The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-03-12
door, MIR. Dent mvo1untar1ly stepping .sif,.


to let her pass.
At this critical juncture Mrs. lawson
wits returned to her. Stepping forward
sne shook hands with MIR. Dent, assprin)
him that it made no difference, and tina
she was real glad to see him-a breach o
truth, by the way, for which she sufEere<
many conscience pang.
Mr.. Lawson blundered promptly afte
her, and was likewise called to account By
his conscience. Sam took the minister!
hat and coat and deposited them on tn.
dusty table in the next room, while hi,
brother obligingly moved along to max.
room for the plate, knife and fork which
Mary Jane brought from the cupboard
where she had run TO take down her cur
papers.
Mr.. Dent saw through it all at once. His
experience in boarding houses and as lone
of the family" had been wide and varied
and included more than one presentation
of the worst as well as the best foot He
felt sorry for them all, especially the pretty
young girl, whose red face and downcast
eyes told how keenly she felt the awkward
ness of the situation in which his thought
lessness had put them. Nevertheless be
managed to make hearty meal. The
plain bread and fresh, sweet butter, the
cold, juicy meat and simple sauce were a
great deal more to his taste than the
! heavy, indigestible food to which he had
| been accustomed of late.
| Little it mattered to him just then that
the tablecloth was awry, besides bearing
the marks of several days usage; that the
cup which Mary James trembling hand
passed him had lost its handle in some past
| conflict; that the butter dish bore evidence
of having been used at the two preceding
meals, and that the meat dish had cracks
enough to render it almost sacred in the
eyes of the china collectors.
Their embarrassment and efforts to keen
up conversation were so evident that Mr..
Dent concluded it would be an act of mercy
to shorten his visit as much as possible; so,
shortly after tea, he shook hands all round.
and was escorted to the door by Mr. Law
son, who, for the first time in his re,nem-
brance, was heartily glad to see guest out.
The next morning the boys saw that
their mother and sister, who had sat up
talking the night before long after the
others were in bed, both had on clean
dresses and aprons; also that Mary Jane
had forgotten to put her hair in paper, and
that her eyes and nose were red and swollen
as though she had been crying.
With presentiment Of something, they
hardly knew what, they hurried home the
moment school was out. They found the
kitchen empty, but the door between it
and the dining room was open, and going
in in search of their mother they saw, much
to their establishment, pretty, white
draped table, with row of chairs placed
invitingly round it. A second glance re-
vealed the fact that the best dishes were
all there, even to the cherished celery
glasses.
81 wonder who's come? Not the minis
ter again, hope" and Sam tiptoed about,
and then peeped cautiously into the hall
faint man anyway, for there's no hat
but fathers old straw, that's been hanging
there since kingdom come"
Continuing his investigation, he crossed
the hall and glanced round the parlor A
fire was burning pleasantly, but the cat
was the only occupant to be seen.
Meantime Johnny had been counting the
plates. and when Sam returned from his
tour he was met with the
that there was nobody coming
after all, for there were only five plates.
"What does it all mean, anyhows" was |
he question which the boys lips and Mr..
Lawson's eyes asked as they all gathered |
'ound the table.
ut MEANS" said Mrs Lawson. with a |
glance at her daughter, "that Mary Jane
md have talked it over, and have deter
mined that we will never he caught again
IS we were last evening. So from this time
onward we are going to regard ourselves
s company. We will use all our house in
na9 of I Ifpt IL L |
nd wear the very best clothes that we can
ford, and when our friends come they
hall have as good but no better than we
ave ourselves. l think we'll all be hap
Ter for the change, and we'll have no fear
last nights experience being repeated"
Presently the gossips of Woodleigh be-
an to say among themselves that the
.awsons were getting some high notions
1 their heads. They always sat in their
arlor in the evening, so it was said and
leir dining room carpet was getting badly
;uffed. 1t was also settled fact that
larry Jane put on her brown cashmere and
hite apron every day when the work was
one up, and that Mrs. Lawson managed
} be neat and tidy even on wash DAYS.
D different from what it used to be, YOU :
now. These bits of gossip, carefully
altered up and neatly put together, went ]
ON lip to lip, and in the course of time
ade the circuit of Mrs. Dodd's tea table
r. Dent listened, smiled knowing smile.
Id said something himself which l won't {
peat, though I know very well what it
as.
A year later he had tea with the Lawsons
ain. A few friends were also gathered
ound the table, and beside him, bIushing J
I'd lovely in her simple white dress, with s
ange flowers in her hair and a wedding 7
lg on her finger, sat Mary Jane, who had =
ken the vows of wife one short hour be- v
re. n
At first Mr.. Lawson thought the mar q
age of his only daughter must be grand "
air, and talked of invitations and orders G
the florist and confectioner But Mary q
ne, in whose mind the lesson of year 7,
o was still fresh, begged with hot cheeks !,
d burning eyes: Il
Don't! please don't, father never could Sc
TX John In the face again if you made all G
at fuss"
And so it happened that the rooms wore %
cir old homely, pleasant look, and that :,
: table, with the exception of the huge ri
de's cake, with pair of clasped hands, ar
scented no unusual appearance on that &C
aSant autumn night, when the Lawsons II
re away their daughter and John Dent as
eived his wife.-Boston True Flag. 70
The Road to Fortune. W
You look prosperous"
Il am prosperous