Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1890-01-18

stitution and your health"
We'll, they amt here" said Mrs.
Huff, "and left them here last night,
all ready to be carried out Hammer,
We you seen them rags2"
No." replied Hannah, the hired
girl, Il amt seen a solitary thing of
EN-"
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 anything of
my rags1'
Sam, the farm hand, happened to
pass the open window at that moment.
Your rags, Mis- Huff What rags2"
why, my carpet rags"
Didn't know you had any," re-
piled Sam, briefly, as he went uncon-
cernedly 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
Its 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. ''It's my
opinion" she said at last, that some
body has stolen those rags. They must
have done It'll They never got away
alone; any one with common sense
knows that"
No trace of 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
hot day.
After an hour of unavailing search
Mrs. Huff dropped YEARLY into a
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. Some
body must have stole 'em. reckon
now that Calisty Horn will get the
premium with her carpet"
"Well, we'll, what if she does2" 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 just as good chance
as I've had" replied Mrs. Huff ''And
the premium amt nothing at all COM
pared to the loss of that carpet that l
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
fully. 1.-THE rags was half an inch
wide, and she'd got too much copperas
in her coloring, and the stripe was
nothing to compare to what mine
would have been"
Her loss and defeat weighed heavily
on Mrs. Huff, and she lay awake a
long time thinking the whole matter
over after she had gone to bed, when
she came home from the fair
Sometime after midnight Mr. Huff
awoke to find himself alone in bed,
and as he opened his eyes he fancied
he saw some one pass the door lead
ing into the hall
Harriet" he cried, lis that you2"
There was no reply.
81 wonder" he said, eff that woman
has got up in the dead of night to be-
gin on another carpet She shan't do
i'll Harriet, what are you doing2
You sick2"
Still Harriet did not answer. Mr..
Huff arose, wrapped quilt around
him, lighted candle and started out
to investigate. AS he stepped into the
hall he heard noise as of some one
moving around in an unused attic
room above him, room that had not
been entered for weeks, and which was
now filled with all the odds and ends
of things that will collect in house
as the years go on, and which great
many people save, under the impress
sion, usually delusion, that they will
sometime come handy"
Among the useless rubbish slowed
away in Farmer Huffs attic was the
frame of an old carpet loom on which
Mrs. Huff had woven many carpet
in her younger days; but years had
passed since the loom had been in use.
The moonlight streaming in through
a window showed Mr.. Huff that the
attic door was open, but there was no
other light in the room.
Harriet Huff" he called, what in
creation air you doing up there at this
time O night2 Hunting some more
tormented old rags9 Come right back
to bed You'll get your death O cold
roamin round at night"
She took no notice of his querulous
remarks, but he heard no more sounds
in the attic. But he was too much
troubled to let the matter rest as it
was, and accordingly mounted the
stairs and entered the attic room.
There he saw something that caused
him to open both eyes and mouth with
amazement
At the old loom sat Mrs. Huff in her
night clothes. In one hand she held
an old wooden shuttle, while with the
other she fumbled around in a grain
bag full of carpet rag balls leaning
against post of the loom. Drawing
forth ball of the 'hit an miss" rags
she slowly began winding it on the
shuttle, which she then passed to and
fro through an imaginary warp. The
reed and batten bars were gone, but
Mrs, Huff went slowly through the
motions of using them.
The amazed Mr.. Huff at once no
ticed that her eyes were closed, and
his belief that she had become a
stark, staring, crazy loonytic "
changed into the more agreeable
thought that she was simply sound
asleep. His eyes rested on the miss
ing carpet rags, and he mentally ejac-
ulated:
Brought 'em up here herself in
her sleep two weeks ago, by Jinks
l. L., oh
goes to maxim carpets both when she's
asleep and awakea Her intelleckshel
reason will give way. That's what'll
happen to herl No born woman could
stand it, and it'll be mighty hard on
all of us. She shant make nary mother
carpet I'll buy body bristles for ev'ry
room in the house first Harriet Diany
Huff, wake up and git to bed where
you b'longw
Mrs. Huff did not waken, and Mr.