St. Landry democrat., 1885-05-02
RUsSETS.
How the Interest on the Mortgage
Was Met.

A late March twilight, with a bitter
frost in the air, the new moon just dip
ping its golden horn behind the maple
swamp in the west, and the ground
sounding crisply under foot. We had
just come in from foddering the cattle
we sounds rather singularly when
we reflect that it meant Kitty and me,
two girls of seventeen and nineteen,
but, you see, there WASH any one else to
do it. Father had been bedridden ever
since that last attack of paralysis, and
we could afford to hire no one to take
bis 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
" against the wooden mantel and
looked into the fire with mournfuI
eyes
kitty cried I, at last, 'swhat does
make you SO dullP'
Tomorrow is the third of March, y
said she, grayely.
'sWhat of thatp'' demanded.
Don't you remember? The inter-
est on the mortgage comes due to-mor-
morrow
$50 it does, 2 said /, my radiant face
falling faster than the thermometer on
a freezing day ''Thirty-fve dollars!
And we have nothing to pay it with ex-
cept the fifteen dollars Laura Osgood
paid for the old melOdeOn.n
perhaps Willis Avery would wait, "
suggested Kitty.
I drew myself up slightly.
81 don't choose to ask him to wait, "
said l.
Now it happened that Willis Avery,
who held the mortgage on our home
stead was the son of neighbor and an
old playfellow and boy-beau of my own,
who had gone to the prosperous young
city few miles north of US and COM
menced business on his own account,
and had particular aversion to ask
ing aid or help of him in any way. I
might be poor, but was also proud,
and Kitty was quite sympathetic enough
to understand me.
''But then what are we to do?" said
Kitty.
/ sat down on the hearth rug, with
my chin in my hands, and stared earn
estly at the big cracking back log.
Pussy crept away and nestled down in
the corner, as if she knew by instinct
that there was change of tempera-
ture.
"Look here, Kitty, said |, suddenly.
ssThose russell apples!''
ssWell?''
.sWe can sell them. There are eight
barrels at the least. Eight barrels at
two dollars and fifty cents barrel"
'.My dear Addy, no one will buy them
at one-fifth the price. Apples are a drug
in the market
Here, I grant you; but not in tile
city. Twill take them to Mapleton and
sell them"
.tYou will Addy?n
"And why nota Squire Dyson would
charge at least twenty per cent. COM
mission. and make favor of it at that.
/ can't afford either the price or the
patronage Don't say any thing 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 ms. =
Well, it needn't; for, believe me, it's
the most practical thing in the world.
All we have to do is to sort the apples
out in barrels, nice and sound, can
easily do it by lantern light tonight
and tomorrow morning We II rise early,
harness old Dobbin to the lumber
wagon
But how are we to get the heavy
barrels up into the wagonp'
"Goosie!a cried /, laughing, s'can't
put the barrels up into the wagon while
they're empty and fill them at my
leisure? And I'll have them sold at
Mapleton before you've got the pork
and cabbage boiling for dinner