The Northern Pacific farmer., 1883-09-20
JACKS VIGIL.

you Cali i, lOI IlIc lAio VI yOuj ouy UA"o
makes it the queen of flowers. You can
only say it's rose. A."
.Hear; bear!" shouted Jacks auditors
uproariously.
Jack raised his pipe to his lips with
serene satisfaction, indulging in placid
Whit till the noisy demonstration came
to an end.
Quiet restored, Jack resumed:
II repeat my last words. You can
only say it's rose. So, gentleman, it
is with the widy. That something
about her is nameless. Afar or a-near
you feel it, but you only say-its the
widy."
"Hi, hill" responded the audience.
Jack took another puff and somewhat
sadly continued.
"Gentlemen, we have so far had the
widy in general; now we'll take the widy
in particular-my widy. Gentlemen,
she was as clean timbered craft as ever
set sail for a husband. Her eyes we're
coral banks, and her teeth and skin like
the solid sea foam! not a speck on the
whiteness ofeither. And the color OF
her cheek! Bless you! no rose ever
equalled it; while her chestnut brown
ba:r was enough to entangle the soul of
-of-vell, of a sailor! 1t got me!
Well, the upshot of my ensnaring was
that took board with her. She kept q
neat, handy girl, and nobody ever had a
nicer home. The longer l stayed the
more swore it should be mine forever,
and the widy with it. didn't lose any
time, but set straight in to courting, and
with very good success. Mrs. Merrihew
soon acknowledged that was the man
for her and the thing was settled.
But, about two weeks before TIE banns
were to be published, began to notice
Mrs. Merrihew looked worried, and a
little more worried every day. For ten
days or so she put me- off. At last she
told me all about her trouble"
I'm an orderly woman,, you know,
Jack?" she said: II, j!
"Such another don't live!'' Icried.
We'll, jack" she answered, "there's
a chest, pointing TO one across the room,
all done up fanciful in chintz-'' there's
chest that won't stay in order one
nisht! First accused Mary Ann the
girD of meddling with it She most left
me, she was so mad, and soon found
was all wrong. But who was at my chest
every blessed night, and who is?-There
ain't a thing in it'but old bills and pa
pers; they are Of no use to me, but l of.
ten look over them, and they amt oil
use to any other living soul! Jack, l tell
you what Think j.. -. -.
"Well?"
II think the chests bewitched! And
Mary Ann thinks so too, and threatens
to 70 ii / don't burn it! AS true as you
live, Jack, put that chest in apple pie
order every day, and every hight it's
turned topsv-turvy. : lock ii and put
the keys under my pillow, and lock and
bolt the door, and screw down the win
dows- cit's all the same, the chest is a
sight the next morning. +.
The widy first looked at me with eyes
as big as saucers and then she did some-
thing better; she threw her arms around
my neck. Naturally we wandered of
from the chest then; but be fore bedtime
we got back to it, and we agreed that
was to sit there in the dark, keeping
close in corner away from the chest; ii
I heard nothing was to do nothing; if
heard rustling among the papers 1
was to strike match and look into it;
that all fixed, the widy left me looking
as happy as an angel.
But somehow felt pretty queer when
she left me alone with the glim doused
1t wasn't bit like knowing what you
were going to meet, and meeting it I'm
der good light. had my. own ideas
about witches and they wasn't pleasant
/ ideas; began to see eyes glowering at
me through the dark and to. feel Shiny
hands touching my neck; and to. hear
whispering voices and soft Kissing laughs
all over the room. stuck it out till the
clock struck twelve, and then gave in
to the witches. l wouldn't a stayed in
that room another hour for two widys-
no, not for dozen!
With that in my mind I started up to
run. But bless you, when I got up
souldn't run! My legsand my feet were
frOze stiff; there was no more run in me
than the chest! just as l got square on
my feet there was soft fumbling sound
at the door and then a horrid rustling OF
something moving in the dark.
/ had been frightened thinking of the
witch, but J. was more frightened with
these! heard the thing 60 to the chest;
heard the lock turn; / heard the lid 60
up; heard the papers rustic. I would
have run then, for my legs began to feel
little alive by that time, but l was
afraid to 60 in the dark; the matches
were in my hand, L.. drew. one
across my coat sleeve; it was very bad
smelling, but very quiet as it blazed upl
II didn't dare to look at the chest til
I'd got the candle lighted. for. fear I'd
let the match drop and be again in the
dark. If had, think I'd a-gone into
fit. : -.5,i,; ..s1 =. ,-~t, r~'!
'tMighty sirsl the things I had thought
of were nothing to what presently faced
me-. After the candle was lighted Iraised
ed it over my head and looked at the
that drew me to it almost without my
knowledge: a.y. ;u} 2ss.snt
1T was q woman I saw; but what
kind of q woman / never guessed till I
got to the end Of the chest where I
could see the face. As / looked at that
l telt my hair rise and my flesh creep. ,
The face was completely covered by a
dirty white kid mask, with holes for the
eyes, nostris and mouth; and tied be-
2hint the gray, trowsy head with two
dirty muslin strings. The hands were
covered with dirty white Kids, and were
throwing the papers in the chest hither
and yon as if hunting for something.
IL Directly, something about the gown
she wore made me burst: out with,
word that wasn't good. It seems to me
I had seen that gownl And then came
to me that I'd seen the gown on the
same person. l set the candle down in
q hurry and made dive for the wo-r
man. N e +. {.$E
AS I did 30 she raised herself up and
looked at me with her cold stony eyes.
I shivered and fell back. But the next
minute I had her by the arm.
I'm going to see under this kid, i
shouted. 558 81 {.is.. SIS.
The woman seemed TO tremble all
over. But didn't wait to see what the
trembling meant. got hold Of the kid
! and pealed il OF. = .ss as
Jack stopped and gently xtufed 4 lit-
Il tie more tobacco ID his mouth.
GO on. So onln shouted the impatisnt