Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-08-29

an unexpected invitation to spend q few
months with the writer at her coue.
try home; and, being rather jerky and
incoherent. Jocasta concluded that Aunt
Jacks peculiarities were still rampant
In spite of her patriarchal years, and
wondered gloomily if it were that lady's
Intention to decoy her into the en-
chanted castle and eat her without con
diments. Still she replied d%utifully
enough that she would be pleased to
accept her relatives kind hospitality,
and Slipped the missive into the letter.
box, with a doleful SILVER, though it
was early August and enterprising Their
mometers were valiantly trying to climb
out of the nineties. =.
One of Jocasta's reasons for rushing
so blindly to her fate was that she was
in deep disgrace when Aunt Jacks let
ter arrived most opportunity. She had
dropped the big china tureen that had
been her mother's-but that didn't
matter-and brokenit into a great many
pieces. Il am not prepared to say there
were q hundred, but the number was
amply sufficient to retire it from active
duty-which did not matter extremely!
Jocasta was always in disgrace, it is
true, and Aunt Jacks letter might have
arrived almost any day since the first
Mrs. Lockridge died quite as oppor-
timely as now; but there are different
degrees Of disgrace, and this happened
to be the superlative.
Mrs. Lockridge Immediately fell to
bewailing the outlay necessary for a
new dress, and congratulating herself
vehemently in the same breath on ''git-
tin shet' of Jocasta at last. Jocasta
was not so SURE about this, but she
wisely refrained from saying so. The
dress was only Il brown merino after
all, purchased with the weekly install-
mont of eggs at the village store, and
with a couple of black-and-white prints
to keep it company Jocasta and the lit
tie hair trunk that had been her moth
er's set out with inward palpitations for
Aunt Jacks. That is, the palpitations
were confined to Jocasta; the trunk ap-
parently took the whole affair very
calmly, and did not even shy off W it.
self, after the manner of its kind. and
have to be hunted up at every junction
with nervous tr%epidation on the part Of
its owner, and cheerful on
that of the bagggaggeman.
Aunt Jack had remarked in her let
ter thatshe was spending the summer at
the old homestead, and as JocastA ap-
preached it she observed that il was
grim, gloomy and frowning, presuma-
bly, partaking to an uncomfortable de-
gree of its owners characteristics. 1t
stood a mile or two out of the city--the
big, busy, preoccupied city, the like of
which Jocasta had never seen-and
might be made to look pleasant if emily
its proprietress were q person to whom
p~leasantness was agreeable.
Aunt Jack was not visible when
Jocasta arrived that evening, nor was
she any following evening, having been
put safely under the sod, with a twelve
foot granite column on top to hold her
down, some six months previous to Jo-
casta's visit.
1t is useless for me to deny that 10
casta forgave the deception with sus-
picious readiness, or that she did not
grieve to an alarming extent over Aunt
jacks detection. l may even confess
that she privately considered Aunt
Jacks substitute the more agreeable of
the two; all of which goes to show that
somebody had been slandering Aunt
Jack during her unavoidable absence.
They visited Tom Fields studio one
day, and Toms face was a study when
the subject of his country sketch was
introduced. In fact he behaved in such
an imbecile manner that Jack Walker
was obliged to draw him aside and ex-
plain, with his nose buried in . port
folio of views.
''That old woman was my Aunt
Jack!"
"Oh, God bless me, you don't say
sol" Tom murmured feebly, and became
absorbed in wondering what Jack in
tended to do with ''the mistaken now
that he had got possession of her. Was
he going to divide Aunt Jacks fortune
by two, or was he going to multiply it
by himself and bestow the product Gu
tire upon the shy little country girl in
the brown dress? With a sigh Tom ST.
knowledg ed himself powerless to fore
cast.
1t was quite astonishing how rapidly
the weeks glided by, and how pleasant
weeks could be under favorable circum-
stances. Jocasta began to sealize that
she had never really lived until she came
to visit Aunt Jack-dear old soul!
Therefore it is easy to imagine with
what Il chill of blank despair she one
day received a letter from her STEP
mother.
Sally and Henry were going to get
married, she wrote. Mrs. Banks was
tickled, and they We're going to live
with the old folks on the farm after
they were married. Jocasta would be
expected home the following Mopday,
SO as to be on hand to hell with the
wedding preparations and wait on the
table at the wedding supper, Nor was
this all. Jane, who was by no means
the representative of the family good
looks, being afflicted with.sandy hair and
gigantic freckles, had nevertheless bv
some jugglery succeeded in Sharing
another unwary youth, for Mrs. Lock
ridge added that the butchers younp
nan from Plumville came to see Jane
every Sunday night regular, and most
likely there'd be another wedding be-
fore long. Anyhow Jocasta was needed
at home, Mrs. Lockridge's back being
almost broke now, doing all the wash
ing, and ironing, and scrubbing, while