| Show IV off vl a 16 0 CE 0 a a a r a a 1 CD by annie PARSONS 0 donnell 0 al I 1 6 00 5 V 1 HE 1113 gils g il s eyes followed the j train wistfully I 1 only a till 1 film of smoke was as left hang S ing in the air then she turned and faced the desolate little station I 1 believe I 1 in marooned she groaned there t a soul in yes there s a boy have I 1 got to ask him for help the boy was brown very brown his trousers were crammed carelessly into big top boots and the boots were ere muddy the boy was big and awl waid and bashful he ile sidled away annay down the deserted platform as if to escape as soon as possible he ile did cot look up once oh ob wait please wait a moment the he girl cried I 1 ast ly there s nobody else to ask won t you i lease tell me it if this Is cutler I 1 in afraid I 1 got off at the wrong place the boys abi abrupt apt stop and the girl girls s impetuous chase had brought them close together too close for the dainty summer skirts the girl twit twitched chea them away biorn contact n ith the big muddy boots she did not see the blood blod rush to the boy boys s tanned face staining it a rich mahogany hue have I 1 made a mistake oh I 1 hoi hoj e I 1 have no I 1 guess I 1 don t mean that but its so so dreadful here t this is cutler the boy muttered stiffly but it s not the village that s over there four miles he pointed with his thumb four miles then there must be a stage I 1 don t see any oh it chasn t gone has it there isn t any stage that meets this train there s one in the morn ing not any stage the girls voice showed distress A trail of muddy roadway stretched ai aw ay before her and her eyes followed it despairingly terry quinns heart melted how far are you calculate cal culat ng to go I 1 don t enow but I 1 could take you a piece 5 be he said suddenly I 1 lire live this side of the village a little way I 1 am going to the parsons place do you know where it isa the parsons place A p of it abandoned and forlorn rose before the boy and he contrasted it mentally with the beautiful delicate girl before yes I 1 know where it is he said you can go along with me if you want to I 1 have go goa a load of grain so I 1 shall have to go slow oh I 1 dont don t mind going slow the girl cried gratefully you iou are very bind lind an old farm wagon loaded w th grain bags stood near she had hard work to clamber up to its high seat they rattled away down the muddy road lurching into ruts and swaying I 1 lover over stones the girls eyes gledj diew wide with aarin terry quinn sat on the edge of his seat and gazed straight ahead in an agony of bashfulness at intervals he slipped a little farther away from the dainty figure beside him until ithe the vacant space on the seat had wid ened absurdly he was sure the girl was laugh ng at it he ile was sure she was afraid of his muddy boots and coarse clothes suppose he spilled her out suppose ehe she got her skirts all floury from the ba bags s suppose she wanted to talk the girl sat looking down the roid her sweet face grew more so sober her every minute she was thinking of her mother and molly and the unknown parsons place at last she could bear it no lone longer ge r Is it nice lifee she asked suddenly startling the color into the boy s brown face the parsons place I 1 mean terry had the dismal picture still in his mind the parsons place was uninhabited he ile kemem bared the tall weeds and grass in the dooryard and the bicken windows and the gate that sagged on its hinges for ten years the parsons place had been abandoned Is it painted white with green blinds the g rl persisted are there beautiful trees and lose bushes Is there a view I 1 shall be so glad if there s a I 1 azza ile W e could wheel bothel mothel s couch out on it and she could I 1 e all the pleasant days L n I 1 get biell ell that s what we re lox u ng heie licie for the doctors said she I 1 co i inot 1 not be iny illy better in the city it in awful in the city in summer che rho boy made no answer and at fi WEI 1 6 s lence to bashfulness she i n d 3 hal ace ti tie a place was I 1 TU i 1 i 3 kii igo n a will now f i t i S ack cl ni a e are very glad ti 11 comtois say she must I 1 i i I 1 vs ve come to see t lore OL ce opened ind 4 i a 3 LS lg back for them where IN here were 3 ou on ex pectin to stop to night 9 quest boned the boy twi wardia she turned upon h in in pu aled wonder at the qi qt estion 11 hy by at the I 1 otel otei I 1 suppose I 1 hadn haan t thought but that ii v heie I 1 shall go of couise Is it beai the prisons place terry quinn felt a wild des re to laugh tl TI e idea of a hotel beai the place was too much for him but a side glance at the wistful girlish face sobered h b in there isn t any hotel hereabouts he said iso 10 hotel why I 1 thought of course oh oll I 1 don t see what I 1 am going to do mathei 11 take you in I 1 guess in terry humidly we live close b shell she 11 see to ou mother mothers s great in the instant of gf fering the tire girl the hosp of his onn home another idea had occurred to aeiry quinn lie he bat at on oil the edge of his seat driving the old white mare at a 11 snails race pace and thought it all out to h s satisfaction it was ivas growing late the soft june dusk wis setti ng over the land the gul s impatience neaily asserted it self it would be so late to see the parsons place wei wee e got the ley key at our house terry announced with startling ab raptness IN e i e always kept it you d better not try to go down to the house till to bonow it it nees day light to see it well mother 11 go 90 along with you in the morning mothers mother s gi gleat eat he ile had said that before the girl smiled to herself