The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1881-06-30

The Tuesday following was the regular
day for the weekly sewing circle, and sell
dom had that interesting gathering proved
so lovely and animated as on this occasion.
Miss Patience was in the field bright
and early, and it was evident at glance to
those who knew her best, that she was
well nigh bursting with some important
secret that she was only waiting q fitting
opportunity to divulge. That opportuni-
ty was not long in coming, for Mrs. Dea
Farrell, who was a constitutional crOaker
took occasion to say, in reference to the
hard times:
The deacon had been tryin' ter collect
the church tax, and he says he never found
money SO tight in all the years he's lived
here. It's as hard to git five dollars now
as 1t used to be to get ten"
And no WONDER" spoke up Miss Pa
tience with the stony severity of sphinx.
You can't expect folks to feel like payin'
out their money when they see it fairly
thrown away an wasted"
Everybody looked curious and some of
the younger girls began to bride detiantly.
The minister's sweet young wife was evil
~ Ae'oiloS VIII lACll, uU lSttol.
what 40 you mean by that?" asked
Mrs. Farrell, pointedly "Mrs. Graham is
young and inexperienced, to be sure; but
as the deacon was sayin' only yesterday, she
does very well indeed considering
Patience tossed her head knowingly. "I
don't want to say nothin' to hurt her, but
livln' next door as l do, I can't always
help SEEM and hearin' things that other
folks can't be expected to know about, and
when | see and know things like"
There was an ominous pause, and tn"
deacon's wife asked excited y
Like what?"
Chicken pies with legs and feet of the
chicken baked in!"
Had thunderbolt fallen among them it
could not have caused greater surprise to
those tidy, thrifty New England house.
keepers than this dreadful revelation of
the incapacity of the pastors young wife.
Are you sure of it ?" gasped one matron,
breaking the ominous silence 81 know it
for fact" was solemnly returned.
Chicken legs in pie"
She's born fool" calculated the dea-
cons wife, Indignantly, "and I'm thankful
for her poor husbands sake that l sent her
over one of my pies yesterday. They had
to throw hers away, of course, and it's
lucky that he didn't have to go without his
Thanksgiving breakfast on account of her
ignorance an shiftlessness.
"How did you know about the pie:
asked one Of the girls.
Miss Patience bristled detiantly. "That's
nobody's business but my own" she re-
torted, tartly. II don't 60 round to find
out things that don't concern me, I'd have
you know, but when they're thrown right
into my face, as you might say, l don't shct
my eyes no m0ren other folks"
Just here the door opened, and in walk
ed the subject of their conversation, her
pretty face glowing with the haste that she
had made, and mischievous twinkle in
her brown eyes that nobody noticed, so &C.
cupied were they in hiding the confusion
that her sudden entrance had created.
Walking to the table where most Of the
ladies were sitting, she saluted them cor
daily; and then holding out upon the tip
of her slender finger well-worn silver
thimble, she said archly-
"Where do you think | found your Thin
BILE, Miss Patience?''
So pleased was Miss Patience to regain
her lost treasure that she forgot for a mo-
ment all assumed dignity and exclaimed
joyfully-
well, 1 declare, am glad to see that
thimble once more! told Mary Jane that
felt sure had it on my finger when /
run into your house Thanksgivin' mornin'
arter that yeast. But when l got home,
it want nowhere to DO found.1 Now where
did you find it?"
Her shrill, high voice had attracted the
attention Of all in the room, and every
body looked up curiously as the minister's
wife replied, with an innocent smile.
SIN the chicken-pie that our good friend
here"-and she nodded brightly to Mrs.
Farrell-sent me. I left the pie on the
dresser when went down cellar after your
yeast, and as soon as I came back put it
on the table, and when my husband cut it
there was your thimble in it. How could
it have got there? 1t is certainly very
mysterious anyway"
Silence, dead, profound, yet, oh, how ter
ribly significant to the dcacon's wife and
her spinster neighbor, fell upon the group.
This was apparently unnoticed by Mrs.
Graham, who, with playful admonition
to Miss Patience to take better care of her
thimble in future, began an animated con-
versation with the ladies nearest her, that
soon restored the company to their wonted
ease and good humor.
But poor Miss Patience she never heard
the last of her lost thimble. While the
deacon's wife, to the day Of her death,
never trusted any hands but her own to
make Thanksgiving pies for her minister.