OCR Text |
Show czx oczz " The Bayou Bridge and Cupid By NELLIE CRAVEY GILLMORE With bead bent and lips tightly compressed, com-pressed, .Matilda hurried swiftly past the camp, down a steep clay road and on to tbe bayou bridge that led to rural delivery box No. 33, on tbe other side. It was a gusty, dlMigrecablo day. At Intervals, the rain whipped down In sheets, alternately slackening to a sticky, penetrating drizzle. The wind tore at the willow branches that dipped Into the stream, and the waters of the bayou writhed under its violence. Half way across the bridge, an aggressive ag-gressive gUBt suddenly seized the girl's umbrella and flung It viciously Into the turbulent, black water. Turning Turn-ing Involuntarily, w ith a futile grasp at the flying parachute, Matilda abruptly twisted her feet sideways, catching the beel of her boot In a crack between the planks. Just then, an angry cloudburst broke relentlessly upon the unprotected head of the hapless prisoner, pris-oner, and with hands tightly gripping the mlllng of the bridge, she waited, with what patience she could command, com-mand, for Its fury to subside. When at last she cculd get her breath, she lifted her head and looked about her, struggling frantically to release re-lease the mutinous heel. Hut to no avail. Every Jerk and pull seemed to make It that much more secure. What should she do? She strained her eyes up and down tbe bridge in desperation, but not a human being was in sight. She waited, wait-ed, perhaps fifteen minutes. Then hn stooped and made another wild effort to dislodge the boot. In so doing, do-ing, she wrenched her ankle, so that further attempts to free herself were both painful and fruitless. With a sigh she leaned against the railing and bit ber white tips to keep them from trembling. Presently the wind ceased, tho rsln shrank back Into the clouds, and the lead of the sky broke up In patches of blue and silver. With renewed hope. Matilda scanned the road from east to west. And then, glory of glories! a man was Just heaving Into view on the brow of the hill opposite. She watched him eagerly, thankfully. Hut as be came nearer, near enough for ber to recognize the broad, straight shoulders and the massive head under the drip- Cheatham Was Swinging Down the Clay Road. ping Panama, her eyes widened and the blood began to pound In her throat and temples. Mallory Cheatham the yery last person on earth she wanted to encounter! In h-r hand was the still unposted letter, addressed to him. It contained only a few lines, but It had taken her half the night to make up her mind what to say. and the other half how to say It. She had refused him, firmly and finally. Cheatham was swinging down the clay n ad. with a freedom and agility born of a light heart and a good digestion. diges-tion. His gray cravenctt covered him from chin to ankle, and he twirled his closed umbrella In rhythm with hN springing steps. As he came to the bridge, he glanced up and stopped short. The sight of the girl, drooping hc!p-lestly hc!p-lestly against the ral;inR. her hair rtraggllrg about her nale face, and the hat above It sosgtd into an unrecognizable unrecog-nizable mass of flowers and feathers, caused Cheatham to give vent to a' prolonged whlj-t'e. then swiftly double his pace to reach ber side. Whin be was almost up to her, Matilda's Ma-tilda's face grew scarlet with blu'ubes. Held like a criminal In the pillory, ehe returned his took of consternation with one of belligerent silence. After Cheatham comprehended the situation a smile ilruygied through bis stonlshrrent. "For heaven's sake!" be exclaimed, "how under the sun" "Or rather rain!" snapped Matilda, with a defiant toss of her bead that made the brim of ber hat flap ludicrously ludic-rously against her damp, and now very hot. cheeks. Hut Cheatham's eyes were glued to the letter she held in ber hand, and aa exultant light flarhed Into them as be espied his own name In blotted characters on tbe bark of It. "Egotistical thing!" thought Matilda, Matil-da, reading his face like a book. "I'm glad I refused you." 1 was b glnnlt g to grow Impatient of your answer, dear." "Do get me out of this!" she Interrupted Inter-rupted petulantly, flinching with pain as she gave her foot an Impatient twist. Full of solicitude, Cheatham stooped and with a few deft manipulations succeeded In loosening tbe Imprisoned heel. "And now," said be, rising and looking look-ing ardently down Into Matilda's decidedly de-cidedly cross face, "don't I deserve something for thatf He eyed the letter let-ter covetously. Hut the girl said nothing, and she did not yield up the letter, either. "It's addressed to me, Isn't it?" urged Cheatham In a crestfallen tone. "Yes, but Oh'" itst at that Juncture Junc-ture an accommodating zephyr lirted the envelope from ber fingers and tossed It out on the water, where a still more accommodating current bore It swiftly Into tbe eddies. Cheatham thrust his hands Into bis pockets and stood staring at ber, mingled c'urloslty and alarm showing on his good-looking face. 