The Wrong Woman

to try to say something, and she did the best she could. When he had gathered, from her rather unexplanatory remarks, just what had happened, the first thought that crossed his mind was that he h

while before, together with the rema

good stuff," he explain

swered Janet, who

em. When he had put some bacon into the frying-pan and given it time to heat, he scraped the beans in and stirred them up. He had made bread for supper by the usual method of baking soft dough in

do that. I can make my o

e get supper," he ans

dictation, she spread her slicker before her place at table, as indicated by the bare spot of ground, and sat down. Mr. Brown took

and went into the shack. As on the previous evening, everything came tumbling pell-mell out of the d

straight off the end of his nose at the sugar bowl in the middle. Not till this moment had Janet realized what a beautiful, intelligent-looking co

" said

ressed him again she could see his interest rising a degree; finally he came and sa

ounded somewhat like trouble in a barroom,-he came out bearing a jug marked MOLASSES; this h

supper," he remarked,

very good,"

eans and did full justice to the hot bread; and soon, inspirited by his powerful coffee, she continued the story of how she was fri

versation by repeating the last thing she had said; again, an apt word or two summed up the whole

pupils,-although it was difficult to remedy the matter by "setting back" certain children, because their proud mothers would object to such a leveling,-and how the Blodgett children, four of them, all came to school on the back of one buckskin pony, the youngest having to hold on tight to keep from slipping off at the tail. "Buckskin,"; it seemed, had won quite a place in Janet's affections, although he was the worst behaved horse that came to school. He used to graze in the

succession of bleats which reminded her of nothing so much as a child getting its hands on the keyboard of an organ. Steve

net took a deep breath which was hardly a sigh; it was rather a big drink of air and the final suspiration of all her worries. As she took in more deeply the constellated heavens and the free fresh spirit of the roaming air, she began to feel that she would rather like to be a sheep-herder herself. From looking at so many, her mind turned back to her selected star, the

rn down to coals, and the smouldering embers now gave so little light that the face and figure of his guest were losing themselves in obscurity. As this state of affairs hardly suited

He was so evidently interested in everything she said, and his attention was so single-minded and sincere, that Janet was soon chatting again upon the subject of her recent circumnavigation of the prairie, which, as she now saw it in the light of the present, seemed more and more a sea of flowers-as the Past always does. Indeed, the whole recent course of her experience was such a novelty-the trip to Texas was her first real adventure in the world-that she

ever saw," she exclaimed. "Why, it w

s it?" h

ey all lowered their branches to thei

wered it slowly and steadily to her side.

leaves all shut up at night and go to sleep. But these plants were quite large and they actually moved. And of course the

ge to edge and closed t

nd the stems were folding back against the branches, and the straight branches were all foldin

s widely spread; then, as her arms gradu

g like the ribs of an umbrella going down all around, with stems and rows of locust leaves a

d Steve. "They are a kind of mim

hat. A person would almost think it had intelligence. And after a while-when it thought

Steve was a most attentive listener and spectator.

of ferns. I had n't got to them yet, or even taken particular notice of them,-I must have been ten or twelve feet away,-when they all began to close up. I stopped perfectly still; and

d you give?" i

in the balance. He felt the spell of her inquir

now?" she ask

t kind of plants have very long roots; the

et, enthusiastic again. "An

enough, does n't

t was enough to make a person supe

ld, he arose and took her cup. Having refilled it and offered her more of the beans, which to his surprise and grati

at you were going to the county-seat. Were yo

before. You see, I took an examination a

of a certificate did that

that he regarded her standing in an examination largely as a matter of

ass," she

ter than fourth-c

no fourth-class,"

waited to hear what hi

y ignored

of a cocky little rooster

any trouble with hi

I just saw him a few times. He is a sort of a dried-up little party. You know I get u

s size," mused Janet. "And ver

chool near my house," remarked

hool in Texas. But the country school boards rate you by your certificate more and more. This t

that fellow ask when he exa

ive the source and co

remarke

t have got even third-class if it had n't be

good in g

at it was salubrious. You see," she explained, with a sly little air, "in the children's geographies the clima

hing like beating them at their own g

"Two cups is really more th

getting the coffee, he gave the

ice of flowers, don't you!"

