The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-12-28
THE WIDOWS LOVE POWDER.

When he first saw her she was q
widow. She was still quite young, not
over six and twenty, and her short.
curly hair, of a dark-brown shade.
made her look even younger.
There was pathetic look in her
gray eyes that first drew Marsh Ken
dall's attention to her-that and one
other thing that appeared extraordi-
nary to him.
He had been lettering around the
little suburban station waiting for the
train to the city until the heat had
brought on one of the severe head
aches he so much dreaded. A man
cannot abuse nature as Kendall had,
working all day and half the night in
the mines for months at a stretch,
without nature resenting the neglect
of her laws.
So it happened that while the spirit
of the mines had rewarded his zeal by
casting gold galore into his toil-worn
hands, nature had retaliated by visit
ing him with a severe nervous head
ache every few weeks.
An accident had delayed the train
for an hour, and Kendall took advan-
tage of the delay to look up a drug
store and obtain temporary relief for
his aching heed.
Not two squares from the station he
found what he was looking for A lit
tie, one-story building displayed the
sign, "Drugs and Medicines" and Ken
dali entered the store and looked
around for the druggist. A slight
rustic behind the prescription case
made him turn his eyes in that direc-
ton in time to see the person emerge.
1t was the young woman with pa
thetic gray eyes and short curly hair,
and she advanced with an air which
strove to be business-like and brisk.
The years that he had spent away
from civilization had not robbed Marsh
Kendall of his innate reverence for
woman. He removed his hat with a
courteous if somewhat ungraceful bow
and asked for the druggist.
81 am the druggist; what can do
for you?" asked the young woman, a
little smile playing round the sad
curves of her mouth aud chasing the
shadows from the depths of the gray
eyes.
Kendall's perception was keen, and
after another glance at her he noticed
the dress of black, unrelieved by a
single glimpse of white, and thought
she had taken the place of Eer dead
father, or possibly her husband, and
was trying to breast the billows OF
commercial life.
A woman conducting such a busi-
ness was novelty to him, but during
the ten years he had been away
strange things had happened and Ken
dali accepted this as one of them. Re
luctantly, however, for he was one OF
those men who think of woman
adorning home and making it the
brightest spot on earth for husband
and children, not as bread-winner.
"What would you advise for Sc
we're headacheP" he asked, recovering
from his first surprise.
The little curly head was bent slight
ly sideways, as the druggist reflected
"Antipyrine is good, and antikamnia,
too," she said, "but perhaps these are
still BETTER" and she took box from
shelf and extracted some grayish
looking capsules from it.
"These are marked sure cure" she
said, sand I have no doubt if you have
faith enough they will carry out theil
promise"
Man is creature of such imagina
tion that as soon as he had swallowed
a capsule, washed down with glas;
of cold water, Kendall's headache be
gan to subside.
Reluctantly he left the store anC
stepped into the hotel across thu
street. He wanted very much tt
know the history of the young woman
yet shrunk from asking about her. HI
was relieved of this necessity by thu
landlord, who was only too glad tt
have some one to talk to.
"Guess you was surprised to see 6
woman runnin' drug store, wasn'
you?" he asked, with little chuckle
81 was, indeed" replied Kendall, ant
the question in his eyes led the loqua
cious landlord on.
"She's the Widow Kingsberry ant
her husband was druggist. He wa
a trifin' kind of a fellow, never hal
good enough for her and he took from
bad to worse. They had been married
six years when he died after pro
tracted spree. Then she found ou
that he had taken the money she hat
toiled and worked for to help pay hi
insurance premiums and spreed wit
it.
at was perfectly heartrendin' to Sc
her despair when she found out HOY
he had deceived her and left her wit
only the little store. She was sic
after his death-that accounts for he
curly hair-but as soon as she coul
creep around she opened up the stor
and has kept pluckily at it ever since.
Kendall ground his teeth at the re
cital His heart gave great throb G
pity for the poor little druggist, an
pity is akin to love-"
He had come down to the littl
place to look at some property tha
was for sale. 1t was rather a gran
country house and although the pric
was reasonable he had concluded nc
to take it. But now, for obvious res
sons, he changed his mind and feelins
much better walked around to see tn
agent and close the deal.
That night he remained in the vii
lage and again dropped into the littl
drug store to buy box of capsule:
He flushed redly as he asked for then
saying that it was always better t
be prepared" Nor was this the las
box of them that he bought from th
widow. after his removal to his me-
home he rarely passed day withou
dropping in and purchasing some.
The widows tender heart wa
touched with pity for the poor ma
who needed so much medicine for hi
headache, and "pity is akin to love.