Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-04
Leetle Gal.

7 T was the afternoon of the second
day of the Cohoes County fair.
The harness race for girls under
Il 10 was the next attraction on the
program. Judging from the crowd
that lined the fence each side of the
judges stand this innovation was at.
tracing more than usual interest.
As the contestants filed on to the
freak in response to the call Of the
judge small. brown-eyed girl. driving
sleek, glossy mare, invited the as
tention of a clean, wholesome looking
man of 50, attired in a worn cowboy
rig and leading a vicious looking yell
low mustang.
Its her I'm sure" he muttered
under his breath.
Addressing a tall, gangling youth
who was leaning over the fence,
mouth agape, wholly lost in dumb adj
miration of this living exponent of his
Wild West dime-novel heroes, he in
CURED:
Who's that young lady with the
black mare?"
Delighted to be addressed by this
alluring product of the West, the
youth began to unfold:
why, that be Mary Andrews. Jim
Andrews daughter. And say. mister.
between you and I, / bet she wins.
She can throw a harness on and off
tarnaI quick. Curious how she come
ter enter this race, for she's awful
kinter shy" went on the garrulous
youngster, seeing his listener was in
terested. Eyer see Their old man An
drews has been laid up with rheu
MATES fer quite q spell an l guess
it's been purity hard sleddin fer
n
brick; worked outdoors an done ev'
erything she could ter keep things
movin' But yer see times air hard
an crops were bad, hired help high
an lately Their old mans limited that
some of Their stock must be sold off
Now that hit Mary hard, fer she
knew he was limiting at Hazel, that 5
the black mare he gin her when she
was a colt, her mother had died an
left.
MARY brung her up by hand an
II tell you, mister, she thinks ther
world of that mare. She broke her
an no one else has ever drawn a
rein over her.
oval. when Their fair put on this
new-fangled race, offering 800 to
Their winner, Mary saw a chance to
win some money an save Hazel, so
she entered, though she hated to like
time, but I told her to go ahead; I'd
be right here ter encourage her. Yer
see, mister. / go over ter see Mary
purity often" insinuatingly grinned
the youth, coloring guiltily.
rs that so? Little good it will do
you son." smiled the stranger.
wal, now, what do you s'pose he
meant by that" muttered the youth
obviously shaking his head.
The judge was announcing the con
ditions of the race as the stranger
edged up near the line of waiting
contestants, six in number. all
sturdy, wholesome, capable young
girls.
"Now. yong ladies. when the starter
fires his pistol, you will proceed to
unhitch and unharness your horses,
harness and hitch into your road
carts and drive once around the track.
The young lady who gets here first
is, of course, the winner"
The starter cried: Are you ready?'
The tense posture of each girl pro-
claimed his answer. The pistol broke
the stiffness of the silent. waiting
throng. Like a flash the girls sprang
to the ground and the contest was
on. Intently the stranger watched
the slim, brown-eyed girl. Deity her
nimble fingers unhitched straps and
released buckles; there were no false
moves; every motion was methodical
and counted. She was the first to
get her horse stripped. much to the
satisfaction of the admiring stranger.
Now she had begun to harness.
Every strap was soft and plant,
every buckle and loop worked prop
erly, showing careful preparation.
A shout of admiration went up
from the crowd as the mare quickly
grabbed the bits held by her young
mistress, and at a word sprang to
the thills and backed in unassisted.
Mary was the first to get harnessed,
though a resolute young lady with a
big roam horse was hitching in as she