Demorraiic; atc Bellefonte, Pa., August 28, 1914, The Story oi Waitstill Baxter By KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN Copyright, 1913. by Kate Douglas Wiggin : SYNOPSIS Walitstill Baxter and her sister, Patience (Patty), keep house for their widowed, mean father. Ivory Boynton, whose fa- ther disappeared, is interested in Waitstill. He takes care of his daft mother. Mrs. Boynton expects her husband to fuurn Rodman, a young boy, is a mem- of the Boynton household. Ivory’s father abandoned his family to follow Jacob Cochrane, a mystic. Pa- tience chafes under her father’s stern rule. Patty has two admirers—Mark Wilson, an educated young man, and Cephas Cole. who is unlearned. Mark kisses her. Waitstill is spending her life in loving care of Patience. Aunt Abby and Uncle Bart Cole are friends of the whole com- munity. Cephas Cole, tending store for Baxter, proposes to Patty and is rejected. In his agitation he lets the molasses run all over the store floor. Although they love each other, Waitstill and Ivory suppress their affection because of their household cares. Patty and Waitstill go to church, al- though their father is too mean to give them fitting garments. Waitstill sings in the choir. A strange young woman in the Wilson pow, a visitor from Boston, makes Patty Jealous. Haying time arrives. Waitstill decides to disobey her father by paying a visit to Mrs. Boynton. Uncle Bart discourses to Cephas on woman's ways. Mrs. Boynton confides in Waitstill, tell- Ing the girl she believes Rodman is not her sister's child, but she cannot be sure. To punish Waitstill for disobedience Deacon Baxter locks her out all night. Bbe spends the night in the barn. Pa- tience sympathizes. Patience Baxter is embarrassed amid a multitude of suitors. She thinks Mark is fickle. Trying to trace his father, Ivory writes’ to Waitstill a long account of Boynton’s following of Cochrane, with which Mrs. Boynton was not in full sympathy. The village gossips are busy with the names of Waitstill and Ivory, but in a friendly and sympathetic manner. . [Continued from last week.] ' “I shouldn’t forsake her. Go there when you can, but be more carefu) about it. You told father that you didn’t regret what you had done, and that when he ordered you to do un- reasonable things you should disobey him. After all, you are not a bhlack slave. Father will never think of that particular thing again, perhaps, any more than he ever alluded to my driv- Ing to Saco with Mrs. Day after you had told him it was necessary for one of us to go there occasionally. He knows that if he is too hard on us Dr. Perry or Uncle Bart would take him Ih hand. They would have done it long ago if we had ever given any one even a hint of what we have to endure. You will be all right because you only want to do kind, neighborly things. I am the one that will always have to suffer because ! can’t prove that it's a Christian duty to deceive father and steal off to a dance or a frolic. Yet I might as well be a nun in a convent for all the fun I get. 1 want a white book muslin dress; I want a pair of thin shoes with buckles; I want a white hat, with a wreath of yellow roses; I want a volume of Byren’s poems, and, oh, nobody knows—nobody but the Lord could understand—how 1 want a string of go!l i.cads!”’ “Patty, Patty! To hear you chatter anybody would imagine you thought of nothing but frivolities. 1 wish you wouldn’t do yourself such injustice. Even when nobody hears you but me, it is wrong.” “Sometimes when you think I'm talk- ing nonsense it's really the gospel truth,” said Patty. “I'm not a grand, splendid character, Waitstill, and it’s no use your deceiving yourself about me. If you do you'll be disappointed.” “Go and parboil the beans and get them into the pot, Patty. Pick up some of the windfalls and make a | green apple pie, and I'll be with you in | the kitchen myself before long. I nev- er expect to be disappointed in you. Patty—only continually surprised and pleased.” “I thought I'd begin making some soft soap today,” said Patty mischiev- ously as she left the room. “We have enough grease saved up. We don’t really need it yet, but it makes such 8 disgusting smell that I'd rather like father to have it with his dinner. It’s not much of a punishment for our sleepless night.” - rT an f ' CHAPTER XV. : A Brace of Lovers. AYING was over and the close, H sticky dog days, too, and Au- gust was slipping into Sep- tember. There had been plen- ty of rain all the season, and the coun- tryside was looking as fresh and green as an emerald. The hillsides were al- ready clothed with a verdant growth of new grass and— ? : The red penncns of the cardinal flowers Hung motionless upon their upright staves. How they gleamed in the meadow grasses and along the brooksides, like brilliant flecks of flame, giving a new beauty to the nosegays ‘that Walitstill . Baxter, Patty, so gay and unexpected; | | | | carried or sent to Mrs. Boynton every week. To the eye of the casual observer life: in the two little villages by the river's brink went on as peacefully as ever, but there were subtle changes taking place nevertheless. Cephas Cole had “asked” the second time and again had been refused by Patty, so that even a very idiot for hopefulness