xt7f4q7qnz68 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7f4q7qnz68/data/mets.xml Johnston, Annie F. (Annie Fellows), 1863-1931. 19041895  books b92-237-31299206 English Page, : Boston : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Barry, Etheldred B. (Etheldred Breeze), 1870- Little colonel  / Annie Fellows Johnston ; illustrated by Etheldred B. Barry. text Little colonel  / Annie Fellows Johnston ; illustrated by Etheldred B. Barry. 1904 2002 true xt7f4q7qnz68 section xt7f4q7qnz68 




















THE LITTLE COLONEL
       (Trade Mark)

 




               Works of
 Annie Fellows Johnston
 THE LITTLE COLONEL SERIES
              (Trade Mark)

The Little Colonel.   .   .    .  .50
      (Trade Mark)
The Giant Scissors             .   .50
Two Little Knights of Kentucky .    50
The Little Colonel Stories.    .  1.50
      (Trade Mark)
 (Containing in one volume the three stories, " The
 Little Colonel," The Giant Scissors," and "Two
 Little Knights of Kentucky.")
 The Little Colonel's House Party.    1.50
      (Trade Mark)
The Little Colonel's Holidays    .   1.50
      (Trade Mark)
The Little Colonel's Hero .    .  1.50
      (Trade Mark)
The Little Colonel at Boarding-School 1.50
      (Trade Mark)

The Little Colonel in Arizona    .   1.50
      (Trade Mark)

           OTHER BOOKS
Joel: A Boy of Galilee         . 1.50
Big Brother .         ..50
Ole Mammy's Torment.               .50
The Story of Dago                  .50
Cicely ....                        .50
Aunt 'Liza's Hero.                 .50
The Quilt That Jack Built          .50
Asa Holmes .          .1.00
Flip's " Islands of Providence"  .   1.00
Songs Ysame (Poems, with Albion
  Fellows Bacon) .    .   .    .  1.00

     L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
200 Summer Street         Boston, Mass.

 This page in the original text is blank.

 



                         P;11
14,111

 





               THE

LITTLE COLONEL
              (Trade Nlark)


                 By
      Annie Fellows Johnston
               Author of
 "The Little Colonel Series," I Big Brother," "Ole
     Mamny's Torment," " Joel: A Boy of
        Galilee," I' Asa Holmes," etc.


             Illustrated by
          Etheldred B. Barry










        Boston    pg A  _a
        L. C. Page & Company
        6 sa ta 6  1904



(Toop (Toracr zcrics

 


















            Cotyright, I895
     BY JOsEPH KNIGHT COMPANY

           A4i righits reserved


















           COLONIAL PRESS
Etetrotyted and Printed Jy C. IH. Simonds & CO.
          Boston, Masi., U. S. A.

 
























             TO ONE OF
KENTUCKY'S DEARESI LITTLE DAUGHTERS

    " Qlbe LittLe Colonut " DeronlE
THIS REMEMBRANCE OF A HAPPY SUMMER
     IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED

 This page in the original text is blank.

 














                                        PACE
THE LITTLE COLONEL    .       .   Frontispiece
"''CAUSE I'M SO MUCH LIKE YOU,' WAS THE
   STARTLING ANSWER"    .   .   .    .    9
4"THE SAME TEMPER SEEMED TO BE BURNING
   IN THE EYES OF THE CHILD"  .   .    . 26
"WITH THE PARROT PERCHED ON THE BROOM
   SHE WAS CARRYING"  .   .   .    .   . 42
" THE LITTLE COLONEL CLATTERED UP AND
   DOWN THE HALL"     .   .   .    .   . 48
" SINGING AT THE TOP OF HER VOICE "  .  . 55
"'TELL ME GOOD - BYE, BABY DEAR,' SAID MRS.
   SHERMAN" .     .   .   .   .   .    .69
"'AMANTHIS,' REPEATED THE CHILD DREAMILY" 77
"SHE CLIMBED UP IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR" 91
"THE SWEET LITTLE VOICE SANG IT TO THE END" 97

 This page in the original text is blank.

