The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1897-06-17

w cC hiohk thos
wall' Mrs. Leafy Todd, as she spoke,
leaned back in her rocking chair on
the vine shaded piazza and looked wist-
fully across the summer fields.
Perhaps you could go if you tried,
mother" said her daughter Penelope,
hopefully. "You walked as far as the
clump of sumacs, you know, last
week"
Mrs. Todd shook her head until her
wiry black ringlets quivered. "I've
failed since then. Pears strange to me
that you don't see it, Penelope. But
there's considerable Todd to you; you
don't feel for folks like some"
'La, Leafy, you just spunk up and
go! Take the short-handled dipper
and bring home "A mess of blackberries
for tea. You'll feel sight better for
it," spoke Mrs. Selma Todd, the in
valid's sister-in-law, fat, comfortable
and blunt of speech, as she laid a shin
ing tin dish on the piazza seat Mt
Leafy's hand and disappeared within
doors, after winking slyly at Penelope,
who sat upon the doorstep.
Penelope did not respond to the
wink; instead, the pucker deepened be-
tween her brows--a deeper pucker
than it was pleasant to see between
eighteen -year-old brows. Penelope
was dutiful and conscientious, and she
was not so sure as her Aunt Selma that
nervous prostration was, in her moth
er's case, only new fashioned sny-
onym for being spleeny.
Perhaps you'd better wait till I can
go with you, mother" she said, anx-
iously. Now 1 must go and give lit
tie Persis Dowd her music lesson.
'1'm used to waiting" said the in
valid, with bitter patience. II haven't
any real expectation of getting as far
as the pasture wall again. That walk
l took last week came near bringing
on numb spell; and felt consider
able as if l was going to have one just
after l got up this morning"
The pretty pink color drifted out of
Penelope's cheeks. Those "numb
spells" were the terror of her life. Her
mother was sure they meant heart dis
ease, and Penelope had thought that
the doctor had looked grave over them.
Penelope kept watch and ward TO
prevent the occurrences which were
sure to bring them on, such as visit
from old Mrs. Polly Nesbit, who told
her mother that "she looked full
older'n her mother did at her age,"
and 'if she was pindlin' she ought
not to be surprised, for the Pingrees,
her mothers folks, want apt to live
to be more'n forty five"
Then there had been numb spell
after the call of Penelope's friends,
Sam and Lizzie Mute, from Orinoco.
Penelope couldn't understand why
these callers should conduce to numb
spells, but her mother explained
vaguely that there had been some
trouble about mortgage between the
Nutes and the Todds, in olden times,
and that with her sensitiveness she
knew she should never be able to bear
the sight of Mute.
"Cat's foot! Are you rs blind as n
bat, Penelope Todd?" was the remark
which Aunt Selma had made when
the explanation was repeated to her.
But Penelope would have felt un-
dutiful to harbor the least compre-
hension of what Aunt Selma meant.
on course Sam Mute was not quite
like anybody else, and they had
thought good deal of each other ever
since they were children. That was
the way in which Aunt Selma con-
nected Sam Mute with the numb spells.
Perhaps Aunt Selma was, as Penelopes
mother said, trife hard, and lacking
in fine feelings.
Penelope went off heavily burdened
to little Persis Dowd'L music lesson.
She wished she could have helped her
mother, now that the rare impulse
was upon her to take little walk
that might do her good. But every
thing depended on her music teach
ing, and she must not neglect pupil.
The invalid lay back with her eyes
closed; then she opened them suddenly
and looked again wistfully across the
summer fields. She gazed around her
furtively no one was in sight. She
arose and walked feebly down the steps.
Midway she turned and reached back
for the dipper. 81 used to be one that
liked to have something to 60 for" she
said to herself.
1t was pleasant to her even to cross
the stubby field when the grasshoppers
were thick, aud the locusts shrilled
monotonously, and the afternoon sun
was hot.
She raised her hand suddenly to her
head. "I've got on Seliny's old shade
hat" she murmured. "Once I
wouldn't have worn it even when there
was nobody to see me-
The sun dazzled her eyes and her
head felt little giddy. 1t was long
since she had walked so far; but she
persevered. Along the wall of the
stubby field grew tangle of vines; but
they weresraspberry vines that had al-
ready shed their fruit, and travellers
Joy, and here and there q red CLEAN
Of iyy