Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-06-30
MRS. GERRISH'S GRIEVANCE


MAYBE I'd go to Boston with you,
Warren, if urged" said young Mrs.
Gerrish, archly, standing on tiptoe to
smooth down her husbands nodding
scalp lock.
cts too late to think of it, too late
altogether" cried Mr.. Gerrish, in
haste, rushing to his desk and scatter
ing the pc pers like Dakota blizzard.
"Where's my bank book? Seen it,
Mabel?"
s'There, Warren; forgot to tell you.
I thought it would be safer behind the
clock"
''Safer behind the fddlesticks,"
cogitated the annoyed husband, as he
tipped over the timepiece in laying
hold of the missing property; but being
q gentleman, he merely remarked i'm
presslvely that ten to one he should
lose the train.
cts only eight, Warren. You've
half an hour"
"But Twelve something to attend
to before going to the station" he
stammered, obviously embarrassed.
"Oh!" Mrs. Gerrish dropped her
questioning brown eyes, flushing hotly.
Why did her husband reject her prof
fered company? And what was this
mysterious errand that he would not
tell of?
|Good-by, wifekin. Take care of
yourself till see you," he added, in a
friendlier tone, as he Jumped into his
carriage.
"Well, I must say!" calculated the
little lady, frowning after the retreat
ing vehicle. But she did not say it.
Instead, she set the clock on its legs
again, and fell to musing.
She was sorry she had vexed War
rem by meddling with his handbook,
but he need not have been so cross.
What did he want OF the book any
way? Had he not only yesterday
told her that he didn't owe a cent in
the world? And why-this was g. vi
tai query-why had he gone off with
out her, too preoccupied to snatch q
good-by kiss? Last week he had left
her behind in the same way. She
wouldn't have minded the neglect so
much if it had not afterwards come to
her ears that he had gone straight
from her to Miss Ebbitt, and escorted
the young lady to the city. He never
had limited word about it. Mrs.
Gerrish secretly hoped the rumor
wasn't true, but it was shocking to
have the neighbors talking. And now
to think that, after humbling herself
to ask her husband to take her, she
should have met with fat refusal.
The stroke OF surprised her just this
side of tears. Was it possible she
had idled away q whole hour in ar
ranging the writing desk, and Bridget
gone for q week?
Hurrying into the kitchen to wash
the breakfast dishes, her eyes rested
on quaint-looking man in the door
way.
"Mornin', Mis- Gerrish," said he,
dofing his hat for GOODNESS rather
than courtesy.
Woodworking, Uncle Jabez," re-
sponded she, kindly. "Have you
come to split me some kindlings?"
''Sartin, ma am. suspicioned you
must be about OUT" said the village
factotum, wiping his bald knob of a
crown, which rose above it's encircling
red fringe like the seed vessel of poppy
above It's COrOlla.
ST knew your husband wasn't here
to do it for you," he continued, put
ting his hat on again with q screwing
motion, as If it were the cover of q
fruit JAR. 'I'd been clearing out the
Widder Ebbitt g pipes, and was crawl
ing along on her ruff, when Mr.. Gerrish
drove up for Jimmy. He didn't have
!. to wait On the fat of her foot Jimmy
is, for all her fuss and feathers"
"Did they catch the train 2" faltered
the young wife, her face averted.
Then her husband did 60 for Miss
Ebbitt! Uncle Jabez should not know
that he was telling her news!
eyes, ma'am, they catched it. I
asked Hiram Blodgett when hefetched
your horse back to the store" an
swered Uncle Jabez, his confding blue
eyes fixed on the sky. "I'm jealous of
a shower, ma am. Remember that
pealer we had the last time..yo hus-
band took Jimmy to Boston?"
"Last Thursday, do you mean? ?"
queried Mrs. Gerrish, anxiously. That
miserable rumor might be true. She
was ready to believe anything.
Il strikes me twas Thursday.
Yes, ma'am twas a week ago to-day,
TO [ was in the Wilder Ebbitt's stable
mendin' her crib when your husband
drove in with jimmy. The water was
a-streakin' it of o. the kerridge, but
he'd wropped Jimmy complete, soft she
skipped out dry as grasshopper.
She told him she was no end grateful
for hie care, and faith she'd orter been;