The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1881-12-07

AS sure as I'm living sinner, Ill
break it If you put it on the fire," said
Miss Diantha, a new grimness in voice
and eye.
"Try it," said Miss Althea, defiantly.
"I calculate you'll find more'n one kind
o. tea kin be drunk in this house. I've
stood you some years too much, an as
fast's you break, I'll buy. You hain't
forgot the will, an that all expenses
has got to be equally shared by the
three, or as many as lives. 1t ii be a
leetle hard on Chloe, but then she's
used to your imposin' on her, an grain
more won't make much difference"
"Sisters," Miss Chloe began, in an
agony of tremulousness and apprehen-
sion, "for mercy's sake Oh, dear
how can youP Why don't we each have
teapot, an why didn't 1 think Of it
beforep There's one for each, and
caddy apiece too-the little ones grand
father brought home. Oh, don't look
that way, Dianthy, an Althy too! To
think that we're oil sisters, an alone in
the world For PHYS sake !"
"Be still II said Miss Diantha, i'm
peratively. can now, Althy Temple
ton, you hear my last word to you.
When you say you're sorry for this
mornings work I'll say back, an not
before. The Wills fixed so't we can't
split nor divide, an long as we live
there's got to be three in the house.
Well, I wouldn't split if l could.
Folks III ask, an you kin tell. I'm
done."
Done, truly. Eight years had passed,
and not one word had Miss Diantha
been heard to speak. If direction was
needed she wrote on slate and handed
it to Miss Chloe, who acted as mediator
and interpreter. Confident that day
would end it Miss Althea had gone her
way, missing more than she would have
told the war Of words which, after all,
had been only words-a family privi-
lege never destroying certain family
feeling holding its place under all
assaults. But as day after day went by
without sign she, too, grew more and
more determined, and if an occasional
spasm of desire for the old state-or
perhaps better state-of things visited
her, she put it sternly away. Daily the
two faces settled into harder and harder
lines; daily Miss Chloe's eyes grew
more apprehensive.
The three caddies she had filed at
once, the time for some decisive action
on her part seeming to have come at last
beyond any question, and daily she
took down the three teapots, hidden
for years in the recesses of the upper
shelf of the china closet-one old blue,
the last piece of set long ago scat
tered or destroyed; one tiny Wedg-
wood, great-aunt's property, and last,
the bronze-colored earthen their mother
had sometimes used. The three had
each its own place on the stove, and
curious neighbors, who had heard there
was something beyond the common
| goin' on at the Templetons' looked at
them with suspicion as in some way ac-
countable for the difficulty and at las!
with q shake of the head as the silence
refused to yield. The minister argued
and pleaded, the deacons came singly
and in body, exhorting and threaten
ing suspension of church privileges,
and the parish was in a ferment, tilk 6
new cause for discussion arose il
another quarter, reverting to this
however, with surprising constancy.
BY degrees Miss Althea had grown
almost as silent as the elder sister
whose life seemed black shadow, dark
ening even the sunshine of summer o.
the golden light of autumn on the hills
Miss Chloe grew more haggard ever.
day, and her forlorn blue eyes, red
rlmmed with much crying, brimmes
over for months, as she looked appeal
ingly from one to another. Anything
was better than this hard, grim silence
and the two faces always with averte,
eyes.
"Oh, why didn't 1 think of thes
three teapots before?" Chloe moane,
to the old minister. "Such an cas-
way out of &fI the trouble; an there
let it go on, an now l shall always b
responsible"
No argument availed against this con
clusion, and no length of time prove,
sufficient to overthrow it. Months ral
into years at last, but time seemed neve
to deaden the continuous self-reproacl
of this Templeton, who had absorbe
the conscience of the whole generation
and who sought vainly to reconcile il
reconcilable forces.
"When an irresistible wave encounter
an immovable rock, what is the result? ?
had questioned Leander Lamson, hom
from Dartmouth, and overfowing wit
Sophomore logic; and old Lamsor
after a pause for reflection, answered
"Tarnal smash for whatever comes be
tween"
, Miss Chloe had come between, an
her looks indicated something equiva
: lent to "tarnal smash
: Lucinda Wetherbee, once the owne
of a small but profitable farm, ha
+" "signed" for her brother, a luckles
. scamp, who fed to the West when tn
final crash came, leaving Lucinda q
, sixty to face it asshe might. The end wa
8 the town farm, where the poor creatuT
went for life. too crushed by the sue
den cessation of all the small activitie