Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1885-10-02
ISLAND POND VERMONT OCTOBER 3 1885.

in my pocket, nor mlsaid it anywhere;
it's gonew
The deacon fastened to the wood-shed
door; 1t was open.
"And turned that button the very
first thing after Huldy went out How
could he have got inl" said Mrs. Kit
tredge.
The deacon bowed his head upon his
hands and groaned.
'It couldn't be of any great conse.
quence, Nehemiah. letter of Tidy Slo-
comb's,n faltered his wife. "You don't
think it's goin' to make great troubleP
THE letter was in our keeping; we
must account for it. If nothing was
ever said about it, it would be our duty
to tell just how it was lost, u said the
deacon.
81 s'pose you're right, said his wife
Gas she had said thousand times since
their wedding day.; "but it's hard it
will look so much as if meant to, open
It'll Nehemiah, you don t-edppose tney' u
turn us outln
The deacon walked the floor With
great strides. ''We shall have lost peo.
lIlC bluSJs IL dil uOb NNiuSu ONt, j
shall give up the office" He kept back
the reproaches that rose to his lips, but
he walked into the sitting room and
closed the door behind him. He opened
it soon, however, and said, in gentler
tone, "Laviny, l was going to tell you
something that heard about Saul"
The little woman hurried to him, her
anxious blue eyes overfowing at the
mention of her sons name.
"The minister SAYS that the musical
company that Saul belongs to is nothing
like minstrel troop; he says it'srespsct.
able. He seemed to think we needn't
feel so bad about it."
l cant think of anything but how
Saul will feel if we're turned out of the
postotfice."
Mrs. Kittredge suddenly broke down
completely. eff I'd never touched that
letter and could have things us they
were, would be willing to swallow even
such bitter pill as Tidy Slocomb," she
sobbed Then she crept off to bed, and
forgot in few hours troubled sleep the
dismal morrow when all the world would
see their fail.
All night long the deacon paced the
sitting-room floor. His wife found him
there when she came down in the cheer.
less morning, and they looked in each
others faces in dumb misery, each with
the same thought by this time every
body in West Eden might have heard
the story and seen the torn letter.
Huldah came bustling in. "Such do.
in'sw she exclaimed; "trampin's in the
house all night, and tracks all around the
house, and nobody come in! And
dreamed of maxim currant jelly that
wouldn't jell, and that never failed yet
to be sign of trouble. And why folks
should want to stick letter under the
woodshed door, when we've got a whole
postolfice to the front one. is moiesn
knowP
Mrs. Kittredge's trembling hand
snatched the letter which Huldah pro
duced. 1t might be-uo, it was moi
Tidy Slocomb's letter. 1t was addressed
in pencil, to Mrs. Kittredge:
'MY DEAR MOTHER: 1t was l who tool
the letter. I'm sorry l frightened you
was sneaking round to get a glimpse of you
when father was away, and | knew by youl
curiosity that the letter was one | had writ
Ten Ia friend directed it for mel and l wanted
it back again very much, because-well,
had found out things that made me wish
hadn't written to Tidy Slocomb. | cant
write much, because I'm in hurry to gel
this back to the place where maybe you'll
look for the lost letter, because I'm afraid yol
may worry about it. But it belonged to me
So it's only little family affair, and neither
! Tidy Slocomb nor anybody else need know
anything about it. | wish | dared TO ask you
and father to come over to Haverford anG
hear me sing. Mr.. Willett and Mary are
coming.
"Your airectionate son,
"SAUI, KITTREDGEn -