 

   THE LITTLE COLONEL



               CHAPTER I.

  IT was one of the prettiest places in all
Kentucky where the Little Colonel stood that
morning. She was reaching up on tiptoes, her
eager little face pressed close against the iron
bars of the great entrance gate that led to a
fine o0l estate known as " Locust."
  A ragged little Scotch and Skye terrier stood
on its hind feet beside her, thrusting his inquisi-
tive nose between the bars. and wagging his
tasselled tail in lively approval of the scene be-
fore them.
  They were looking down a long avenue that
stretched for nearly a quarter of a mile between
rows of stately old locust-trees.
                     I

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



  At the far end they could see the white pil-
lars of a large stone house gleaming through
the Virginia creeper that nearly covered it.
But they cotild not see the o0l Colonel in his
big chair on the porch behind the cool screen
of vines.
  At that very moment he had caught the rattle
of wheels along the road, and ha(l picked up
his field-glass to see who was passing. It was
only a coloured man jogging along in the heat
and dust with a cart full of chicken-coops.
The Colonel watched him drive up a lane that
led to the back of the new hotel that had just
been opened in this quiet country place. Then
his glance fell on the two small strangers com-
ing through his gate down the avenue toward
him. One was the friskiest (log he had ever
seen in his life. The other was a child he
judged to be about five years old.
  Her shoes were covered with (lust, and her
white sunbonnet had slipped off andl was hang-
ing over her shoulders.  A bunch of wild
flowers she had gathered on the way hung
limp and faded in her little warm hand. Her
soft, light hair was cut as short as a bov's.
  There was something strangely familiar



2

 
THE LITTLE COLONEL



about the child, especially in the erect, grace-
ful way she walked.
  Old Colonel Lloyd was puzzled. He had
lived all his life in Lloydsborough, and this wvas
the first time he had ever failed to recognize
one of the neighbours' children.  He knew
every dog and horse, too, by sight if not by
name.
  Living so far from the public road (lid not
limit his knowledge of what was going on in
the world.  A powerful field-glass brought
every passing object in plain view, while he
was savced all annoyance of noise and dust.
  " I ought to know that child as xvell as I
know  my own name," he said to himself.
" But the (log is a stranger in these parts.
Liveliest thing I ever set eyes on! They must
have come from the hotel. Wonder what they
want."
  He carefully wiped the lens for a better
view. When he looked again he saw that they
evidently had not come to visit him.
  They had stopped half-way dowvn the avenue,
and climbed up on a rustic seat to rest.
  The dog sat motionless about two minutes,



3

 
THE LITTLE COLONEL



his red tongue hanging out as if he were com-
pletely exhausted.
  Suddenly he gave a spring, and bounded
away through the tall blue grass.  He was
back again in a moment, with a stick in his
mouth. Standing up with his fore paws in
the lap of his little mistress, he looked so wist-
fully into her face that she could not refuse
this invitation for a romp.
  The Colonel chuckled as they went tum-
bling about in the grass to find the stick which
the child repeatedly tossed away.
  He hitched his chair along to the other end
of the porch as they kept getting farther away
from the avenue.
  It had been many a long year since those old
locust-trees had seen a sight like that. Chil-
dren never played any more under their digni-
fied shadows.
  Time had been (but they only whispered this
among themselves on rare spring days like
this) when the little feet chased each other up
and down the long walk, as much at home as
the pewees in the beeches.
  Suddenly the little maid stood up straight,



