The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1880-04-15
A Threatened Divorce.

| the boss nuisance, whenever IL is, mas
played serious part in the history of
my family and of my friends. In an
unfortunate moment, some days ago
| (maledictions be on iD | invested ten
cents in the Fifteen" puzzle. thought
l had obtained my moneys worth, but
alas I had purchased ten nights wake
fulness and fifteen times more family
feud then had reckoned on. Thought
as carried the wretched little instru-
ment of torture home in my pocket
how happy / was to have it, and instead
of that, 1 have not known what it is to
be happy since its shadow darkened my
doors. On the first night l worked
hard over it until A. NJ, although the
hardest work had was to keep my
wife and eldest daughter from Selling
it. went to bed with headache, dis
appointed and mad, but determined. l
awoke in the morning with headache
and found my daug liter of fifteen at
"ffteen." She was late at school that
day, and l reached my office two hours
behind time. 1t was the 10th of the
| month, but dated all my letters 18th,
and one of them after the old style,
"l3-l5-l4." That evening l was
forced to use paterRal and martial au-
thority to keep the peace and the
pieces | may add. 1t never occurred to
us to buy another puzzle. | worked all
the evening hard, and got pretty mad,
not because l couldn't do it, but because
that busybody of Il wife persisted in tell
ing me how to move the blocks-as if
she knew better than did
The next evening my mother-in-law
came to tea with US. She said she had
done the "ffteen" puzzle several times.
"Not with l0-ll,' said, "nor with Is
IA" ooh, yes" she replied. "Well,
there must have been some of the other
numbers out of sequence, too" | said
NO" she still insisted, nothing but Is
IA" "And you are sure You didn't
lift one one Continued IL, sNcrucuiiy.
"Of course l didn't" she rctortd with
asperity; "do you think | cheat and tell
falsshoods 2" Whereupon 1 gulped
down my sneaking suspicious on that
subject, and replied very blandly (be-
cause she has money and my wife, Fan
ME, has only one sister,, Certainly not,
mother dear but then thought per
haps it was accidental" "Well, Mr..
c." she said, excitedly, and rising from
the table, "you must take me for an
idiot to think that could lift block
by accident" "Can you do the puzzle
again |" asked. moved by a satanic in
stinct to prove to her that she was
wrong, and utterly unmindful of her
limitless bank account. 81 don't know
she replied CURLY, AS she swept out of
the room with that dignity which is
born alone of the consciousness of pos.
sessing cords of the U. S. registered As
or truck of similar nature. Fannie
came down very cross and said, SD
ward, l think you were extremely rude. "
POSSIBLY said /, "but she can't do 10
IA, if was" Nothing more was said,
and Fannie went off to bed early. did
not.
Truthfulness runs in my wife'S family
and consequently l was tortured with
the belief that my mother in law had
done "l5-l4," and if she had done it,
it was possible, would do it; 50
worked until half rast twelve. When
went upstairs Fanny was awake, but IN
awkward silence reigned supreme. That
was the first night for sixteen years that
| had failed to kiss her goodnight, ex
cept when We were not together. The
next evening my daughter declared that
she could do "ll-l0' or "l5 H." sc
after tea we went at it, vi ct arms, oil
in other words, determined to vie with
ont arms She fooled around ovel
those blocks for an hour until l got SC
nervous and so provoked with the stupid
way she moved them that i would hav,
slapped her had she only been younger
A circle of FIVE or seven is the only lie
Ultimate way to move, and instead o.
that she travelled all over the board
Finally she changed the location of tn,
vacant square and declared she had done
it. j sent her to bed.
The next day was Sunday, and really
for me, day Of rest. Throughout thu
Litany, when the congregation muir
INJURED, Good Lord, deliver u.s." l 81
lently added, "from the puzzle of fifteen.
But our climax came on the following
4 evening when my wife asserted, anC