The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1871-07-15

stretch out his hands to her and get
into her lap, he would, an pull the
comb out, and let down her hair. 1t was
kinder crlnkly, and curly, Aunt Reeny's
hair WIS, an allus made me think
o corn silk inside of the husks.
1t wus SO sort O wavy am soft. Wall,
they'd set there, Aunt Reeny a-smllln'
that shiny kind Of smile o hem, and
Jack hulloin' an laughin' soft you
might a'heered him down there in the
/ ten-acre lot where the railroad runs
across my mowin'. No matter what he
( did. Pull down her hair, pull off her
cap, draw out her knitting needles,
! Aunt Reeny was just as clever and meek
! toSim The boy was named fur his
/ grant ther-old lawyer Langley, an
/ they do say, s'pose most prob1y its a
fact mebhe, t ole Jack Langley had a
/ li1in' for Aunt Reeny when she was II
girl Mebby that was one reason why
/ she would look such long while in
/ the boys face and eyes. Great, wide
open brown eyes Jack has, what they
call hereabouts the Langley eyes and
mebby the old crItter made the young
/ DAYS come back ag'in. There amt no
/ tellin'. Anyhow, there was some diff
/ ference Lawyer Langley when he
was alive a-settin' in the Judges
! bench, n Aunt Reeny IN her
ole chair up tn Hickoryton poor house.
Wall, it was a powerful hot after
noon, and the Fourth o July, hide
pendence Day. The work was done up
an the house was uncommon quiet,
only Aunt Bash had Jerry up i'll corn
I . L. h., L.
her darniu needle jerry he was a
stannin' thare with his fingers i'll his
mouth, lookin' master silly, for Bash
he'd just ben boxin' his ears, fore she
begun her scoliin'. 1t was way she
he'd about once week, specially on
Saturdays. Bashy, she would
set HIM up there, and keep him
there for an hour, mebby, ef
it didn't interfere. And, lawful heart,
| sech blessings as she did give him
Wall, that day, Nora, the nuss, he'd
gone off with her beau, Jack was stay
in with me an mother, jest s it hap
pened. | wus asleep on the piazza-or
| half asleep-for | remember hearing
Bashy,s voice kinder high n sharp,
like filing the saw over t the mill, her
a sayin', What dye mean, you lazy,
hateful, blunderin' fool, you Now,
where's my darning needle, I'd be
| pleased to know 2 An Jerry, he an
swering very modest to Bashy, who was
a little deaf, faint likely t nobody
/ knows. Nose What about my nose ?
! Ham, 1t good nose [ sh'd like to
know. Iou mis- rable, saucy critter,
YOU
" Wh-r-r-rl"
"Down In the meader, across the
! ten-acre lot, AFTERNOON train from the
! Falls whistled [ heard it half Il
! dreamin', an half a wakin, and next |
/ llnow'd Aunt Reeny rushed down the
yard run, flew by me like a wind, with
! her lace white and her gray hair Il
BLOWN after her, as she went. 1t was
/ all SO quick, seem'd s eff | hadn't
more'n IA breath o time to think fore |
! knew Aunt Reeney was rushin like the
wind, right straight inter that air
/ 'spress train. | thought the woman d
1 ben crazy all on a sudden. Read o
sech things, We know. An ! Jest up
aud arter her, about s quick S my ole
] ltSs could fly; but she'd got the start
/ o me, u all | could do was to foller on
! Up come the train, awhiTrIn' and hissin'
/ and thunderip'; them great black ingines
make me think o the evil one, Just out .
the pit-on it come, an the faster the
ingine come Just the faster raced on
Aunt Reeny tiil-all in a breathin',
there was rushin' sound close by, and
gust o wind clearin up the smoke,
an L looked down, and close Ter my
feet was layin'-our little Jack, just
Il layin there with a bunch o blue flag
in his hand, t he trotted off over the
railroad to pick. There he was, safe
n sound-where Aunt Reeny had
ketched the child and thrOwed him, the
minute afore the train come mp. But
Aunt Reeny herself poor critter, she
stepped her last step. L Just picked up
the ole woman, bleedin' aud cut up,
she was, too, most too bad to tell on
! took her III my arms n brought her up
] to the house
! 80, wall, we did what We could for
/ her. the women folks did, n [ did. n
we all did. Even Aunt Bash stopped
/ her sputterIn' for onct in her life, n
run bout helpIn' as gentle s baby.
! But twa MT all no use. Nor warn't the
doctor, neither, tho " he'd i'm on as
soon rs horse flesh could fetch him
But he only shook his head kinder
mournful, an gin us to understand,
'twa'nt nothin' only il question Of time,
putty short time, too An there she
layed III mothers bed, her eyes shut
up, n her poor old hands outside of
the white coverlid, fingers workin n
worhIn, this way n that. Tho't she
was knitting, you see, Door critter l
dunno S it ii strike YOU S t did me,
but, somehow, [ can't never cit rid %
the sight o them old, withered, big
veined, thin hands. After the poor
thing didn't know nothin', then weak
hands were Gropin' bout to and fro,
knlttin' still, trying to do somethin' to
the very last, bless her for other folks
An [ s'pose I'm silly, but | tell YOU,
miss, the last knittin' Aunt Reeny
ever did, she toed oft pair o footin s
for me, n I've kept them air footin's
as choice as ef they WIZ di'mons.
Wear 'em. Bless you, no. | shall go
barefoot through Vermont snow-drifts
good while fore I'll wear them stock
ms Aunt Reeuy knit last.
WALL she KEEP them hands goIn'
slower n slower, an it got to be later
/ in the eyenIn' on to'rd the turn o the
nlght-summer, you know, s | teiied
you-'n we was all settin' round the
room, and listenin' ter the tickin' in the
corner, Sophy was a settin by the bed
bathin' Aunt Reenys forred, an Jack
had been asleep, with his head on he1
pillow. L remember mindin' how
kinder pretty t looked. the old wo-
man 5 white hair mixed up on the piller