A Boy and Girl Story.

Southland Times, Issue 19185, 24 October 1903, Page 6 (Supplement)

A Boy and Girl Story.

Just beyond th© venerable old fort, on the path that skirts the side of the hill, the boy of 12 came face to face with the girl of 10. The ingenuousness of youth was still upon them both. And so, as the path was narrow, in the inevitable pause, as they looked at each other, they both laughed outright. ■ Then tho girl said solemnly : " Excuse me ; 1 didn't mean, to laugh at you." And tbe boy, not knowing what else to say, replied : " Excuse mo ; I didn't mean to laugh at you." Whereupon they both laughed again. " I don't remember to have seen you before," said the girl. ">' and we've been here a whole week. Mama and I are staying at ' The Chateau,' Are you staying there ?" " No," said the boy. " Father and I are visiting at ' The Citadel.' We only came yesterday. How long are you going to be here ?" " I don't know. Mama didn't say. And how long are you ?" " I don't kfnow. Father didn't say." For some reason they both laughed again. To childhood such repetition is delightful. Mutually, as if toy common consent, they sat down together on a convenient rock, and looked down in momentary silence on the huge sweep of 'the old St. Lawrence, as it majestically slipped by. "I'm glad I met you," said tho girl. " I was afraid 1 mifght be lonesome here. Mama gets lonesome, at times. I haven't any papa." '* And 1 haven't any mother," said the boy, simply. " That is to say, 1 haven't any here." " Of course, ' Sj,id the girl. "That's what 1 meant. Doesn't you papa get lonesome, too ?" " Yes," said the boy. " Sometimes he says it's an awflu.l grind. Just then the girl looked up over the hill. " Oh !" she exclaimed. " Here comes Mama now !" Tne boy's eyes turned in tho other direction. " Ho !" he cried ; " and here comes my father !" It was twenty-four hours .later. The boy and the girl sat on the selfsame rock. " I'm awfully glad we met," said the girl, clasping her aristocratic little hands. " And so is Mama. She told me so- We have had such a good time, haven't we ?" " Why, yes, I guess we have," said the bo 3*. with a note of hesitation. " I would like to have a good game of football, though." It would not have done for him to admit that he wa'e having too good a time with a mere girl. "T toid my father," he said, "what your mother said about being lonesome, and ho laughed. "There!" said the girl. "Boys never can keep secrets anyway. Do you think that was right ?" "Why not," said the .boy. "You didn't tell it as a secret. Besides, my father is the best man in the world, anyway. I can trust him. He's all right ! You're not mad, are you ?" he asked. " N-r-no 1 guess not," said the girl. " Because," continued the boy " il you are— that is, if you don't like it, I was going to say you might tell your mother what my father said— that he was awfully lonesome, himself. That would make things oven, you know." This time the girl smiled. " That's jolly ! " she cried. Then she said, softly : "I did tell her." It was two days later. The two j friends — for the period of mere ac- ! quaintanceship had hardly begun before it had merged into a firmer bond — once more tired with their long walk, sat together on the rock. Away in the distance, silhouetted against the clear Canadian sky, sat two figures of larger growth— -hut that, of course, is another story. I The boy picked up pebble after pebble and threw them successfully- with all his strength toward the river. " You can't throw as far as your papa," said the girl. " No," said the boy, " but I will when I get to be a» <big as he is. Yesterday he threw one right out iiH to the water." " Your papa is awfully nice," said the girl. " He gave me some bonbons yeaterday, but Mama took them away from me. She said they might mai.e -..« ill, but I think she wanted them for herself." •'" Why ia your Mama as selfish as that v" . s ed the boy. At ihi .--. d en and unexpected accusation, his companion's eyes flashed in anger. " Certainly not !" she exclaimed, half passionately. " She's t^o best Mama in the world. That isn't selfishness;. That's knowing what is best-" ' "I didn't mean anything," said the boy, : repentantly. " Your Mania is awfully pretty," he added, by way of conciliation. "Father says sho is, and he knows. He says he's a good judge." ' •-- "You don't mean like those judges they have at the horse-show in New York, do you?" asked the girl. " Mama showed me a group of them in the ring, and said they were judges." "No, of course not," replied the •boy; " Not quite like that. My father knows when a lady is a lady and when she isn't. He knows, because he says he knows. That's what being a good judge is, no matter if it: is horses, or Indies, or— monkeys. 'i i

