FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83  
84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   >>   >|  
only fifteen, and when one is fifteen, and there is fun going on that one can't be in, it is very trying, to say the least. Not that tears help it the least in the world, no, indeed. In fact, tears at such times always make matters worse. Well, she was only fifteen, as I was saying, and, instead of going with the family into town, she had to stay home and make pies. Now the family were no relation to her. She was only Mrs. Mason's "help." Eighteen months ago Letty's mother (a widow) had died. Her brother had gone away off to a large city, and she had come to Mrs. Mason's to live. Mrs. Mason was as kind as she could be to her, but you know one must feel "blue" at times when one has lost all but one relative in the world, and that one is a dear brother who is way, way off, even if one is surrounded by the kindest friends. So now, tell me, don't you think Letty had something to shed tears about? "I j-just c-can't help it. I'm not one bit 'thankful' this Thanksgiving, and I'm not going to pretend I am. So there. And here I am making nasty pies, when everybody else has gone to town having a good time. No, I'm not one bit thankful, so there, and I feel as if turkey and cranberries and pumpkin pie would choke me." But after Letty "had her cry out" she felt better, and in a little while her nimble fingers had finished her work and she was ready for a little amusement. This amusement she concluded to find by taking a little walk to the end of the garden. The garden ended abruptly in a ravine, and it was a source of unfailing delight to go down there and, from a secure position, see the trains go thundering by. In fifteen minutes the train would be along and then she would go back. Idly gazing down from her secure height, her eye was suddenly caught by something creeping along the ground. Letty's keen sight at once decided this to be a man--a man with a log in his hand. This log he carefully adjusted across the track. "What a very curious--" began Letty. But her exclamation was cut short by the awful intuition that the man meant to wreck the on-coming train. All thought of private sorrow fled in an instant. What could she do? What must she do, for save the train she must, of course. Who else was there to do it? And oh, such a little time to do it in. To go around by the path would take a half-hour. To climb down the side of the ravine would be madness. Suddenly her mind was illuminated. Yes, s
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83  
84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

fifteen

 

brother

 

thankful

 
ravine
 
family
 

secure

 
garden
 

amusement

 

caught

 

suddenly


creeping
 

minutes

 

delight

 

thundering

 

trains

 
position
 

unfailing

 

gazing

 

abruptly

 
source

height

 
intuition
 

instant

 

private

 

sorrow

 

Suddenly

 

illuminated

 
madness
 

thought

 

carefully


adjusted

 

decided

 

curious

 

taking

 

coming

 

exclamation

 

ground

 

Thanksgiving

 

months

 

mother


relative

 

Eighteen

 

matters

 

relation

 

surrounded

 

pumpkin

 
turkey
 

cranberries

 

concluded

 

finished