could not urge his father to put another story on the ell, “If it turns out to be Phoebe Day,” thought Cephas dolefully, ‘two rooms is plenty good enough, an’ I shan’t block up the door that leads from the main part, neither, as I thought likely 1 should. If so be it’s got to be Phoebe, | not Patty, I shan’t care whether moth- er troops out 'n’ in or not.” And Cephas dealt out rice and tea and coffee with so languid an air and made such fre- quent mistakes in weighing the sugar that he drew upon himself many a sharp rebuke from the deacon. | “@f course I'd club him over the head with a salt fish twice a day un- der ord’nary circumstances.” Cephas confided to his father, with a valiant ° air that he never wore in Deacon Bax- ! ter's presence, “but I've got a reason, known to nobody but myself, for want- in’ to stan’ well with the old man for | a spell longer. If ever I quit wantin | to stan’ well with him he'll get his comeuppance short and sudden!” “Speakin’ o’ standin’ well with folks, Phil Perry’s kind o’ makin' up to Pa- tience Baxter, ain't he, Cephas?” asked Uncle Bart guardedly. “Mebbe you wouldn't notice it, hevin' no partic’lar int'rest, but your mother’s kind o’ got the idee into her head lately, an’ she’s turrible farsighted.” “I guess it’s so!” Cephas responded gloomily. *“It’s nip an’ tuck ’tween him an’ Mark Wilson. That girl draws ’em as molasses does flies. She does it 'thout liftin' a finger. too, no more'n the molasses does. She just sets still an’ is! An’ all the time she's nothin’ but a flighty little redheaded spitfire that don’t know a good husband when she sees one. The feller that gits her will live to regret it, that’s my opin- ion!" And Cephas thought to himself, ! “Good Lord. don’t I wish I was re- | grettin' it this very minute!" “lI s’pose a girl like Phoebe Day’d be consid’able less trouble to live with?" ventured Uncle Id “I never couid take any i. ney to that | ow hair o' hern! I like the color wel} enough when I'm peeling it off a corn cob, but I don’t like it on a girl's head.” objected Cephas hypercritically. An’ her eyes hain't got enough blue fn ’em to be blue, They're jest like szimmilk. An’ she keeps her mouth open a little mite all the time, jest as if there wa’n’t no good draft through. an’ she was a-tryin' to git air. An’ ‘twas me that begun callin’ her ‘Feeble ! Phoebe’ in school, an’ the scholars’li never forgit it. They'd throw it up to me the whole durin’ time if I should go to work an’ keep company wita her!” } “Mebbe they’ve forgot by this time,” Uncle Bart responded hopefully; “though it’s an awful resk when you think o’ Companion Pike! Samuel, he | was baptized and Samuel he continued | to be, till he married the Widder Bix- by from WWaterboro. Bein’ as how there wa’n’t nothin’ partic’ly attractive ’bout him—though he was as nice a feller as ever lived—somebody asked her why she married him, an’ she said | her cat hed jest died an’ she wanted a companion. The boys never let go 0’ | that story! Samuel Pike he ceased to be thirty year ago, an’ Companion Pike he’s remained up to this instant min- ute!” ! ‘He ain't lived up to his name much,” remarked Cephas. “He's to, home for his meals, but I guess his | wife never sees him between times.” | “If the cat hed lived mebbe she’d 'a’ | been lctler comp’ny, on the whole,” | chuckled Uncle Bart. ‘Companion was allers kind o' dreamy an’ absent mind- ed from a boy. I remember askin’ him what his wife’s Christian name was (she bein’ a stranger to Riverboro), an’ he said he didn’t know! Said he called her Mis’ Bixby afore he married her an’ Mis’ Pike afterwards!” “Well, there’s something turrible queer ‘bout this marryin’ business,” and Cephas drew a sigh from the heels of his boots. “It seems ’s if a man hedn’t no natcheral drawin' towards a girl with a good farm ’m’ stock that was willin’ to have him! Seems jest as if it set him ag’in’ her somehow! And yet, if you've got to sing out 0’ the same book with a girl your whole life- time, it does seem ’s if you’d ought to have a kind of a fancy for her at the start, anyhow!” “You may feel dif'rent as time goes on, Cephas, an’ come to see Feeble—I would say Phoebe—as your mother does. ‘The best fire don’t flare up the soonest,’ you know.” But old Uncle Bart saw that his son’s heart was heavy and forebore to press the sub- ject, . Annabel Franklin had returned to Boston after a month’s visit and to her surprise had returned as disengaged as she came. Mark Wilson, thoroughly bored by her vacuities of mind, longed now for more intercourse with Patty so lively to talk with, so piquing to the fancy, so skittish and difficult to man- age, so temptingly pretty, with a beau- ty all her own, and never two days alike. There were many lions in the way, and these only added to the zest of pursuit. With all the other girls of the village opportunities multiplied, but he could scarcely get ten minutes alone with Patty. The deacon’s orders were absolute in regard to young men. His daughters were never to drive or walk alone with them, never to*go to danees or “routs”. of any sort and nev- er receive them at the house, this last | mandate being quite unnecessary, as | no'youth in his right mind would have e a-courtin’ under the deacon’s for- idding