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Show 0S000000000 O TUT? 3) i a ltilL i t B A , & a PARSONS I F'r a Donnell. g PLACE. g 1 nflflflfiflflfiftftttfflftfflrtftn t w rr W r it- r t-pfllK glrl'a eyes followed the I train wistfully, until only a film of moke was li ft hull a-' a-' "J" Init In Ilic air. Thru ihe turned olid faced tho dcsolnlu Utile . atntlou. ' "I believe I'm marooned!" she groaned. "Thorn Ixn't a soul In yes, there's a boy.. Have I got to ask hlui for help?" The boy was brown very brown. llli trousers were crummcd carelessly Into biff top boots, nnil tho booti were . . muddy. The boy was biff and awk- ' ward ami bashful. Ho sidled awny down the deserted platform, an If to ' "v. escnpo ns noon a( possible, lie did . i not link up out. "Oh, wait I I'leaao wait a moment;" the girl cried, hnatlly, "There's nobody. . . also to ask. Won't you plcnse tell me ' ' If tbli Ii Culler? I'm afraid I got off j at the wrong place." The boy'a abrupt stop and the glrl'i Impetuous chaso bad brought them clone together too closo for the dulnly , lumnier skirts. The Rlrl Involuntarily twitched them away from contact with the big, muddy boo In. Bho did not ace the blood rush to the boy'a tunned face, staining It a rich inuhoguny hue, "Have I made a mistake? Oh, I hope ( 1 havo no, 1 guess I don't menu that, but It'i bo ho dreadful here!" This I Cutler!" tho boy muttered, Itlllly. "llut It'll not the village. That's over there four uillca." 11 o pointed With hla thumb. I "Four miles! Then thero mint be a atage. 1 don't aeo auy. Oh, It hain't 1 gone, baa It?" , "l'hcre Un't any atage that nieeta thin train. There'a one In tho morn-'.' morn-'.' ' tag." , "Not any atage!" The girl') voice allowed distress. A trail of muddy roadway atrctcbed away . ' ' ' before her, and her eyca followiul It 1 ' '. . . tfoopwhrtaglji. v ...!i - - ' Terry (Julnn'a heart melted. "How far are you calculating to go? I don't know but I could tako you a piece," be inlil, ludilculy. "I live tula aide of . , . the village a little way." "I am going to the 1'argona place. Do you kuow whero It la?" The 1'MMoni placet A picture of It, I abandoned and forlorn, roue before the boy, and he coiitraiilcd It nieutally with tho beautiful, dcllcuta girl before " .' blm. ' "Yea, I know whero It la," ho aald. ' ' "You can go aloug with mo If you want to. I have got a loud of grain, ao i . I almll have to go alow." , "Oh, I dou't mind gulug alow!" the ' girl cried, grutefully. "You aro very kind." ' I An old farm wagon, loaded with I grulu bagi, atood near. Hho hud bard work to clumber up to Ita high aeat. ", They rattled away down the niuddy , ' . ' road, lurching luto ruta and awuylug over atoiiea. The glrl'a eyea grew wldo with alarm, Terry (Juluu aut on the edge of lili , teat, and guied alrulgbt ahead In an , . I agony of baahfulueaa. At lutcrvulu ,' . . '' he illpiied a little farther away from the dulnty flgure bealdo him, until the vacant apace on tho aeat bad wid-" wid-" ened abaurdly, He wua aure tho girl waa latighlug . at It. H waa euro alio wua afruld of bla niuddy boota and coarse clothea. .' Buppoae ho apllled her out! Buppoae . ' . abe got her aklrta all floury from the bagal Kuppoae alio wanted to tulk! The girl at looklug down the road. . v' ' Her ewect faeo grew more aoher every i , minute, Mhe waa thinking of her , , mother and Molly and the uuknown Varaona place. At last abe could bear It no longer, "la It nice?" ahe aaked, anddcnly, . atartllng the color luto the boy'a brown face. The l'liraoua place, I mean?" , - Terry had the dlamul picture still In hla mind. The l'uraona place win ". ' - unrepaired, uninhabited. Ho remeiu- ' ' bered the tall weeils and groaa In the x ' ' dooryard, uud the broken windows and ,' ' the gate that aiiKged on Ita hliiKca. I'or teu yeura the l'uraona place hud been . , i ahaudoned, "I it painted white, with