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Show stMtMMMHH V 1 l AN EARLY SPRING '. BY ZONA GALE T niyrialii, hy .'.eeph B ltowlss.1 ) Midwinter- nnd vel all that1 morn Ing I had been thinking nf spring Are there not daya of snow when without reason spring Is In ones thitught? I am wont to call thla secret ores ence tbe Utile spring "The little spring" I said "She kaows She alsya even when everyone suppose that she haa forgotten.' Then Peleaa came In. and the wintry win-try aun touched hla white hair aa It touched mine for we an- both 70. 'Kit arc" aald IVIciia N'lcnln baa a friend who Is III In I he hospital She ha gone to see her and she haa got n bar place for to-day the moat pathetic pathet-ic little woman She Is down there In the kitchen now making a salad." "Then her salad will be good," I said. "Haven't you often noticed how the dlsappolnitnml In life come on In appetising dishes or exquisite needlework or beautiful dlsosltlim "Ah. ye," aald I'clcas. "but thel-yea thel-yea never look ny less sad 1 wlnh we could cheer her up. Her nam I Mry." Ih-esently I went down to tbe kitchen. "Mary." I aald. "whai fresh, erttp lotluce! I am glad to know that 1 wn right I (nought Ibe woild swelled of spring this morning" "Spring, ma'am?" said Mary. "Yee spring." I aald "March. April. May. Surely, in spile of the snow, you have not fotgoiten?" Miry smiled faintly, nnd sighed. So many smile are sighs! "No, ina'sm," ahe said, "I have not forgotten." "Ah, no." I aald, "one doesn't fop-get. fop-get. Mary. I pursued. "If It were rprlng what would you rather do tbuu anything else?" "(). ma'am," said Mary "IVr myaelf," said I, "spring or winter, win-ter, I wish let us both wish to be near to some one very, very dear" "Oh, ma'nm," said Mary. "Yea'iit." "Ah well." said 1 as I left her. "this, I am persuaded, Is n very sveclal day. And I know that spring Is somewhere some-where about listening" I went back upstairs smiling at the pleasant myall (lent Ion in Mary's fare In the iipier hallway I'eleaa atom) with n workman ' "I'ttare," aald Helens, "this man says , something about water pipes." "Ah," said I, "to he sure. Tho wi ter pipes In the attic. Ilavo you for guttcn tho school piny?" "I had," 1'eleas confessed. "I had This wilt be tho man to tnoko tho fountain tbaU.Uta..wnnUMl." "This will bo the mail," I astcnt td, " and let ill go up to tho attic tt once." Hero Lisa and some of her butterfly butter-fly frlendt had begged leavo to catt.e on n holiday, nnd pursue a most at lonlshlug courao to which Helena nnd I had ntsenled only nfter proper hei.l lallen They wished lo glvu htr a kind of play, and Ibey bad selected our attic for the simple reason that the heroine of the piece lived In an 1.1 tic thumber, all cobwebs and raftcit. and fell asleep and dreamed that sl.o was a princess by n fountain In a gar don, and met there the prince waiting fjr her After which, she nwoke and found herself In the attic, fountain and princess ornwn gone but the prlnco was stilt there aiming the cobweb cob-web and rafters. "It's nice and warm up here," ho said. "That," said I, smiling nt my own Imago In a du.ly mirror, "la no doubt bicauao spring Is In tho world, In spite of tho snow." "It'll be n late spring, along o' the almanacs," said the man, throwing down his kit of tool. "Nonsense!" said I, "It will bo an early spring 1 can tell by the way the snow la piled!" How dare any one prophesy a late spring? Why should not everyone go 'hraugh the winter prophesying an sarty spring, happy In the confidence that the prophecy would lure on the spring Itself? Kveryoue ought st least lo understand J ha I spring ia really lu the world all winter long If only one knew how to look for It. "It will be an early aprlng," 1 repeated re-peated firmly. "How can you help thinking ao when you can make the tprlng wherever you go you, yourself. mean?" The man looked startled. "I, ma'am''" he asked. "Certainly," I cried, "If I oould go ibout all wluter carrying a Utile tool In my pocket which would make an attic floor and a lead plw blossom into a fountain, I should not find It iird to believe that I oould make It iprlng whenovor I wlslied " "Why, ye'ni," he said. "I've thought Aat myself sometimes." "M us have," said I to the than, 'this fountain of spring come up here, letween tbl old cbett aud the dor uer window. I hope," I added, "that bis Is a quick spring, because they. ,re coming