lobelias and asters and dahlias and wax-plants-they all grow wild here

like that long,

N

heavily grazed they don't have a chance to plant them

," promp

y heavily stocked; we 're working it over into shorthorn. This place that we're on now has a fence all aro

't they? I am glad I came down here just to see the Texas prairie

she bent the still rooted bouquet so that

o know the names of

North. I know their names in that

grow them here. Us fellows out on the

t pa

Is n't that an idea! I am going to tell th

ention for a space to the beans. Then,

l right away. Well, one morning when the weather was bad there were only six present; so when the hour came I just began to teach. But a little boy who is in the first reader held up his hand and told me I had to call the roll first. I could hardly keep from

you 've got se

ver, Janet's sociable spirit, never self-conscious for long, began to

n carried reproach with it. Thinking to convince him that it was only beans, and not desirable, she put him down a forkful from her own too generous allowance. She was surprised at the suddenness with which it disappeared. Beans were his staff of life also, a di

a dishpan?"

thing you are used to. I just take them down to the

emarked

is operation of cleaning up, stretched himself out more contentedly, moved up a little closer, and took still fuller possession of her presence; and as he did so he poked up the

leather wallet which, upon being opened, disclosed two compartments well filled with bank-notes and documentary-looking papers. There was another compartment with a flap on it and

re," he said, handing it

r vaguely and sat looki

nter," he added, in hi

did

noted each resemblance to his own features, looking up at him in an impersonal sort of way

kind-looking f

s to how long a proper respect should prompt her to retain it; this, however, settle

in myself," he said, reaching the

passed to "the realms beyond" on the eighteenth

id n't have him print that part at the bottom. He ju

re came a wail from the corral and he left suddenly upon one of his unexplained errands, this time without excusing himself. He got back while Janet was still engaged upon

other lamb,"

little lamb?"

has n't really got started yet, but I 'm afraid it will. My he

great deal to d

r rains but it pours. I have been hoping it would hol

n the fire and too

interfere with your

ust explaining. I'll get through so

now took it up again. Besides the tribute to Mrs. Brown's character, who was not a native of Texas but had come to the state in her girlhood from West Virginia, there was a considerable memoir of Stephen Brown, s

Houston, did n't h

e knew a lo

t have been. Your father

pretty far in history to be a Te

usal to certain part

piece on the oth

horter clipping carefully pasted

ISTIC

imported gray granite skillfully carved with clusters of grapes in high relief. Mr. Brown ordered it from the leading marble-cutters in Austin. The reverse side of the stone was cut after his own design, and consists simply of a Lone Star. On the base is t

dventures in the war with Mexico. Now the conversational situation was turned about, Janet becoming the interlocutor; and as she had the advantage of so copious a source of information, there was no end to her questioning. And as the stream of talk broadened, it began to include his own experiences and adventures, most int

he said. "And it wor

h fact, he held it

him. Indeed, he talked on without remembering to fix the fire. And when it had nearly faded out he continued on, unconscious o

u up too late," she

elf together and st

" he said. "Anyway, I 've go

y to put you o

e a lantern if you need it. There 's a piece of candle a

all the light I

raising his hat to the side of his head an

e property it was. The lambs were evidently full of milk; they were sleeping. Seeing that all was well, he got an old discarded saddle out of the shed, threw it on his shoulder, and descended to the general level to find himself a buffalo-wallow. Havi

" Such a place-a bowl-like depression-was made by the bison who pawed away the tough sward to get at mother earth, and then wore it deep and circular as he tried to roll on his unwieldy hump. Steve Brown, anywhere between Texas and Montana, had often slept in the "same old place," though in a different locality, and for som

d the slicker down and lay back with his head in the saddle. He folded his hands and waited, looking straight up. In a little while the world receded and he was only conscious of sundry star

got up and went at it again. He milled round and round, with several pauses as if he were not quite satisfied; then he dropped down with a decisiveness that settled the m