Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-02-17

She came 'gingerly to his side and
.tnspecteduthe duster. and asked CUES
.tfons about Il, .wrinklfng her nose at
the smell OF the dust; and he an
sxercd her questions. warming y a
little at her interest: in that which
was dear to him. She perceived that
she pleased him, and pretended even
greater interest. and smiled at him
In her most : charming fashion.
Turned from the. machine to the trees
about them. plucked an apple and bit
!. into. it and. threw It away with a
grlmace. ,.. .- =:
HIS engine sim .coushed and
banked. he showed mo- disposition to
shut OF its ignition and give his
time to her. She discovered a waxy
bandage upon one OF the. trees and
asked what II was and he told her
It was a. graft. and would have added
sonic explanation. but her attention
fitted elsewhere.
where do you live?", she asked
presently. That house up there?"
F., yes, ..a -. =, :,
"Is 1t your house?" - r.. <,
my mothers and -mine." he replied.
She turned the full battery OF her
eyes upon him. why haven't sou
come up to see fellow?". she asked.
eve been -awfully lonesome here"
He was not, at. all disconnected. a.
she had expected him to be. II
hadn't thought Of. It," he said. I'm
pretty busy"
You'll think OF it now, won't,
you?" she begged prettiiy. She was,
THIS morning, in a reckless mood:
she had been, was still. q. spoiled
child. =. -
az. might he assented; and she
thought again there was a smile
deep. hidden In his eyes,
"I'm used to having boys crazy 70
come and see me-" she said w!stfully:
and he did smile: and she was salts
fed with this much of victory, and
turned and ran away From the bor-
der Of the orchard she looked back
and lifted her hand to him. He
touched hks hat In a restrained fash
ION by way of response: and she
assembled the hill, at peace With the
world again. -
And this was the first encounter
between the tender Of trees and, Lucia
Moore. - r.
HER father had bought the farm
during the winter from Dan
Howe. who moved away to Augusta.
Dan, Fraternity said. made a good
thing, out OF it. He had paid eigh-
teen hundred two years before and
had sold of 5000 worth OF hardwood
for ship timoers. carted to Camden.
The price Moore paid him was $1,000.
Moore had thought the figure high;
but there was In the man a hunger
for contact with the soil. His father
had been q farm. boy. had harked
back to his youthful days In remints-
cence during his later years. His
death left Moore some f1fty-two hun
dred dollars and made II possible for
him to escape from the small store
ne had run for years in Somerville.
at q yearly profit less than he might
have earned as salary.
He and his wife had perceived by
that time that Lucia-they had chris
tened her Lucy-was a problem In
need OF solving. Lucia liked moving
pictures. and dancing, and boys, and
she was not strong. Country life.
they thought, would be good for her;
and Moore did not cavil at Dan
Howe's price. Save for a few hum
dred dollars, he put the remainder
Of. his legacy, and his own savings,
into newly. organized automobile
company which seemed to him prom
ising. and came to- the hills above
Fraternity. =.
Since then he had been learning
by experience that a horse which can
be bought for seventy dollars is prob
ably not worth 1t, and that pigs can
not probably be raised with no milk
to feed them. and that the directions
in printed manuals Of the art Of
farming are not SO complete and SO
reliable as.they seem. ---.-
He was not a practical man. Even
the automobile investment had turned
out badly; the company was now
quietly defunct, without even the for
maiity Of q receiver. And he owed
mounting bill At Will BisseIls
store. II it.had been possible he
would have escaped from the farm
and returned to bondage. but no one
would buy the place, and his debts
anchored him.
. It was Lucia-she had. It appeared,
some grain OF. sense in :her---who sug-
gested one day that he might raise
apples. Johnny Dree does" she ex-
planned. This was In early fall, and
she: had seen Johnny once or twice
since that first encounter-at her in
stance, and, not at his. Also she had
asked questions, surprisingly shrewd.
Her father nodded. Hes got q
good orchard" >he- agreed. q. --,s,, :. :.
Hes been picking Wolf Rivers
right along" id:Lucia wisely. HE
says you can pick the big, ones and
the. others ,wtll4grow to- make up for
It, and he's going TO have hundreds of
barrels 70 sell next month"; Z ~;
1--WE hook 1t our trees" her. fathe.
told her! The apples aren't good for
anything but cider. Full sof worms
and thinge." So. >, ,s,:,-
Johnny Dree says you've got to
take. care, Of . tree, she Insisted I'M:
patiently: But he says--'" She
fesifated. seeking to remember the
word he had used, The says your'trees
are good, thrifty stock" 80 =
r~"It.takes years to make an orchard,
Lucy" he said YEARLY: You're talk
ing about Impossible. things"
The swift temper which sometimes
possessed the sirl& famed up at him
[ "You make me sick!" she cried. you
Just sit back and let the world walk
ever you. You've stuck yourself with