The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1893-03-04

six o'clock Did Katie have to get I'M
at this hour every day2 If so, he did
not blame her for leaving. Confound
the catl Who would have thought she
was sleeping on the stairs2 Where
were the matches9 Is there anything
so hard to find in the dark as match
box? All, he has found it Striking a
light he CROPPED his way toward the
cellar stairs. To his chagrip the
furnace had gone out and for half an
hour he labored as faithfully as Her
cules at any one of his tasks, covering
himself with dust and glory. Soon the
fire was burning cheerlly and he made
his way upstairs into the kitchen.
"How in the world does Katie make q
fire without kindling2" he muttered.
Finally he lighted lamp and went in
to the woodshed. "I'll split some
kindling in iiffy," he said So say
ing, he chopped up board and met
with no further mishap than to injure
himself with flying splinter
AS he passed through the back yard
with the lSindling he glanced toward
the east. 81 wonder where is the god
of day?" he remarked. Then he start
ed the fire in the kitchen stove and put
the kettle on. 1t was so dark that he
was obliged to keep the gas lighted.
Its funny the sun doesn't come up"
he commented as he drew his shiver-
ing form nearer the fire and watched
the tea-kettle, which was now emit
ting steam and whispering the while
one of its soft lullabies. Between the
pufPs, the kettle murmured: Wouldn't
you like to go to sleep-whoo, whoa
nice early morning nap-puff, puff-the
sweetest sleep of all the night?-whoo,
whoo." While this rhythmic measure
was going on and he had nearly yield
ed to the influence, a bell rang out the
hour. "One-two-three." Then there
was silence. The other bells followed
and they all struck three times. Were
the bells mad? Three o'clock? Impos-
sible! Had not the alarm clock gone
off and had not the clock been set for
six o'clock? Then why should all the
bells strike three? We're they wrong?
Or, was it possible that the alarm
clock had gone off at two o'clock? 1t
was more reasonable to suppose that
the fault was with the alarm clock. He
had heard that they sometimes explod-
ed before their time. With many silent
blessings on the clock he silently stole
upstairs and crept into bed. Mean
while the kettle downstairs went right
on murmuring: "Whoo-whoo-he' GO
ing to take his morning nap-puff-
puff" AT the same time his wife whis-
pered: ''Is breakfast ready yet, love"
No" was the gruf response. Then
she sank into dreams and he followed
suit, his slumbers being broken by ex-
ploding alarm clocks and the flying
splinters of kindling wood. Suddenly
there was loud pounding. He started
up just as another clock had gone off
in his dreams.
What is that?" he exclaimed.
Its the milSman, think, dear"
said his wife.
At the same time, in corroboration
of her statement, sonorous voice
arose from below:
"Mi-lkp'
why doesn't he come in the middle
of the night?" growled the husband as
he arose and threw a blanket around
him.
"My dear, you are not going down
like that? You will catch your death
of cold"
81 don't care" he answered, desper-
ately. AS he opened the back door the
wind blew in upon him and the snow
covered his bare feet. He looked like
a bleached Indian chief as he stood
there wrapped in his blanket. He
coughed in a funereal manner as he
was roughly greeted by the wintry
blasts. The milkman, who was GOV.
cred with snow and had icicles on his
beard, regarded him in amazement.
"Mornin,' he said.
"Never mind about exchanging any
civilities, my friend" returned the
other with chattering teeth. Just
pour out your milk"
Cant"
"Why not?"
"It's frozen. But I'll leave a cylin.
drical chunk of ice in the jar, and you
can thaw it out" With that he clat-
tered his pals and disappeared whist.
ling blithely as though life had no
cares. The husband returned to the
kitchen with the cylindrical chunk of
frozen milk, intending to melt it near
the fire. But to his CONSERVATION he
found that the fire had gone out. The
kettle was putting away despairingly,
singing very softly: "Whoo-whoo-
you've got to build the fire again
whoo-whoo - puff-puff--" and then,
after exulting a moment the steam
ceased coming from the
spout. While setting and lighting the
fire once more, he soliloquized upon the
propensity of servants and
told himself that the next girl they en-
ployed would have to sign contract to
at least month. By this time
he was getting quite warm with in
and, although the atmos.
phere was so chilly indoors, he would |
soon have been comfortable. He knelt |
on the floor before the stove and began |
blowing at the fire, his temper not be. |
ing improved by his Intellectual at. |
tempts to fan the flame into promising
The flame wavered, dut- |
tered, looked as though it might be-
come a promising conhagration, and |
then-went out. He wrapped his man
tie more closely around his form and |
was about to give audible vent to his |
feelings when he heard light voice |
behind him;
"You had better go to bed, love, and
allow me to make the fire."
1t was his wife, and there was a sus-
oicion Of laughter in her bright, blue
eyes.
So saying she knelt in turn before the