The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-03-12
MRS. ROUNDABOUT's TRIP.

| take five minutes to walk to the dock
and FIVE minutes to see that every thing
is ready, and the boat starts at eight pre-.
cisely. If you have any little errands
or messages, you must talk fast"
Mrs. Roundabout smiled. For, up
wards of a hundred times, in the course
of the seven years of their married life
had she heard her liege lord, ut exactly
that hour in the morning, utter that
same sueech-almost word for word
and in the identical hurried tone he had
just assumed.
"My dear" and the smile vanished
as the little woman put on a very matter
of-fact expression-''I have no errands
of my own to-day; but have a favor 10
ask of you, nevertheless. The widow
Lawton is going to the city this morning
and as she has three small children, and
consequently, great deal to look after
before she starts, she may be a minute OF
two late. I wish you would wait the
boat just two minutes if she shouldn't
happen to be there precisely at eight.
| You know-it is Lucille Lawton!' Mrs
| Roundabout uttered this last sentence in
a peculiar tone, accompanying il with a
knowing smile; for Mrs. Lawton, in her
early maidenhood, had once been a sweet
heart of the captains, and his wife now
delighted to break down his growing Sc
dateness by an occasional reference to
this interesting period of his youth.
"You surprise me, Miranda 1t is fol-
ly to make such request" and the aus
tere man stepped to the glass, pulled up
| his collar and donned his hat.
"You once offered to wait seven years
for Lucille, you know" added Mrs.
Roundabout, tauntingly.
"Gammon! I'll not wait my boat two
minutes for her now, nor any other wo-
man-not even my wife," and the cap
tain darted down the walk.
"We'll see, some day." the little wo-
man said to herself as she watched him
| down the street. "We'll seer'
Captain Roundabout was called ''the
puncIual man." He prIded himself on
his punctuality. With most men, this
quality is regarded as strong point, but
with our hero it had become almost a
weakness. He ran a small steamer from
the town of Granville to a neighboring
city, making round trip each day, and
his boat always started on the minute
If he saw persons hurriedly approach
ing when the time was up, he did not
wait; but the plank was ordered in on
the second, and the breathless passengers
would often reach the dock just as the
boat had passed beyond leaping distance.
BY this rigid adherence to punctuality,
he made many enemies and was frequen-
tly the subject of bitter curses; but his
fellow-townsmen soon learned his rules
and governed themselves accordingly.
Captain Roundabout had reached the
sober age of thirty-fve before he mar
ried; and then he united his lot with a
gay young miss who had been quite
belle and something of a coquette. 1t
was mystery to his friends how he
came to fancy Miranda Vernon; but, not
withstanding the surmises and prophe-
cies Of neighbors she had always been a
faithful and ahectionate wife. But she
delighted to tease her husband. Those
energies which she had given to coquetry
during her maidenhood, she now devo-
ted to innocent pranks upon her more
sedate lord; and his propensity for pun
ctuality was often selected as the target
for her wiles.
In the course of few weeks, Mrs.
Roundabout accompanied the captain TO
the city. She had often taken the trip
with him before; but this was fated To
be the more interesting than any of her
previous excursions. Arriving at the
dock, she babe her husband "goob-by,"
and, as was her custom, went up town
to pass the four hours which must expire
before the boat would return, in shop
ping and calling on city friends.
Just as the steamers bell was striking
its last stroke, the little woman appear
ed in sight, walking very leisurely to-
wards the dock. She might have been
on board some fifteen minutes before;
but she had been waiting in a neighbor
ing store so as to make her appearance
precisely at the hour for starting. She
had resolved to "see" if her husband
would wait for her. Captain Round
about was in the pilot-house at the time,
and must have recognized her. Orders
were given to haul in the plank and cast
off the lines. Mrs. Roundabout, with
an armful Of bundles, waved her para
sol beseechingly and quickened her pace.
But ber husband totally disregarded her
signals; and by the time she had put
her indignant foot upon the plate of the
dock, the boat was fully twenty feet of,
the wheels beginning to move briskIy.
Mrs. Roundabout's first thought was
to burst into tears, for she could not
believe that her husband was so hard
hearted. Her next thought was to hal
loo for him to come back and take her
on board. But she quickly choked back
her emotion, and after a moments re.
| Fiction, deemed it useless to cry to the
captain; besides, the act would only in
crease the unpleasantness of her position,
should the passengers learn that she
was the captains wife. With toss of
her head that Roundabout did not fail
to see, (and which caused him to in
voluntarily quail for the moment,) she
took her eyes from the now fast-reced-
ing steamer to let them fall square on
Chris. Freeman, gay bachelor, who
had once been the rival of Roundabout
for her hand Quick as a fash, plan
for revenge shot through her mind. In
the days of their courtship, Chris. had
often excited Oziel's jealousy to almost
boiling heat, and even at this late day,
he could not bear the mention Of Free
mans name, much less could he toler-
ate his society. Mira. Rouudabout'S