The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-09-12

had kept house for Granther quite a
spell. She wasn't overly young, and
he didn't want to spare her, she made
such nice griddle cakes.
He was very fond of griddle cakes.
He hadn't teeth to eat nothing hard,
and she made 'em for him for break
fast dinner and supper. Sometimes
she made 'em plain, sometimes sweet.
Sometimes she rolled jell up into 'em.
Sometimes she put hash into 'em.
They was a great variety, and they
was always good. So when Jabez
Chow proposed, and Corianna ac-
cepted him, granther said "No," and
said how he'd cuss her if she disobey.
ed him.
Now, Corianna could have done
what she was a minter for all Gran
Their Peeks; for as ,said, she was
risen thirty. But she was a pious
gal, and she felt as if her granther's
cuss would sort OF blight her, so she
told Jabez she couldn't marry him
nohow until granther either died or
Civ in, only she wasn't able to help
herself from meetin' him after gran
ther had gone to bed-just where the
punkin patch jined onter the blueber-
ry medder, and the old popler grew
Well, some mean sneak or other went
and told granther about it and he
got up out of his bed and follered her
one night, and found 'em kissin' each
other.
He was a real bad tempered old
gentleman, Granther Peeks was, and
when he seen that he just up and
cussed her any way and drove her
home with his stick like she was a
pig, after hitting Jabez Chow over
the head with it. Jabez didn't burst
hit back on account of his age, and
granther knew he wouldn't. Home
he drove Corianna, and when he got
her to hum there was the old boy to
pay, you may be sure. Corianna
was sobbing as eff her heart would
break.
"You cussed me, granther," she
kept a-sayin'; land now it dom make
no matter what / do. Seem Pm
cussed, I'll jest marry Jabez Chow
any way. What's the use of not
doing it now"
Well, Granther Peeks he felt he d
make a mistake and he kinder coax
ed her up a while, and said he'd take
the cuss back, and got her to go to
bed quiet. But when she walked up
next day, meaning to run away and
marry Jabez, she found granther had
been before her. He'd nailed and
locked and barred the whole house
up as if it was a prison, and left Just
q little hole in the kitchen shutter for
her to see to cook by. The front
door he kept the key of in his peck
ct, and he was grinning like q mon
key to see how smart he'd been.
81 guess we won't have any more
meetin's by moonlight, my dear, -
says he. sardonic and unpleasant as
ever could be. "When stores is need
ed I'll go out, and you've got a pump
in the Kitchen"
"You don't mean to lock me up
this way for good, granther, says
Corianna. 81 shall die for want of
air and exercise. So will you"
II guess l kin stand it," says gran
Their. when you want fresh air you
kin stick your head out of that there
appychure in the shutter and draw
it in, and to-day l want pancakes
with rawsberry jell into UNI and lots
of coffee. worked real hard last
night pnttin' up them fastenin's and
WANT siren thenin', Corianna. She
jest look at him when he said that
She didn't burst trust herself to say
nothin'. She had ideas that she was
skeerful of putin into language,
seem she was speakin' to her mas
pa, and he risin' eighty. But all she
got by that was these here crue
words:
"Don't google at me, Corianna
It's worse than sassin'."
So while she was a-fryin' the cakes
she kept sayin' over ana over to her
self: "Now Hay me-" and "Twinkle
twinkle. little. STAR" to keep back hel
nat'ral wickedness. She'd shaved fo1
that old man and she'd been fond O
him, and this is what come OF it
She told us all this through the hole
IN the shutter. We got kinder scared
you know, seein' the house shut up
i and went to call, but didn't get lei
IN; but arter while, when wee
knocked and knocked a spell to the
'front.' door and the side door we went
round to the back, and there was
poor Corlanna'sface a-stickin' out O