Then they laughed spontaneously, peal after peal. It seemed as if they would never stop, but they finally quieted down, and then the girl turned to the boy, a half-serious expression on her charming little face. " Tell me," she said, " honestly and truly, now — is your papa a real good man ?" " Of course," said her friend, hal indignant at the implied doubt. " Does he ever swear ?" " Not often— he doesn't believe i. it, you know— -but he says it's a gentleman's privilege when things go very far wrong." " Does he go to church ?" " Sometimes— when grandma asks him— but generally ho plays golf." " Has he got a real good temper— — I mean, does he ever stay cross long at a time ?" " Oh, no. Sometimes ho is angry, but he gets right over it, .and I guess when he gets mad there is always a pretty good reason." " How old is your papa ?" " Thirty-nine." " And—" " Say," the boy broke in, suddenly aware of something unusual. "What are you trying to do, anyway ? Seems to me you are asking a lot of questions." " I am," said the girl solemnly. " But it's all! right. Don't be afraid. Can you keep a secret?" she enquired. " Why, yes, of course." What is it?" The girl looked more solemn than ever. " Mama told me to ask you," she said. Her friend was silent. His slower mind worked dimly for a .solution of tho problem. He felt vaguely the one-sidedness of the category. " That isn't fair." he saSd at last. " My father didn't tell me to ask you any questions." "Well, what if he didn't? He could if he had wanted to, couldn't he ?" " Yes ; but he wouldn't." " Well", you see, your father is a man. and my mother is a woman" '• That's so. I never thought of that. Would it be all right " —he hesitated, as if in doubt—" for me to ask you what you asked me ?" " Why, of course. You just begin, and I'll tell you." " Well, then, how old is your mother ?" "Do you know, it's awful funny about that. Promise not to tell." " All right— that is, no one but my father. You won't mind my telling him, will you ?" " Oh, no. I mean anyone — outside —you know. Mama might not like it? Well, last year Mama was thirtyfour, and this year she's only thirtythree ! Isn't that peculiar ?" " Yes. it is. Now, tell me. Does she swear ?" " Of course not. The idea !" " And has she got a good temper, or does she stay long cross ?" " No ; she doesn't stay cross long. But sometimes she scolds the servants—when they need it, and then sometimes she is sad and cries to herself,; but that never lasts long." " Does she go to church ?" " Oh, yes, almost every Sunday. But sometimes " A pause. " Well— what ?" " Well —sometimes she plays golf, too." They laughed, though why they did not know. Then the boy said : " I guess that's all. You won't mind, will you, if I tell — him ?" "Of course not," said the girl, tossing her curls in the air. " It's only fair, because, you know, I'm going to tell— her." . * * * * * * It was a week later. The two little companions sat once more on the old rock that had been browned by centuries, silent, as when, in years gone by, the British soldiers had leaped upon it on their way to victory. They, too, were silent. A great change had come over them. \ It was evident, however, that something was on tho boy's mind. He moved uneasily. Then he took out his knife and began to sharpen it I fiercely on the rock. Finally, he stopped and said : j " I've got something to tell you." i " What is it — something good ?" She put her arm around his neck, with no trace of self-consciousness, as if it were the most natural thing j in the world— as, indeed, it was— and said : " Come. I can't wait !" " Well, then maybe you'll be glad to know you're going to be my sister. Father found it out last night." And then she laughed a peal of merry childish laughter. After all, he was only a boy. " Why, I knew that ever so Jong | ago .'" she said.— Tom Masson, in j the Cosmopolitan. j