The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-08-17
MATS HUSBAND.
No Ono But Herself Knew Why
She Loved Him.

She dOubtle ma WOmhnb reebOn
for marrying him. That kind OF rea-
son may not satisfy other people, but
II is invariably sufficient for the femi-
nine reasoner
Sam Toms was what Is called ''wuth-
less by his Texan neighbors. Old Bill
Bum, his father-in-law, himself not
very energetic or useful citizen, used
TO sit on the steps at the cross-road
store and publicly bewail his sad lot in
having Sam for q member Of his fami4
" Bill had a dramatic style OF de-
livery that WAS very fetching, and In
variably impressed strangers rs being
very much In earnest.
He would sit on the steps. silently
chewing an enormous mouthful Of To-
bacco and apparently listening 70 the
conversation Of his co-loafers. II Sans
name was mentioned, he would give
vent to four or ave little falsetto
saueaks, which found egress through
his nose; then he would draw In q long
breath, pun out his fat checks, purse
his mouth, and give heavy whistling
sigh; this would be followed by n large
quantity Of tobacco juice. carefully
aimed at some object In the vicinity.
These preliminaries accomplished, Bill
would rise 10 his feet. thrust ono fat,
dirty hand into his shirt front, wave
the other In sweeping gesture As he
lowered his eyes and rolled his head
sadly from side to side, and deliver
himself profoundly, after the following
fashion;
''Ah- hunt That Sam Toms Is tn
LATEST mos shifless, emery, trifiin'
cuss ever seed an yere I've done
got i'm f'r son-'n-lawr. Hm-hm-hm"
Another whistiing sigh would close this
peroration. and old Bill would resume
his seat still shaking his head sorrow
fully.
And Bill was more than half right.
Nominally, Sam was cowboy; but
most Of the time he would tell you he
was "jes' layin' of spell, 7 rest up
like
lie had always been just so distin
guished for laziness In an eaay-going
community. and nobody expected him
ever to be otherwise; and II puzzled
people immensely when energetic.
capable Matte Bum accepted him for
regular comply" to say nothing Of
the sensation created by their wedding.
MAJ, rs has been suggested, probably
had some reason for marrying Sam;
but II Is quito certain that she never
told anyone what that reason was.
Sam was tall, and big, and handsome
In hia careless, slouchy way; he had
always managed. no one knew how,
TO wear good clothes, too These facts
and his perennial good nature and
friendly ways we've the only points In
his favor. Against him were the points
30 forcibly taken by his father-in-law,
and, also. that he got drunk whenever
be could possibly 40 50 and was
morally so weak 81 anyone could
easily lead him astray.
How Mat and Sam got along no one
but Mat knew. Once in great while,
Sam wonld do some work aud earn
few dollars II he got home with II
without stopping at the saloon, well
and good But, oftener than not, he
would ''drap in jes { take nip r
two" and that would settle it At
such times he would stay and buy
drinks for everybody present while his
money lasted. Then he would come
home in manilin, fearful state Of in
toxication, and invent some tale to ac-
count for his condition and the disap-
pearanee Of his money, winding up
with the promise never to let it happen
again. And Mat would pretend that
she believed him, and would stroke his
curly head until he fell asleep. Then
she would look at the handsome scamp
for few minutes with love unutter-
~ able in her eyes-the tired eyes back
of which were a world OF unshed tears.
But she never complained-not the
first word; the frn-set mouth and
weary look might indicate ever so
much, but her lips never expressed it.
And Sam gradually grew more and
more useless and shiftless, trusting to
his wife's ready wit and fertility of re-
source to carry them both over the bad
places
There were lots Of bad places. too
Twice Sam ran iato debt several dol
lars at the saloon, and Mat found some
means to pay the debts-only herself
knew how But the second time she
informed the saloon man that he must
trust Sam no more. And. besides these
things, toy live-how did they do it2
Nobody could guess. Perhaps even
Mat herself could not have told; yet
live they did-or, rather, existed and,
for the most part, kept out Of debt.
Sam sometimes worked, but never
for very long. He always found some
excuse for leaving place within few
days. lie could almost always find an
other job easily enough, for he was an
excellent hand" when he chose to be
but he did not hasten about finding a
new job when he had given one up; not
until they were reduced to the very
last straits could Mat get him to hunt
ing work again.
One day Sam left home for ranch
about thirty-fye miles distant. where
he had heard they wanted help. Two
days passed-three- four fve-and nc
word came from him. Mat was not a
little worried, although Sam had often
been away for two weeks alta time
without sending word to her. But this
time 1t was different; there was no ex
cuse for his not sending a message, al
the stage came by the ranch he hac
gone to three times a week. II he haC
found work there, as he expected, ht
could easily have notified her. So, lat.
In the afternoon Of the fifth day, she
threw her shawl over her head anC
went down toy her fathers. to find i
they had heard anything Of sam
The old felloyv WIS standiney a., ~.