Year: 1879

The family at Deersfeld was rather
singularly grouped. The children of the
house were of divided parentage. Belle
was the daughter of Deersfeld present
owner. Jane was his orphan niece -
Caroline, the only child of widowed
mother, was destined to be heiress Of
Deersfeld after the lifetime of her cous-
in Bellies father. Joe was the half.
brother of Belle by her mothers former
marriage. He was an orphan, possessed
OF substantial patrimony. The guar
dians of the four children were the mas
ter Of Deersield and the mother Of Oar
oline, who very harmoniously ruled these
incongruous elements given into their
care by strange fate. Belle and Jane
were not difficult to manage. Joe, q
gentle lad, gifted with wonderful talent
me eisetoring to the life, and afflicted
WITH stammering speech that made
him reticent of talk and shy of compan'
ionsbip, was devoted almost to the de-
gree OF solitude in his ceaseless applica-
tion to his art Caroline was tease
and romp, forever in disgrace.


1t was no matter of surprise to Joe
that on the morning after Charlie Evans
fancy ball the Daughter of the Regiment
was in solitary confinement as punish
ment of some objectionable act. She
hailed Joe from her window as he cross
the lawn, motioning to him that she
wanted to let down q basket for provi-
sions, as she would not and could not
eat dry bread


Joe had been her forager before; her
slave he always vas. To say truth, he
loved this wild, naughty, self assertive
playmate of his with all the secret fer
vor of a boys heart. Caroline was
aware of the hidden sentiment, and i'm.
posed upon the homage egregiously.


Joe having satisfied himself that the
coast was clear, received the basket
which Caroline dropped from her win
dow with cord. The basket contained
q three.cornered note.


DEAR JOE: It's perfectly shameful
that I'm looked up. should StdrUe II
it were not for you. All did was to go
mp in the cupola last night with Charlie
Evans to see his Gagged eagle. Poor
thing, it pines. And 1t was so nice up
there, we Staid an hour. Mamma was
dWfuIly angry. 80 was Ben, for ] was
engaged two dances with him, and miss,
ed both. Oh, Joe, you ought to have
been therel it was Cery poky in you not
to come tate, as you promised.


CAROLINE.
A quick, sharp flush crossed Joe's face
as he read this note, not in disgust as
one might imagine, at the mundane ap.
petite of his fair goddess, but at the one
sentence of the note not marked en-
phaticaily with underline: up in the
cupola last night with Charlie Evans.


Joe smothered his jealous pang, brib.
ed Nan, the cook, literally, and sent
the basket up to Caroline so heavily
loaded that one ounce more would have
broken the cord.


Mamma from q recess of the library
window caught glimpse of this trans'
action, but by the time she reached the
third story, unlocked the door, and con-
fronted her prisoner, basket and contents
had alike vanished. Caroline's lips were
extremely red, but otherwise there was
no sign that anything had been devour-
ed. She sat in the window space break
ing bread into crumbs; a flock of wood
birds lowered around her.


Il cannot eat dry bread, mamma, phe
said; but my birds do, they seem to love
It,


Carrie, Carrie, what girl you arel
said mamma. She meant TO be ereproach
full, but her voice was not stern she was
viewing her daughter in one OF those
winning traits that Offset her holder
ways.


The .cheeFed, bright-eyed Carrie
was an attractive creature as she sat il