green ', lillnda?" the girl pcralated. "Are there , , beautiful treea) Anil roxebuahea? la , i ,' there a view? I ahull be ao glad If tliere'a a plnttu! We could wheel ' moilicr'a couch out on It, and ahe ' . could lie tlieio all the plcunuut daya i Mid ::et well. Thul'a what we're ' t hiijik liere for. The doctora anid ahe Y ( - icr.Ul not be any better In the city. .. i 1 ' nwiiil In the city In aiimmcr." l' boy nuiile no uiiHwer, and at . n!ri tiicULc to buslifulucaa, ahe J :i. .l -f !it- Turnout! place wua ' '. ' . . u j. ar ngu In a will. Now we are very glud . i i..!.'iora auy ahe ninat , I've coiuo to aee loathe opened and i.Ji back lor Ihem -v nmi.iiinli. Willi. Ulllll-I ll.l MPlllll f -ir w iyp iyr r yr "Where were you expecting to atop toulk'lur' iiueaiioiied the boy uwk-wnrdly. uwk-wnrdly. Hhe turned upon hliu In pus-lid pus-lid wonder at the iiietlou. "Why, at the hotel, I aup.oe. I hadn't thought, lull thul'a where I ahull go, of course. Is It near the l'liraoua placer' Terry Qulun felt a wild desire to laugh. The idea of a hotel near the I'araona place waa too much for blin. llut a sldo glunce at the wistful, girlish face sobered hliu. "TUcro Isn't uuy bold hereabouts," he said. "No hotel? Why. I thought of course Oh. I don't sec whut I am going to do!" "Mothcr'll take you In, I guess," Interrupted In-terrupted Terry, hurriedly, ' "We live close by. Bhe ll see to you. Mother's great." In the Instant of offering tho girl the bospltiilliy of his own home, another Idea had occurred to Terry (Julna. He sat on the edge of his sent, driving the old white in nre at a snail's pace, aud thought It all out to hla satisfaction. It was growing late. The soft June dusk was settling over the land. The glrl'a liuputlruce nearly asserted Itself. It-self. It would be so late to see the I'araona place! "We've got the key at our bouse," Terry nuuoiinced, with startling abruptness. ab-ruptness. "We've always kept It. You'd better llut try to go down to the house till to-morrow. It It needs duy-llght duy-llght to see It anyways well. Mother'll go along with you In the morning. Mother's great." He had said that before. The girl smiled to herself wearily. They wcro Jogging by a Uttlo unpointed, un-pointed, uninhabited house set in weeds and neglect. Tho girl shuddered. shud-dered. "Oh, I hope It wou't look like thutl That' draJfolr-mi ' mll. "ir ft looks like that I think I ahall-cry!" Terry whipped up the old white mare hastily, and drove away from the dreary place. In another Ave minutes he had stopcd In front of a cheerful little house hugged by vines aud roses. Ills mother wus In the doorway. "Oh, yes, she's 'great!" the girl thought, as she luy upstulra In a big, soft bed. "Hhe's beautiful. Mho helps out the Tureens place, no matter what It's like. And t lint boy well, he's pretty nice, ercu if he lu muddy outside." louwstulrs Terry and his mother wcro talking thlugs over. Wis. Oulun approved of the pluu. but wua not three o'clock curlier tbun need be? "It'll ueed all Hint time," the boy suld. "1 guess you haven't been down to Oio Tnrsoiis place very lutely, mother. moth-er. It's a sight." "Yes, I kuow. Toor dear, It was a mercy she did not know It to night!" At three oclock the next morning the boy and the birds were up. Terry wcut straight to the I'arsous pluce, encumbered with a scythe aud a rake aud various other tools. Uo whistled under his breath till be got past the bouse; then he broke out luto clear, shrill melody. The birds answered jubilantly. For an hour, two hours, the boy lolled. Gradually the unkempt little front yard took ou a kind of trim-ucss, trim-ucss, Tim lull weeds and grassblsiles tell beforo the sturdy swing of the scythe, uud the straggling bushes be-guu be-guu to look mora neat. There were loft untouched only the Haunting holly, hocks aud bounciug-bcts. "They're too pretty to cut down," thought