Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-08-23
A MONDAY ROMANCE.

SIt-tliut . LIE bshoa"
lover. She captured him, or he cap
tured her, or they had mutually cap
tured each other while she was visiting
her step-mother's sister-in-law. Miss
Laura's home was in the c~ountry-not
on a farm, where, presumably, the good
things abound-milk and butter, cream
and cottage cheese; eggs and chickens;
or, at least, pork, with perhaps, string
beans or cabbage. She lived in a small
village, through which the express train
rushed without a nod Of recognition,
without a glance, and where the 'ac-
commodation," paused barely long
enough for a 'howdy." This village
had no green grocery store, and only
two fresh meat days in the week. 1t
had no ice; hence, no ice cream, no
lemonade.
Miss Laura's father lived by his wits.
OF course, then, he made no garden.
Miss Laura earned precarious pin
money by making an occasional dress,
by trimming an occasional bonnet, by
crocheting an occasional decorative
piece, by giving an occasional music
lesson at fifteen cents the lesson.
SOphronia, a sister. aged fourteen and
three-quarters, presided over the drudg-
cry. She knew how to boil potatoes
and to stir mush: and she thought she
knew how to make coffee and griddle
cakes.
One certain Monday, the president Of
the drudgery was wrestling with the
washboarding, and boiling, the rinsing,
the wringing, the bluing, the starching,
there was running a little vein of envy
envy of the elder sister-remoyed
from the slop and steam, in the cool
middle room, fitting a yellow calico
dress to Sissy" Fishback.
AS she va wringing the last Of the
boiled clothes, S%ophronia was enter
tanning vague wishes in connection with
Mr.. j. G. Gumms. He was the city
lover about whom Miss Laura had
made some blushing confessions. Soph-
roma was wishing that he would
come along" and do something or
other There was a knock at the front
door. She heard it above the creak Of
the wringer and the splash and drip Of
the rinse-water. She paused. listening,
with II hand IN the !wringer han
die and the other holding Miss Laura's
stocking to the rubber lips. There
was a hurried rushing noise in the mid
die room; the kitchen door was opened
with precipitation, and in ran Miss
Laura.
Its Mr.. Gumms at the front door!"
she exclaimed, ~nervously working at
the ~curl-papers which kept up her
banged hair. You must go to the
door. Phrone."
why, l can't go. See what a fright
i am" said Sophronia.
Her sleeves We're rolled to the shoul-
der, her skirts were halfway to the
knee; her bare feet were well splashed
with the bluing water and dabbled
with starch.
SophrOnia laid the knives and forks
and spoons, handling them rs IL they
were Of spun glass. She heard the c,af-
ter of dishes out at the cupboard. and
began warbling to drown the noise.
Then she heard the returning squeak
OF the pas boots. She looked, raising
a warning finger. He was advancing
on hp-toe, carrying a tea tray loaded
with crockery and jingling n glass.
mo need" he whispered at the kitch.
ems length, making twenty trips to
the cupboard. I'll do all the fetching
in one"
But" whispered Sophronia, wen
not need the half nor the quarter of
all those; you'd better take them back
to the cupboard"
NO." he whispered, still advancing
on his b~oot-toes, III set them on the
table, and you can pick out the ones
you want"
But, pa" whispered Sophronia
that's the most troublesome way that
we could manage it; there'n be such 4
rattle In picking them out, In handling
over so many
NO. he whispered, frowning, "that
Is the best way. If you can't pick VIVA,
you want without a great clatter, Won
select which ones you want and IL
be bound l can pick them out with M
more sound than il they were all GOV
cred with velvet"
You can never do it," she whis
pered.
Il can," he whispered, with M
more noise than IL they were made o.
velvet"
BY this he was at the upper enc
OF the room, within a foot of the door