Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1892-04-02

make me stay aud talk with her awhile
''Tve a great mind to tell you some
thing" she said, looking at me with
twinkling eyes and waiting to be urged.
PLEASE do said I, all attention.
"Course you'd never tell?"
swore eternal secrecy, and Mrs Quig.
ley proceeded
"Well, you know Jake has been a-run.
MIN after Min Smith"
''ls it possiblel" said, seeing I wa,
expected to be scandalized.
"Yes; and of all shiftless folks them i
Smiths is the shiftlessest l want |
a-goin' to work an slave to get this home
fur Jake, and then have that Min Smith |
a-settln' in my parlor, a-wearin' out my
carpet tnae | pau seventy nvc cents =
yard fur"
II should think not!'
81 was most pestcrec to death. !
didn't know what on earth to do.
knowed there want no use a-talkin' to
Jake, fur when his heads sot, it's sot.
Jakes the kind Of fcl:er that's ALWAYS
a-layin' down the law about how
woman ought-a be, aad then goes and
takes girl that ain. no more like what
he wants than cro. g."
'1've seen just such men,"
"Well, that's the kind of feller Jake
Is. | laid Awake nights a-thinkin'
| about it. and at last struck on plan to
break it up. You know JakTs always
said he'd n,ver marry girl that couldn't
make goo1 chicken pot-pie; he's terrible
fond = chicken pot t-pic: and plague take
the luck if that want the very thing
N1iu Smith could make. l went over to
spend the day with me. She was tickled
to death to get toe invite. Course she
when I went in, an the house wan 4
bit clean. [ don't believe the s'ov'd
been blacked fur week. Pretty
house -keepin' that!
"When I told Jake Min Smith was
a-comin to spend the day he
was the pleasedest fellow you
ever see He begin to talk about what,
a nice girl she was: how there wa mt no
nonsense about her. Min WAS to come
| J.,I--
lar to work an didn't put on no overalls,
but | didn't say nothing. Min come
over about nine o'clock al dressed to
kill. l made b'lieve to be in great
tlustcr. l said you'd been in an took
most ell my better, 50 l had to churn
that day, an Ia promised Jake pot. pie
fur dinner, an didn't know which way
to turn. Min, she up and said, Let me
make the pot-pie for you, Mrs uuigley.'
That was just what l was a.fshiu' fur. I
was a-goin' to ask her to do it, if she
hadn't offered, so l said 'twould help
me a sight if she'd do it. Cause
want a-goin' to have that pot-pie good.
Jake, he was a-runnin' to the house fur
something or nuther all mornin'; it beat
all what sight Of business he had at
the house, Him an Min KEEP up a
terrible laughin' an jokin'. Jake amt
much of hand to joke 'cept when he 3
mighty pleased about something, SO
see. he was pretty fur gone. Once when
him an Min was a-goin' it pretty high, I
slipped into the pantry an emptied all
the baking powder out Of the box an
put some flour in."
THAT was bright ideal"
Mrs Quigley vinked one eye know
ingly, and continued
"Whcn it come time to make the
dumplings I got Min al the things. I
see her THROWN in the baking powder
she was bound to. have them dumplin' 5
light. Pete (mv husband) Want home
that day, SO at twelve O'Clock Jake came
10 tue mouse aiOUc iltalu nftu al N u
q talkin' about the pot pie: 'Wha, If it
shouldn't be good'' Min was sayin'
That amt possible, said JAKE, a-look
IN AS soft as melted butter.
"Well, we are all sot down to the
table, an took the cover off'n tue pot
pie. I declare fort never see such
dumplin's in all my life!'
'They surpassed your widest hopes,
chr
They vas the awfulles. dumplin's,
replied Mrs Quigley. Why they was
that tough you couldn't get your fork
through 'en. helped Min, an declare
p:tied the poor girl, she looked ~as il
she'd like to sink through the floor.
Then helped Jake; be took bite. al
see him a-lookio' around fur some place