Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-07-17
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you reject that it meant Kitty and
: me, two girls Of seventeen and nine
teen; but You see there WASH t any one
else TO do it. Father had been bed
ridden ever since that last attack OF
paralysis, and we could afford to hire
no one to take his place about the
farm.
was in great spirits playing with
pussy, who came to meet us with her
plumy tail erect; but Kitty leaned sad
ly against the wooden mantel and
- looked into the fire with nj urnful eyes.
"Kitty,' cried |, at last, what does
make you SO dull?'
"To-morrow is the Sd OF March,"
said she, gravely.
What OF that?" / demanded.
Don't you remember? The interest
On the mortgage comes due to-mor-
row" sz
$50 it does" said I, my radiant face
falling faster than the THERMOMETERS on
q freezing day. ''rhirty-five dollars!
And we have nothing to pay it with,
except the fifteen dollars Laura Osgood
paid for the old melodeon. .'.'
Perhaps Willis avery would watt"
suggested Kitty.
drew myself up slightly
. II don't choose O ask him to wait"
said l.
!. Now it happened that Willis Avery,
who held the mortgage on our home
stead, was the son OF u neighbor, and
. an old play-fellow and boy-beau ofn1y
own, who had gone to the prosperous
young city a few miles north ofus, and
commenced business on his own &C
count, and had u particular aversion
to asking aid or help Of him in any
way. | might be poor, but | was al
/ ways proud, and Kitty was quitesynl-
pathetic enough to understand me.
"But then what are we to dor" said
Kitty
~ ! sat down On the hearth rug, with
my chin IN my hands, and stared
earnestly at the big cracking back log
Pussy crept away and nestled down
( IN the corner, as II she knew by instinct
that there was o change Of temporal
ture.
X Look here, Kitty" said Isuddenly
Those russell applcsi''
"We!l?"
eve can sell them. There are eight
barrels at the least. Eight barrels at
$3.50 barrel------'
my dear Addy, no one will buy
them at one-iifth the price. Apples
are drug in the market"
!. "Here, | grant you; but not in the
city. I viii take them to Mapleton
and sell them"
"You will, Addy?"
"And whyn not? reDyson would
charge at least twenty per cent COM
mission, and make 8 favor Of it at that.
l can't afford either the price or the
patronage. Don't say anything about
it to father. He would only fret and
raise objections. What must be done
must be, and am the girl to do it,"
But, Addy, how? All this seems SO
perfectly wild and visionary to me-
'sNWell, it needn't; for beleive me, it S
the most practical thing in the world.
All we have to do is to sort the apples
Oub III DtiIeiS, lllCt itIll SDlI!li-7l CetD
easily do it by lal,tern]ight tonight
and tomorrow morning we lrlse early,
harness Old Dobbin 70 the lumber wa
gon--"
"But how are we to get the heavy
barrels up into the wagon?"
"Goosie!" cried l, Laughing, "can't
I put the barrels up into the wagon
while they're empty and fiji them at my
leisure? And I'll have them sold at
Mapleton before you've got the pork
and cabbage boiling for dinner"
"But where will you go?" asked Kit
ty. x
30, I know lots Of places. went
once to town with Obadiah Fai1weath-
er when he sold lot OF cheese. Ihave
q pretty good idea Of the locality Of
the commission stores, can tell you"
CATER all, Addy," hesitated my con-
SENTATIVE little sister, at isn't woln-
ans work"
"Why isn't it, Ishould like to know,
SO long as woman can do it? At all
events, awoman must pay her debts
so, if you'll! hurry up the tea, I'll be off
to the barn.
"And what shall we tell papa?''
"Oh, he'll think I've gone to singing
schoolwith the Dyson girls, and don't
think it s Christian duty to undeceive
him. answered /.
But Notwithstanding the brave face
I put upon affairs, my heart quivered
ward Mapleton, with the scarlet stain /
OF sunrise dyelng all the East, and my
rown checks flushed with the keen morn
ing air. VI 4%+585 & !
But it wasn't so bad, after ALL |
With pardonable egotism, I supposed
that every one wouldbe staring at me-
but on the contrary, slgyoung woman
selling apples might be the comlnonest
sight in the world, SO little comment
or surprise did it apparently excite.
Mr.. Holloway, of the firm OF HalloWay
Brothers, produce and commission
merchants, didn't want any apples |
speedily learned.
&"Just bought a shipload from 4llba-
N.Y. said he, as carelessly as il ship
loads ofapples were as common a pur-.
chase as ten cents worth oftape, And I
drove on beginning to feel intinitesi-
mally small. "A -.
II Nh. Loyeioy could give me q dollar
Ia barrel. Apples wasn't worth no
more att this season OF the year! And
Il whipped old Dobbin up, determined
to carry them home again sooner than
to sell at that price.
ii At the next place where stopped Q
pleasant looking, middle aged man
came out ard critically examined my
apples,
..sDo they hold out like this all the
way down. he asked.