4

 
            THE LITTLE COLONEL           5

and began to sniff the air, as if some delicious
odour had blown across the lawn.
  " Fritz," she exclaimed, in delight, " I 'mell
'trawberries! "
  The Colonel, who could not hear the remark,
wondered at the abrupt pause in the game.
He understood it, however, when he saw them
wading through the tall grass, straight to his
strawberry bed. It was the pride of his heart,
and the finest for miles around. The first ber-
ries of the season had been picked only the
day before. Those that now hung temptingly
red on the vines he intended to send to his
next neighbour, to prove his boasted claim of
always raising the finest and earliest fruit.
  He did not propose to have his plans spoiled
by these stray guests. Laying the field-glass
in its accustomed place on the little table beside
his chair, he picked up his hat and strode down
the wtalk.
  Colonel Lloyd's friends all said he looked
like Napoleon, or rather like Napoleon might
have looked had he been born and bred a Ken-
tuckian.
  He made an imposing figure in his suit of
white duck.

 
THE LITTLE COLONEL



  The Colonel always wore white from May
till October.
  There was a military precision about him,
from his erect carriage to the cut of the little
white goatee on his determined chin.
  No one looking into the firm lines of his
resolute face could imagine hini ever abandon-
ing a purpose or being turned aside when he
once formed an opinion.
  Most children were afraid of him.  The
darkies about the place shook in their shoes
when he frowned. They had learned from ex-
perience that " ole Marse Lloyd had a tigalh of
a tempah in him."
  As he passed down the walk there were twvo
mute witnesses to his old sol(dier life. A spur
gleamed on his hoot heel, for lie had just re-
turned from his morning ride, and his right
sleeve hung empty.
  He had won his title bravely. He had given
his only son and his strong right arm to the
Southern cause. That had been nearly thirty
years ago.
  He did not charge down on the enemy with
his usual force this time.  The little head,
gleaming like sunshine in the strawberry patch,



6

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



reminded him so strongly of a little fellow who
used to follow him everywhere, - Tom, the
sturdiest, handsomest boy in the county, -
Tom, whom he had been so proud of, whom he
had so nearly worshipped.
  Looking at this fair head bent over the vines,
he could almost forget that Tom had ever out-
grown his babyhood, that he had shouldered a
rifle and followed him to camp, a mere boy, to be
shot down by a Yankee bullet in his first battle.
  The old Colonel could almost believe he had
him back again, and that lie stood in the midst
of those old days the locusts sometimes whis-
pered about.
  He could not hear the happiest of little voices
that was just then saying, " Oh, Fritz, isn't you
glad we came An' isn't you glad we've got a
gran'fathah with such good 'trawberries  "
  It wvas hard for her to put the s before her
consonants.
  As the Colonel came nearer she tossed an-
other berry into the (log's mouth. A twig
snapped, and she raised a startled face toward
him.
  " Suh  " she said, timidly, for it seemed to
her that the stern, piercing eyes had spoken.



7

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



  " What are, you doing here, child " he
asked, in a voice so much kinder than his eyes
that she regained her usual self-possession at
once.
    Eatin' 'trawberries," she answered, coolly.
  "Who are you, anyway " he exclaimed,
much puzzled. As he asked the question his
gaze happened to rest on the dog, who was
peering at him through the ragged. elfish wisps
of hair nearly covering its face, with eyes that
were startlingly human.
  " 'Peak when yo'ah 'poken to, Fritz," she
said, severely, at the same time popping an-
other luscious berry into her mouth.
  Fritz obediently gave a long yelp. The Colo-
nel smiled grimly.
  "What's your name " he asked, this time
looking directly at her.
  " Mothah calls me her baby," was the soft-
spoken reply. " but papa an' Morn Beck they
calls me the Little Cun'l."
  " What under the sun do they call you that
for" he roared.
  "'Cause I'm so much like you," was the
startling answer.



8

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



  "Like me!"    fairly gasped the Colonel.
s How are you like me "
  " Oh1, I'm got stich a vile tempah, an' I
stamps my foot when I gets mad, an' gets all
red in the face. An' I hollahs at folks, an'
looks jus' zis vay."



  She drewv her face (lown an(I puckered her
lips into Stuch a sullen pout that it looked as
if a thunder-storm had passed over it. The
next instant she smiled up at him serenely.
  The Colonel laughed. " What makes you
think I am like that " he said. " You nester
saw me before."