wearily they were jogging by a little un painted uninhabited house set in weeds and neglect the girl ashud dered oh I 1 hope it won t look I 1 ke le that that s dreadful she slid said if it looks like that I 1 th I 1 shaller shall er cry y terry whipped up the old white mare bastil and drove away from the dreary place in another five minutes he had stopped in flout of a cheerful little house hugged by vines and loses his ills mother was in the doorway oh yes she s great the girl thought as she lay upstairs in ill a big soft bed she s beautiful she helps out the parsons place no mattei what it s like ind that boy well weli he s pretty nice even if be he is muddy out side Donw stairs terry and bis his mother were till vill ing th aig gs over mrs qu nn approved of the plan but was not thice clock earlier than need be it 11 need all that thit time the boy said I 1 guess you haien en t been down to the place deiy lately moth er it s a s les ies I 1 know poor dear it was a deicy she d d not know it to n at three the next morning the boy and the birds were up terry went straight to the parsons place encumbered with a scythe and a rake and various other tools he ile fth soled under his breath till he got past the I 1 ouse then he broke out into deal cleal shrill melody ahe birds answered jub bantly for por an hour two hours the boy to toled led gradually the unkempt little front yard took on a kind hind of trim ness the tall weeds and grass bia les fell before the sturdy swing of the scythe and the ng bushes be gan to look more neat there were left untouched only the flaunting holly hocks and bouncing bets too pretty to cut down thought terry maybe she shell 11 like em ein I 1 do the precious time sped by but terry had made his plans carefully he ile righted the bagg ng gate he raked up the grass and concealed it beneath the bushes he een eien had time to mend some of the broken windows and as a finishing touch he painted the brown old pump a marvelous celes t a al b ue that was h s final triumph he lie stood back and gazed entranced at the work of h s brush it looks great he muttered but I 1 hope she won t want a drink it s got a heap of drier in it but it won t dry as quick as that th eie s mother blowing the horn I 1 ve got g ot to hurry home to breakfast mrs quinn went with the girl to the parsons place in her crisp star starched ched sunbonnet and print diess chess she plodded heavily beside the slender girlish figure all things were favorable this morn ing nature abetted the boy in his kind I 1 atle plan what had looked dreary and ur ui attractive the previous night looked bright and pleasant under the spell of the clear new day and the gill d d not recognize the parsons place in its new dress she thought she hac had neler seen it before what a queer I 1 atle place she said as they approached it but it looks as if somebody cared foi fol it I 1 lather like alb it th s is the place said mrs quinn the parsons placed this oh oh I 1 tl ou ought b ht it would be different I 1 didn dian t kno know w it w as going to be little and and queer she gazed about her almost in horror borror but gradually gia dually the neat noat baid ind trimmed busl bust esthe es athe the bonne ng bets and the tile ng I 1 olly hoel s appealed to hei hel the I 1 atle pi ice gi glew ew pleas inter to her and she nodded scowl but I 1 rathel I 1 ke it she sa a d it looks as if somebody cabied not lonely and neglected I 1 le oi 01 e I 1 saw raw last n oh I 1 couldn coulden t have borne that yes I 1 I 1 tee ke tl e faor flowers eis ind the bushes there s a shily shi ly pi ice foi mothers couch molly could keep house houe over among those th cl ck bushes there could be soft full curtains at the windows windon s and chaile set lound in the yard and the a r Is wondern rf illy sweet but oh ohl but oh ob the pump wa any tl ng eer ei er bluer TI tie e gail went nent can piously up to tl e br 11 ant paint on but mis aft s qu nn mi called I 1 lei ei back in a pan e look out she warned teny terly s just I 1 mean son s just been painting that you iou 11 get all blued up my deal terry had just somebody had just been pi enting the pump queer queer anybody should take pains to paint in abandoned pump but it isn t so queer as the pump it self the girl thought I 1 don t won der that somebody took tool pains I 1 won der it if it could hive been I 1 believe it was and nd the grass of course he cut that that s why it its s so short she wheeled and faced mrs quinn with shin ng eyes I 1 believe somebody hasi done all this she cried I 1 bel hot eve 14 if was your boy terry s a good boy h s mathei mothel sm ling he ile 4 gi cicat eat the girl si d with an unsteady little laugh but I 1 don t be lieve he d want me to thank him no mrs quinn cued clied with gentle emphes s deal heart no terry wouldn t then you must do it for me tell him it has made all the d fforence in theN the world orld tell him I 1 ile e the parsons place and the pump is beautiful I 1 never knew what tl e country was I 1 ke before or a countie boy I 1 in glad I 1 11 liow ow now the sweet june days file I 1 by in the r tender I 1 angering way beffie they were quite gone the 1 al d mother was at the parsons place ind already her th n cheeks tal ing a faint h nt of color from the Nond wonderful erful country air molly v as housel beep ng under the sy tin tinis ts and the gill wis housekeeping in doors the pal sons place was alive aga n down the road a I 1 tile way terry whistled cheerfully about h s homely work and grew broner bron ner still he had to fo gotten that he had bad iier done any thing to help anabo ly lint the g rl d d not tol get it louth s on |
