The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1884-01-09
JUMPERS WIFE.

stoutly.
Ebenezer dropped the axe. "Look-a-here,
Master Frank. Don't st. Paul give a kind OF
gineral order that men folks are better sin
glei Hain't / had the hull superintendent
Y this big farm for your ma while you've
been of to your commentaries and He
brewl Come now! Be reasonable. Be
sides, the Kitterys haiu't never been mar
~ryers-hsin't troubled none OF your cloth
much.n
There's your brother Juniper" inter
rupted the young man pGrtinaciously.
"Yes-there's Juniper, an a pretty tina
he had tyin' himself up. Humph! Not but
that he done well enough-very well, in fact,
when he'd accomplished it,"
The young mans ears itched at once.
Tell me about that, Ebenezer, ~ he said art
fully. II never heard how Juniper came 20
be married"
Ebenezer began his narrative with a pre-
tense at chopping while it proceeded. From
this he took to balancing the ak on its head;
from that to sitting down opposite the rever.
end Frank and carving a letter Of the alpha.
bet nb~sent-mindedly on a bit Of pine.
you see, Master Frank, Juniper was not
of the same disposition us me and brother
Dan. He was the best lookin' of the three:
straight an supple, an with a sparkle in his
eye that he hain't lost yet. The girls TO our
~viilage-it was when We was all Twin at the
Homestead. with father and mother-all liked
him an twas recipperated. First, Juniper
was goin' to singin'school with Katey Par
ker, an then twas all over the place that he
an Liberty Ann Myers was engaged. Next,
twas Gineral 10 Banks eldest daughter-I
disremember her name-an before we'd
fairly began pie gu'iu him on the subject o.
Gineral JOS daughter, he was attentive to
Mimy Bunce. Brother Dan an sister Lie
an me finally paid no heed TO the town gos-
sip, but quietly went our ways an let June
go his'n. We was satisfied that he was
merely nibblin' here and experimental there;
didn't mean to settle down on anybody yet
awhile.
Now down to the lower end of the village
lived Widow Amanda Gaylsr an her three
daughters. The widow was n very smart,
capable woman, an her three daughters
well, three handsomer. cleverer, livelier gals
never grew. Everybody liked 'em. Before
long, Juniper was a frequent caller there. He
rode out with Anna, the eldest; OF he'd come
to church with Jenny, the second; or he'd be
heard Of over to a dance at the Corners with
Ruth, the youngest. Tho three sisters were
wonderful fond Of each other-an' fond of u
little quiet mischief together, too. | don't
think they kept any secrets from one another.
1t didn't occur to me, Master Frank, for some
time that Brother Juniper really wanted TO
marry one o these girls an couldn't make
up his mind which he wanted. But that was
Just the state he was in. You see he'd grown
up with 'em all three an been so intimate with
'em, even while he'd been keepinR up his
attentions to half a-dozen other girls, that no
one Of 'en had apparently ever made n
deeper impression on him than the other.
They was all alike so friendly an so kind an
so full Of fun. When he came to settle down
to goin' 10 their house more than elsewhere,
i he yyag hotter nlaaSa6 with ta,, th,,, .,.a,
but whether twas Anna or Jenny or Ruthl-
TINT was the pint poor June was a-wrestling
with internally, for weeks an weeks. That
fall his uncle, Jared Kittery, died an left Thin
tho Stone farm; an brother said that he'd
really ought to pick out u wife and settle
down.
One night l found it out. He let lie un.
dcrstand, very sheepishly, just how he felt.
You see, Brother Ebenezer,' he said, 4 am
terribly p~erplexed, an suppose | should find
after | was married that I'd made a mis-
take.'h
Well, june says |, Il don't see that
you're likely TO get far enough on to
make a mistake. A man who don't know his
own mind had better draw lots for II part
ner.' spoke rather -contemptuous, 1 dare
say.
Brother Juniper jumped up from his chair
by the table with a sort of angry sparkle in
MS eltt u ne kuNt u SNORT lhuRn. Not a
bad notion, Eben,' said he. / sat by the ta-
Bile, occasionally sayin' a word here an there
with reference to the three girls: how Anna
was so well educated an Jenny such a first
rate housekeeper an Ruth such a pretty.
sensible sort Of a young female-all more to
tease June "a little than anything else. All at
once June jumped up. He had three pieces
o. paper in his hand. Blest if he hadn't
written on one OF them Anna Oh another
Jane an Ruth on the lastl There saws
be, shalin' 'cm together in my hat, much
obliged to You for your good advice, Brother
Ben. I'm goin' to draw for one OF those
girls, Whichever name I get-she's the one
Pm goin' to ask to be Mrs, Juniper Kittery
before Sabberd0Y.'
81 laughed, takiu' the hull matter as a
foolish joke. AN right says l. IN bold the
hat So / did. June shut his ewes and
damned in his list. Read it outr says | to
him. Anna he answers, rather slowly an
as if not so astonishin'ly happyied. He
tossed away the paper an said no more.
Think me, June has got some sort of an
in'nard preference for one o. them sisters,
after all; and he don't know it, but it isn't
for Anna.
81 never thought seriously of that caper
we two had cut that evenin', until Saturday
night, when just as | was closin' up the house,
last one TO go to bed, in steps June.
"'rve done it, Eben,' says he, with a
singular sober face.
tJuner says I; not Anna-d'
"'Yes,' he answers I've Anna-d; not Jen-
ney-d nor Ruth-d. Don't you ~recollect last
Monday e~venin'i That settled It I've
abided by that piece o paper. She said shed
have me. It's done; an I'm glad
"'Well,' said /, I give you Joy, June;
though l must say your way O. clearin' up
your doubts amt to my taste for common
usage Annals a fine girl
"'But that amt all, brother Eben,' he
went on. Annals got nj amazn' queer no
ton o gettin' married. PTseems she's been a
readin' some novels or stories and so forth;
an l guess they've made her fanciful, She
thinks that it'd be grand fun to surprise our
folks along With ma an the other two
girls, by us two bein' married on the sly, the
night before Thanksgivin'-an' then comm
home and tellin' 'em. / don't see any fun in
that-not a bitl l think it looks rather
foolish. But Anna declare I don't know
what's got into herl-she will hold to II. The
long and short of il Is that You've pro
missed to do it, saysL
Eyes he answers. Il suppose itn make a
stir; but that can't be helped. I've omised
None OF her folks nor ours must know any
thing about our engagement yet. On
Thnnksgivin' eyenin' Pm to call for Anna
with the sleigh. l want you to come along
too, Eben. Wen so straight down to Battle
Hill, to Parson Latham's, an nave the knot
tied. Then Well come hack an let 1t out to
the widow an Jenny and Ruth. After that
the hull crowd OF us will pile down here, an
have the pleasure Of seein' father an mother
an everybody here open their eyes. That's
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