Year: 1875

sOIlI i dttCIboiI WdS ullN
venerable horse slowly homeward
from the little village of Briartown.
They were passing the low-lying
farm of Nathan Wynne, and John,
without daring for the life of him to
turn his head, rolled his great black
eyes toward the substantial stone
farmhouse in the hope of catching a
glimpse of Kitty, the farmers come
ly daughter. But, though John kept
his eyes turned in their sockets till
his head achcd fearfully, he saw moth
ing of Kitty.


John was desperately in love with
Kitty Wynnc, and had been for ma
ny day, and yet dared not tell her
so. Tell her that he loved her and
ask her to marry him? Why, he
would not so much rs look at her
when there was any danger of his be-
ing caught at it for the world, and
simply because he could not, for it
was Johns misfortune to be. excess
lively bashful. He generally made
out to bow to her when he met her,
but even that always brought great
lump into his throat and turned his
face the color of a peony.


As John passed over Il little knoll
and out of sight of the house, the far
mcr's great orchard-the trees ready
to break down under their weight of
ripe truit-was before him.


"What a while that miller kept me
waiting for my grist. I'm as hungry
as bear. | must have pocketful
of those yellow beauties to eat on my
way home"


And with this, John drew rein on
his horse, scaled the fence and struck
out in a bee line for his favorite tree.


He knew as well as farmer Wynne
did, and, in fact, every man and boy
around knew, just where the best
apples were to be found, for Nathan
was not one of those men whom
large and small boys Of predatory
habits designate as 4 ''stingy old
hunks" His fruit was as free to all
as the water in the little brook which
divided the orchard by its never-ceas-
ing flow.


John had filled his pockets and
was about to retrace his steps to the
wagon, when he caught the tiutter of
a pink dress through cluster of
ounce trees, and heard Kitty's merry
voice in conversation with some one.
Stealing a hasty glance through the
trees, John recognized Kitty's COM
panion to be her cousin, Hettie Shaw,
from the village. They were coming
directly toward the tree under which
John was standing.


What in the world was he to do?
He did not fancy running away like
a detected thief, and his trembling
knees and palpitating heart warned
him that if he would not die then and
there he must seek place Of con-
cealment.


To add to Johns embarrassment
Oh this occasion, he was conscious
that he was not in the least 'tiXed
up" He was in his everyday garb,
and there was huge black patch on
the knee of his gray pantaloons; and
John hated patches because he was
poor and obliged to wear them. The
sleeves of his coat were far too short,
as also the legs of his pants, and to
make the matter worse his clothes
were covered with flour which he
had somehow got on while he was
waiting for his grist at the mill.


John glanced up into the tree, but
the foliage was not thick, and there
was little chance for hiding-place.
Near the tree was an inverted hogs
head, which had been used rs stand
from which to pick apples from the
tree. The hogshead had once been
used rs a temporary dog-kcnnel, and
a hole, perhaps eighteen inches in di-
amcter, had been made to admit the
dog.


There was no time to be lost. The
hogshcad afforded the only retreat
within the trembling young mans
reach, and he squeezed himself inside
of it.


The girls came on and sat down
on the grass right where John, by
STOPPING down and peering through
the circular hole, could watch their
movements.


Kitty, he thought, looked prettier
and brighter than ever in her pink
dress, and the sun, which was set
Ting into the west, made her brown
hair as golden as the apples in her
lap.


Kitty held up an apple by the stem,
saying:


''Name it, Hetty; but not Will
Joyce, nor Jerry Davis, nor"


'There, stop; the apple is named"
said Hcttic, merrily.


Kitty pared and ate her apple,
carefully saving all the seeds. When
she had them all in her chubby hands
she held them out for IIetty to spell
the name. Touching each seed with
her finger, hetty spelled:


"J-o.h-n Patterson"


1T spells it, exactly. Why, Kitty,
what are you blushing so for? One
would think that fellows name was
spelled out III your heart in indelible
letters by the way you look"


Kitty said nothing, though she
looked uncommonly sober for her,
John thought, and he wondered if
the girls didn't hear his heart beat;
he thought they must, it was thump-
ing away SO furiously. He thought,
too, that Kitty was angry that anyone
would suppose that she cared for
him. How humbly he felt; he could
scarce have told why; and how his
cheeks burned with the flush of
wounded pride.


"Now, really, Kitty" said her cous-
in, with a bantering laugh, eff you
don't drive away that forlorn look, l
shall think you care more than your
pride will let you acknowledge for
that great awkward BOBBY, who has
not the courage, nor never will have,
to ask you to have him"


"Hush, Hcttyw said Kitty, as she
rose to her feet, and her cheeks glow
ed with a flush of deepest crimson.