The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1886-11-25
town on purpose. 1t must be here some
where" and be began cropping over the

town on purpose. 1t must be here some
where" and he began cropping over the
ground.
This was no laughing matter. Their mo.
tions attracted the attention Of the whole
family, each member proffering help in the
search. Was there ever such an awkward
climax to a o v affair? Their engagement
had not yet been openly announced, and
here the youngest child had to hear the
story how Sanford Stiles had bought a ring
for Mollie and lost It'll
"Don't believe he ever had a ring,n said
her cousin Sam, who wanted her himself.
SHE'S just pretending to get out of buying
one"
"T1l make him eat his words 7" retorted
the irate lover, stopping long enough to
glare at his rival.
"Was it a dimont wing7" asked the
youngest tot of the tribe.
Father and mother Joined in the search.
Mollie, red and distressed, at last gave it up.
'It's such bad luckI' she suggested to
her mother, in a fearful voice.
Very good people are given to supersti-
ton, and there are few who will not sym
pathlze with the lovers who are SO unfort-
innate as to lose their engagement-ring.
'It's a gonerl" said Mollie's brother Bob,
Q horrid boy Of ten. "When 1 give my girl
q ring I amt a-goin' inter no ten-acre lot to
dew it. Eff you'd had emmy sense, Moll,
you'd have grabbed it quick"
Poor Mollie! She was just ready to CRY,
and she disappeared from the scene, and
her lover went home when he had, as Bob
expressed it, 'grubbed" over the whole
| farm.
~ dare say it's right here under a bit of
grass or the leaves somewhere. 1t didn't
have wings. Bob, I'll give you a silver
/ An1lor ~ vynvrfl1 and ~ -
tDone," said Bob, with a wicked look.
"Please describe it.N
"Why, you amt expecting to find a har-
vest of rings, air yea" asked his father.
allow can 1 tell if it's his3 1 amt goin'
to find no strange rings. Meow, is it gold
or brass, Mister Stilesp
"Its a plain, wide gold band, and it's got
Nollie-Mollie'-
"Go on" prompted Bob, as the unhappy
lover came to a full stop.
"Mollie, darlingl" and with that h
waited not upon the order Of his going, but
went at once, leaving Bob doubled up with
commissions of uncanny laughter.
"Pay in advance" called the graceless
youngster after the retreating lover.
But, to do Bob justice, he really did
search every inch of the ground over, and
found nc end of things-a disabled lady
bug, a four-leaved clover, a rusty jack
knife lost months previous-but no sign of
any engagement-ring.
''Told you SO! He didn't hev emmy, Sho?
Mollie, Pn get youa ring with sapphiras
and rubbies in it if ven jest say sou said
her cousin Sam.
But Mollie scorned him and his offer, and
that night she cried herself to sleep.
A week passed, and Thanksgiving Day
came. 1t was a day of days. Farmer Hart
ner came of good Puritan stock, and the
fires of patriotism burned in his soul. He
had given one son to his country, and he
would have given ten if he had them,
and the country needed them. In a family
with such a head, a National Holiday means
something more than a observance Of the
letter of the feast; it means the whole
spirit. The best turkeys, the fairest chick
ems, the tenderest ducks, were laid on the
sacrifcial altar. Friends and neighbors