The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1891-02-06

lay him up ia the hospital for awhile. !
~ course the news vent all up and
down the line and at every station You
would see some girl wringin' her hands
and aslin' about Jim. Naturally the
boys told them jest how IL was-that
Jim want hurt much, but was side
tracked At the hospital. And what do
you think? why. every one Of them
bioomin' girls allowed they would 60
right down 10 the city for 10 nuss him.
They was unanimously Of the idea that
II they didn't poor Jim wouldn't have
no one 20 AXE care Of him-for. of
course, there wasn't one Of them that
snspicioncd the existence 81 the other.
and Jim. he always made q point OF
tellin' EN- all how he was an offun and
alone in the world.
But we assured EN- all-leastwise
did them that spoke TO me-that the
Sisters Of Hope, who was running the
hospital then, would take good care Of
Jim, and they needn't worry. Still
there was some of EN- that wasn't salts
fled, and they allowed they would go
down anyway, jest 70 visit him. When
got In from the run hat night. / went
around 70 see Jim myself. and | told
him 70 be on the lookout. or he'd get
lacked up. But he was fcelin' pretty
perky and said he reckoned il was all
right that he had put up a kind OF a
schedule they could all run on, and
there wa'n'tnod angerof any thing hap
pcning.
Tom Bixby was sittin' by the bed
at the time, and when Jim spoke. he
winks at Tom, and rom he grins. You
know Tonne used Il be news
butcher on Nineteen, and now he'd run
min a store in the city. Wen, he's been
jammcd up in a collision some time be-
fore. and was now about recovered
only lame. SO that he went slumpin'
along like a f~iat-wheelcr. To give him
something TO do. the sisters had put
him in charge Of the door. to show Wis
itors in and around.
I've told Tom about il. says Jim to
me, and II one OF them comes while
another is here. he will keep her back
by sayin' that they are fixin' to dissect
me-or something like that
Saw your leg of" says Tom, grim
min some more
"sAnd we have got il all put up about
the different degrees Of relationship
Jim goes on. winkin' ag'in. But i
didn't understand the signals. and !
told him so.
1.-THE Sisters OF Hope has a rule.
says he. that n man can't have no la
dies visit him. unless they are akin to
him
Well says /. much as ! know
about his hospital. l never heard no
such rule as that.
Tom told me- says Jim.
And Tom. he spoke mp perfectly
solemn and said: That's right. what he
says. ! ought TO know, being as ! am
~door-kecpcr. and hare 70 turn the gals
away every day
".We've got a regular list Jim says,
of just how many will go Of each kind
of relation. because il wouldn't do for a
man to have nineteen sisters. or twenty
three cousins. or any thing like that,
for fear the public would ketch Q
See?'
1.-The first lot will be sisters says
Tom very quick; and then comes cous'
ins. and sisters-in-law, and then aunts,
and
il ".That1l be enough says Jim.
u If Il amt Tom goes on, grin
MIN ike he had Just stuck a j~aw-hawk'
CT with an armful Of prize packages
there is plenty of other kinds Of female
relatives: wives and mothers-conrs
those amt available more than onct-
and rrcat-aunts, and grandmothers, and
mothers-in-law-'
|, -.And daughters says i, joinin' in
cause / thought il was just a kind Of a
game to keep Jim's spirits up: and jim
he laughed and was very clipper about
il.
, .sThen | come away. But ! heard aft
crwards how the scheme turned out.
'.You see Tom was putin the thing
up on Jim. There wasn't no rule about
lady visitors like what he said. but hs
had made it up jest to put Jim in thu
hole.
] Pretty soon the girls begun to com
: first those that lived in the city, ant
afterwards those from the country
and Tom would take 'em confidential,
:, into the waiting-room and tell EN- how
, glad Jim would be. only they must pre-
. tend TO be some relative Of his. else thu
sisters wouldn't let EN- in. Of cours'
: they was all willin' enough-and whei
they came to where Jim was. he wouls
. introjoocc them to any Of the Sisters Q
!. Hope that was about. as his cousins o
sisters or what relation was down 70
: that number on the list. ] ave an idc'
: that them sisters 0 fHopc must have bee'
thinkin' that Jim's ancestry run a loni
way back. for him 70 scare mp such
nailin' fine lot Of female relatives O
such short notice.
.Well. as | was sayin', the scheme
that Tom put up was this: As zach SIR
came down. after scein' Jim. he woul'
stop EN-. and. takin' en- to onc side
would tell how Jim had said a lot 2
/ nice things about them. and how y
had been hoping they would come an
all that. Then he would ask II they e.
pectcd to call again-for Jim would .
very lonesome. OF course they all a
lowed they would. Then he told ther
that there was a new rule, and visitin