The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1891-11-19


10 farm her portion. saying be s'rossd
she'd want 10 run her place. ~ sbed Tun
her ftnce. alone, aud she had promptly
sBd spifiiedly replied that she could DO II
we'll enough. So ., l.st abe felt herself
lei, TO the mercies oi her bired man. lse
Yere eoin 10 have thai fenee trimmed
upl Ike iLqsired, one merning.
She looked out. How it had grown
Those plants hsd been 10 perfect synpa'
Thy with her They bad cent out brsnches
10 ever direction. until the lice wn . mass
Of thorn covered branches. The hedge
wss impenetrsble.
Serves 'em night. she ,xcIaimed under,
her breath. They'l 10 business to make
sech fuss over ths, cows doiD's. nor oyei
tbs, fence neither No. | slot goin to trim
IL. Let IL grow. she went on In low tone
till We cant see notbiu' Of nary one OF US.
That was bow the lore ins OF thickly
,nterwovpn branches came 10 be left to
shoot .kywsrd up.rim med. until it lost oil
likeness to the hedge she had At first plan
ned.
She was nervous and trembling from 40
attack OF neuralgia one September morn.
ing when Ike informed her, as be swallow
ed his third cup Of coffee, that the barn
leaked like oil get out. an the hayd got
wet. the cow'd got the collie eatin' apples,
and Nep'd gone lame with one OF them
sage thorns in his foot, ending with the
announcement. Ooed's We gone to the Fair
aud I'm goin'. too.
They didn't use to forget to ask me TO
go with EN-, Nancy murmured to herself,
as she hurried cfi TO the east room which
faced The hedge.
To br sure, he knew she had before now
refused to 60 to The Fair withthem, say.
ing she had Nep; but he WAS lane-snd
they bad certainly forgotten her. Then
there was the barn, and the COW. III the
orchard fence had been built, she wouldt
have had the collie.
Then came the thought that there used
to be no worry for her when Obed had the
charge but be had left her alone.
She turned to the window involuntsrlly
aud looked over the field as she bad done
daily for years; but she could zee nothing
now but tall, waving branches, which
seemed to nod at her and say, You see we
have done it; aren't you glad? The aspir'
ing tree tops bad ct last fulfilled her wish /;
at last che could not see even Obed's
cbimntys.
She was alone indeed and she WAS in
ttnstly miserable.
Ike drove of as she looked, calling out
10 her that the COW Was dead. She saw
Nep limping ont by The hedge. and she
went back TO the kitchen with az aching
heat aud throbbing head.
The day WAS lopg one. How many
times she went to the east room to look
toward Obed's he could not have told.
1t was late III the afternoon when she
simlessly wandered there again. Had
Obed's folks come home? Rlue smoke was
curipg up But they would ttay late 81
the Fair on Thursday 1.-The best day.
Bennie must be at home. She did re-
mem Der that Ike said he had cut bis foot
but she had not been there.
A cloud Of smoke rolled up. She picked
up another pair Of glasses and put them
on. That was fame that shot up above the
trees then. SURELY Something was wrong.
She shook violently as she hurried back
to the kitchen. How could she get therep
She must 60! 1t was too far around.
There was the old path, but the hedge was
too thick to penetrate.
One second she hesitsted; then her eye
fell on the IKE by the woodpile, and catch'
ing it up, she hurried down the path.
But who was thai? Millie, six years old,
Millie this side Of the hedge, her dress
torn. her lace aud hsnds scratched, and
The tears rolling down her chesk ks. She
had ierced the hedge.
Aunt Nauc,l Aunt Nancy! The house
-afre- Bennie was all she could say.
Nancy Mott WIS never able to tell just
how she did it. But she forgot Rheumatism
aud neuralgia pans The axe was sharp,
the place the Child had instinctively
chosen was The tbinuest Nancy dimly REQ
olect d that the men said it would not
grow so well on the old. beaten pathway
and the tough stems Tell before even her
weak, awkward strokes.
She soon had made an opening large
enough to crawl through; and leading Mil
lie by the band. she dragged her trembling
limbs TO the house.
Sheets OF fame poured from the chin
ney, and the house was fairly enveloped In
q pail OF smoke. In The kitchen the stmos
phere Was thick with smoke and the odor
OF burning wood and sweets
As soon as she could see clearly she dis
covered Benuie upon Que foot. hobbling
about, hauticalIy pushing back great pie
Geo Of burning toot which ieii behind the
old frebosrd. or dsshing water from the
bucket upon the board itself. which now
and then burst cut into bisze.
A roaring 6re in the stove kept up .
copf sgrstion. while the contents Of burn
ing kettle oil molasses added TO the smoke
snd smell.
4 Nancy hastily threw ide the stove COW
ers spd tossed handy boSl OF salt upon
the tire - bowl aud all Then setting Benz
nie down, bis foot bleeding sfresb from
bis txertiobs, she took IRON him The ol3
iron rske dragged cut the burning board
from b fore the old fireplace. deluged II
With water aud pushed back The falling
SCOT 10 die ou. upon the s,one hearth.
Then wbeb the roaring and crsckling
A.. 4. n a