St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-11-08
A FAMILY AFFAIR.
Hnrner,s KeeLI,l

/ the reach OF meadow skIrtlng Clays'
vile on the south. Their high sci
beads of eyes gazed calmly from theiI
slim heads on the September bright
ness of nature, and the cackles which
at times parted their wide orange-hued
bills denoted a satisfied state of body,
if not of mind. Presently, however,
the head gander uttered an indignant
hiss, spread his wings, and swung him
self angrily out of the path. His fol-
lowers made after him slavishly, and
the whole company ranged themselves
in wrathful line to voice their opinion
of the intruders who had put them
about.
| Two women were coming toward
each other in the path. One of them
was built on a lavish plan, and had a
rocky kind of face, set in gray hair
that was riveted round Der ears in
iron gray twists. AS she sighted the
other woman she jerked in her chin
and stiffened her throat; her eyes
were lifted clean over the others head
as they came close, and she thrust hel
skirts aside, but stuck to the path as
| if disdaining to turn out hairs
breadth. The slighter woman gave
way readily, swerving to one side, and
quickening her gait as if anxious to
have the encounter over with as speed
lily as might be. She never raised her
face as she slipped by, small shadowy
creature in a limp black calico gown,
the hem of which turned with her heel
at every step.
"'Tain't cuz l dassent look at Liza
Ann tibet l hold my head down when
we run agin each other like we done
Jest now" she said to herself, as if re-
plying to some mental voice which had
accused her of cOwardice. 81 amt
skeered of her no ways, but it pears
like L hewitt got the heart to look at
her when she churns that cold glare
onter mean VEINS both sisters,
though l don't hold to the kinship no.
how; Pm right ashamed thet the same
blood runs in me ez runs in Liza Ann
Clinkenbeard !"
She whipped up her head, but the
straight lashes of her dull dark eyes
were clinging together in wet ragged
points. By this time her pace had in
creased to almost a run, which shortly
brought her to her own gate, the latch
of which she undid with trembling fin
gers. No house had been built in
Claysville for Is years; the two which
Hiram Wade had given his daughters
upon their marriage were the newest
structures in the village, still standing
the last cottages in the street as they
had long ago, when it was thought
that "business 'ud Gradually take to
creepin' out to'ds Hoggins's Woods"
The houses had never been painted,
and their gray boards we're fringing off
in feathery threads like fraying hair.
Between the gardens ran a slight pick
offence, which had some time had a
coat of paint like skinned milk i; near
the street four pickets were off, dark
spaces showing where they had lain
against the top rail, each bereft brown
square with a forlOrn rusty nail-hole
yawning in it.
Ellen Loves stopped for a second as
her eyes lighted on this rent in the
fence, and the tears stayed themselves
as if dried by the heat of a suddenly
reused anger. She had a thin face
with flesh of waxen yellow, which sug-
gested flow in her veins of some
thick, colorless fluid instead of blood I;
her eyes looked brown, and the color
seemed to show through the strelc hed
lids, tinting chem pale russell.
81 wouldn't churn my hand to hev
one O. them thar picEets put on, not eff
wuz a-drawin' my las breaf," she
thought, bitterly. Then she pushed
OH to the house.
HName o. sense, Ellen, what are yeh
thinkin' of, to slam the door like tibet !!
L reckon it's no use to say anything !;
eff | wuz dyin' it would a been jest the
same-no respeck fer my fcelin's."
Adkins Loves fetched long sigh as
he spoke and leaned back in his wood
en- rocker with look of suffering sub
mission. He was man we'll on past
middle life, with traces of bad health
and of habitual bad temper clearly
marked in his face. His nose was
merely a continuation, in perfectly
nostrils it widened abruptly, with
finding itself a nose at all.
His wife began to apologize, 81 didn't
go to do it, Adkins. Likely [ done it
throo bein' so illustrated. l met Liza
Ann down street, right plumb face to
face"
"How'd yeh treat her ?" asked Adj
under his wrinkled brows.
"Treat her! Humph! We done jest
like we've alwuz done fer the last 10
year, went my way and she went
bern"
"No speakin' er sech 2"
"Well not. L jest look
ed straight ahead o. me, ez stern ez |
knowed how. [ have an Idly tibet Liza
Ann hes found out thar's more speret
in men what she thought fer"
~ hope yeh're keepin' some'eres
near the tracks, Elem" observed Adj
kins, with an imperfect belief in his
wife's assertion of her stern carriage.
~ don't know ez anything could rile
me more then to hear tibet you'n's he'd
showed signs o. givin' in to Mis- Clink-
enbeard. 1t nd look weak-minded to
me-"
Ellen looked at him with sort of
dull wonder in her face. "Ef yeh ha'-
Dor any sech curyus notion ez thet."
she began, in hurried way, "yeh Or
ter hev hearn me talkin' to Mis- Wen
zle this mO'nin'. Bein' q newcomer
hyere, she hedn't got at the rights of
it, so she asst me how 'twuz. l told Ter
how some I'M Knocked off them four
pickets, an Liza AIMS hens conser-
kently KEN steppin' over inter my
flower beds one day, and how Liza
Ann flowed could hev the fence mend
ed if l he'd any prejudice agin hens
an afterwards how she found a speck-
led pnllet dead, an wouldn't hev it no
other way then tibet / he'd pisened it;
an how we he'd high words bout it,
an hewitt ez much ez passed the time
o day with each other fer 10 years
come the 2Ist o. this MONTH"
81 hope yeh told her yehr husband
backed yeh up in this matter 2" sug-