The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-01-13
SELECTED STORY.
The Two Mrs. fuckers.
BY ROSE TERRY COOK.

b1 hOOE Ithh1 YUM
"You can make the fire while put
the boss out" said Amasa Tucker, as
he opened the door of a gray house, set
on the top of treeless hill, tracked
here and there with paths the geese had
made in their daily journeys to the
pond below, and only approached at the
back by lane to the great red barn,
and rickety board gate set between
two posts of the rail fence. This was
Wealthy Ann fuckers home coming;
she had married Amasa that morning
at her fathers house in Stanton, q little
village twenty miles away from Peet's
Mills, the town within whose wide
limits lay the Tucker farm, aud bad
come home with him this early spring
afternoon in the old wagon behind The
bony horse that did duty for Amasa's
FAM carriage.
Mrs Tucker had sad, re.icent face,
and was very silent and capable; these
last traits had been her chief recom-
incubation to her husband. There was
DO sentiment about the matter; old
Mrs. Tucker had died tao weeks before
this marriage, but Amasa was fore
handed" and knowing his mother cOull
not live long, had improved his oppor-
tunities, had been "sparkin" Wealthy
Ann Minor, all winter, in judicious pro.
vision for the coming event OF his soil.
tude. He had thought the thing al
over, and concluded that wife was
cheaper than hired girl, and more
permanent; so when he found this
alert, irm-jointed, handy girl living at
her uncle's, who was wldower, on
great farm the other side of the village,
Amasa made her acquaint lnce as soon
as possible, and proceeded to further
intimacy. Wealthy liked better to work
for her uncle than for stepmother
with six secondary children, but she
thought it would be better still to have
house of her own. So she agreed to
marry Amasa Tucker, and this was her
home coming.
She opened the door into dingy
room, with an open fireplace at Ony
end, window On the north and one on
the south side. small PANIED, with old,
green and imperfect glass, and letting
in but just enough light to work by
One corner, to the north, was partl-
toned off to make pantry, and door
by the fireplace led out into the wood
shed. The front of the house con-
tanned two rooms, one opening into the
kitchen and was a bedroom, furnished
sparsely enough; the other was par
Tor, with highbacked, rush-bottomed
chairs against the wall, round table
in the middle, a fireplace with brass
andirons, a family Bible on the table,
and mourning-piece painted in
ground hair on the mantel. Green pa
per shades and white cotton curtains, a
rag carpet fresh as when it came from
the loom-if its dingyness could ever be
called fresh-and straight. backed sofa
covered with green and yellow glazed
chintz, made as drealy an apartment as
could be imagined.
Wealthy shut the door behind her
quickly, and went to the shed for ma
terial to make her fire. 1t was almost
shutdown, and she was hungry, but she
found only the scantiest supply of
wood and few dry chips for kindling;
however, she did her best, and she had
brought some provisions from home, so
that she managed to lay out a decent
supper on a rickety table, by the time
Amasa came stamping in from the barn.
He looked disapprovingly at the pie,
the biscuit, the shaved beef, and the
jelly set before him.
&C hope we amt waster, Wealthy"
he growled "There's vittles enough
for township and there amt but two
of u.s."
"Well, our folks sent 'em over, and
you no need to eat 'em," she answered
cheerily.
81 amt goin' to. Don't We break
into that jell; set it by. Sometime or
nuther somebody may be comm here,
and you'l want it,"
Wealthy said no more, they made a
supper of biscuit and beef, for the pie
was also ordered set BY" She was
used to economy, but not to stinginess,
and she excused this extra thrift in her
husband more easily for the reason that
she had always been poor, and she
knew very well that he was not rich, to
say the least. But it was only the be-
ginning.
Hard as Wealthy had worked at her
uncle's, here she found harder burdens.
She had to draw and fetch all the water
she used from an old-fashioned we'll
with heavy sweep, picturesque to see,
but wearisome to use; the wood was