St. Tammany farmer., 1922-02-11
She Had Risen Up Out Of the Pool
and Stood Knee Deep, Like Lovely
Drenched Figure in a Fountain.

She Had Rlsen Up OUT OF tne Fooi
and Stood Knee Deep, Like Lovely
Drenched Figure in Fountain.
to see il 1t would work" The sun
shine was strong and hot; in half an
hour he and his clothes were dry-or
at least "dry enough" as he said, and
except for some soreness Of head and
neck, and the general crumpledness Of
his apparel, he seemed to be In all
ways much as usual, when shouts and
whistlings summoned all the party to
luncheon at the rendezvous. The
change that made him different was
invisible
Yet something must have been seen,
for everyone appeared to take 1t for
granted that he was to sit next to
Milla at the pastoral meal. She her
self understood it, evidently, for she
drew in her puckered skirts and with
out any words made place for him
beside her as he driftingly approached
her, affecting to whistle and keeping
his eyes N the foliage overhead. He
still looked upward, even in the act Of
sitting down.
Squirrel or something" he said
feebly, as II In explanation.
"WhereT' Milla asked.
"Up there on q branch" He ac-
cepted plate from her (she had pro-
vided herself with an extra one), but
he did not look at it or at her. He
continued to keep his eyes aloft, be-
cause he imagined that all Of the class
were looking at him and Milla, and
he felt unable to meet such publicity.
It was to him as If the whole United
States had been scandalized to atten-
ton by this act Of his in going to sit
beside Milla; he gazed upward so long
that his eye-balls became sensitive un-
der the strain. He began to blink. Il
can't make out whether It's a squirrel
or just some leaves that kind O. got
fixed like one," he said. Il can't make
out yet which it is, but I guess when
there's a breeze If it's a squirrel he'll
prob1y hop around some then, If he's
alive or anything"
It had begun to seem that his eyes
must remain fixed In that upward
stare forever; he wanted to bring them
down, but could not face the glare Of
the world. But finally the brightness
of the sky between the leaves settled
matters for him he sneezed, wept, and
for little moment again faced his
fellowmen. No one was looking at
him; everybody except Milla had other
things to do.
Having sneezed involuntarily, be
added spell Of coughing for which
there was no necessity. II guess l
must been wrong" he muttered thickly.
"What about, Ramsey7'
"About It's bein' squirrel" With
infinite timidity he turned his head
and encountered gaze so soft, so hal
lowed, that it disconnected him, and
he dropped "drumstick' OF fried
chicken, well dotted with ants, from
bis plate. Scarlet he picked it up, but
did not eat It, For the first time In
his life he felt that eating fried chick
en- held in the fingers was not to be
thought Of. He replaced the "drum-
stick" upon his plate and allowed it
to remain there untouched, In spite of
a great hunger for it.
Having looked down, he now found
difficulty in looking up, but gazed
steadily at his plate, and into this
limited circle Of vision came Mula's
delicate and rosy fingers, bearing a
gift. There" she said In motherly
little voice. TITS tomato mayonnaise
sandwich and I made it myself. I
want you to eat 1t, Ramsey"
His own fingers approached remu-
lousness as he accepted the thick sand
w1ch from her and conveyed it to his
mouth. A moment later his soul filled
with horror. for squirt Of mayonnaise
dressing had caused catastrophe the
scene Of which occupied no inconsider-
able area Of his right cheek, which
was the cheek toward Milla. He
CROPPED Wretchedly for his handker-
chief but could not find it; he had lost
It. Sudden death would have been re-
lief; he was sure that after such gro
tesQuerie Mula could never bear to
have anything more to do with him:
he was ruined.
In his anguish he felt paper nap
kin pressed gently into his hand;
soft voice said In his ear, "Wipe it on
with this, Ramsey. Nobody's motto
Ing"
So this incredibly charitable creature
was still able to be his friend, even
after seeing him mayonnaised! Hum
bly, marveling, he did as she told him,
but avoided all further risks. He ate
nothing more.
He sighed his first sigh Of inexpress-
ibleness, had chill or SO along the
spine, and at intervals his brow was
bedewed.
Within his averted eyes there dwelt
not the Milla Rust who sat beside him,
but an ir1descent, fragile creature who
had become angelic.
he spent the rest Of the day daw-
ding helplessly about her; wherever
she went he was near, as near as pos
sible, but OF no deliberate volition OF
nls own. Something seemed to tie him
to her, and Milla was nothing 10th.
He seldom looked at her directly, or
for longer than an instant, and more
rarely still did he speak to her except
q q reply. What few remarks he