The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-05-08
THE EVENING STORY
Little Witch.
(By Jane Osborne.)

town IN the west to work in Boston
were any that Savored of social ambi-
tlon yet 1t was gratifying to be taken
up SO promptly and cordially by those
Nottingham sisters. A fellow boaFder
had taken him to call upon them and
that had ripened into acquaintance
IT was a late dark night when James
with MS companion made his first
| visit TO the Mfllingham estate, which
stood on a rise of ground about five
minutes walk from the end of a city
trolley line, and James ParIoa was not
| little impressed by the long gravel
path that led from the road to the
front door, or later by the lofty-ceil-
inged hall and drawing room into
which they were ushered. Lillabelle
and Drusilla impressed him. too.
They were willowy and fair with
a sort of distant cordially which, add
ed to the impressiveness of the house.
made 1t obvious to James that he was
| in the society of the social elect of the
| city.
Apparently, even by the subdued
lights of the Nottingham drawingroom
neither Lillabelle nor DrusilIa was in
her first season, but in the face of
| their obvious aristocracy that was a.
fault that James was willing to dis
| count. few days later James re-
ce!ved an invitation to a dance at the
| MllI1ngams', and as he went alone on
| this occasion he was more impressed
| than before with the size of the estate.
He could see rows of hedge and mar
!
| of the house.
Loftier than before seemed the walls
| or the house, and James was positive
| ly bewildered when after their guests
mad arrived, Lillabe1le and Drusilla led
| the way down a flight of stone stairs
| to ballroom below. There was some
| thing absorbingly interesting about the
place when he observed that the room
| was darkered about the baseboards as
if generations of use had actually left
| its mark of wear on this ballroom
If it had not been for the absorbing
| interest that James felt for this pre-
! tentious house, he would no doubt
| have. fallen a more easy victim to the
| charms of one of the aristocratic Mil
! linghams, but his eyes wandered from
| their fair forms to ever increasingly
| mystifying details of the house. There
| was one door especially heavy oak
| door that stood ajar and showed tan
| talizing glimpses of a dark corridor
| beyond.
Lillabelle, the elder of the two sis
| tiers, was interesting. She, too, was
| mystifying. On James's first dance
with her, having remarked on the
state of the weather without he men
toned the state of the floor within
two subjects which he considered per-
fectly safe openings to small talk.
| "Oh, the floor" she said with
| shrug of the shoulders Its a per-
feet mess. I'VE run ever SO many
| splinters in my slippers from it. 1t
| hasn't been relaid for ages, and it gets
frIghttully hard wear
But it's we'll waxed, I mean per-
| sisted James, wondering how a private
ballroom could possibly get such in
| cessant wear.
Eyes, we get the children to do it,
We give them pieces of old candles
Lillabelle explained, land they scrape
them with blunt scissors and then
| slide. It's easy enough to get the wax
on, and it keeps the little witches out
of mischief
What a capital idea" said James,
feeling a desire to meet the little Mil
linghams and wondering how many
there were of them.
The dance passed off and James
made his party call in a week and was
asked to come to another dance, which
was much like the other only that
Lillabelle was giving it, whereas Dru-
silla gave the other
1.-The little witches succeeded won
derfully tonight said James, by way
of opening conversation with Lila
belle.
Don't talk to me about the wretch
es," was Lillabelle's unexpected re-
joinder. 81 wish 1 might never see
them again. If they were only boys
but they are all girls
THAT is better than a family of all
boys like mine,' said James politely
'How old are they?"
"All the way from four years to
eighteen. Drusilla and 1 really hate
them
Extraordinary said James won
dering how it was that Drusilla and
Lillabelle could be SO devoted to each
other and hold such heartless feelings
for their little sisters
James's next dance was unengaged
and in a spirit of growing curiosity as
to the probable outlet of the door that
had interested him on the night of
the first dance, and with a natural
craving for fresh air, he pushed his
way through this heavy portal, shut
it after him and CROPPED his way
through a long and narrow hall. At
the end of it was an iron stairway that
led to a hall above, where low light
was burning. Suddenly James caught
sight of a figure that fitted ahead of
him, and then he heard girlish voice:
Hush, some one will hear you. Let
me by, please Obviously the girl
was trying to slip up the stairs. She !
was clad in a shapeless, heavy flannel
kimono, with one tight braid of curly |
brown hair sticking oddly out behind !
each ear.
OF course she was one of Lillabelle's
sisters; probably the efghteen-year-ol |
one, thought James.
Hello. little WITCH" he said. barring |
the passage
Don't you tell a soul; on your honori" |
The girl spoke in an appealing mono |
tone that charmed James from the first. |
IT was peeking at the door, and then |
you came and I tried to scoot You had |
your last dance with Lillabelle, Chilly /
Iilly-that's what We call her Old Bones
is what we call DruSilla-- You one i
of the latest flies in their web, aren't you :? |
They're old spiders, they are 1 saw you |
at the last dance. l Just love to watch, J
though 1 know well enough If they caught /
me I'd be put out. What's your name !
1 love Names.
Lanes and the Little Witch" as he /
called her sat down on the bottom step, |
Ia r0l1 Low # 0IIa firar7cy