The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1871-10-20

vi
First thing when his nuss fetched the
little scamp down in the morning he'd
stretch out his hands to her and get into
her lap, he would, and pull the comb
out, and let down her hair. 1t was
kinder crinkly and curly, Aunt Reeny's
hair wus, and allus made me think o.
corn silk inside the husks. Ii wus so
sort of wavy and soft. Wall, they'd set
there, Aunt Reeny a-smilin, that
shiny kind of smile of hern, and Jack
following and laughing so that all heerd
him down there in the ten-acre lot
where the railroad runs across my NOW
ing. No matter what he did. Pull
down her hair, pull off her cap, or draw
out her knitting-needles, Aunt Reeny
was lust so eieVer and meek TO him.
The boy vas fistfsassi fur his grandfather
odd Il saeissef 1zanSie iey--aIad- they do
say, ] s,pese most probly It's fact
1 Eneblly Il ole jack Langley had lillin
| FOR Aunt Reeny 1yhen She was a girl.
l3febby thar was one reason why she
would look such a long while int the
lley's face IN eyes. Great wide-Open,
brown eyes Jack had, what they call
hereabouts the Langley eyes and
naebby tife7old critter made the young
Ckl2s come back ag'in There aint no
telIin. A+Is bow, fher wus some diff
renee. Lawyer fangley when he was
ta1ivs a-settfn ihsthe judges bench, N
Aunt Reeny IN her ole chAirup tu Hick-
orytOwn pOOr-house.
''Wall, it was a powerful hot after
noon, and the fourth o. July, Indepen-
dence Day. The work was done up an
the house was uncommon quiet, only
Aunt Bash had Jerry up in corner to
scOld at him cause he jest lost her darn
i'm needle. Jerry he wus a stannin
there with his fingers in his mouth,
lookin master silly, for Bash had jest
ben a boNin his ears fore she begun
her scoldin. 1t was n way she had
about once a week, specially saturdays.
Bashy, she would set him up there, and
keep him up there for an hour, mebby,
ef didn't interfere. And, lawful heart,
sech blessins as she did give him
Wall. that day, Nora, the nuss, had
gone off with her beau, Jack was stayin
with me an mother, jest ) il happened.
| WIS asleep on the plaZZa,-Or half as
leeD, for | remember hearin Basins
voice, kinder high m sharp, like filing
the saw over Z the mill, her a sayin,
What d, We mean, you lazy, hateful,
blunderin fool, you? Now where's my
darnin needle, I'd be pleased to know
An Jerry, be answering very modest, to
Bashy,, who was a little deaf, Taint
likely I nobody knows Nose. What
about my nose? Haint it good nose ?
/ sh'd like to know. You miserable,
sarcy critter, you
"'Wh-r-r-rn
"Down in the meader, across the ten
acre lot, the a AFTERNOON train froml the
Falls whistled. / heerd it half dream.
in, an half a wakin, an next ! knOw'd
Aunt Reeny rushed down the yard
run, flew by me like the wind, witt
z her face white and her gray hair {
z blOwin' after her, as she went. 1t wal
= all so quick, seem'd 5 ef / hadn't mOre'I
breath O time TO think fore / knew ,
= Aurt Reeny was rushin like the wind
5 right straight inter that r'spress train
5 thought the wOman'd ben took craZl
5 all on sudden. Read o. seeh things
= We know. An / jest up and arter her
n about : quick 's my ole legs could fly
!, but she'd got the start o me, N all
could do was to foller Oh. Up come tn
L train, a whirrini and hissin' and thun
h derin'-them great black ingines max
il me think o. the evil one, jest out o. tn
90 pit,-on il come, an the faster the in
+ gine come jest the faster raced on Aun
- Reeny, till-all in a breathin', ther
O was rushin' sound close by, and
e gust o. wind clearin up the smoke, n
n / looked down, and close ter my fec
e layin-our little jack Just a layi
2. there with a bunch o. blue flag i'm hi
II hand, Il he trotted of over the railrOa
q TO pick. There he was, m sound
Ie where Aunt Reeny had ketched th
II child and thrOwed him, the minute afoI
n the train come up. But Aunt Reen
sr herself, poor critter, she stepped he
a last step. / jest picked up the ole won
an, bleedin' and cut up, she was, to,
most too bad to tell on, took her in IN
t, arms m brought her up to the house.
d 80, wall, we did what we could f
lr her, the woman folks did, an | did, a
is we all did. Even Aunt Rash stOppe
a her sputtering for once in her life, a
II run about helping as gently "a a baby
r But twarn't all no Use. Nor warn't III
% doctor, neither, though we had him o
II as soon a hOrse-flesh could fetch hin
n But he only shook his head kindC
V mournful, and give us TO understan
V 'twa'n't nothing only a question
r time, purity short time, too. And thel
:, she layed in mothers bed, her ewes shU
:. up, and her poor ole hands outside th
:. white cOverlid, fingers working an
t working, this way and that. Though
e she was knitting, you see, poor critic
r. / donno as IL Will strike you as il iii
= me, but, somehow, | can't never git ri
{, of the sight of them old, withered, biz
II Veined, thin hands. After the DOC
5. thing didn't know nothing, them wea
o hands were groping about, TO and IN,
.e knitting still, trying to do something [
the very last, bless her. for other folk
Is And / s'pOse I'm silly, but ! tell yOl
:. miss, the last knitting Aunt Reeny ev,
!? did, she tOed off a pair of fOotings f
l. me, and pve kept them air footings ;
choice as ef they wus diamons. Wes
10 'em. Bless YOU, no. | shall 90 bar
5 foot through Vermont snow-drifts
: good while before I'll wear them stool
'e ings that Aunt Reeny knit last.
Y "Wall, she kept them hands gOir
n slower and slower, and it got to be lat,
4 and later in the evening on toward Il
d turn of the night,-Snmmer YOU know
rs as l telled yOu-and wus all a setir
a round the room, and listening ter II
e, ole clock ticking in the corner, Soph
G. was a setting by the bed bathing Aul
d Reeny's forred, and Jack had bee
in asleep. with his head on herpillOw. / r
n member minding how kinder pretty
a looked, the old wOman's white Ina
:, mixed up on the piller with q
Il boys curls,-sort Of Wet and heaV
N they was when he was asleep-and il
% then Jack started and sot up, bro;
IT awake. on the bed, leaning ag'in h
le mother, and looking jist as straigl
o into Aunt Reeny's face. Just that mi
l. nte,-now you'll think this sort of quee
r but this Is jist how il happened,-Aul
p Reeny opened her eyes and looked rigl
a into the boys, and then, all at once, a
2. over her old face there come such
v shining and glowing as ] never see. m