The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-04-04

measles!'
"Hannah's five amt mine, thank
the Lord, and I'm free to come and 60
rs | please. l wanted to see Jacob;
and they're all through the heft on
EN-
"We'rc dreadful pleased to see you.
anyway. Walk right in to the kcepin'-
room. Annie, take your aunts bon
net" said Mrs. Ford. who was a most
hospitable woman. bustling into the
house before them to open the door of
Il pleasant room, with two sunny VIM
dows looking out over the rolling
meadows of the farm. A bright car
pet was on the floor; the rocking-chairs
and lounge were covered with fresh
chintz: several pretty pictures hung on
the wall. and Annie's books covered
the table and hanging shelves. Mr..
Ford was Il very well-to-do farmer, and
Annie had spent two years away from
home at school, which accounted for
the tasteful arrangement of flowers and
triflcs about the room.
The green calash removed. Miss An
tiss proved to be an exceedingly small,
spare person, with face yellowed by
time and lined with innumerable wrin-
kles, 4 sharp nose, and faded blue eyes.
Her very thin brown hair screwed into
Il mob on the back of her head, and the
front arranged in two flat curls, held
in place by side combs directly over
her ears. Taking her patchwork from
her bag. she at once began taking small
even stitches. sitting bolt-upright in
her chair. casting sharp glances mean
while out of the window and about the
| room, where no movement of her favor
lite Annie escaped her. Mrs. Ford took
Il rocking-chair and her knitting. Then
the conversation began.
'Be the boys and Jacob well?''
Usually well. Jacob gifts pretty
tired by night, but the boys go ahead,
and do nicely. Sibyl said you'd been
away?"
"Yes, I've been clean a matter of
| twenty miles to the Union: but it didn't
| look very nat raj, and l warn't sorry to
come away. There's hardly anybody
left there that knowed, either"
"What is it like. Aunt Amp said
Lizzie, who had come in and seated
herself on the window-sill beside her.
"Oh, farms now, much as it looks
here. When we used to live there, on
Grcene's patent, between there and
Peru Village the pine-trees stood so
| thick on each side of the road a two
year-old heifer couldn't crowd between
them. and the sun never touched the
road in the longest summer days. 1t
was dreadful wild round there then.
One day me and your gre't-Uncle
Samuel went into the back lot to carry
the men their dinner-'twarn't fur
from the house neither-but we had to
pass little wood, and right the other
side on it, 4 settin' right up on end,
lookin' at us, was what we took for a
great gray dog. He looked at us, and
| we at him; then Sam up with 4 stone
and me with stick, and hove at him.
He jumped up. and trotted off; then
we see that it was gray wolf-as big
q one as ever seen, too
"Oh my! weren't you frightened?''
Aunt Ann paused to take up fresh
block of patchwork, and cast sharp
glance at the slight figure of Annie in
the south window, bending over her
| sewing. with sad, PARKWAY look in
the blue eyes. and Il mournful droop at
the corners of the pretty mouth. Some
thing was the matter, Miss Antiss made
up her mind then and there. Annie
had not heard one word of the brisk
conversation going on around her, that
was plain enough to be seen. What
was the matter? That was the ques-
ton Miss Ann went over and over in
her mind. while her tongue kept time
| with her needle. She would keep her
| nynr nnn,, an.v t;,l ont co.. l;l,n an GOOD
many other Wisc women, Miss Antiss
never asked questions when she really
wished to get at the bottom of any
thing. SO now she threaded her needle.
settled her spectacles again, and went
on; for. rs She said to herself, "Talkin'
kinder covers up SO, people don't think
you're watchin' on 'em, and SO is
kinder throwed off their guard if you
keep a-talkin'."
Enlightened? No, not very. 'Twar' mt
the last one | see. by jugful, or of
other animiles either. One night the
old cow came bellering home, tail
| straight up in the air, and something
dark-colored and yellow right between
her shoulders; the creature jumped off
the cow street up a tree close by the
barn, and from one branch to another
| way off in the woods agin: it was cat
amount, and the poor cow had to be
killed, it had tore such hole in her
shoulder
"How perfectly dreadful! Just sup
pose there should be any catamounts
around here!' and Lizzie glanced with
a shudder toward the grove of sugar.
naples by the river.
"Do tell some more about it, Wasn't
that very wild place?'
"Wild? ! guess it was! Why, when
/ was little, if any of the men-folks
didn't come in at dark, big fires would
be lit, and all the tin pans and tim
horns would be banged and bowed all
through the woods, everybody carryin'
a torch, till they found 'em. or what
was left on 'cm. We girls had scare
one night. My! Me and Ruth and
Lizzie had been down to Uncle John
Greene's. 1t was kinder late and dark,
and we was a-runnin'. The boys had
killed bear that day in the corn-tield,
and so they went and got it and sot it
up, nat'ral as life, right in the path we
was a comm by We was a-laughin'
and gigglin' they could "a heard us a
mile off; SO they bid to see the fun.
Pretty soon we come kerslap on ter the
bear; and then such a screechin' as we
sot up! Father he come out, and warn't
he mad! Such lickin' as every boy he
ketched got was a caution.
"Our folks was Quakers. My mother
was dreadful, harsh. strict woman
though father used to wink at our havin
good times. Many's the time me ane
Liz'beth's throwed our white dresse.
in handbook out the winder to oul
cousins, the Greene boys, and elm ou
arter them, to run away to a dance
footin' it four or perhaps six miles tt
it. When we'd be comm home
though, through them pine woods
'twarn't no laughin' matter-the wolves
on each side on us among the trees
|, First one would yelp and howl-makt
your hair stand up straight-and ther
dozen more would jine in, till i
seemed as of thov wac c1Oco RI on,