Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-03-29
HE TENDED THE FURNACE.


tirely Competent.
Here's the furnace mans bill, said
Mrs Wigglesworth meekly as her husband
put her feet over the register and opened
the evening paper.
Mr.. Wigglesworth took the bill impa.
tently, as a man does when his wife
hands 1t to him, and glared 1t over his
brow darkening. 1t had been numerous
day for bills
TITS too much!'' he exclaimed. eel
low comes here in the morning, puts on a
few shoyelfuls of coal, shakes the furnace
down. goes away, comes back and does the
same thing at night and charges $40 a
month for 1t. 'S'noutrage, and 1 won't
put up with it, I'll tend the furnace my
SELF"
"Do-do you think you-understand
it9" ventured his wife.
"Underst-- There, there" returned
Mr.. Wigglesworth pityingly, don't be \
fool Emma" And he smiled that lofty
smile which man keeps on hand for his
wife.
The next morning he intercepted the
man, dosed the furnace literally with
coal, gave 1t good draft and went to the
office Two hours later boy without any
mittens on his hands blew violently in
with note stating that the house was
burning up. Mr.. Wigglesworth went
home at once. He did not run exactly,
but the recollection of those open and for
gotten drafts struck coldly to his heart
and spurred him on. That was why he
| got there in time to prevent the woodwork
doing anything more than to break out in
| large dropsical blisters.
"Why didn't ye shut off the drafts9" he
yelled as he rushed down the cellar stairs.
'Think I'm bloated bondholder that
| can leave business any minute to run
home and tend firesf''
Mrs Wigglesworth made no reply. She
| had been married long enough for that.
Mr. Wigglesworth snatched open the doors,
| scooped in some coal and banged to the
drafts doing all this with mans en-
phasis, then went back to the office.
| When he came home to supper, he found
his wife with her winter cloak on, and
there was blue cast to her features. The
mercury had concealed itself in the bulb
of the thermometer that hung by the
looking glass and was giving vent to
blood curdling ohuckles.
"Br-r-r!' cried Mr.. Wigglesworth as he
bulged into the room. What ails ye?
Running a cold storage plant? Got con-
tract on hand to ship beef SOUTH Why
don't ye do more and freeze to death9"
IL think the fire Is out, his wife
returned alphabetically.
"Out nothing!' snorted Mr.. Wiggles
worth, charging down the cellar stairs.
But it was, though. Two umpires could
not have declared it more so. Mr.. Wig
ellsworth didn't come up from the cellar
for u hours, which time he was down on
his knees working with steaming brow
and some mysterious wrenches to oyerturn
the furnace CRATE People going by and
looking in at the cellar window might
have seen his eyeballs goggling far, far
| out into the night. AT the end Of the first
hour Mrs. Wigglesworth came half way
down the stairs 1t was just at the mo-
mcnt when the wrench for the thirtieth
time had slipped off the crate bar, taking
with it the last knuckle on Mr.. Wiggles-
worth's hand.
Cant l help you, dear?" she said
! softly
You get up stairs!" screamed Mr..
Wigglesworth, taking his fingers out of
his mouth to make way for the remark,
and his wife understood at once that that
was the thing to do.
By and by he had fire going and
came on deck for arnica.
II s'pose you'd set here and let fire
walk right out over you" he said, with
fine sarcasm. Didn't appear to know
enough to open draft and save your life. !"
II didn't understand that you wanted
me to help you with the furnace" his
wife answered cooingly as she wound
some more bandages around him.
Mr.. Wigglesworth eyes glared bale
fully, and there was language ON his lips,
but having neglected to open the smoke
pipe he had to rush down stairs again. 1t
took him some time to find out where the
trouble lay, and he came back coughing,
with his eyes running.
"Why don't ye open a Window" he
called. Want us to be asphyxiated, don't
We, and have to be brought to with direc-
tions pasted in scrapbook' Open some
windows somewhere and let's have some
fresh ART"
Which was done, and when the smoke
went out two cases of incipient pneumo-
MIA came in to take its place. Mrs. Wig
ellsworth went early to bed, accompanied
by rubber hot water bottle prepared OK
pressly for the OCCASION Her husband sat
up to nurse the furnace. She never
learned what hour he came to bed. She
was dreaming at the moment of being
afloat in the tropio seas. Beautiful foliage
and flowers gladdened the shores near
which she smiled, and anon the soft note
of the bulbul came, borne on the spicy
breeze that waited warmly from the dis
tant groves.
Next morning the man came and built
new fire. Mr.. Wigglesworth stood gloom
lily over him watching how it was done.
Then he came up stairs, where gentle
heat was diffusing itself throughout the
rooms.
Don't you think his wife began.
Don't you think nothing" he cried
angrily. you're always whining around
about my economizing with this thing
and that thing, but don't you ever say
anything more to me about tending your
old furnace. You're like all these smart
aleck women who are always snuffiine
around about the ballot and all them
things, but the next time you've got any
economizing to do with furnace you
take and borrow the money Of your owr
father and do it,"
And to this day Mrs. Wigglesworth be
lieves that somehow she was responsible
for it.-W. o. Fuller, Jr., In Rocklant
Tribune
Nature and Art Crowding Each Other.