Griggs courier., 1888-01-20

shook her head and closed her lips into
a gray line.
OTIS dry" she WHISPERED; "it's
plumb dry. an boun' :er stick. 1
reckon-thet I'm right gad they put
it up with good paste.
"Ma'y Bell" said voice from with
in the house. Il low wouldn't STAN
out thar; folks er ansbus ter fin out
all they y,Ha kip; Il W. ss w,ut ,ut taee @ tell EN-
like rt;, j., 'ser.sd ;.s ts,dosqsse ssT 9a.r1
Bell. as she stepped back into the
room, closing the door behind her.
There was greenish gloom in the
place, for the curtains were down. but
it could not hide the careful disorder
Eptevcry thing. A rag carpet lay in a
nest pile in one corner. four hair-cloth
chairs stood back to back in an orderly
row, and on u marble-top table in the
center of the room was collection Of
small articles with numbers pasted ON
them ready for the auctioneer.
In the tiny kitchen opening out of
the front room woman stood reach
ing glasses of jelly down from the top
shelf Of the >loset. : Shevas somewhat
part part in every >rsy Bell, bu' her counter
was son,rsns aspect, save that there
of her face lack;'Ss about he lower part
This b)ucl llg in hG sisters.
e1is' Ames IL bu iran 1e!l l reckon
ome jars on - she said, placing
no luck Ithe table ''She never
y goes doinSp fruit. an her
heap OF, p'sarves. I'd
q some un else d get en-, fer l
he'd no use fer MIS- Ames; she
Hines, an the Hinses wuz the
untes' folks most ever see."
y Bell sighed. "Whcn we ergreed
leak up an go ter boardin', l he'd
dee that ev'ything d hev ter be sold;
ont see yit why We couldn't ha' di-
led 'em."
4 The other turned on her almost
'tiercely. Things er already divided. :"
she said, sternly; ''a house divided
a amongst itse'f kin not stand; we hev
Scripture fer thct. Thcy's on'y one
bedroom in this house, an we can't
beth sleep in it with our itlees on ven-
tilation diff'rin' ez they do; we can t
on.of us move out, 'cuz folks d talk
w went over tibet long ago; so the
on ies' thing ter do is whut we rc goin'
ter o-sell the house an ev'y thing
in it, an each of us 90 whur she fees
like
Mlry Bells face grew harder as her
sist'r spoke; she sat down in a stiff
backed wooden rocker with rheumat-
ic jerk. "Thet's one comfort, Ser
eny," she said. with quivering 1T one
corner of her mouth; ii want ter go
whur don't hev ter take no orders
otf'n nobody, an whur kin go ter bed
at night with the winder shet, an no
fear o burglars er pinch-bugs ell kctch-
in cold ter ha mt me-
Serena laughed shortly. ''An' gettin'
all sorts o diseases from breathin'
back your own p'isinous breath! Gil
me open winder the year roun' an
plenty O fresh air a-streamin' in; but
fer the laws sake don't let's get ter
goin' over tibet ground agin'!' she ex-
claimed, as Mary Bell essaycd to speak.
you're goin'' ter board with Green
Clay Adkins folks, an I'm goin' ter
stop Il spell ut Cousin Sary Hender-
sons down ter Frankfort, an we kin
do ez we please. Let's get to work
now"
You'd better pack these p'sarves in
the settin' room awhile, May Bell, fer
they'll be passels ter doin the mornin' ,;
the auctioneer'll be hyero at eight
o'clock p'cise.''
Mary Bell got up slowly and began
to arrange the glasses in rows on the
high, black mantel-piece; she was ac-
customed to obey Serena, and did not
think of rebelling i'll small matters.
Fortwentyyears since their mother $
death. the sisters had lived harmo-
niously together; then book agent
had induced them to buy book of
hygiene. which he said contained rules
of health which, if followed. would
prolong human life indefinitely. Mary
Bell found nothing of interest in this
volume, but the older sister pored over
it as she had never done over the week
ly paper or family Bible, and she fol-
lowed its dictates, to the sacrifice of
her own and her sisters comfort.
The book in its crimson binding lay
on the photograph album in the front
room, and seemed to tlaunt itself in
Mary Bells face every time she