Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1921-08-18
THE PRINT DRESS
81 ACME eRAAAM sKooAN

tSe IVA western Newspaper URtOn.l
The old man sat in bis porch a
shutdown. Out in the garden breez,
stirred the Mac bushes, and their per
fume came to him associated In som,
way with memory Of a print dress
And he was not sentimentaE old mar
this, nor one given to tepder reverie
Rather was he concerned witt
schemes Of shUewd bargaining, and nc
scruples as to advantage over another
The woman who waited on him and
had long been his servant, adopted his
own disagreeable manner through as
ISOLATION, while her husband wenA a
plodding tacituEn way.
And tonight, after all the bitterly
absorbed busy years, he was dream
Ing dreams on his sun-lit pOrch-hke
a very schoolboy.
The print dress had awakened In
him memories Of that past boyhOOd.
Nellie had worn such a dress years
ago; frilly muslin with dainty par
pie sprlgs upon it. And he had loved
those printed purple touches, because
they matched so well the color of her
eyes.
Nellie had been dead many years,
and Joe Godfrey was glad that 1t was
SO.
1t would have been ineffably harder
to- have known her the wife of another
man. His jealous nature could not
have tolerated that. And the girl
who had passed him that morning IN
the village store, had soft purple eyes
which reminded him suddenly and
poignantly of Nellie; even as her print
dress had done. She had smiled at
him In passing, swift friendly smile,
which showed her to be stranger in
the countryside and unfamiliar with
his own forbidding disposition.
Joe Godfrey gazing with unseeiEg
eyes across his garden, recalled the
dominating character of his loved Nel-
lies father They, too, would have
been married, and his own life might
not have grown into the warped thing
that it was, if Neiiie's father had not
valued money above all else.
Young Joe had been unable to
strive for success with the care of an
invalided mother and shiftless faith
er, and so he was forbidden to see
Nellie again. The night she babe him
good-by in that sad secret meeting
down the shadoxy lane, Nellie had
worn the purple dress, and lilac b1sh-
es had been in bloom. Old Flint
frOwned now fiercely, to keep the I'M
accustomed moisture from his eyes.
as through the barred gates al girl
came, making her way toward him.
She smiled all confident and unafraid. |
and she wore lavender-sprigged
gown. ''You will excuse me, know"
greeted the girl. Il just had to come
in to view your peonies. never saw
SO many in alb my life-a whole hedge |
Of color! I'm from the CITY,"
Godfrey nodded curtly. Then some
thing in the surprised Questioning |
glance Of the violet eyes brought him
tn his feet.
Il will go with you to the hedge"
he heard himself saying, land Wen |
pick a bunch of them"
The girl accepted the attention nat
urally 1t was natural always for
people to be kind to her, and she an
ticipated no exception in the lonely
old man, whom she had seen medi- |
tating so glOomily each evening, on
his solitary porch. Il will give them
to Aunt MARTHA she said, "as sort
of parting gift. She and Tom will be
pleased. am going home to the city.
Father has sent for ME; Aunt Martha
and-Tom-ar sorry about it,"
There was look in the girls face
as she bent over the flowers, very like
the remembered look that Nellie had
given him years ago-when they said
good-by.
"Who?" asked The old man brusque-
ly, "is Tom?"
It was her eyes that told him, her
lips merely repeated young mans
name.
He is helping Aunt Martha to work
her li:tle farm" she explained "Tom
has been tied down to unfortunate
parents. When he was left quite
alone he went away to agricultural
college. His great wish is to succeed
in experimental work. He has won
derful ideas but no money, or no place
to try out his plans"
Old Flint from past experience drew
a quick conclusion.
"And SOP he asked, your father
sends for you to come home, for fear
that you may fall in lCFe with this
man without money|
The girl looked back at him over
her armful Of flowers.
Father is too late" she said. Il
will never love any man but Tom"
Slowly, because his lameness trou-
bled him in the dew of the evening.
Joe Godfrey followed her TO the gates,
my dear" he said gently, Il want
you to send this Tom person to me
tomorrow. Here is great piece Of
land, just ready for experimentation.
And bye and bye, when YOU have both