gaze. And still there were ! partings. sudden, delicious chances to be seized now and then if one had his eyes open and his wits about him. There was the walk to or from the singing school. . when a sentimental couple could drop a few feet at least behind the rest and exchange a word or two in compara- tive privacy; there were the church “circles” and prayer meetings and the intervals between Sunday ‘services, when Mark could detach Patty a mo- ment from the group on the meeting house steps. More valuable than all these, a complete schedule of Patty’s various movements here and there, to- gether with a profound study of Dea- con Baxter's habits, which were or- “He ain't livin’ up to his name much,” remarked Cephas. dinarily as punctual as they were dis- agreeable, permitted Mark many stolen interviews, as sweet as they were brief. There was never a second kiss. however, in these casual meetings and The first, in springtime, had found Patty a child, surprised. unpre pared. She was a woman now, for it does not take years to achieve that miracle: months will do it or days or even hours. Her summer's experience with Cephas Cole had wonderfully broadened her powers, giving her an assurance sadly lacking before, as well a8 a knowledge of detail, a certain fin- ished skill in the management of =a lover, which she could ably use on any i one who happened to come along. And at the moment any one who happened to come along served the purpose ad: [Continued on page 7, Col. 11 of the girl.”—Judge. | i | * balance to the whole body. The first change of life, the time when . the girl becomes, in Nature's purpose a’ woman, is a critical periodin every girl's | history. Mothers should use every vigi- ' lance not to permit the establishment of conditions which will invrlve 2a tremen- dous penalty in later years. Nothing could be wiser than to suggest the use of Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription at such a time. It establishes regularity, quiets the nerves, and gives a healthy “Favorite Prescription” contains no opium, cocaine or other narcotic, and is entirely free from alcohol. Impromptu Gush of Sympathy. “Sometimes,” reflected the elderly dame, “a man weeps at the wedding of a daughter, because he suddenly | realizes what a mean husband he has been to his own wife and is overcome when he thinks of what may be ahead Hood’s Sars :parilla. Pure Rich Blood Prevents Disease Bad blood,—that is, blood that is im- | pure or impoverished, thin and pale,—is ) responsible for more ailments than any- thing else. It affects every organ and function. In some cases it causes catarrh; in others, dyspepsia: in others, rheumatism; and in i still others, weak, tired, languid feelings and worse troubles. It is responsible for run-down condi- tions, and is the most common cause of disease. ’ Hood's Sarsaparilla is the greatest puri- fier and enricher of the blood the world has ever known. It has been wonderful- ly successful in removing scrofula and other humors, increasing the red-blood ! corpuscles, and building up the whole | system.. Get it today. 59-34 ; Excursion. Niagara Falls| Personally-Conducted Excursions August 28, September 11, 25, October 9, 1914 i Round $7.30 Trip FROM BELLEFONTE SPECIAL TRAIN of Pullman Parlor Cars Dining Car, and Coaches through the i Picturesque Susquehanna Valley. Tickets good going an Special Train and con- necting trains, and returning on regular trains within FIFTEEN DAYS. Stop off at Buffalo within limit on return trip. Illustrated Booklet and full information may be obtained from Ticket Agents. Pennsylvania R.R. 59-25-16t. em The Centre County Banking Company. ne Ck Se A Bank Account is Life’s Best Insurance | ance. ferest. pays. Best Policy. The First National Bank. N time of death the bank account proves itself the Best Kind of insur- You can get your money im- mediately and without question. Dur- ing life the bank account proves equally valuable, provided it is kept at a figure that really insures, and it pays Better In- Get your cash in the bank. Leave it there. You can’t beat that kind of insurance. This requires determina- tion and sometimes self sacrifice. A bank account with .us is your The Centre County Banking Co. But it BELLEFONTE PA. Open an Account WITH US We furnish bank book, check book and Stationery, free. is a receipt. Checks are the most convenient form of payment. They are returned to the sender endorsed. This Every business man and every woman should have an account with a well managed bank. The First National Bank 59-1-1y BELLEFONTE, PA. ECT Shoes. Shoes. Yeager’s Shoe Store ‘TIIZEZY” The Ladies’ Shoe that Cures Corns Sold only at Yeager’s Shoe Store, Bush Arcade Building, BELLEFONTE, PA 58-27 Dry Goods, Etc. LYON & COMPANY. We are Showing Early F all Dress Goods Just opened a full line of the latest im- ported Dress IFabrics in stripes, plaids, "checks and plain weaves. All the new colors. Trimmings and buttons to match. La Vogue Coats and Suits We are showing the advance styles in Fall and Winter Coats and Suits. We Invite Inspection and take pleasure in showing the new fabrics and styles. Clearance sale of all Sumner Stuffs still on. Lyon & Co. .... Bellefonte a
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