Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-06-21

me- They tried to stop him, but he
took his hat Oft the peg and was startin
to go out when Phil says awful quiet
like: If it has come to this, Jack, that
you and / can't spend an evenin' to-
gether under the same roof, of course /
must be the one to go. 1t is your house,
not mine. [ have no right here He
jest glanced at Lucy sort O. wistful, and
waited second as if he thought she
might tell him to stay, but she Jest stood
there with her eyes fashin' and her teeth
shet tight and never said word. Phil
bowed very formal like and said: Il
won't trouble you any more, and was
gone before we hardly knew what had
happened. Lucy jest took up the
checkerboard quiet as you please, and
says, Now, let's hev another game,
Jack. must beat you once this evenin' >
So Jack set down again kind o. sheepish,
and I never heared word said about it
afterward
Lucy was jest as gay as ever, and
she and Jack would carry on together
jest as they always had, but sometimes
[ thought she must be putin it on, but
perhaps she wasn't, after ALL Jack staid
to hum more for a while, and used to go
to church with Lucy, and sometimes I'd
watch 'em to see what would happen
when they met Phil One Sunday they
met on the meetin' house steps. Phil
had been standin' there watchin' 'em
comm with dreadful hungry look in
his eyes, and when they come up the
steps Jack gave cool little nod, and
Lucy; with the same look she had that
night and the least little bit o color in
her cheeks, bowed quite sober and dig
nifed-hke, without smilin', and went on
| fast, as If she was in a hurry to get by.
But she didn't sing any O. the tunes that
day, and I always thought she bowed
that way fer fear of offendin' Jack, for
he was dead set agin Phil, and Lucy'd
made up her mind to lose the whole
world if she could gain Jack.
"As luck would have it (some folks
says there amt no such thing as luck,
but 1 swan, if there amt some things I
can't lay to Providence, old Squire Mar
wins niece come to visit 'em jest then.
She want his own niece either, fer she
was his sisters husbands child by his
second wife. She come from New York.
You might known it without askin', she
was so cityfed. She want SO pretty
lookin', but there was someth;n' about
her that I've heard folks call style.
Never could quite tell what it was, only
her clothes was made leetle different.
and she always looked to hum in 'em,
no matter how fine they was. When she
laughed, which she did consid' bile, she
came pretty nigh bein' handsome. Of
course she and Bess and Phil went round
together when Bess could go. Her
health was failin', poor thing, and she
had to stay to hum a good deal, and
when she couldn't go, Miss Margaret
Chat Yves her name, Margaret Bird) and
Phil went without her. Material enough
folks soon began to say what good
match 'twould make, and, of course,
Lucy heard it all. She wouldn't go no.
where unless Jack would go with her,
and sometimes he wouldn't and some
times he want invited, 80 she hardly
ever met Phil.
MISS Margaret she staid a good
while, and when she went hum and Phil
went back to college everybody said
they was engaged. 1 most knew they
WANT, though, for the night before Phil
went back happened to be lookin' out
o'clock, and [ seed him come up from his
place and walk past the house slows a
funeral. Then he come back and leaned
on the fence and put his head down on
his arms, and stood there stills post for
half an hour, I should think. [ got tired
watchin' him and left the window for
few minits, and when came back he
was goin' down the road toward hum.
Well, the next day old Miss jerks come
IN, meddlin' old woman as she was, and
says she, you've lost Phil They say he's
engaged to Margaret Bird. It took Lucy
so sudden like that she WANT prepared,
and she turned so white that Miss jerks
was scared, and says she, Mercy on us,
child, don't faint [ didn't know you
thought SO much on him. But Lucy'd
come to by that time, and she drew her
self up like queen, and says she very
scornful: Miss jerks, although it is
none O. your business, let me assure you
that you are entirely mistaken. I'm not
break1n' my heart over Phil, as you seem
to imagine. Margaret Bird is charm.
ing girl, and will make him good wife,
7 am sure, and l shall dance at the we'd
ding party as gayly as any one. Per-
haps / shall be married frst-who
knows ?" and she laughed, queer little
laugh. Miss jerks didn't stay long, but
after that Lucy talked about the new en-
gagement s if she didn't care straw.
That was the winter yer poor Uncle
Jack died. You've heared tell on be-
fore. He took too much one night and
walked off the edge O. the bridge, and
fell into the river. He drowned before
any one could get him out. It most
killed yer grandpa and grandma. Lucy
never shed tear through it all, but you
could see the poor child heart was most
broken. Phil come home to the funeral,
and in the evenin' he called to see Lucy,
but she was in her room and wouldn't
come down. s'pose she couldn't bear
to see any then that want friends with
Jack. He left some posies for her, two
or three rose buds, and asked her grand
ma to give 'em to her with his regards.
She was different after that, so quiet
and sweet and patient, it made my heart
ache.
"One night after the rest had gone to