The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-10-07

sleep so, and such an awful storm 60
ing on"
why, how en- one be ashamed when
he is asleep? 1t is unreasonable; man
can't be ashamed when he is asleep,
Evangeline."
"You never try, Mortimer-you know
very well you never try"
/ caught the sound of muffied sobs.
That sound smote dead the sharp
speech that was on my lips, and L
changed it to:
I'm sorry, dear-rm truly sorry.
never meant to act so. Come back
and"
"MoRrIMERr'
Heavens! what is the matter, my
loveg'
"Do you mean to say you are in that
bed yet?''
why, of course"
"Come out of it instantly. l should
think you would take some little care of
your life, for mn sake and the chill
dren's, if you will not for your own"
But my love"
Don't talk TO me, Mortimer. You
knOU there is no place so dangerous as
a bed, in such a thunderstorm as this
all the books say that; yet there you
would lie, and deliberately throw away
your life for goodness knows what,
unless for the sake of arguing and argu-
guing, and"
But, confound it, Evangeline, I'm
not in bed nO1C. Pm"
TSentence interrupted by a sudden
glare of lightning, followed by ter
riied little scream from Mrs. McWill-
Jams and a tremendous blast of thun-
der.
" There! You see the result. O,
Mortimer, how can you be so prohigate
as to swear at such time as this?"
Il didn't swear. And that wasn't a
result of it, any way. 1t would have
come, Just the same, if hadn't said a
word; and you know very well, Evan
geline-at least you ought to know
that when the atmosphere is charged
with electricity"
90, yes, now argue it, and argue it,
and argue It'll don't see how YOU can
act so, when you baOU there is not a
lightning rod on the place and your poor
wife and children are absolutely at the
mercy of Providence. What are you
doing?-lighting match at such time
as this! Are you stark mad?"
Hang it, woman, where's the harm?
The place is as dark as the inside of an
inGdel, and"
- Put it out! put it out instantly! Are
you determined to sacrifice us all? You
k11OC there is nothing attracts lightning
like a light. TFzt!-crasb! 5oom!E
boJoom-bo0n1-boom1 o, just hear it!
Now you see what you've doner'
mo, | don't see what I've done. A
match may attract lightning, for all l
know, but it don't cause lightning I'll
90 odds on that And it didn't attract
it worth a cent this time; for if that shot
was leveled at my watch, it was blessed
poor marksmanship-about an average
of none out of a possible million,
should say. Why, at Dollymount, such
craftsmanship as that"
"For shame, Mortimer! Here we are
standing right in the very presence of
death and yet in 50 solemn moment
you are capable of using such language
as that. If you have no desire to
Mortimer
"Wel?"
"Did you say your prayers tonight"
"I-I-meant to, but | got to trying
to cipher out how much twelve times
thirteen is, and"
TFztAboon1-5err0On1-boom! humble
uH1Jle JaRg-sMASH!l
go, we are lost, beyond all help,
How could you neglect such a thing at
such time as this?"
But it lCGSn't such a time as this. ,
There WASH a cloud in the sky. How
could know there was going to be all
this rumpus and pow-wOw about a lit
tie slip like that? And | don't think
it's Just fair for you to make so much
out of it, any way, seeing it happens so
seldom | haven't missed before since
brought on that earthquake, four years
ago"
MORTIMER How you talk Have
you forgotten the yellow fever?"
"My dear, you are always throwing
up the yellow fever to me, and | think
it is perfectly unreasonable. You cam
even send a Geographic message as far
as Memphis without relays, so how is a
little devotional slip of mine going to
carry so far? I'll stand the earthquake,
because it was in the neighborhood but
I'll be hanged if m going to be re-
sponsible for every blamed"
TFzt!-BOOM berOOm-boOm boom =
BANG 7
"Oh, dear, dear, dear 1 bnow it
struck something, Mortimer We never
shall see the light of another day, and
if it will do you any good to remember,
when we are gone, that your dreadful
language M0rtimerr
"WELL! What now?"
"Your voice sounds as if-Mortimer,
you are actually standing in front of
that open fire-place?"
"That is the very crime l am COM
hitting"
Get away from it, this moment.
You do seem determined to bring de-
struction on us all. Don't you bnoU
that there is no better conductor for
lightning than an open chimney? NoU
where have you got TOP"
"rm here by the window"
90, for PHYS sake, have you lost
your mind? Clear out from there this
moment. The very children in arms
know it is fatal to stand near a
window in a thunderstorm. Dear,
dear, l know 1 shall never see the light
of another day. Mortimer?
Yes?"
"What is that rustling?"
"It's me-"
"What are you doing?"
Trying to find the upper end of my
pantaloons."
"Quick throw those things away |!
1 do believe you would deliberately put
on those clothes at such time as this
vet YOU know perfectly well that all