Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1913-01-23
CHAPTER III CONTINUED


What a morning that was they
spent in the woods! such hours of
reckless joy as come only in ones
youth, and not always or to all then.
Needless of time and space, of any
thing, but themselves, they wandered
on and on, now in sunshine, now in
shade, now resting by stream to
gather punches of kingcups and for
get-me-nots, and watch the fish leap;
now picking flowers, for the pleasure
Of touching the beautiful things, long
after they had filed the basket and
Wreathed Phyllida's hat and decOrat-
ed Franks buttOn-hOleS; now sitting
on the fragrant pine-needles under
the solemn fir-trees, whilst Frank
spun his yarns, with the blackbirds
and thrushes singing and the rocks
cawing, as if in answer to their mer-
ry chatter, laughter, and snatches of
songs.
They eat the cake with the help
of Franks clasp-knife, and begged
some water at the woodreeve's cot
tage, which Frank insisted on drink
ing loving-cup fashion, and over which
he sang: Health to my DEAR" and
Drink to me only with thine eyes,"
He had begun by trying to persuade
Phyllida that he had really met mer-
maid with "a glass and comb in her
hand" but she was too sharp and too
we'll read to believe that; and her
eager pertinent questions soon put
him on his metal, till he found him
self talking more eloquently than he
had ever talked before of his cruises
and adventures, from his first action
at Copenhagen, where his sword was
so much too long for him that it cut
through it's scabbard and pricked his
heels, to his last voyage to South
America, and of all his future hopes
and plans.
On her side, Phyllida had plenty to
tell him of the country sights and
sounds, as new to him as they were
familiar to her. Left an orphan early,
with no near relations, he had spent
many of his twenty years Of life
afoat, and his strongest affections had
hitherto been given to his various
ships, with a sailors natural attrac-
ton to anything in the shape of a
pretty girl whenever he might be in
port.
1t was Phyllida's beauty that first
caught his fancy, but her ignorance
and intelligence combined fixed the
charm, and her perfect innocence
completed the conquest of his heart.
1t was a simple fact that she had new
er talked to young man before for
half an hour in her life, as he soon
found out-a fact of which he was
too good a fellow and too thorough
gentleman to take advantage in any
way.
1t was her first experience, too, of
genuine fun, and she laughed unre-
STRANGELY at the old jokes, then new
to the cockpit, and doubtless in vogue
still under a different guise, for nav
al nature is much the same, happily,
from generation to generation. The
time-honOred hOaxing of the guileless
MILDLY who was persuaded to ask his
captain to order the crew an extra
glass of grog because it was his birth
day; and the doctor who called for
glass of that" whenever he heard
cork drawn, and was served with
backing and ink. 1t was all new and
delightful to her, as was the COM
radeship and sense of adventure and
unpremeditation, which fairly carried
her away, and made her forget every
oh Of "a
moments-even that they had not
dropped from the cloudless sky, and
must some time come to an end.
So the golden hours slipped unnoted
by, a little foretaste of eternity, till
they were both startled in pause of
their conversation by the church clock
Ginning quarter to three.
"St. George and the Dragon!" ex-
claimed Frank, 'we are to dine at
three, that the parson may have his
whist after and ride home by day
light"
"And I must go home," said Fhyl-
Ida, taking her basket from his re-
luctant hand.
mo, no." he cried, retaining it;
'T will take Mrs. Allen the flowers and
tell her, shall I? You will come to
South Court tomorrow, will you not?
must see you again."
Phyllida started. The possibility
of not seeing him again had not
crossed her mind.
She did not know she spoke: per-
haps her eyes spoke for her. Frank
exclaimed, "Thank you; thank you!"
and. Selling her hand, kissed it rap
turously before she could snatch it
away and run off in the opposite direc.
ton to his.