'You you've changed your mind," he said at last, very gravely, after his recent exuberanco. The guilty crimson flowed over Matilda's Ma-tilda's face, and without a word she turnel and begun to retrace her steps back toward the camp. Cheatham matched his step with here and they walked along In silence for several minutes, heedless of the mud and slurih, of rain-soaked garments, gar-ments, of the inquisitive pedestrians who turned to look at tbera every now and then. As they came in sight of the campers' camp-ers' tents, Cheatham paused and looked sternly Into the face of tbe girl at his side. "Look here, Matilda," he said In a voice that was different from any she bad ever heard hlra use before, "I want you to be frank with me. If you've made up your mind to turn me down, I want you to tell me so. before be-fore I've made any more fools of my-seir." my-seir." His Hps shut with a snap, and the bulldog look came to his mouth. "Mallory!" The exclamation was sharp, indignant, but Matilda's eyes lifted their sober curtains long enough to emit a lambent little flash that was nothing If not contradictory. "If you care te come Into the camp until I can change these rags," she said demurely, "I think I think we can talk better." Cheatham divested himself of his rain coat and left It on a bench in tbe yard. Inside he roamed about the little "reception parlor" of the tent waiting, like a caged Hon, for the girl to make her appearance. She came In at last, gowned In some diaphanous white thing that Cheat-hum Cheat-hum thought made her look exactly like a star floating In a gauzy silver cloud. She was smiling, and her eyes, as he held them to his own, were soft and dreamy with their subtle confession. confes-sion. Cheatham reached forth eager arms to draw her Into them, but the apologetic apolo-getic entrance of an ebony-faced individual in-dividual caused hlra to reconsider for a moment. "I begs pardon, but somebody wish to speak to Miss Drlscoll on de phone." "He good enough," said Cheatham, "to tell the gentleman that Miss Drlscoll Drls-coll Is Is engnged." Wbto the door had been closed, humbly and obsequiously, he turned to Matilda for corroboration. The next minute he was holding tbe white cloud against his breast, and the star seemed to have no objection to Its new firmament. Philosophical Irishman. An Irishman carne Into a barber shop, and the unsteady gait with which be approached the chair showed that he had been Imbibing of the produce of the still. He wanted his hair cut, and while the barber was getting hip ready went off Into a sleep. His head kept bobbing from one side to the other, and at length the barber In making a snip cut off the lower part of bis ear. The barber Jumped about and howled and a crowd of neighbor! rushed In Flnnl'y the denonstra-tion denonstra-tion became so great that It began U attract the ai'entlcn of the n:sn In the chiilr. and be opened one ee and said, "Wh wh at's the matter wld yez?" "flood I.ord!" said the barber, Tve ,'"t whole lower part of your ear." "Hive ye? Ah. thin, go on wld yer business It was too long, anhow!" Each Inn, "The Dickena Head." A novel use for Dickens' stamp was suggested at the meeting of the Dickons Dick-ons centenary committee at London. Mr. F. Wells of P.irmlngham wrote that, although Chsrlei Dickens wis the best friend Inn keeper! and licensed li-censed victuallers ever had In England, Eng-land, no single Inn In the kingdom bore the sign of the "Dickens Head." He proposed, therefore, to travel from Iind s Ki.d to John o' Groats, carrying with bltn a stock of 1.100 Dickens stamps, one of which be 4atended to affix to every inn sign en route, thus converting 1.100 places of refreshment into "Dickens Heads," In honor of tbe great novelist! centenary. London Chronicle. Then He Ssys Things, "li Pmnion a loud dresser? "Only wbea hia tie lUcks." |