The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-10-02
they'd never befc re seen when the fair
a.aonod ftuo 1u,,ak = later

her nOuSeQOlQ uutleS occupied mel
| time more than sual at that season OIL
| the year, so that she could sew only al
night, and each night she sa. up until
| very late sewing on the green and
crimson and yellow and blue and black
and white rags for the stripe in her
carpet.
1t was after midnight on Friday
when the last bssll was sewed and
wound and weighed, and ready to GO
to the weaver's c,n the morrow.
1.-THE stripe can't be improved on l
Jest know," said Mrs. HUH, as she put
the rags away in stout grain bags. and
tied them up "But 1 can't decide just
how TO have the colors in the chain
warped, or whether to have the light
and dark rags all mixed up or separate
in the hit-an' miss part | do wonder
if l can't dream it out tonight? I'm
all tired out, and l dr. cam best when
I'm that way. Mebbe if l eat a big
piece of gooseberry pie and a piece OF
cheese fore / go to bed, I'll dream
something uncommon.
II read the other day OF a great poet
who wrote half a poem, and couldn't
finish it to suit him, and he went to
bed and dreamed the other half all
out plain as day, and got up in his
night-gown and finished. up. I'm sure
if person could dre;tm out fine
poem, I'd ought to be able to dream
out common rag carpet; pattern"
Thus reasoning to herself, Mrs. Huff
! ate her pie and cheese and went to
bed, and. being very tired, soon
dropped asleep.
She was sleeping heavily when her
husband called her in the morning.
Her first words when she arose were:
well, it didn't do any good. l
didn't dream any thing about that
carpet, although did dream of forty
other things. I must hurry up my
work, and have Gideon take me and
the rags over to the Widow Watts,
and see myself that she understands
just how that carpets got to be wove."
But when, two hours later. she went
into her little sewing-room to GET her
rags and chain, they were not to be
found.
Gideon" she called to her hue band,
who was putting the horses to the
light wagon in the barn-yard, shave
you carried them rags out to the
wagon?"
NO" called back Mr.. Huff; II amt
seen your old rags I'll be glad when
l have aeen the last of 'em, and you've
done a-settin' up O. nights a-puddlin'
over 'em. and underminin' your con-
stitution and your health"
"Well, they amt here" said Mrs.
Huff, land I left them here last night,
all ready to be carried out. Hammer,
We you seen them rags?"
NO" replied Hannah, the hired
girl. II amt seen a solitary thing of
'em."
That's queer" said Mrs. Huff, irri-
tably. They never TUX legs and
walked off of their own accord. Sam,
don't s'pose you've seen any thing of
my rags?"
Sam, the farmland, happened to
pass the open window at that moment
"Your rags, Mis- Half? What rags?"
"Why, my carpet rags"
'Didn't know you had any," replied
Sam, briefly, as he went unconcerned-
ly on his way.
Then began an active search for the
rags. Mr.. Huff was called in. and so
singular was the disappearance of such
bulky articles that he joined in the
search with considerable interest.
tits the queerest thing" said Mrs.
Huff, for the fifteenth time, as she
looked into places in which the bags
of rags could not possibly be. Its
my opinion" she said at last, "that
somebody has stolen those rags. They
never got away alone; any one with
common sense knows that"
No trace of a thief could be found,
but one could easily have come and
gone without the family knowing it, as
the doors and windows were seldom
fastened. In fact some of them had
been left wide open the night before to
| admit the cool air at the close of a hot
day.
After an hour of unwilling search
Mrs. Huff dropped YEARLY into chair,
and said. in a choking voice: "Well,
| they're gone, and gone for good, and
SOS my chance of getting the prize at
the fair next week. Somebody must
have stole 'em. l reckon now that
Calisty Horn will get the premium with
| her carpet"
"Well, we'll, what if she docs9" said
Mr.. Huff, consolingly. you've had
it three years hand runnin' and you'd
ought to give somebody else chance,
anyhow"
They all have justas good a chance
as I've had," replied Mrs. Huff "And
the premium amt nothing at all COM
pared to the loss of that carpet that 1
had callated sure on putting down in
the settin'-room this fall"
The rags were not found in the days
that interviewed before the fair, and
Mrs. Calisty Horns carpet did get the
first premium.
''And such looking carpet as it
was" said Mrs. Huff, somewhat spite