That Girl of Johnson's — page 38: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THAT GIRL OF JOHNSON’S. Rear, O7 doors were open, but no one was there. The heng pecking around the doors were the only visible signs of life to her anxious eyes. The woman saw the glance, and interpreted it according to her mind. “Yer feyther is down to the tav’n, D’lores. He hev been down thar ther mornin’ through. He says thar ain’t nothin’ a-doin’ et ther shop, an’ in my pinion thar’ll be less a-doin’ ’fore long.” Dolores heard and also interpreted the other’s words. Unconsciously she began hulling the strawberries with mechanical but steady fingers. “Times is dull ’nough, ’pears to me,” the woman pro- ceeded presently, in the rambling fashion peculiar to the settlement. ‘‘Lord knows theys dull ’nough, but ef things goes on as they’s goin’ on thar’ll be a mighty sight less a- doin’, D’lores. An’ nobody ter blame fer et but them as brings et on theirselves. First kem ther want 0’ rain with ther gyardin’ a-dryin’ up spite o ’ther care we giv et; then as though thet warn’t ’nough, hyar kems ther ace’d’nt ter ther mare 0’ ther jedge’s son ower yander t’other side o’ ther mounting, an’ any o’ us likely to be ketched ef ‘twarn’t thet s’picion rests in one direction special.” It was coming. Dolores waited with bated breath, her fingers dyed with the juice of the berries. She looked at them, and the thought came to her that they were like blood. Did the hand of a murderer look like them, she wondered? And then again were there not deeds as bad if not so desperate as murder—the calm planning of a deed born of hatred, executed in cold blood—not quite murder, but harm done in a roundabout way to injure and annoy ? Such deeds as they said were done from malice, the penalty of which was a heavy fine and imprisonment, and the dis- grace that would be forever a cloud upon them. <A heayy sense of guilt fell upon her; she could not meet the gaze of the eyes bent upon her, and she went on hulling the berries, her eyes fastened upon the red fruit, her thoughts with the young man with the kindly eyes and smiling KS co Eomicboo