River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1919-11-06

soft words instantly and failed to con-
troll poetic impulse. .sYou look
like" he said. "Your face looks
like-it looks like a snowflake on a
lump of coal / mean IA snowflake
that would be rose-leaf toor,
Perhaps you'd better look at the
reins," she returned. 1--WE almost up-
/ set just then"
George declined to heed this advice.
Because there's too much pink in
| your cheeks for snowflake" he con-
tinued. whats that fairy story about
snow-white and rose-red-"
! We're going pretty fast, Mr.. Nina
! ferr'
well, you see, I'm only here for
20 weeks"
Il mean the sleigh" she explained.
We're not the only people on the
street, you know"
"Oh, they'll keep out Of the way"
That's very patrician charioteeer-
ing but 1t seems to me horse like
this needs guidance. I'm sure he's
going almost twenty miles an hour"
That's nothing" said George; but
he consented to look forward again.
He can trot under three minutes, all
right He laughed. II suppose your
father thinks he can build horseless
carriage to go that fastl"
"They go that fast already, some
times"
Eyes," said George; "they do-for
| q
a yell and burn up
/ Evidently she decided not to defend
her fathers faith in horseless car
riages, for she laughed and said moth
ing. The cold air was polka-dotted
with snowflakes, and trembled to the
loud, continuous jingling of sleigh
bells. Boys and girls, all aglow and
painting jets Of vapor, darted at the
passing sleighs to ride on the runners,
or sought to rope their sleds to any
vehicle whatever, but the fleetest no
more than just touched the flying cut
ter, though hundred soggy mittens
| grasped for 1t. then reeled and whirled
till sometimes the wearers of those
daring mittens plunged flat in the
snow and lay a-sprawl, rejecting.
But there came painting and chug-
ging up that fiat thoroughfare thing
which some day was TO spoil all their
sleightime merriment-save for the
rashest and most disobedient. 1t was
vaguely like topless surrey, but cum
brous with unwholesome excrescences
fore and aft, while underneath were
spinning leather belts and something
that whirred and hOwled and seemed
to stagger. The ride-stealers made no
attempt to fasten their sleds to con-
| trivance so nOnsensical and yet so
fearsome. Instead they gave over their
sport and concentrated all their ener-
gies in their lungs, so that up and
down the street the one cry shrilled
increasingly: "Git boss Git boss!
Git boss! Mister, why don't you git
a hOss?" But the mahout in charge,
sitting solitary on the front seat was
uncOncerned-he laughed, and now
and then ducked a SNOWFALL without
losing any of his good-nature 1t was
Mr.. Eugene Morgan who exhibited SO
cheerful countenance between the
| forward visor of a deer-stalker cap
and the collar of fuzzy gray ulster.
| "Git hOsS!" the children shrieked,
and gruffer voices joined them. "Git
boss! Git boss Git boss -
George Minafer was correct thus
far; the twelve miles an hour of such
machine would never Overtake
Georges trOtter. The cutter was al
ready scurrying between the stone pill
| lars at the entrance to ANDERSON adj
i dition.
! "Thats my grandfather's," said
| George nodding toward the Anderson
| mansion.
II ought to know thatv' Lucy ex-
| claimed. "We stayed there late enough
last night: papa and ! were almost
| the last to go. He and your mother
and Miss Fanny Minafer got the mu-
| sicians to play another waltz when
| everybody else had gone downstairs
and the fiddles were being put away
in their cases. Papa danced part of
it with Miss Minafer and the rest with
your mother. Miss Minafer's your
aunt, isn't she?"
Yes; she lives with us. That's our
house just beyond grandfather's," He
waved a sealskin gauntlet to indicate
the house Major ANDERSON had built
for Isabel as a wedding gift. He
ffOwned as they passed closed car
riage and pair. The body of this COM
Portable vehicle sagged slightly to one
side; the paint was old and scanned
with hundreds Of minute cracks like
little rivers on a black map; the
coachman, a fat and elderly darby,
seemed to browse upon the box; but
the open window afforded the occu-
pants Of the cutter glimpse Of
tired, fine old face, silk hat, pearl
tie and an astrachan collar, evidently
out to take the air.
There's your grandfather now"
said Lucy. isn't it?"
Continued Next Week.