Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1881-10-01

Without heed to his frantic gestures
and loudly-shouted words, l fled back TO
the house and sank, nearly fainting, on
the chintz sofa, with both hands clasped
over my eyes.
81 declare for It, though, that was
real gritty" was Betsey's admiring
comment, as she hurried to bring the
camphor and red lavender to my res
cue.
"Mamma, will he kill us?" whispered
Donald, who was q timid child and
chung close to me.
"Shall | cut off his head with my tin
sword, mammal" bawled Tommy, the
irrepressible.
"Betsey," l cried, rousing myself to
the paramount necessity of not fainting,
"place yourself at the window. Watch
for passers-by-"
yes, 'um."
"Explain to them our dreadful pre-
dicament," went on. Summon help
the instant it appears; and, above all,
keep every door and easement locked
and bolted, lest that fiend in human
shape should break loose and attack us.
There's an old rifle upstairs in the gar
ret, isn't there, BetseyP" added, with
a sudden inspiration.
"Yes, 'um,' said Betsey; "but it
amt just in tirst-rate workin' order,
l calculate"
"There isn't either stock nor lock to
it, mamma" chimed in Tommy. 81
loaded it with ashes, last week, and put
in pebbles for bullets, and it wouldn't
fire off worth cent"
But there's the carving knife and the
potato.pounder, mamma" suggested
Donald.
Hooked at the clock. Only eleven!
1t would be six hours, at the very near
est, before my husband would return
from the city. Suppose-this was a
lonely and seldom-traveled neighbor-
hood, mere branch from the main thor
oughfare which traversed the valley like
a gigantic artery, and the hypothesis
was by no means so very unlikely as it
might seem-that there should be abso-
lutely no passers-by between that time
and this
Betsey," said l, "this won't do. l
believe my hair will turn white with this
terrible agony Of suspense!"
"Ma'am?n said Betsey, who had the
Shakesperian faculty of "not marking
withal.n
"Either you or must go for help" l
uttered, very distinctly.
If it wasn't for goin' right past the
barn-door, wouldn't mind" said Bet.
, sey.
ats fastened, Betsey," l pleaded.
: "But them there wooden buttons
doesn't amount to nothing" said Bet
sey. "And only s'pose he jumps out al
, me?"
l was just about TO reproach Betsey
with having none of the elements of the
, heroine in her composition, when little
Donald, who had posted himself in the
5 garret-window to watch, came tumbling
I head over heels into the room, witt
l Tommy close behind.
-, "Mamma! mammal" they shouted
e in chorus; "there's somebody com
t ing, and we guess it's Deacon Gadsley
: on horseback, riding back from thu
t train"
d "Stop him!" ] gasped-"fOr mercy
t sake, stop him!"
d b" He's a-makin' straight for the barn
It the skinny length of her neck furthe
out of the window than l dared to do
d "He's heard that feller's hollerin'. He
S unbarring the big doors! Land o. lib
P erty!"-with long breath" Their
J comes the poor, crazy creetur out, witt
g hop, skip and jump! Wal, if Deacon
'' Gadsley likes to risk it, l wouldn't"
81 have heard of instances" | said
y family, "where some one particula
n individual exercises unbounded influ
/ ence over the mind of the insane, and
e At this moment, however, Deacon
|! Gadsley himself knocked briskly at tn
= door. made haste to open it.
; "Be We all crazy here!" said the dea
S con, with broad smile upon his sun
burned countenance. "If We amt, wha
y in the name of all creation possessed y
u to shut up my son Hiram in the barnp'
"Your son Hiram!" / gasped, feebly
l. "Was that your son Hiram? /
o thought it was-an insane man.
Il "What?" roared Deacon Gadsley.
/ "Betsey said that you shouted out, q
you rode by, Tell your mistress to cal
II the children in-there's an insane maj
IS in the barn!'n
"GOOd Jerusalem! !" cried the deacon
= slapping his knee, show folks will ge
/, things twisted around! l never said NJ
> such thing. What l did say was, There
tune lamb in the barn. I've prom
u ised one to them boys of yours, eve
u since they came up here, and this morn
: in our Hiram fetched 'em regular lit
a tie cosset. And there he is, munchin
e clover, down there, with Hiram holdin
s on to his rope. And you s'posed it wa
crazy man! Ha, ha, ha! Well, tina
. does beat all! Ho, no, ho!"
l. The deacon's ordinations echoe,
IS through my little parlor like the rever
s. berations of thunderstorm. locke,
l. reproachfully at Betsey, as the prima
e cause of all the panic. That damsel
however, evinced no sign of discomftur
it was not her way.
a "Wal," said Betsey, slowly, {"
u always was little hard o. hearin', eve
II 5iu0o L bod th0-AAaslat- fAuar. -twantu
two years ago, come September. An,
: l s'pose we're all liable to mistakes.
That was the end of our hour of terror
}. Betsey retired to her washing; Deacon
+ Gadsly went his way chuckling; tn
c children rushed whooping out to tn
g barn, where Hiram, the victim of thi
o unfortunate misunderstanding, stood
q smiling broadly, with the tame lamb a
t his side, bravely tied up in blue ribbon
|, and l looked in the glass secretl
thankful that my hair hadn't turned