Over Paradise Ridge: A RomanceDaviess, Maria Thompson
General
Over Paradise Ridge: A Romance
Daviess, Maria Thompson
Harpeth Valley (Tenn.) -- Fiction; Love stories; Triangles (Interpersonal relations) -- Fiction; Young women -- Fiction
"Nobody; unless you will," I answered, running down toward the voice.
And as I came nearer the hedge I saw that a wagon and mule were drawn up
in the shadow behind a man. "It's fine for you to come in, after all,
Sam. Peter will be so happy."
"Overalls are not invited," answered Sam, as he gave my hair the usual
rough with his big horny hand while I reached up and grasped his sleeve,
too glad to see him to remonstrate. "I came in for Pete's things, and I
brought a load of new peas and ten dozen eggs at the same time, so I
couldn't dress for the dance, or have time to dance if I did. Six
seventy-five a barrel, and five barrels; how's that for wealth,
Bettykin?" As he spoke Sam reached down in his overalls pocket, brought
up a big fistful of all kinds of money, and poured it into my tunic of
embroidered mull that I held up for it.
"It is the most beautiful money I ever saw," I said, and I had to
swallow hard to keep out of my voice the sentiment I knew Sam would not
like. I knew how hard he had worked for every cent of it.
"I'll give you that bright new quarter if you think it is so pretty," he
said, and of course it couldn't have been emotion that cut his voice off
so indistinctly.
"Come on, then, and let me dance for it," I answered. Then myself and
money and mull dress,--that came all the way from New York with a
three-figured bill--I threw into the blue-jeans arms. And out on the
smooth, hard turnpike Sam and I had one glorious fox-trot with only the
surprised mule looking on.
"Bring Pete out at about eleven. Your first pea is due to pod about
noon. No, I must go now or never," said Sam as he shook me off when I
clung and begged for another dance. He climbed up in the wagon. "Good
night," he called.
For a long time I stood and watched him standing bolt upright in the
wagon and clattering away with his great ugly old mule in a lurching
trot; then I went in to the dance. I didn't tell anybody that Sam had
been there, because they would all have been disappointed. The way Sam's
home town loves him and disapproves of his farming is pathetic. Five
miles is a long way for anybody that knows Sam to be separated from him,
at least that is the way I felt as Peter slid and skidded and dipped me
around while he told me how proud he was of my beauty and the lovely and
worthy friends I possessed. He mentioned Julia and Pink and the mules in
detail. I think Peter Vandyne has the most grateful, appreciative,
sympathetic nature I ever encountered, and I told him so as we walked
home across the lawn while the stars were beginning to grow pale and
flicker with no more night to burn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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