Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-02-03

says [, almost coldly. Not real cold, bu
sort o. coolish-like. For I hain't ont
when I tackle cross. to 60 carryin'
along, groanin' and cryin' out loud, a
the way. No, if can't carry it along
without maxim too much fuss, I'll drop
and tackle another one. so, as say, M
tone wuzn't frigid; but, sort O. cold like
Who'll wait on 'em 20 says I.
sect girl, get two girls" says JOSIAH
says he: sThink of sixteen dollars week
You can keep variety of hired girls, 20
kin, on that. Besides the pure happines
we are goin' to enjoy with 'em, we ca
have everything we want. Thank fortune
Samantha. we have now got a compe
tency."
"Wall," says I, In the same coolisl
tones, or pretty nigh the same, slime will
tell"
Wal, they come on a Friday mornin' on
the five o'clock train. Josiah had to meet
'em at the depot, and he felt so afraid thai
he should miss 'em, and somebody elst
would undermine him, and get 'em az
boarders, that he was up about thre'
O'Clock, and went out and MIXED by can
delight, SOS to be sure to be there il
season.
And had to get up and cook his break.
fast, before daylight; feelin' like fool
too, for he had kept me awake all night
Almost, a-walking' round the house, a
lookin' at the clock, to see what time il
wus; and, if he said to me once, he SAID
thirty times, durin' the night:
''It would be jest like my luck, to have
somebody get in ahead of me to the cars
and undermine me at the last minute, and
get 'em away from u.s."
Says 1, in dry tone, (not SO dry as ]
nad used sometimes, but dryish):
81 guess there won't be any danger
Josiah"
Wal, at about a.quarter to seven, he
driv' up with 'em: tall, wapish lookin
woman, and four children; the man, they
said, wouldn't be there till Saturday night.
thought the woman had a singular look
to her: I thought SO when I first sot my
eyes on her. And the Oldest boy, about
thirteen years old, he looked awful curl
Gus. I thought, to myself, as they walked
up to the house, side by side, that I never,
in all my hull life, seed waspisher and
more spindliner lookin' boy. The three
children that come along behind 'em,
seemed to be prett much of a size, and
looked healthy, an full of witchcraft, az
we found afterwar s, they indeed wus.
Wal, 1 had a hard tussle of it, through
the day. to cook and do for 'em. Their
appetites wus tremendous, specially the
woman and oldest boy. They wuzn't
healthy appetites, I could see that in a
minute. Their eyes would look heller and
hungry, and they would look voraciously
at the empty, deep dishes, and tureens
after they had eat 'em all empty-eat
enough for four men.
Why, it did beat all; Josiah looked at
me, in silent wonder and dismay, as he
seen the vittles disappear before that wo-
man and boy. The other three children
eat about as common, healthy children dc
about twice what Josiah and me did
But there wuzn't nothin' mysterious about
'em. But, the woman and Bill-that was
the biggest boys name-they made me
feel curious; curieuser than I had ever
felt. For, truly, thought to myself. il
their legs and arms hain't boiler, how dc
they hold it?
It was, to me, new and interestin
spectacle. to be studied over, and philoso
phized upon; but, to Josiah, it was can.
ker, as I see the very first meal. I could
see, by the looks of his face, that them two
appetitss of thsirn wus sunthin' he hadn t
reckoned, and calculated on; and could
see, plain, havin' watched the changes of
my companions face, as close as astroni-
mers watch the moon, could see them
two appetites Of theirn wus a-wearln' on
him.
Wal, thought mebby they wus kinder
starved out, comm right from city
boardin '-house, and few Of my good
meals would quell 'em down. But, no;
instead of growin' lighter, them two ap-
petites of theirn seemed, if possible, to
grow consuminer and consuminer, though
I cooked lavish and profuse, as I always
did. They devoured everything before
'em, and looked hungry at the plates and
table-cloths.
And Josiah looked on in perfect agony,
I knew. He is very close)-But, he
didn't say nothin'. And it seemed SO aw-
full mysterious to me, that I would get
perfectly lost, and by the side of myself.
a-reasonin' and philosophical on it, wheth-
Ell their legs wus boiler, or not boiler. And
if they wus boiler, how they could walk
round on 'em; and if they wuzn It heller
where the vittles went to.
twill they never stop eatin'?'' said
Josiah, and he got madden, every day. He
vowed he would charge extra.
It was after we went to bed. that he
said this. But told him to talk low; for
her room wus just over ours, and says l,
in a low but firm axsnt:
''Don't you do no such thing, Josiah
Allen. Do you realize how it would look!
What a sound it would have to tho COM
munity? You agreed to take 'em for four
dollars, and they'd call it mean"
''Wall'' he hollered out ''Do you s'pose
I am goin' to board people for nothin'? l
took men and women and children to
board. didn't agree to board elephants
and rhinoeeroses, and appropriateness and
whales and sea-serpents. And I won't
neither, unless I have my pay for it; it
wuzn It in the BILL"
EDO you keep sJill, Josiah Allen" I
whispered. ''She will hear you calling her
sea-serpent."
"Let her hear me. I say, agin', it
wuzn't in the bill!'' He hollered this out
louder than ever. I s'pose he meant it
wuzn't in the bargain; but he was nearly
delirious. He is close, can't deny it,;
nearly tight.
But, jest that minute, before I could say
word. we heard an awful noise. right
over our heads. 1t sounded as if the hull
I, eou