Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-11-07
"Thank You, Kind Friends"
About nine O'clock Yesterday N,

About nine o'clock Yesterday morn
ing an old, fat and ruddy apple woman
arrived ut the San Office, ana placed
some bits of wood in the gutter in
Frankfort street, near the corner. Ii
took her some time to arrange the
pieces of board and wood, but she
finally fixed them so they presented a
level surface, and then she disappeared.
A short time afterward she reappearcd
with III enormous basket, which she
placed firmly upon the wooden struc-
ture. Again she disappeared. la'er
she drew up with some apples and
pears, which she rubbed carefully with
a towel, and her placed in orderly
rows on the basket. After that she
brought forth from the bosom of her
dress some bits of pa%ste-board marked
with the prices at which she sold the
apples. These We're arranged in an
orderly fashion: then she took out a
copy of a story paper from her pocket,
said Good mornin'h to the other ven
ders within earshot. smiled brightly. sat
down on the corncr OF the steps OF the
,SaM office, and began to read through
her iron-bound spectacles with great
int rest.
A few minutes later an express wagon
driven by a young man with a large
mouth came rafting around the corner.
The young man had fashioned the LARGE
mouth into u copious and impressive
smile, which he was displaying for the
benefit of the shop gill who was trir-
ping along the edge of City Hall PaN.
1t being impossible for the young
eXpressman to engineer the smile. look
at the girl and drive in the opposite di-
rection at one and the same time it
was natural that the horse should look
cut fer himself. He did. As he whlrl-
ed around the corner OF Frankfort
street the real wheel struck the apple
basket, and the whole establishment
was wrecked. The apples rolled in
every direction, the baslet went bob
biny down the street, and the bits Of
wood flew cxcitedly about.
The fat and red-iaced apple woman
looked up in dismay. Then the cor
ners OF her mouth dropped, and alarge
tear q down the side OF her nose. She
simply sat there, claspirg he hands and
looking straight before her while a
second tear started ou5 in pursuit of
the first. She did rot attempt to
move. A cripple, who had been sell
ing pencils across the street. hobbled
over on his crutches and secured the
basket. AT the same moment u gaunt,
g~ood-natured looking woman, who
was selling newspapers in front of
French's Hotel, hurried over and dett-
ly placed the pieces of wood in posi-
ton again. An Italian vendor of
figs and dates, who had his stand a
short distance away, had already be,
gun to gather the apples, and a
good-natured lrishman, who had
a stevedore's hook stuck through
his belt, jumped down from his
truck and assisted him. A police
man amused himself by tapping the
apples, which were at q great distance,
with his club. and sending them within
reach of the others, and y woman who
had been scrubbing u doorstep down
Frankfort street came up just III time
to wipe the apples off, one after an
other, and place them in the basket. :
In five minutes everything was ship
shape and p%resentable again, and the
evp:essman had disappeared around
the corner. The corners of the apple
woman's mouth turned upward. the
tears ceased, she rubbed her nose
briskly with her sleeve, said ''Thank
you. kind friends" and resumed her
serial story.-N. Y. San.