The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-03-01
THE TWO MRS. FUCKERS,

You can make the fire while put
the boss out" said Amasa Tucker, as
he opened the back door of gray
house, set on the top of treeless hill
tracked here and there with paths the
geese had made in their daily journeys
to the pond below, and only approached
at the back by lane to the great red
barn and rickety board gate set be-
tween two posts of the rail fence.
This was Wealthy Ann Tucker
Homecoming. She had married Amasa
that morning at her fathers house, in
Stanton, little village twenty miles
away from Poets Mills, the town
within whose wide limits lay the Tucker
farm, and had come home with him
this early spring afternoon in the old
wagon, behind the bony horse that did
duty for Amasa's family carriage.
Mrs. Tucker was tall, thin Young
woman, with sad, reticent face very
silent and capable. These last traits had
been her chief recommendation to her
husband. There was no sentiment
about the matter. Old Mrs. Tucker
had died two weeks before this mar
riage, but Amasa was 'forehanded,
and knowing his mother could not live
long had improved his opportunities
had been "sparkin'" Wealthy. Ann
Minor all winter, in judicious provision
for the coming event of his solitude.
He had thought the thing all over,
and concluded that wife was cheaper
than a hired girl, and more permanent:
so, when he found this alert, firm
iointed, handy girl living at her uncle's,
who was a WldOwer, on great farm
the other side of the village, Amasa
made her acquaintance as soon as pos
sible and proceeded to further in
timacy. Wealthy liked better to work
for her uncle than for step-father with
six secondary children, but she thought
it would be better still to have a house
of her own; so she agreed to marry
Amasa Tucker, and this was her home
coming.
She opened the door into dingv
room with an open fireplace at one
end, window on the north and one on
the south side, small, PANIED with old,
green and imperfect glass, and letting
In but just enough light to work by.
One corner to the north was partitioned
off to make pantry, and a door by
the fireplace led out into the wood
shed. The front of the house con-
tanned two rooms. One opened into the
kitchen and was q bedroom, furnished
sparsely enough; the other was par
Tor, with high-backed. sh-bottomed
chairs against the wall, round table
in the middle, fireplace with brass
andirons and 1ire-irons. family Bible
on the table, and mourning piece
painted in ground hair on the mantel.
Green paper shades and white cotton
curtains, a rag carpet fresh as it came
from the loom if its dinginess could
ever be called fresh-and a straight
backed sofa covered with green and
yellow glazed chintz, made as dreary
an apartment as could well be i'm
agined. Wealthy shut the door behind
her quickly and went to the shed for
material to make her fire. 1t was al
most shutdown, and she was hungry;
but she found only the scantiest supply
of wood and few dry chips of kind
ling. However, she did her best, and
she had brought some provisions from
home, so that she managed to lay out
decent supper on the rickety table by
inc IlIne hiuisa CAME stamping IN from
the barn.
He looked disapprovlngly at the pie,
the biscuit, the shaved beef and the
jelly set before him.
''Ihope We amt waister, Wealthy"
he growled. There's vittles enough
for a township, and the amt but two of
u.s.
"Well, our folks sent 'em over, and
you no need to eat EN-" she answered
cheerily.
81 ant goin' to; don't We break into
that jell; set it by; sometime or nuther
somebody may be a comm and you'll
want of it.
Wealthy said no more; they made a
supper of biscuit and beef, for the pie
was also ordered 'set by"