Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1874-11-19

dispose of the victuals she was so fond
of cooking, and could eat so little of
herself. So that suggestion set her to
work at once.
At sight of the table being spread,
Nettie locked dismayed and ran to the
window. The snow was falling furi-
ously now, and the horse and sleigh
was gone
Mamie began to cry, but the deacon
drew up two fluffy cushioned rockers
before the fire, lifted the two children
into them, and then brought them each
mug CT milk and a caraway cooky.
Then ne nodded and smiled, and
pointed to the table, and fourished his
arms again as if he were in the middle
of swarm of bees. The children both
laughed at his signs.
81 can make signs 10 'em, you see, }"
he said with an air of importance,
though the signs he made were never
in use among any deaf and dumb peo-
pie that / ever heard of. The children
understood his kindly face, however, as
well as the mugs of milk and caraway
cookies. So they sat contentedly before
the fire, biting their cookies, and spell
ing with their fingers the notices,
"For good girl, and "To my daugh-
ter" on the pink and blue mugs.
| Those mugs had been set away for
thirty years, and mother Pettingill
sighed softly and wiped away tear, as
she got them down from the top shelf of
the corner cupboard, for her two little
guests.
will not say that Nettie felt quite
happy a twinge of conscience at the
thought of the lost horse, and of Mr..
Gilbert, the principal of the institution,
kept her from feeling just right; but L
cannot think the petted child, accus-
toned a. home to have her own way
almost entirely, had as clear a sense of
the wrong in the case as an ordinary
child of eleven would have.
Then, the dinner was splendid, and
mother Pettingill looked so happy, and
piled their plates SO full, and the dea-
con cut such big slices of turkey for
them, and laughed and made such
amazing signs, that they couldn't help
laughing and having good time, to
save their lives. They knew he didn't
make single sign right, and that was
why they laughed.
But the deacon not understanding
that it had to be any particular motion
of the hands, or that they really had
language of the hands at all, thought
he was entertaining them in the most
appropriate manner.
"Don't, father, don't throw your
hands up so silly" said mother Pet
tingill.
"That's the way to talk to 'em, moth
err" making his hands fly wildly into
the air.
"But you look as if you'd lost your
Senses" said his wife.
However, as Nettie and Mamie laugh
ed and ate heartily, and seemed to en-
joy it ali, she let father make fool
of himself to his hearts content
When Miss Peabody marshaled the
girls in the study hall, ready for dinner,
the places of the two little runaways
were empty. A messenger was sent to
the dormitories to look them up, who,
beiIg rather hungry, did not make a
very thorough search. When Mr.. Gil
bert was notified, he only laughingly
said:
go, let them alone, they will get in
soon enough, never fear" and then he
fell to carving turkey, and everybody
else fell to eating it, and the little alb
sentees were forgotten.
| When just before dark, Deacon Pet
tingill set them down in the large front
hall of the institution with kiss apiece,
aid big bundle of doughnuts and car
away cookies, they ran slyly up stairs
and hid the bundle under their pillows.
Coming into the study hall, the girls
buzzed around them. They were sum-
moned to Miss Peabody, who, however,
was so deeply interested in the book
she was reading, that she did not take
proper notice of the offenders.
You cannot have any dinner at all, +"
she said in signs, "for not being in
your places.
Nettie and Mamie hung their heads,
and escaped to retired spot behind the
door to have a good laugh. They were
full to the tbsoat," as the deaf and
dumb express it =; what lucky punish
ment to tell them they could not have
any dinner And tlen hadn't they a
big bundle of cookies and doughnuts
Deacon Pettingill had driven home i'm
Iueulattly, rs ucaVy SHOW WAS IaIllng,
and no one had seen him. Nobody
found the girls out, and the doughnuts
and cookies didn't dry up.
The following is copy of the letter
which Nettie wrote home few days
after Thanksgiving. 1t is true copy,
and she composed every word of it her
self you Will see that she never said 9
word about her ride, but she told hel
mother the whole story the next vaca
ton.
Nettie's letter
DEAR MAMMA: We had, thanks be unto
God, turkey. and mince pie, and many Other
kinds of fruit, last Thursday. ] love N.
her and mother. There are three hundred
, pupils in this institution. It's boys, l25 girls
! All the pu liz are well, but some are sick.
Your Loving daughter, NETTIH.
10 0x<rI