Terry, "Maybe she'll like 'em. I do." The precious time sped by, but Terry had made his pluns carefully. He righted the sngglng gnte. He raked up the grass and eouceuled It beneath the bushes. Ho even bud time to mend some of the broken windows. And as a finishing touch he painted Ihe brown old pump a marvelous, celestial celes-tial bluel That wus his final triumph, lie atood back aud guxed entranced at the work of his brush. "It looks great," be muttered, "but I hope she won t waut a drink. It's got a heap of drier In It, but It won't dry us quick as that. There'a mother blowing the born! I've got to hurry home to breakfast." Mrs. (jutnn went with the girl to the Tarsons place. In her crisp starched sunbonnot and priut dress she plodded heavily beside the sleuder, girlish tlgure. All things were favorable this morning. morn-ing. Nature abetted the boy In his kind little plan. What bud looked dreary und unattractive tho previous night looked bright and pleasant under the siell of tho cleur, uew duy. Aud the girl did not recognise the Tarsons place lu Its uew dress. Hhe thought she hsd never seen It before. "Whut a queer little place!" she said, as they approuchvd it. "But It looks as If somebody cared for It. I rather Us'1 It" "Th's Is Ihe Parsons plnce," said Mrs (julnn. "The Tarsoiis place? This? Oli Oh. I tliouitht It would he different! 1 didn't know It was going to be little slid and queer." Hhe guied alKiut her almost 111 borrsr Itut gradually Ihe noul yard ss'l trimmed bushes- ihe bouncing lieis seil the nodding hollyhocks appealed ' her. The little nl.nv grew iilcnsuntn to her, and she nodded slowly. "Hut I rather like It." she suld. looks as if somebody ciircd-uot lonely and neglected like one I saw Inst nigh Oh. I couldn't huve Isirue Hint: Yes, 1 like Hie flowers mid the bushes thort's a slindy place for mother's couc Molly i-oiihl keep house over there, nilioug those thick hushes. There cmilil he soft, rull ciirtnllia nt the wludovs nud cluilrs set round lu the ynid. sad the air Is wonderfully sweet." Hut oh! but oh. the pump! Wus nsy thing ever bluer' The girl went cau tiously up to the brlllliiit iippnrltloa. but Mrs. Oulnii culled her buck lu s p.iulc. "Iiok out!" she warned. "Terry's Just I mean somebody's Just le painting Hint. You'll get nil blued up. uiy dear'" Terry had Just -somebody hud Jul! beeu palnllng the pump! Oueer'. Queer anybody should take pnlus pnlnt mi abandoned pump! 1 "llut It Isu't so queer as the pump Itself," It-self," the girl thought. "1 don't woo-dcr woo-dcr that somebody took pains! I welder wel-der If It could huve tieen I believe It I wns! And the gross, of course be cut that. That's why It's so short." Hla) wheeled and faced Mro. Oullin wltk shining eyes. "I bclicvo sonieliody has done lilt this!" she cried. "I believe It was yout boy!" "Terry's a good boy," murmured his mother, smiling. "He's 'great,' " the girl said, with nt unsteady little laugh, "hut 1 dou't ! lleve he'd wnnt me to thank hint " "No!" Mrs. Oulnn rrlcd, with genlk emphasis. "Dour heart, no, Terry wouldn't!" "Then you must do It for nie. Tell him It hns made nil the difference In the world. Tell hliu I like the Tnrsom plnce nnd the pump Is bountiful! I never knew whut the country wns Ilk before, or n country boy. I'm g'nd I know now!" The sweet June dnys filed by In their tender, llngerlug wny. Heforo they were quite gone tho Invalid mother wns nt the Tarsons plnce, mid nlrondy her thin cheeks were taking n fulut hint of color from the wonderful country air. Molly wns housekeeping under the sy-rlnr.as, sy-rlnr.as, and the girl wns housekeeping In doors. The Tarsons pluce was nllve agnln. Down the road a little way Terry whistled cheerfully shout bis bniuely work, uud grew luowiivr still. 11 had fo gotten that lie hsd ever done anything any-thing to help anybody, but the girl did not forget It. Youth's Compnnlon. |