9

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



  " Yes, I have too," she persisted. " You's
a-hangin' in a gold frame over ou' mantel."
  Just then a clear, high voice was heard call-
ing out in the road.
  The child started tip in alarm. " Oh, deal,"
she exclaimed in (dismay, at sight of the stains
on her white (dress, where she had been kneel-
ing on the fruit, " that's Mom Beck.  Nowv
I'll be tie(l up, all(l maybe put to lied for run-
nin' awvay again.  But the berries is miglhty
nice," she a(l(le(l, politely.  " Good niawnin',
stuh. Fritz, we mIt1is' be goin' now."
  The voice was coming nearer.
    I'll walk down to the gate with you," said
the Colonel, anxious to learn something more
about his little guest.
    Oh, you'd liettah not, suh! " she cried in
alarm. " Mlom Beck doesn't like you a bit.
She just hates you ! She's goin' to give you
a piece of her mind the next time she sees you.
I heard her tell AuLnt Nervy so."
  There was as much real distress in the childls
voice as if she wvere telling him of a promised
floggiiig.
  " Lloyd! Aw, Lloy-eed ! "  the call came
again.



1O

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



  A neat-looking coloured wvoman glanced in
at the gate as she was passing by, and then
stood still in amazement. She had often found
her little charge playing along the roadside or
hiding behind trees, liut she had never before
known her to pass through any one's gate.
  As the name came floating down to him
through the clear air, a change came over the
Colonel's stern face.  He stooped over the
child. His hand trembled as lhe put it under
her soft chin, and raised her eyes to his.
    Lloyd, Lloyd ! " hie repeated, in a puzzled
wvay. " Can it be possible There certainly
is a wonderful resemblance. You have my
little Tom's hair, and only my baby Elizabeth
ever had such hazel eyses."
  He caught her up in his one arm, and strode
on to the gate, where the coloured woman
stood.
  " Why, Becky, is that you " he cried, rec-
ognizing an old, trusted servant who had lived
at Locust in his wvife's lifetime.
  Her only answer was a sullen nod.
    Whose child is this " he asked, eagerly,
wxithout seeming to notice her defiant looks.
" Tell me if you can."



I I

 
THE LITTLE COLONEL



  " flow can I tell you, suh," she demanded,
indignantly, " wshen you have fo'bidden even
her name to be spoken befo' you "
  A harsh look came into the Colonel's eyes.
Ile put the child hastily down, and pressed his
lips together.
  "Don't tie my sUnbonnet, Mom Beck," she
begged. Then she waved her hand with an
engaging smile.
    Good-bye, suh," she said, graciously.
 "We've had a mighty nice time!
 The Colonel took off his hat with his usual
courtly bow, but he spoke no word in reply.
  When the last flutter of her dress had dis-
appeared around the bend of the road, he
walked slowly back toward the house.
  Half-wvay down the long avenue where she
had stopped to rest, he sat down on the same
rustic seat. He could feel her soft little fingers
resting on his neck, where they had lain when
he carried her to the gate.
  A very un-Napoleonlike mist blurred his
sight for a moment. It had been so long since
such a touch had thrilled him, so long since any
caress had been given him.



12

 
THE LITTLE COLONEL



  More than a score of years had gone by since
Tom had been laid in a soldier's grave, and the
years that Elizabeth had been lost to him
seemed almost a lifetime.
  And this was Elizabeth's little daughter.
Something very warm and sweet seemed to
surge across his heart as he thought of the
Little Colonel. He was glad, for a moment,
that they called her that; glad that his only
grandchild looked enough like himself for
others to see the resemblance.
  But the feeling passed as he remembered that
his daughter had married against his wishes,
and he had closed his doors for ever against
her.
  The old bitterness came back redoubled in its
force.
  The next instant he was stamping down the
avenue, roaring for Walker, his body-servant,
in such a tone that the cook's advice was speed-
ily taken: " Bettah hump yo'self outen dis
heah kitchen befo' de ole tigah gits to lashin'
roun' any pearter."



