Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-11-11

Oh, be you, though? Wall, / guess
Miss Lee'll make somebody scream when
| she comes home. I'll bet my head that
! Marth Parkers at the bottom of it! She's
alias up to something. faint none of
my business, though. I'm after them tur-
| neps."
Nellie opened the cellar-door. "Here
| they are" she said loftily; Aunt Mar
tina said you were coming for them
What an insolent boyr' she exclaimed,
as she closed the door.
Awful sassy" said Martha.
There, it's all in now But what ails
my hand, Nellie? See, it's as white and
stiff as anythin'r'
20 Matte! it's the lepersy!" said Mel
lie, with horror in her face and in her
voice. Miss Martha had been reading and
commenting upon the leper stories of the
Bible the Sunday before.
The lepersyi what's that, Nellie? o
dear, dear! what'Il | do?" said Matte,
beginning to cry.
Oh, it's awful" said Nellie with d.
lated eyes. docs it ache, Matte ~ Just
then the door opened.
0 Aunt Martham screamed Nellie
Mattie's got the lepersyln
Got,ohat ?" said the astonished woman.
looking about the room. whatever be
you doing hGre?"
Nellie's eyes followed her aunt's, and
In spite OF her fright terrible conscious
ness OF the situation of things rushed over
her in moment.
We were making ice-cre " she said.
in little deprecating voice that was quite
contrast to the tone in which she had
| spoken before.
| "Ice-cream! [ should think SOP said
Aunt Martha, catching up a pan and
running to the door with it. She was back
again IN a moment, burying Mattie's hand
in snow.
You've frozen it," she said.
10 Aunt Martha! will it have to be cut
OFF," sobbed Nellie.
No, child; stop crying, and tell me
| about it!'' So the two, between sobs and
tears, told the story as we'll as they
could.
did you put in the snow and salt
with your hand?" asked Aunt Martha.
Yes'm," said Matte, with gasp. q
felt it awful cold at first when I was a
stirrin' 'em up, then, by-'n'by, | didn't
| notice it any more. 1t felt kind of stiff.
but didn't think nothin' about it till I
| see it all white. Oh! o inv! how it
pricks Oh! ohr'
That's good sign" said Aunt Mar
| tina. " 1t is thawing out. hope it is not
frozen very deep"
Matte cried from pain, and Nellie sat
| down beside her and cried softly, from
sympathy, as Aunt Martha went about
| clearing up the room.
When the little hand was thawed out
Miss Martha did it up very tenderly with
| some soothing ointment which she kept
| for burns. She did not punish the chill
! dren; she thought they were punished
enough. She only said: 81 hope this
afternoons experience will teach you
never to NEEDLE again.
| Then she opened the tin-pail and, sure
enough, the cream was frozen. 1t looked
rather lumpy, but Aunt Martha knew it
could not be poison, and she gave each
little girl saucerful, and even conde-
scended to taste it herself, telling them
that really it was not so bad as it might
be-" Ia spite Of Nellie's grief she could
not help giving Matte little look of ex-
| ultation as she stared in wonder at the
| cream. ..F IL. rar
Matte stayed at the old farm house I'M
til her hand was quite well, but Aunt
| Martha did not go away and leave the
children to keep house" again-CHrts-
| tan Union.