The record-union., 1895-06-22

BILE, and no mistake, for long spell, the
/ rheumatic settlin' in his left shoulder.
l helped him off and on with his coat
oh, yes-bus p'raps | jerked a bit more II
was needed, and il he was cross be sure
/ was crOsser every blessed time. So for
weeks 1t went Oh from worse 10 Worser,
J till it seemed we'd have eaten each other.
cannlbal-hke, with pleasure.
! Weeks wore away, and then came
spring weather. and Caleb's rheumatic
! grew less till lie could work more as in
! former times but it seemed allus no more
| than half hearted. and he was so done out
| come night that he went to bed after sup
per-Whlcn we sat out as mum as two
! mice, he with not much mOre'n Il nibbIe
| and no more can l remember OF relishin'
! food much them mld-evil days. AS for
me, If | was unCbristian in my conduct
/ didn't give up goln' to meetin' and
readin' my Bible come Sabbath; but little
comfort came TO me along with the blessed
words as l heard and read, for there was
one thing a-troublin' me more'n | real
! lZed al the tlne-not 10 mention a second
yet-and there was one place my Bible
would persist in hoppin' open at, and
{ does TO this day, though there's no need
! oil empnasZln IL 50 strong now. Them
days sartain words seemed to start up out
OF the paper like that blindlolks' Bible
Pastor Clark showed US, only the letters
seemed OF fire, not white, and, moreover
they seemed to burn into my brain :
The devil is liar and the father OF
| lies.''
Actually, believe, If they was to hold
what-you- -calI-it' (ask yer larned beau,
tlossie) over my dead body. they'd find
the scars yet.
Well, time crawled on somehow till a
swelterin' spell come in May. with it
blessed event. y es, Flossie, often as |
have thought on ii senCe do [ bless Far
mer Nelson for havin' 50 neglected Il
pond. all scum aud fever germs (as they
calls them nowadays), SO nigh TO our
house as to bring US both down with
fever and ague.
Caleb began it with quakin' and shiv-
erin lively one night, and | kept a blow
in at him. calm 1t humbug and what
not, and abusin' him for not lettin' me
sleep. If ever there was jest judgment
sent from on high, Flossie, it was when
next night | lay, teeth chatterin'. and
would not have blamed Caleb one bit if
he'd have turned tables and blowed at me
dlligent. But he wasn't that sort TO
knock feller when down. l tell ye if
ever Goals OF lire was heaped on to poor
head. they was on to mine that night
when he, up and draggin' the blankets
OFT the bed, folds il double longways
and layin' 1t gentle-like over me, says:
''Its aWful-a bein' so cold-aln't il?
P'raps this'll help. Leastways, l don't
need it, for Pm hot as red peppers to-
night"
BE sure my scoldin' mouth was shet for
one while, and Iookin' attentive at Caleb,
L see as how he was IN & burnin' hot fe-
yer. Then next day when he was
a-shakin' l put the longways doubled
blankets over him, and my heavy shawl
a-fO Nf W o6
with fever myself. Aud ii that was the
first OF the ''tit for tat" takln' the right
road, Pm mOre'n half happy to say it was
not the lastl
Sc we see-sawed it along-he with chills
and L with fever and viSy versy-fOr
quite spell, he and L neither ON US able
TO do half days work, but gettin' iCllier
and jollier the more weak ana 'maciated
we grew. mover seen the likes, tlos-
sic! The shlverin' jest set us a-shallin'
with laughter, and as tor toverit fred our
brains till we was as witty as Mrs. Part
ington-who be man after all, they say
and 1t was q race some pleasanter 10
run than the dowuhllI one-in which I'd
won, more shame to me-a-seein' which
could do the mos for the other.
Then came Farmer Nelson one day.
when Caleb was absolute unable TO crawl
over to his farm work, to investergate
and nlayhap set things straight, loOkin'
TO his own interests. And it did not take
him no time 20 see what was required.
First he doseu US with quinine and then
he went snillin' around till he discovered
his own pond, OF blessed memory, which
il seems he'd overlooked for no KNOWN
how long. And III short order he had it
filled in ana made it into good plowed
land-and there il be yOnder across the
road, tlossie, and chuck full, not Of fe-
yer germs, but 1ust-Class fruit trees Ca
leb, he calls 1t the promised land, a-datin'
his enterlu' OF II from about the time that
there pond took to inhuencin' our lives;
but | rather like TO call tnat blessed time
the first glimpse from far oil hilltop as
Moses was permitted of better things yet
to come, aud in better place than this
old world, which, at best, is bat a tarry-
in spot.
Well, thanks to Farmer \ Nelson's dosn',
we two was set on our feet firm again
afOre long, and havin' been wresIlin' till
I'd got up bit OF moral strength along
with the other. l Hoped down at Calebs
feet one supper time and made a clean
breast of it all-tellin' him as how rd
been liar and d thief, and cryin' ali the
tears as had been accumulatin' months, |
confessed all about the spreen', and as
how | owed a mighty big bill to Hobbs
hotel, and hadn't the face TO go nigh town
sence, not havin' the money TO pay him,
nor seelu' where 1t was to come from
and that was the second thing as had been
a-troublin' me for long time.
And what think ye, FIossie? Hadn't
he jest right to De angered? Indeed, it
would have been righteous anger for sure,
and Pa have borne it patient, too, know
in as how l deserved it. Not he; he was
not the sort, as | said afore, to knock a
weaker 'an himself, and down flat al
ready. No, Caleb big heart, jest lifted me
up on to his knee, and says ne, tender
like, as if talkin' to a frettin' child:
There, there, Martha, don't ye worrit
over spilled milk-it amt never no use,
deary. Besides if hadn't begun a-slop-
PIN it over ye'd never have gone on with
the bad Job. And as for that BILL Hobbs
he handed it over TO me long agone. and
| Jjes. paid it with never a question-Nel-
son advancin' me the mOney-and ever
sence l wears near my heart and con-
science as aFreminder Martha. that don't
need go on sloppin', nor leadin' down that
broad slippery road as dumps one into
the bottomless pit at last. But did won
der a bit. deary. what ye'd done with the
money-seein' as this 'ere bill, which
would have counted for the greater part,
wasn't yet paid"
And then Caleb he out with the bill,
and /, "a glancing at the sum total, gives
one yell, sayin':
"Ye paid this, Caleb. all this, and never
one word OF reproach? Ifye wasn't born
saint, Caleb Tucker, ye'd have given me
a curse for sure. and eXcusable, too, un-
der the circumstances. Why, this air the
double of what | spent! And oh." for
pd begun lookin' over the itemses, "ye
thought Martha Tucker capable Of drink
in strong driuk-a hull bottle of caret,
not TO mention black coffee, which air
mos as bad, and which we never had no
more n the plum puddln'-though, to be
sure, we did have two kinds OF pie, and
he has it threel OH, the rascally cheat"
And hurryin' to the bureau [ took out
box and fumbled about till Pd hunted
out crumbled paper as had been handled
and eyed with misgiYin's more'n once,
and Caleb. lookin' it over and jest laugh