The states-graphic. (Brownsville, Tenn.) 1???-1984, 1916-12-08

not miss sugar so very much from a
meal until be knows he cant have it.
And then-well. Miss Sarah. have
many times talked peevlshly. FOR a
mar, because there was none 70 be
had"
ave are talking Of women What
about saltE she inquired quickly.
That is very Indispensable, too
but
OF the two which DO YOU always
take care shall not be missing from
your pack whenever you turn into the
wotdss"
IL see where you are heading. but
Il d. not like disSemblauce, Stephen"
she warned You know without the
salt Of love the sugar Of life can grow
sickeuincly cloying"
He did not win his argument, but
4 defeat gave him far more happiness
I than could have come from victory.
leaving her that night, he cloSel his
/ hand over her delicate fingers in
clasp which left her smiling in wonder
after be had gone. She watched horse
and rider disappear into the Wilderness
of the new winter till both We're lost
to her sight.
'BlesS the boy" she murmured then
BLESS the boy" And to Caleb. her
brother, when he came stamping in:
Il surely must take hand with these
children. They have been left to their
own devices long enough
Caleb had recovered his good natured
view of the whole affair; he was given
to grinning those days at her tutter-
lngs. On more than one occasion he
told her none too tatteringly That she
made him think OF an otlicioCS hen
with q brood which high rate Of
mortality and proving night raiders
had left bereft Of all save two of her
hatch. But this particular witticism
did not bother her in the least, per-
haps because she realized how pat the
comparison was. Instead of silenci1g
him she showed him the letter which
abe constructed some days later-con.
structed most y linstakmgly the second
week in December She deigned to
read It aloud to him before she dis
patched 1t on its journey.
Barbara, Gear Child she wrote,
"this is the appeal Of lonesome spin.
ster lady who finds that winter, still
only lusty infant here, is the season
for younger, warmer pulses. | am very
tired of Calab's continued company
that is, with nothing to leaven it. The
keenest of epigrammarians, my dear
becomes very commonplace, you know
to ears too long tuned to one voice. Sc
/ am writing you in dignitied despera
ton to come to me this holiday season
Caleb Is not always as epigrammatiC
as | could wish. | am going TO bt
positive that you will come unless yol
have already made other plans. And
on second thought, II you have al
ready done so am going to fall bacl
upon the privileged tyranny Of ont
who once carried you in her arms
@t8EOn must come to me this Christmas!
There was another whole paragraph
of rambling, repeated arguments ant
then full page devoted to the beau
ties of the hills and season.
THE days are diamond brilliant,
, she wrote, "and the nights as dryl
, cold and crisp as Caleb's few last CHEZ
!, ished bottles of champagne. We hay
foot Of snow, two feet in the ell Q
the house where the mint bed lies, an
that has afforded Caleb much peace q
. mind too. The roots will live NIGEL
! under their warm blanket, you see
all of which must read frivolously t
you, coming from staid Miss Sarah.
can only plead that already | must b
! less lonely for anticipation of your a
rival Are you well? You will fin
, new roses for your cheeks in this cl
: mate. And you may telegraph you
acceptance this once if you are too bus
! to write, although you know deploI
} the lack of those punctillios which one
!, made Of all custom and etiquette
: most charming thing"
! 1t was signed yours, my dear, 81
rah Hunter"
There was a quaint twist to the lett6
"S;' sharp angles in the chirograph
which a newer decade of femininit
might have found sadly lacking in
largeness Of loops now indispensab
as indication of character" An
there was a postscript, Of course.
stephen O'Mara has been sever;
times to dinner since your departur
He is working very hard, but most su
cessfully, | am sure. for he appears
be very happy. lie is thinner than |
was, but who could have guessed thi
the boy he was would grow to be sue
a handsome man! Men with eyes lii
his and such voices used to break Il
hearts of susceptible maids when | W;
sixteen. Do come! $. H."
She read it aloud from beginning
end, nor did she falter much when c
leb greeted the postscript with shot
OF JOY. Caleb was most high spiritC
those days, for the line in regard
the progress Of Steve's work was
truth an understatement il anythin
even though the assurance Of his ha
piness might have been called mi
construance Of facts.
"What do you think Of it, his sisti