here lo rehearse this after-toon, after-toon, and they will want tbe fimn-alu" fimn-alu" "This here spring." be saIN, "It'll ike about two full hour to bring up hat fountain, ma'am." "Vory well," aald 1, "I told you here would It an early spring." Al font- o'clock llg and her frlendt me ki rehearse for the fouutaJa ily. I w tbem ill safely above talrs, aud then I slipped down to the tltrben, fot I bud u fauoy to lend Mary up. when they were finished. i wllh s tray of lea and Jam and little ' rakes and Inn bans J I found Hist Mary had miraculously , anticipated m wish and had alftady 1 spread sandwiches and opened the l, Jam ,'. "Mary." 1 said a 1 arranged the bon- h bona. "It la still snowing. Have yon V' got your wish yet?" I' "O ma'am." said Mary. "No'm" j. "Who Is II. Mary?" I aaked with a ! ndden Impulse "la It your iweet-heart?" iweet-heart?" , "No m." said Mary, soberly, ' It's my husband " i ' Do you earn to tell me, Mary?" ,j "Ycs'm." ld Mary. "We was mar- i rted two years ago We hadn't nelth- j er of us hit our wings against noth- j In'," said Mary, "an w was marrlid I tblnkln' we wa always goln' to fly free; but that ain't the way flod made Ihe world to By free So when We'd been goln' along a waya somethln' hap pencd that hurt me, an' I ses: 'It was you' And there didn't neither one of us have Ihe sense to see that what burl ua wasn't neither him nor me, but Just tbe way thlnga naturally was "la he dead. Mary?" I aaked, laying lay-ing tbe bon bona on the dish. "() ma'am." said Mary. "No'm. Hut I don't know where he I. And he won't never forgive me" "Walt nnd see," I said only, "wale and see." Up In the ntllr the sun was attaining attain-ing through the dormer windows, ind there were laughter and happy voice and Ihe youth of Man and her friends. In aisle of .aim, Helena nodded to me from his' place beside a chest of drawers "This I a great moment," ho mur- i mured, "tin is the moment when tno finds out that the world la n garden, not an attic" ; "And that the prince la sure to appear there," I said, sinking beshtn , Helens While I looked I saw how, behind an ancient, disused sofa, that great giant of the morning waa kneeling on the floor and touching mysteriously "Do You Cars to Tell Me, Miry?" ubout, anil there before our oyes, between be-tween the dormer -window and the old chest, gushed sp the fountain, ablnlng In the ami of afternoon. And there, too, stood Iho charming llttlo maid who waa Inking tho pretty role, nnd her eye were shining In mock delight as she saw tbe fair water, and, with mock alarm aa she saw, from out the wilderness of boxes, that young prlnco coming to claim her. The pretty play was Jutt over, when I heurd Mury coming up tho atalrs with Ihe trny of ton nnd tarls. No sooner wns she there than Lisa, who ran coax bewllchlngly, begged that wo have ten down lu my room, whuro there are a halfiloten deep window seats for the Joy of dreams and tales "Kach one must carry something, then," I commanded, "for Hie thing have already been brought up hero" 1'eleas and I stayed behind, and is ? Ihe cloud of l-laa'a friends went In soft laughter down the attic atalr we turned, aud fancied that the fairy tale had come true liefore our eyes ! Hetween the dormer window and H the auolent chest the fountain wat H allll sparkling to tbe sun, aa It had sparkled when tb little mock prlnceas ,B had found her lover by lis side. And where she bad stood. Mary stood now; 'H snd she wa suddenly aud unex plain- (W ably In tki arm of that earnest young IK giant In blue clothes, iH 'Mary" aald tb young giant, ,B brokenly; aud then he saw us and '(9 tried tn make us know all that the !W moment brought wolllug to hl heart. Aud Mary met our eye, unashamed ' that hi arms held her, and her hand ' was In bla hand. , iV'B "Ob, ma'am." said Mary, "it was vfl htm I told you about. It was, him I meant " lm I looked at Mary, bar sad cy ao XI magically lighted with souislblng that ?W never could go out;. and , ''f "Did I iiot aV' I cried, -, "that A spring Is Somewhere about? And that 1 we shall all have oar wishes?" 4 "And did I not say," cried Helea. i, "that we'd a whole day le leach people about spring?" , "And did 1 not say," I cried triumph. J anlly U that youug giant, "that there, , would be an carry spring?" , 11. Milled, pot H-me, but at Mary. "An early spring," be aald, "lu spite i o' all th almanacs." ! "Oh, ma'am," i UI Mary "Yea'n" |