Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-12-20

leave MIN alOne-Iet him SIT there.
ooh, he's tipped all that water over, al
I'm afraid he'II-freeze down. Oh dear!
Let him freeze! Don't you fuss, Bet
sey."
Il wus jest going to git breakfast
Mis- Gill she sent US in two sassage
cakes. l was goln' TO fry 'ero, and jes
asked hin to go out an draw pail OF
water, SOS to fill up the tea-kittle. Oh
dearr
Jenny set her basket in a chair, STROBE
seremptoriiy out Of the house, picked NJ
the tin pail which lay on its side near
Jonas, filed it at the well, and returned
She wholly ignored the old man. Wher
she entered the door mis- eyes relaxed
the solemn stare at vacancy, and darted
| swift glance after her.
Nov fiji up the kittle, an fry the sas
sages," she said TO Mrs. Carey.
"Oh, Pm afeard he WON'T git up, an
they'll be cold Sometimes his tantrums
last q considerable while. You see he Sc
down three times, an he's awful mad"
81 don't see who be thinks he's spltin'.'
II dunno, les it's Providence"
81 reckon Providence don't care much
where he SETS"
"Oh, Jenny, | dreadful afeared he'll
! freeze down."
mo. he won't. Put on the sassages.'
Jonas's wife went about getting out the
! frying pan, grooming over her complaint
/ all the time. "He's dreadful fond of sas
aages," she said, when the odor of the
frying sausages became apparent In the
room.
"He,n smell 'em an come in" re-
marked Jenny dryly. "He5 knows til ere
amt but two cakes, an he'll be afeared
you'll give me one of 'em."
She was right. Before long the two
women, taking sly peeps from the win
dow, saw old Jonas lumberipgly getting
up. "Don't say nothin' to him about it
when he comes in.'' whispered Jenny.
| When the old man dumped into the
kitchen, neither of the women paid any
attention to him. His wife turned the
sa1sRges, and Jenny was gathering up
her wreaths. Jonas let himself down
into chair, and looked at them unea5ily.
Jenny laid down her wreaths. "Goin' TO
| stay 10 breakfast?" said the old man.
"Well, 1 Dunno" re piled Jenny. "Them
sassages dc smell tenn ptin'."
ALI JOnas's solemnity had vanished, he
looked foolish and distressed.
DO take off your hood, Jenny" urged
Betsey. 81 amt very fond of sassages
myself, an 1 jest as liv's you'd have my
cake as not"
Jenny laughed broadly and good
naturally, and began gathering up her
wreaths again. 'Lor', don't want your
| sassage-cake," said she. 1--WE had my
breakfast. I'm goin' down to the village
TO sell my wreaths."
Jonas's face lit up. pleasant da Y,
amt "" he remarked, affably.
Jenny grew sober. II don't think it's
very pleasant day; guess you wouldn't if
you was wood pecker or blue-jay,"
she replied.
Jonas looked at her with stupid in
quiry.
"They can't git no breakfast" said
Jenny. "They can't git through the ice
on the trees. They'll starve if there amt
thaw pretty soon. I've got to buy 'em
somethin' down 10 the store. I'm goin' to
feed few of zen. l amt goin' to see
'em dyin' in my door-yard if can help
it. I've given 'em all could spare from
my own birds this mornin'."
Its too bad. amt it?''
II think it's too bad. I was goin' to
buy me new caliker dress if this freeze
hadn't come, but can't now. What it
Well, I've got TO hurry along if I'm goin'
TO GIT back to-day"
Jenny, surrounded by her trailing
masses of green, had to edge herself
through the narrow doorway. She went
straight 10 the village and peddled her
wares from houee to house. She had her
regular customers. Every year, the week
before Christmas. she came down from
har he
was popularity supposed to earn quite a
snm of money in that way. In the sum-
mer che sold vegetables, but the green
Christmas traffic was regarded as her
legitimate business-it had given her her
name among the villagers. However, the
fantastic name may have arisen from the
popular conception of Jenny's character.
She also was considered somewhat fantas-
tic, although there was no doubt of her
sanity. In her early youth she mad had
an unfortunate love affair that was sup
posed to have tinctured her whole life
with an alien element. Love cracked"
pie called her.
christmas Jenny's kind of love-
cracked" they said. She was Christmas
denny IN midsummer, when she came
down the mountain laden with green peas
and string beans aud sammer squashes.
She owned a little house and few
acres of cleared land on the mountain,
and in one way or another she picked up
living from it.
Il was noon to day before she had sold
all her evergreens and started up the
mountain road for home. She had Laid
in little stock of provisions, and she
carried them in the basket that mad held
the little punches of life everlasting and
amaEanth flowers and dried grasses.
The road wound around the base of the
mountain. She had to follow IL about a
mile, then she struck into a cart-path
which led up to the clearing where her
house was.
After she passed Jonas Carey's there
were no houses and no people, but she
met many living things that she knew.
A little field mouse scratching warily
from cover, lest his enemies should spy
him, had appreciative notice from Jenny
Wrayne. She turned her head at the call
OF q Jay, and she caught glimmer of
tlue through the dazzling white ooughs.
Size saw with sympathetic eyes a wood
pecker drumming on the ice bound trunk
of tree. Now and then she scattered,
with regretful sparseness, some seeds and
crumbs from her parcels.
At the point where she left the road for
the cart path there was gap in the woods
and clear view of the village below
She stopped and looked back at it. 1t
was quite large village; over it hung a
spraying network of frosty branches
the smoke rose straight up from the
chimneys. Down in the village street a
girl and a young man were walking, talk,
ing about her, but she did not know
that.
The pirI was the minister's dauohter