AUNT LUCY. 99 



know, but fortune soon smiled on him, and if some 

 people are to be believed, the fair dame still continues 

 her attentions. 



Aunt Lucv had a maiden lady friend who lived on 

 the road north of the schoolhouse. She made a prac- 

 tice of calling on her every Friday afternoon and 

 timed herself so as to return at four o'clock, when the 

 children would be dismissed for the day. On this par- 

 ticular Friday a rain storm came up while she was 

 walking home, and as it was rather sudden, she was 

 not prepared for it. When she reached the school the 

 door was locked, the teacher being a judge of the 

 weather, having dismissed school early in the hope of 

 his pupils getting home before the storm broke. Aunt 

 Lucy's home was the nearest house, and it was a mile 

 away. The rain had not started, but it looked as 

 though it would do so at any moment. So Aunt Lucy 

 gathered up the skirt of her new gingham dress and 

 started for home as rapidly as she could walk. She 

 was not more than a hundred yards from the school 

 when the big rain drops began to patter on the leaves 

 and stir up little puffs of dust on the road. Up went 

 Aunt Lucy's skirt over her head in the hope of saving 

 her hat, and letting the lining of her skirt — something 

 she always insisted on — take the wetting. On she 

 sped as the rain began to come down harder and 

 harder, while the wind rose and fell in such a way as 

 to make you feel creepy and think of Kansas twisters. 

 As Aunt Lucy came to the corners, which was half' 

 way home for her, who should she see sitting on a 

 boulder by the side of the road but "Willie" with a 

 green cotton umbrella over his head. My, but she 

 was pleased and so was Willie. She was sure he had 