13

 

CHAPTER II.



  MOM BECK carried the ironing-board out of
the hot kitchen, set the irons off the stove, and
then tiptoed out to the side porch of the little
cottage.
  " Is yo' head feelin' any bettah, honey"
she said to the pretty, girlish-looking weoman
lying in the hammock. " I promised to step
up to the hotel this evenin' to see one of the
chambah-maids. I thought I'd take the Little
Cun'l along with me if you was villin'. She's
always wild to play with Mrs. Wyford's chil-
dren up there."
  " Yes, I'm better, Becky," was the languid
reply. " Put a clean dress on Lloyd if you are
going to take her out."
  Mrs. Sherman closed her eyes again, think-
ing gratefully, " Dear, faithful old Becky!
What a comfort she has been all my life, first
                      14

 
THE LITTLE COLONEL



as my nurse, and now as Lloyd's! She is
worth her weight in gold! "
  The afternoon shadows were stretching long
across the grass when Mom Beck led the child
up the green slope in front of the hotel.
  The Little Colonel had danced along so gaily
with Fritz that her cheeks glowed like wild
roses. She made a quaint little picture with
such short sunny hair anl (lark eyes shining
out from under the broad-brimmed white hat
she wore.
  Several ladies who were sitting on the shady
piazza, busy with their embroidery, noticed her
admiringly.
  " It's Elizabeth Lloyd's little daughter," one
of them  explained.  " Don't you remember
what a scene there was some years ago when
she married a New York man Sherman, I
believe, his name was, Jack Sherman. He was
a splendid fellow, and enormously wealthy.
Nobody could say a word against him, except
that he was a Northerner. That was enough
for the old Colonel, though. He hates Yankees
like poison. He stormed and swore, and for-
bade Elizabeth ever coming in his sight again.
He had her room locked up, and not a soul on



1 5

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



the place ever dares mention her name in his
hearing."
  The Little Colonel sat down demurely on the
piazza steps to wait for the children. The
nurse had not finished dressing them for the
evening.
  She amused herself by showing Fritz the
pictures in an illustrated weekly. It was not
long until she began to feel that the ladies were
talking about her. She had lived among older
people so entirely that her thoughts were much
deeper than her baby speeches would lead one
to suppose.
  She understood (ldimly, from what she had
heard the servants say, that there was some
trouble between her mother and grandfather.
Now she heard it rehearsed from beginning to
end.  She could not un(lerstand wh-hat they
meant by " bank failures " and " unfortunate
investments," but she understood enough to
know that her father had lost nearly all his
money, and had gone West to make more.
  Mrs. Sherman had mov ed from their ele-
gant New York home two weeks ago to this
little cottage in Lloydsborongth that her mother
had left her.  Instead of the houseful of



i6

 
THE LITTLE COLONEL



servants they used to have, there was only
faithful Mom Beck to do everything.
  There was something magnetic in the child's
eyes.
  Mrs. NVyford shrugged her shoulders utn-
easily as she caught their piercing gaze fixed
on her.
  " I do believe that little witch understood
every word I said," she exclaimed.
  " Oh. certainly not," was the reassuring an-
swer. " She's such a little thing."
  But she ha(d heard it all, and understood
enough to make her vaguely unhappy. Going
home she did not frisk along with Fritz, ht
wvalked soberly by Mom Beck's side, holding
tight to the friendly black hand.
  " \VWell go through the woods," said Mom
Beck, lifting her over the fence. " It's not so
long that way."
  As they followed the narrow, straggling path
into the cool dusk of the woods, she began to
sing. The crooning chant was as mournful as
a funeral dirge.

   The clouds hang heavy, an' it's gwine to rain.
     Fa'well, my dyin' friends.



