The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1891-02-21

"Ihen--l say-the5e here new folk
that you M your wife seem so mighty
taken wilh-d'ye know anything about
'ema"
Il know nothing about the character
Of your b,arders, Mr.. Jacobus, l re
lied, conscious of some irritability
"If / choose to associate with any Of
Them"
Jess so--jess so, lroke in Jacobus.
Il han't no him to say ag'inst yer So
sherbi'ty. But do ye know them p
why certainly not, replied
"Well-that was all wuz askiu' We.
Yesee, when he came here to take the
rooms--you wasn't here then--he told
my wife that lie lived at number "a in
his street An yistiddy he told her that
he lived at number 80 Hesaid he lived
IN an apartment house Now, there can
be no apartment house on two sides Of
the same street, kin they?"
what street was itp" I inquired
wearily.
Hundred n Twenty-frst street
May be, " / replied, still more wear
ly, that's Harlem. Nobody knows
what. people will do in Harlem.
went to my wife's room.
"Don't you think it's queer2" she
asked me-
II think III have to talk with that
young man tonight, said, "and see if
lie can give some account of himself
But, my dear. NY wife said gravely,
"she doesn't know whether they've had
the measles or not
"Why, great Scottl" / exclaimed,
"they must have had them when they
were children.
"Please don't be stupid, said my wife.
Il meant their children.
When went up stairs that evening
found my wife putting her hair to bed
4 don't know how can better describe
an operation familiar to every married
man waited until the last tress was
coied up and then l smoke.
"rve talked with Brede, I said, land
l didn't have to cutechize him. He
seemed to feel that some sort of an ex-
planation was looked for, and he was
very outspoken. You were right about
the children-that is, must have mis-
understood him. There are only two.
But the Matterhorn episode was simple
enough He didn't realizs how danger
Gus it was until he had got 80 far into it
that he couldn't back out; and he didn't
tell her because he'd left her here, you
see. and under the circumstances--T
"Lelt her here, cried my wife, I've
been sitting with her the whole after
noon, sewing, and she told me that he
left her at Geneva, and came back and
took her to Base, and the baiy was
born there-now I'm sure, dear, because
asked her.
Perhaps 1 was mistaken when
thought he said she was on this side,
suggested, with bitter, biting irony
"You poor dear, did abuse you?
said my wife. "But do you know, Mrs.
Tabb said that she didn't know how
many Jumps of sugar he took in his
coffee Now that seems queer, doesn't
it2"
1t did. 1t was queer thing. But it
looked queer. Very queer.
The next morning it was clear that
war was declared against tho Ijredes
They came down to breakfast some
what late, and as soon as they had ar
rived the Bigglesls swooped Up the
last fragments that remained on their
plates, aud made stately march out of
the dining room Then Miss Hoogen-
camp arose and departed, leaving
whole fishball on her plate Even as
Atalanta might have dropped an apple
behind her to tempt her pursuer to
check his speed, 50 Miss Hoogel camp
left the fishbal behind her, AID be-
tween her maiden self and contami-
nation.
We had finished our breakfast, my
wife and /, before the Bredes apr cared.
We talked it over and agreed that we
were glad that we had not beeu obliged
to take sides upon such insufficient
testimony.
After breakfast it was the Gust ON of
the male half of the Jacobus lou ehold
to go around the corner of the building
and smoke their pipes and cigars where
they would not annoy the ladies We
sat under trellis covered with grape
vine that had borne no grapes n the
memory of man. This vine, however,
bore leaves, and these, on that pl asant
! summer morning, shielded US froil Two
persons who were in earnest nver-
sation in the struggling, lialf dead
flower garden at the side of the house.
II don't want, we heard MI j. cobus
say, ito enter into no mans Iry vacy;
but l do want to know who il may be,
like, that / hev in my house. Now,
what 1 ask you, and l don't want you
to take it in no ways personal, is have
you your marriage license with you2 q"
No, we heard the voice OF Mr.
Brede reply. Have you yours?"
l think it was "A chance shot; ! ut it
told all the same The major Oie was a
widoweO and Mr.. Bicycles and looked
at each other; and Mr. Jacobus. o. the
other side Of the grape rellis, looked at
Il dom know what-and was as silent
as we were.
Where is your marriage license, mar
ried reader2 Do you know2 -Four men.
not including Mr. Brede, stood OF at on
one side or the other of that grape trel-
| lis, and not one OF them knew where his
marriage license was Each of u3 lad
had one-the major had had three. But
where were they? Where j. yours?
| Tucked in your best mans pocket; de-
posted in his desk. or washed 10 a pulp
in his white waistcoat ff white waist
coats be the fashion of the hour). washed
out Of eXistence-can you tell where il
isg Can you-unless you are one of
those people who frame that intere sting
document and hang it up on their draw
ing room walls2
Mr. Brede's voice arose. after an awful
stiffness of what seemed five minutes,
and was probably 80 seconds;
Mr.. Jacobus, will you make out your
bill at once, and let me pay it? / shall
leave by the O'clock train. And will
you also send the wagon for my trunks "
Il hain't said wanted to hev ye
leave" began Mr. Jacobus, but Brede
cut him short
Bring me your bill
"a p,tt rennonqtra fad Jaoohne glf ve