St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-09-01


-xesfer XoiIis. is Courier Journal.
'MISSUS."
Her Dealings with Her ssPoor,
ahimess Creatur" Of . Husband.
Il say, Missus, dye want onythin
from the store? I'm goin' to town tc
git tn mare shod agin the plowin' te.
mOrrer"
''Missus" looked scornfully over the
washtub at the shifty. uneasy figure in
the doorway.
The mare! She's gone with only
one shoe good three months. an now
she must be shod agin the pl0win'
But thet's only an excuse to git with
yer low cronies in town. an We mought
as well take the: Is anuther. fer We will
60. spite of all thet kin say. Yes. y
she snapped, as an after-thought, '.you
kin bring me yard of eight-cent cot
ton--unbleached. mind. Now git out,
an spend the rest O. yer mornin' loafn'
round some bar-room.
Mrs. Loud, or, rs she was more gen.
orally called by her husband and few
scattered neighbors, '.Missus." watch
ed him drive slowly OF down the road
behind the patient mare without TAX.
ing her arms from the suds.
Poor, shiftless crcetur!" she NUT.
tered; ''nuthin' but q nuisance emmy
way. Amt no more use than last
years birds nest. Whatever kum to
marry him fer l don't see."
She wiped the suds OF either arm
with her thumb and fOre-finger.
''Sam Loud-' she called. opening the
door sharply. ''cf you amt back fer
yer dinner you don't sit emmy here.
that's ALL"
THAR" she exclaimed. after Q few
moments of steady rub-rubbing up and
down over the board, the rhythmic
motion keeping time to ''On JOrdan's 8
Stormy Banks i Stand" which was
running through her mind. ''that lazy
mortal's clean forgot the pail o water
/ told him to git half an hour ago. Ell
he never kun back 'twould be 'tarnal
marcyr'
Sam did not turn his head as Missus
launched after him her parting threat,
but logged slowly on. musing TO him.
self:
''Ef Missus 'ud only give feller a
chance! Sartin the mare needs shOein'
bad an mans got to see how things is in
town sometimes can't never
make her see it that way, somehow.
"A yard o eight cent cotton" he re-
peated aloud, to fix it more firmly in
his unstable memory. AN mehbe
kin find some little thing to sort o.
?ac'fy her. ef so bet as how I CANT git
the mare shod afore poor. An de-
clar' fort, cf didn't furgit thet pail o.
water"'
A man, a stranger to Sam, was walk
ing along the road little way ahead.
At this point he stopped and looked in
tently up and down the broad. straight
highway. stretching in sight for miles
either way.
Good day. my man." he said. as
Sam came up to him; ''can you give
me a lift. aswe both seem to be going
the same way?"
'Reckon l. kin, ef you amt tew
hefty, returned. Sam. cheerfullv, pull
ing up his horse. ''fur spell. s fur .
60"
The man. from his clothes and man.
ner. evidently a gentleman. climbed to
. place beside Sam and listened 81
lently to that worthy's garrulous con-
versation.
''Thet little red buildin' on yer ler,
stranger, he was just saying. "was
whar fust larned ter stick pins in the
schoOlmarster's cheer, an ter"
Here the man broke in suddenly. Tell
me, isn't that a wagon on the road
mile or two back?'
"Thet speck way back by Tim Slo-
cumses' place? It's a wagin' sure nun.
but it's a good five miles away. You
kin see it so plain kase thar's hill
thar"
"Isn't this brach road We are Just
coming to. the road to Kingslow?" the
stranger asked.
"Spect it be-" drawled Sam, regard
ing him with slow surprise.
My man." said his companion.
hurriedly. If you will drive with all
your might to Kingslow, I'll give you
twenty dollars if you get me there in
time"
Sam made no reply.
..lf twenty isn't enough. I'll make it
FORTY" said the man, watching Sans
face anxiOusly.
.1Oh. 'taint the money" said Sam,
ut last, leisurely, though I'll allow
'tis some endorsement to a man who's
got a wife to hum. Tain't thet-its
Why you're in sech a maxim hurry-all
of a suddint-. No. stranger. don't
b'leeve l kin stand the racket The
hoss's only got one shoe on. an I
promised Missus ter be hum fer din
uer."
..Do you SEQ that speck back there