17

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



   I'm gwine to lie in the silent tomb.
     Fa'well, my dyin' friends."

  A muffled little sob made her stop and look
down in surprise.
  " Why, what's the mattah, honey " she ex-
claimed. " Did Emma Louise make you mad 
Or is you cryin' 'cause you're so ti'e(l  Come!
Ole Becky'll tote her baby the rest of the way."
  She picked the light form up in her arms,
and, pressing the troubled little face against her
shoulder, resumed her walk and her solig.

   It's a world of trouble we're travellin' through.
     Fa'well, my dyin' friends."

     Oh, (lon't, Miom Beck," sobbed the child,
throwing her arms around the woman's neck,
and crying as thotugh her heart would break.
    Land sakes, what is the mattah  " she
asked, in alarm. She sat (lown on a mossy
log, took off the white hat, and looked into the
flushed, tearful face.
  "Oh, it makes me so lonesome when you
sing that way," wailed the Little Colonel. " I
just can't 'tand it! Mom Beck, is my mothalhs
heart all broken Is that why she is sick so,
much, and will it kill her sual 'nuff"



I 8

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



  "XWho's been tellin' you such nonsense"
asked the woman, sharply.
  " Sonie ladies at the hotel were talk in' about
it. They said that gran'fathah (li(Ili't love her
any moah, an' it was just a-killin' her." Mom
Beck frowned fiercely.
  The child's grief was so (leep and intense
that she did not know just 1o0W to quiet her.
Then she said, (leci(leclly, " Well, if that's all
that's a-troublin' you, you can jus' get (lown an'
walk home on yo' owvn laigs. Yo' mamnmna's
a-grievin' 'cause yo' papa has to l)e aw\ay all the
time. She's all wo'in out, too, with the work
of movin', whOien she's nevah l)een use to (loin'
anything.  But her heart isn't broke any
moah'n my neck is.'"
  The positive w ords an(l the (leci(le(l toss
Morn fleck gave her hea(l settled the matter
for the Little Colonel. She wiped her eyes an(l
stoo(l ip nitich relieved.
  " Don't you nevalh go to wvorryin' 'botut what
(oU heahs," coutiuue(1 the woman. " I tell you
p)'inte(dIy you cyarnt nevah b'lieve what you
heahs."
  " Vhy    (loesn't  gran'fatlhah  love  my
miothah  " asked the child, as they came in



I9

 
THE LITTLE COLONEL



sight of the cottage. She had puzzled over the
knotty problem  all the way home.  " How
can papas not love their little girls "
  " 'Cause he's stubho'n," was the unsatis-
factory answer.  " All the Lloyds is. Yo'
mamma's stubbo'n, an' you's stubbo'n -"
  " I'm not! " shrieked the Little Colonel,
stamping her foot.  " You sha'n't call me
names! "
  Then she saw a familiar white hand wvaving
to her fromn the hammock, an(d she broke away
from Mom Beck with very red cheeks and very
bright eyes.
  Cuddled close in her mother's arms, she had
a queer feeling that she had grown a great deal
o(ler in that short afternoon.
  Maybe she had. For the first time in her
little life she kept her troubles to herself, and
(lid not once mention the thought that was
uppermost in her mind.
  " Yo' great-aunt Sally Tylah is comin' this
mawnin'," sai(l Mom Beck, the dlay after their
visit to the hotel.  " Do fo' goodness' sake
keep yo'self clean. I'se (got too many spring
chickens to dress to think 'bout dressin' you
up again."



