The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1882-05-23

menced playing dreary minor dirge
She knew Cal hated minor music
but he read away as calmly as though
he was the only person in the room.
Tired of playing, at last Pet rose, say.
ing, "if you are going to read all even.
ing think I'll retire" and she went
from the room with an almost ire
sistible desire to slam the door. bur she
wouldn't let Cal see how provoked she
was. So she went up stairs and tried
the bonnet on again. and finally went
to bed but not to sleep; visions of
Cal, lonely and cross in the sitting
room below, haunted her. 1t was the
first cloud that had ever come betweea
them, and for such silly thing. too !;
but then Cal is to blame, she whisper
ed to herself, and closing her eyes fell
into a restless sleep in which visions
of sun6Owers and cabbages danced in
wild confusion before her ewes. She
awoke with an icy cramped feeling to
find that Cal had not come up stairs.
She had left the light burning, and
the hands of the little gilt clock on the
mantle both pointed to twelve. A
dreadful fear took possession of her.
why hadn't Cal come? May be he
was dead"
She remembered hearing him say
an uncle of his had died suddenly
with heart disease and she had parted
from him in anger and had almost
slammed the door. What should she
do?
Growing almost wild With suspense,
she rose and trembling descended the
stairs. She opened the sitting room
door. Cal was still in the easy chair.
but his eyes were closed and his hands
hung Imply at his side. so, Cali"
she shrieked, and tainted.
When she came to, Cal was holding
her i'm his arms.
80, Cal, darling che murmured,
care you alive?"
"Alive. Why, child, what is the
matter. | was sitting here and fell
asleep, when a terrible scream awoke
me and there you lay on the floor all
in little white heap. "What frigh-
tened you, pet?"
"YOu're not angry With nae any
more, are you, Cal" she whispered. 81
won't ever wear that hOrrid bonnet,
and O, Cal, [ was so miserable be-
cause We quarreled. / could not sleep.
and | woke up and it was twelve
o'clock, and / began to imagine all
sorts of dreadful things, and when I
could not stand it any longer, came
down and you sat there so still, with
your eyes shut. thought YOU were
dead? U, don't let us ever quarrel
again
Pet was clinging to him and crying
and laughing, and kissing him, and
what could he do but tell her he was
a brute and is was all his fault, and
he'd never be cross again.
The next day Mrs. Branch wore
her old bonnet to church, but her
face wore a contented expression I
that it would not have had had she
wore her poke bonnet; and Monday
evening, when Cal came home, he
handed her a box in which she found
the daintiest of creamy-chip bonnets,
with creamy lace and tips to
while a cluster of pale blush
'oses nestled lovingly against the
,rim.
"Cal, you are the best husband in
he world" she said, as she tried the
lainty bonnet on.
"And I've got the sweetes, best
wife in the world" he added.
And since the day she bought her
irst spring bonnet neither she nor
jal have mentioned sunfowers, and
he poke with its gorgeous ties and
,sthetic flower reposes undisturbed in
Is bandbox what will be its future
ate none can tell, but one thing is
ertain, it will never adorn the head
fMrs. Branch.