The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1880-10-29


To be tainted with letting s-teenty''
Mary fall one Of the darling twins,
and so very precious in Toms sight
this quite broke his heart, to say moth.
ing of the other misdeeds that Dick had
arrayed like ':Day OF Judgment be.
fore him. @
20, Dick, I didn't 90 TO do it, she
just jumped so quick when wasn't
looking. But it's no use. I'm always
doing something I don't mean to. Am
agreat bother. wish I could live all
alone by myself. I'll 60 away off where
there amt no folks, and then I shan't
bother nobody" and he threw himself
on the ground and cried. ~
Mlly witnessed Toms outburst with
baby wonder in her blue eyes, and Rob,
Juggling the white hen along, didn't
mind much about it, but Dick rather
enjoyed this tempest of his own rails
ing. and went on whistling as he fol-
lowed Milly. Rob and the dead hen into
the house.
Mrs. Writ had just laid the twins,
Maud and Mary, fast asleep into their
wide crib in the cool sitting-room in
the middle of the house or houses, for
the original house had been quite lost
in the porches, Is and lean-tos which
had been added from time to time.
AS the children came bustling in, Mrs.
Writ looked up with q gentle "Now,
little folks, don't wake the babies, for
I've such heaps of work to do this aft
ernoon." 90 y 5its
"Look, mother, Quathy 18th killed. -
"And Tommy cried cause Dickey
said he killed it," put in sober Milly.
"Oh, Quashy has been ailing for two
or three days, and so she is dead. Dick,
you shouldn't hector Tommy so; he s
careless. and his head is too far of, ,
as Dutch Fritz says, but he isn't cruel,
and fear you are. Milly, tell Tommy
to come to me-" and Mrs. Writ went
about her work. Milly did not find
Tom under the tree, and meeting her
two large brothers coming from the hay
field, she learned of them that Tom had
been seen going into the house; so she
went to pick wild asters by the brook.
and thought no more of Tommy and his
troubles. Mrs. Writ quite forgot the
grieved child, too; for neighb0r came
in to get her recipe for blackberry
shrub, and after the neighbor left,
down in the half underground milk
room, working over the mornings
churning and settling dozen difficult
questions in her domestic world. she
neither thought again of Tommy's woes
nor saw the clouds coming up that sud-
denly darkened the whole sky and end
ed in a tempest of wind and rain.
They were all gathering at the supper
table as the rain began to pour in tor
rents; and Father Writ, looking up and
down the long table. asked, in his CHEEKY
way:
sAre all of us here, mother2''
Whether or not they were all there,
the table was pretty well filed, for
there were two German farm-hands,
the large Writ boys, Charles and Will.
the girls of eleven and thirteen, Jane
and Mercy, and Agnes, just the age of
Jane "a cousins orphaned daughter, for
Mrs. Writ, having so many, didn't
mind taking in one more), then there
were Rob, Milly and the twins. one
tied in its high chair beside the father.
the other at its mothers left side, while
at Mrs. Wirt's right hand sat lame
Betsey, the sewing woman from the
large city fifty. miles away, who had
her vacation and country air at the
farm every summer, and yet there were
two vacant seats-Tom and Dick were
not there.
Supper was nearly finished when
Dick, drenched to the skin, burst in,
exclaiming:
HAS anyone seen Tom? I have
looked all about the barns and sheds;
and he's so afraid of thunder-storms,
too"
81 gueth he'th ruined away; thaid
he would" up spoke matter of-fact
A laugh greeted this speech from all
save Dick, who began to cry. A few
questions put the father and mother in
possession of all the particulars of Tom
my's "tantrum." as Dick called it.
20 he's in the house somewhere, you
may be sure" suggested lame Betsey,
and set off herself to search for him.
The rest followed her example, and for
once in their six-months' lives the
twins were forgotten and left alone
cooling ut each other across the table,
while the family left no part of the
old house unsearched. Lame
Betsey, remembering Ginevra, looked
into all the boxes and chests either
locked or unlocked.
Missing some of Tommy's little be-
longings from their usual places, Mrs.
Writ returned to the twins and, calling
Mr.. Writ, said, with a mixture of anx-
iety and amusement: 1.-THE queer
child! he has surely run away. and all |
of US must start right OF to find him, for
the shower is about over. and it will |
soon be dark"
But as she prepared herself to go, and |
sent the men and boys off, she thought |