20

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



  " Did I evah see her befo' " questioned the
Little Colonel.
  " Why, yes, the day we moved heah. Don't
you know she came and stayed so long, and the
rockah broke off the little white rockin'-chair
when she sat down in it "
  " Oh, now I know! " laughed the child.
  She's the big fat one with curls hangin'
round her yeahs like shavin's. I don't like her,
Mom Beck. She keeps a-kissin' me all the
time, an' a-'queezin' me, an' tellin' me to sit on
her lap an' be a little lady. Mom Beck, I
de'pise to be a little lady."
  There was no answer to her last remark.
Mom Beck had stepped into the pantry for
more eggs for the cake she wvas making.
  " Fritz," said the Little Colonel, " yo' great-
aunt Sally Tylah's comin' this mawnin', an' if
you don't want to say ' howdy ' to her you'll
have to come wvith me."
  A few minutes later a resolute little figure
squeezed between the palings of the garden
fence down by the gooseberry bushes.
  " Now walk on your tiptoes, Fritz! " com-
manded the Little Colonel, " else somebody
will call us back."



2 1

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



  Mom Beck, busy with her extra baking, sup-
pose(d she was with her mother on the shadyy,
vine-covered porch.
  She wvould not have been singing quite so
gaily if she could have seen half a mile up the
road.
  The Little Colonel was sitting in the weeds
by the railroad track, deliberately taking off
her shoes and stockings.
  " Just like a little niggal," she sai(l, delight-
edly, as she stretclle(l out her bare feet. " Mom
Beck says I ought to know bettah. But it does
feel so good! "
  No telling how long she might have sat there
enjoying the forbidden pleasure of dragging
her rosy toes through the warm dust, if she had
not heard a horse's hoof-beats coming rapidly
along.
  " Fritz, it's gran'fathah," she whispered, in
alarm, recognizing the erect figure of the rider
in its spotless suit of white dluck.
  " Sh! lie down in the weeds, quick! Lie
down, I say! "
  They both made themselves as flat as possi-
ble, an(l lay there panting with the exertion of
keeping still.



22

 

           THE LITTLE COLONEL           23

  Presently the Little Colonel raised her head
cautiously.
  " Oh, he's gone down that lane! " she ex-
claimed. " Now you can get up." After a
moment's deliberation she asked, " Fritz, would
you rathah have some 'trawberries an' be tied
tup fo' runnin' away, or not be tied( up and not
have any of those nice tas'en 'travwherries

 

CHAPTER III.



  Two hours later, Colonel Lloyd, riding
down the avenue under the locusts, was sur-
prised by a novel sight on his stately front
steps.
  Three little darkies and a big flop-eared
hound were crouched on the bottom step, look-
ing up at the Little Colonel, who sat just above
them.
  She was industriously stirring something in
an old rusty pan with a big, battered spoon.
    "Nov, May Lilly,'! she ordered, speaking to
the largest and blackest of the group, " you
run an' find some nice 'mooth pebbles to put
in for raisins. Henry Clay, you go get me
some moah san(d. This is 'most too wet."
  " Here, you little pickaninnies! " roared the
Colonel, as he recognized the cook's children.
W What did I tell you about playing around
here, tracking dirt all over my premises You
                     24

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



just chase back to the cabin where you be-
long! "
  The sudden call startled Lloyd so that she
dropped the pan, and the great mud pie turned
upside down on the white steps.
  "Well, you're a pretty sight! " said the
Colonel, as he glanced with disgust from her
soiled dress and muddy hands to her bare feet.
  He had been in a bad humour all morning.
The sight of the steps covered with sand and
muddy tracks gave him an excuse to give vent
to his cross feelings.
  It was one of his theories that a little girl
should always be kept as fresh and dainty as a
flower.  He had never seen his own little
daughter in such a plight as this, and she had
never been allowed to step outside of her own
room without her shoes and stockings.
  "What does your mother mean," he cried,
savagely, " by letting you run barefooted
around the country just like poor white
trash An' what are you playing with low-
flung niggers for  Haven't you ever been
taught any better  I suppose it's some of your
father's miserable Yankee notions."
  May Lilly, peeping around the corner of the



25

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



house, rolle(l her frightened eyes from   one
                          angry  face to  the
                          other.   The   same
                          temper that glared
                          from the face of the
                          man, sitting erect in
                          his sa(l(lle, seeme(1 to
                          lie burning- in the
                          eyes tof the   child
       IF             "00 Who stood so
                                dlef'iantly  lie-


