rather
| proud Of the French she had picked
up.
| 1t was this way, mon ami. Somebody
had been cutting logs off the public
land. Old man Nadjarow said it was
Esed Spiridion, and everybody said
old man Nadjarow ought to know.
Didn't he live right next to that piece
of land?
| 1t was Esed Spiridion who had cut
the logs off the public land. Every
body said so, everybody but the IL
little Spiridions that came stepping
lightly to school over the pine straw.
Rain or shine, never late, never noisy.
Brown by the sun, healthy with hard
work, lean from light feeding.
"Troncon." Everybody boy in the
| school had been fought for that. 1t
was worth just one bloody nose to
say stump" to one of the little
| Spiridions.
But Lucie Spiridion did not fight.
She was not even disdainful-save
| toward Luc NadjaroW, who sat next
| to her in class-she was always head
and who worshiped her utterly from
! the sole of her slim bare foot to the
| topmost of her tossing curls. Small
| joy did he get of his love affair.
Ha, the poor Luc! He wanted to
| knock down every boy in the school,
to slap the face of every girl-save
! Lucie He wanted to tell Lucie that
he loved her. And all he did was to
| lose his pencil. And little Esed found
| it!
Luc's little brother arose in his
| seat at the sight of that long, red
| pencil
Miss Nell, Esed stole my broth
ers pencil" he cried.
Little Esed jumped up. He could
not speak English. He pointed help
lessly at the road. "Ja trouve,' he
| whimpered.
Luc spoke up promptly. That's all
right, Miss Nell, give it to him.
May l speak, asked Lucie, and
| barely waiting the teachers consent,
| she was across the room and had
robbed little Esed of his beautiful
find And Luc's pencil was on his
desk again.
Luc stood up holly. May l speak?'
he demanded, and before all the
| school he said to little Esed: That's
yours. Keep it,
The little fellow looked at his sis
ter his lip quivering with the bitter
| pain of remuneration, but he returned
SO haughtily as a baby may: "Je men
al pas besoin.' And Luc went back
to his seat with his pencil. Ha,
slapped in the face by baby-before
the whole school. 1t made him mad.
| He headed Lucie off on the way
home.
What for you didn't let Esed take
that pencil?" he demanded, overtak-
ing her.
"Esed say he didn't want It," she
replied, without looking at him.
"Tain't me say your papa cut those
logs"
mo"
The blood ran up to the boys hair
at the slur in her voice.
Il know, me, he amt cut them"
That's what l know" she cut in,
coldly.
III l prove your pap didn't cut
those logs, you going let Esed keep
that pencil he find?"
The girls tone changed wonderfully.
May be let him keep that pencil
you give him." she said, softly.
Ha! But it would seem that all
the sweetness Of that changed tone
was lost on Luc. He said, stOlidly.
You going be at the horse race
Sunday? I prove it then"
Begin"
Il want you to take this now. May
be- I won't see Esed next Sunday
She took 1.-THE red pencil, looked
at him wistfully, and started up the
hill.
Sunday! A long, straight track
through the forest, and a crowd Of
happy people hurrying to the start
or to the finish. Everybody had been
to mass. Now for the horse race.
Bien! Luc rode his own bay mare,
slin-necked little beauty, full of
fire and long of wind. 1t was her
first race. Dice rode the white horse,
and the white had already been three
times a winner.
There was a wild leap Of excite.
ment, streak of red, and a cheer
that shook the pines. Ha! and Lucie
made herself look
Dice was dismounting slowly from
the beaten white horse, and Luc, hard
and white at this proudest moment
Of his life, was pushing his winner a
little closer to the cheering crowd.
y want to tell you all something"
he said, harshly, and there was ST.
lence, even'among the lucky betters.
You all been saying it's M. Spiridion
cut those logs. Des amt so. 1t me
cut those logs"
Riding away in his great loneliness,
Luc laughed-bitterly: Maybe Lucie
would let little Esed keep that pencil