Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1888-04-26
The Young Mans Inciplent Mus

I
A young man whom we shall call
Jetfords, when he was twenty years
old, went to visit his grandmother, a
very old lady, whom he had not seen
since he was a boy of ten years. She,
of course, remembered him as a boy,
and did not realize that he was a
young man. The down on the young
mans upper lip had given place to a
brown shade OF something that prom
ised IN time to become real mus
tache, and very proud was Joe OF this
production, though he could not en-
dure that any comments should be
made upon il by his friends
One OF his grandmother childish
weaknesses was constant fear that
| there were cancerous tendencies in her
system, and that for this reason prob
/ ably she was always watching for
such tendencies in other people.
The afternoon of Joe's arrival,
twelve or fifteen young ladies of the
neighborhood had met at grandma
Jefford's to tack pair of comforts
| for her. They were full of life and fun,
and were Laughing and chatting around
the quilting-frames when Joe arrived.
The sight OF so many strange girls en-
barrassed the young man greatly, but
he finally mustered up courage to en-.
ter the room, and say
"How do you do, grandmother"
"Who be yoU?" asked the old lady,
shading her dimmed eyes with one
hand, and trying toget a distinct view
of Joe.
"Why9 Don't you know me, grand
mother2 I'm your son Roberts boy,
| joe"
"What, little Joe?"
The young ladies giggled, and Joe,
who was five feet eleven, looked sheep
ish, but replied
Not so very little now, grandmoth-
err
The old lady's eyesigbt was almost
gone. She could not clearly see OBJ.
| jects at distance OF even two or
three feet. "Come here, joey" she
said
Joe crossed the room, and stood by
the lounge on which his grandmother
was lying.
why, kneel down, Joey, so that
can see you BETTER"
Joe knelt down.
His grandmother looked at him with
her dim eyes, unable to realize that Joe
had changed from q boy to the tall fell
low that he was. But Joe was great
ly embarrassed, and heartily wished
that he or those girls had stayed at
home. After few pleasant words, the
old lady suddenly raised herself, and
| cried OUT
"Joeyl Joseph Jeffordsv'
Eyes, grandmother"
Whats that on your upper lip,
rchild?"
Joe felt flame of fire sweep across
his face, ar he perspiration came
out on his forehead
"1t's-it's nothing he stammered.
Nothing! How can you say that?
Something is the matter with your
| lip. What is it?"
Urged to desperation, poor Joe
stammered out, why, grandmother,
its--it's-my mustache"
Here thegirls giggled.
The old lady was nearly deaf, as
| we'll as half-blind. what did you
say?" she asked.
"It's my mustache!" Joe shouted,
his face a deep crimson.
With a sigh of relief, but with qui.
ct smile on her face, the old lady
leaned back on her pillows, saying
us that all? was altered it might
be a cancer. Anyhow, it looked as if
a bad humor was breaking out"
Joe begged to be excused, saying his
horse needed looking after, and hur-
riedly left the house, amid the sup
pressed laughter of the girls. He did
not enter that room again, but found
it convenient to talk with grandpa
in the barn, until he knew that "those
giggling girls had gone home"