                          J      T'he   same
                                kin1d of scowl
                                (1 r e xv  their












                    eyelhrows together darkly.
                        Don't you talk that



26

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



way to me," cried the Little Colonel, tremrblinig
with a wrath she did not knowv how to express.
  Suddenly she stooped, and snatching both
hands full of mud from the overturned pie,
flung it wil(lly over the spotless white coat.
  Colonel Lloyd gasped with astonishment.
It was the first time in his life he had ever been
openly defie(l. The next moment his anger
gave way to amusement.
  " By George! "  he chuckled, admiringly.
  The little thing has got spirit, sure enough.
She's a Lloyd through and through. So that's
whlly they call her the ' Little Colonel,' is it "
  There was a tinge of pride in the look hie
gave her hatughty little head and flashing eyes.
    There, there, child ! " he said, soothingly.
 I di(ln't meah to make you madl, when you
 were goo(l eno)uah to come and see me. It isn't
 often I have a little lady like you to pay me a
 visit."
 " I d(icn't come to see you, suh," she an-
 swered, indignantly, as she started toward the
 gate. " I came to see May Lilly. But I nevah
 would have come inside yo' gate if I'd known
 you was goin' to hollah at me an' be so cross."
 She was walking off with the air of an of-



27

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



fended queen, when the Colonel remembered
that if he allowed her to go away in that mood
she would probably never set foot on his
grounds again. Her display of temper had
interested him immensely.
  Now that he had laughed off his ill humour,
he was anxious to see what other traits of char-
acter she possessed.
  He wheeled his horse across the walk to bar
her way, and quickly dismounted.
  "Oh, now, wait a minute," he said, in a
coaxing tone. " Don't you want a nice big
saucer of strawberries and cream before you
go Walker's picking some nowv. And you
haven't seen my hothouse. It's just full of the
loveliest flowers you ever saw. You like roses,
don't you, and pinks and lilies and pansies "
  He saw he had struck the right chord as
soon as he mentioned the flowers. The sullen
look vanished as if by magic. Her face changed
as suddenly as an April day.
  " Oh, yes! " she cried, with a beaming
smile. " I loves 'm bettah than anything! "
  He tied his horse, and led the way to the
conservatory. He opened the door for her to
pass through, and then watched her closely to



28

 

THE LITTLE COLONEL



see what impression it would make on her.
He had expected a delighted exclamation of
surprise, for he had good reason to be proud
of his rare plants. They were arranged with
a true artist's eye for colour and effect.
  She did not say a word for a moment, but
drew a long breath, while the delicate pink in
her cheeks deepened and her eyes lighted up.
Then she began going slowly from flower to
flower, laying her face against the cool, velvety
purple of the pansies, touching the roses with
her lips, and tilting the white lily-c-ups to look
into their golden depths.
  As she passed from one to another as lightly
as a butterfly might have done, she began
chanting in a happy undertone.
  Ever since she had learned to talk she had
a quaint little way of singing to herself. All
the names that pleased her fancy she strung
together in a crooning melody of her own.
  There was no special tune.   It sounded
happy, although nearly always in a minor key.
  " Oh, the jonquils an' the lilies! " she sang.
"All white an' gold an' yellow. Oh, they're
all a-smilin' at me, an' a-sayin' howdy!
howdy! "



29

 
THE LITTLE COLONEL



  She was so absorbed in her intense enjoy-
ment that she forgot all about the old Colonel.
She was wholly unconscious that he was watch-
ing or listening.
  " She really does love them," he thought,
complacently. " To see her face one would
think she had found a fortune."
  It was another bond between them.
  After awhile he took a small basket from
the wall, and began to fill it with his choicest
blooms.
  "You shall have these to take home," he
said. " Now come into the house and get your
strawberries."
  She followed him reluctantly, turning back
several times for