The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1892-10-01
TWO PAINTED DOORS.

Marian, who felt 1t great distinction
to be of any service, however slight, to
the pastor.
Maud gathered fresh flowers for the
study table every day. Marian sat up
late nights to iron and mend table linen
so that the good man might have aelean
napkin every day, and to darn his stock
ings so that you could not tell mended
pieces from the whole, and the little
widow herself exhausted every culinary
resource TO humor his dyspepsia and to
contrive dainty dishes out of the least
possible foundation. To these three
simple women Rev. Milo Miner was
like an embodied saint.
"And now that Mr.. Milner is safely
gone for the day" said Mrs. Chipley,
''wel clean the sitting room and white.
wash the walls. Run to Dixey's, Maud,
for lump of unslaOked lime; and-oh,
by the way, bring some cornmeal, dear
Well have hasty pudding for dinner
and eat at the kitchen table. Some
hasty pudding and milk will do for us
women"
"Of course it will do, mamma" said
Maud.
81 just like pudding and milk" cried
Marian, jumping gleefully up and down,
land, although Mr.. Miner is such a
dear, good man, yet it is a sort of relief
to have him gone once in awhile so that
we can clean house and eat hasty pud-
ding and milk. Oh, Maudp she whis-
pered to her aesthetic sister, as Mrs.
Chipley went out to hang the big kettle
over the fire, "I've such an idea in my
headl If you'll only get little grass
green paint, ready mixed, when you are
at Dixey's, and a medium sized brushm
"Green paint, Marianl What for?"
"Hushl don't let mamma heart I'm
so tired of hearing this called the house
with the blue door"
Maud obeyed. Although the elder in
point of years, she had long been accus-
toned to be domineered over by pretty
positive Marian.
"But it is the strangest thing,
Marian" she said, as fifteen or twenty
minutes later she handed over mys
terious tin can and an oblong paper par
eel to her sister; "Joe Dean is out now
painting his door blue
TASTES differ" said Marian, shrug-
ging her shoulders, now invested in a
preternaturally shabby old calico gown,
suitable only to the EXTREMIST exigen-
cies of housecleaning time.
"Blue is q lovely color, but as applied
to house door am heartily sick of it,
Joe Dean has no more taste than a New
foundland dog"
"The Deans are expecting city com
! pany to luncheon" said Maud. "They
sent to borrow the butterfly china plates
this morning"
at must be nice to have city com
pany," sighed Marian.
"Oh, but to think of the work of itr'
said Maud, lifting both her hands.
Mrs. Chipley came in at that moment
also clad in what Marian called her
"scrubbing regimentals," and wearing
an olive silk handkerchief tied around
her still bright and glossy hair, and the
three set themselves determinedly tC
work.
Rev. Milo Milner, on reaching the
railway station, received q telegram
that his friend, Professor Klingenburg
could not possibly meet him that day.
every good" said Mr.. Milner, III
just step back home and get a mouthfu
of luncheon, and then Ill go to look ovel
those ancient manuscripts with DR.
Hodges. He has been urging me to dc
so for some time past, and l may neveI
have better opportunity than this"
Mr.. Miner tucked the umbrella unde
l. o,,,, 4fVpaI bfg 1lo.ly ts-iIa az
hat over his eyes and set off ON a swift
swinging stride back TO Simpson terrace
. The blue door stood wide open. So h
walked in without the least ceremony.
Fresh paintw he said to himself, ele
, waiting his thin nostrils. "If there's any
thing on the face of the earth l detest !
is fresh paint. And I've got it all owe
the skirts of my best coat too! Wher
is Mrs. Chipley? What has become o
the girls2 Nobody ever seems to be i
the way when they're wanted. But
fortunately, here's luncheon read
spread. l wonder now how it haI
pened. How could they know / wa
coming back. Cold roast grouse, wit
' current jelly-chicken salad, pickle
oysters-really, now, this is somcthin
quite beyond the ordinary run Of on
bills of farew
The pastor sat down and ate with a
excellent appetite. He made big hol
in the chicken salad mound; he picke
' the bones Of crisp, brown grouse wit
r genuine satisfaction; he buttered fax
ny biscuit and added to its flavor by sever
spOonfuls Of amber ounce preserve.
GAN the same said he to himself, 4
,o he wiped his mouth with a damask MAJ
j. kin and rose from his chair, with n
other glance at the vegetable shape
watch, "this sort of thing is quite b.
he yond Mrs. Chipley's means. | though
she had better sense. | must reall
speak TO her about it, In the meautin
must mako good speed if | expect
have much time at my friend Hodge
place"
Away he trudged, much comfort'
- and sustained as regarded his inner ma
= "Joe joel" shrieked Miss Frances
Dean, coming into the room few mi
utes later, "what have you donef Eat,
up all the company luncheon? Oh u
greedy
81 didn't do no such thing, shout
es Joe from an upper room, where he W
ri Transforming himself from an amate
TO journeyman painter to a modern tenn
R player. "What are you talking about
'Some one has eaten his fill" cri
Miss Francesca. Just look at {
tablet"
"Then its some tramp sneaked
through the door that left open TO d
the paint" bawled Joe, shifting his lel
q And while the Dean family were {
- deavoring to repair damages the task
housecleaning went swimmingly on
the Chipley domicile, only two dos
s away, the girls and their mother scar
" taking time to sit down aud eat tn
hasty pudding, which, by the way, :
scorched through Maud's oyerdeyoti
10 putting the chintz curtains at
pastors study windows.
F" But hasten as they would, the new
whitewashed walls were scarcely d
and the furniture not yet rearrang
when dusk descended on the scene a
Rev. Milo Miner came In.