Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-12-19

. hesitating voice, and therestood Dec,
con Gibbs. nervously twisting his hat
in his hands.
The widow placed a chair for her vis-
itor, who sat down, looking more nsr.
vous and embarrassed than ever. :
Give jest heerd," he began, that
you-that the Bluegrass Bank has
busted, an you've lost all your money,
and-and f-Oh, BeAndy, won't YOU
have me? Say you will, an you shan't
want fur nothini! know I ainx ridt.'
but my farm is a good one, an I've got
it all in medder and pastur' now, an
kin raise right smart o. stock, an you;
shouldn't never know you'd lost . eeat.
Will you, Miss Blos-Bellndy?"
And this was the man she had sus-
pected of wanting her money! The
widow hid her face in her hands and
cried.
Mrs. Jerusha was in her element,
cooking the Thanksgiving dinner, next
day. But in the pauses, between bast-
ing the turkey and turning the pump
kin pies, she made frequent trips to the
door, shading her eyes with her hand
and gazing far down the winding
country road.
81 wonder if nary one ~ 'em amt
a-comin', after ALL" she mutisred more
than once in tones of vexation.
The turkey was roasted at last, the
pies were done. and the table set,
when, on looking down the road axain,
she was rewarded by a discovery.
CHATS the deacon's shay, now"
she cried, "an' Belindy not here. Dear
me, l wonder if she amt a-comin' at
all? I've a notion to send Bijah over
to see."
Then she took another look.
"There's SOMEBODY with him-why,
if amt Belindy herself! I'm so glad.
They'll make a match yet, I Jest do be-
lieve;" and she ran to open the front
door.
"Come in, Belindy! Deacon, walk
right in. So you did conclude to come,
after ALL"
The Deacon smiled complacently.
"Wal, yes, you see | amt so blue as
l was, Miss Hatch. An then I've got
somethin' to be thankful fur now.
We'd of got here sooner, only we've
been to q weddin'."
"Awedding!" Mrs. Hatch opened her
eyes in wonder. "Whose was it?" she
demanded.
"Our own, to be sure" smiled the
deacon, with a loving glance at Be-
linda.
delays is dangerous, you know.
So we jest drove around to the parsons
an had the preacher jine us right off.
An now. your Thanksgivin' is turned
into a weddin' dinner, Jemima."
Mrs. Hatch was as much pleased as
surprised, and her roast turkey and
pumpkin pies, with the other concom-
itants of a Thanksgiving dinner, an
swered quite as we'll for a wedding
feast.
But it was not until dinner was over
and Belinda had helped to wash up the
dishes that she confessed to her auditors
a little secret which they had not sus-
pected, namely, that she had drawn
all her money out of the Bluegrass
Bank the day before it broke; the law
yer's instant change of base on hearing
the news of the failure inducing her to
preserve silence on the subject.
81 meant to invest it in some other
way" she explained, ''and 1 was
awfully shocked when 1 heard the bank
had broke. I couldn't help thinking
what a narrow escape I'd had"
Deacon Gibbs had no reason to quar-
rel with his wife for keeping the secret,
since it had saved her from his rival.
And Mrs. Deacon Gibbs has never re-
GREETED the occurrence which decided
her fate.
AS for the lawyer, his chagrin upon
learning the truth of the matter may be
better imagined than described.-Heiem
Whitney CLARKE, IN Denaorest's Magazine.