Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-01-21
THE NEW TENANT.

tnfeW nllnSelI Dack IN his chair as II that
settled the matter once for all.
IL heard you, DEAR" sweetly responded
Mrs. Peel, "and now listen to me.
have accepted Herr Schmidts offer, and
he will enter the adjoining house as ten
ant tomorrow.
Not if l know it, madamp' shouted
Phineas jumping from his chair and
bringing his fist down on the table. edo
you think am going to have Rhyd cot
tage turned into menagerie and my gar
den into II bowling wilderness? The house
may remain tenantless forever, but Herr
Schmidt and his monstrosities shall not
enter there
Herr Schmidt, my dear, is merely a
naturalist
81 know it, stormod Phineas. GIVE
heard OF these plaguy naturalists before
I've no desire to come down stairs some
fine morning to find Il ringtailed monkey
sitting on the window sill acting us referee
while the kangaroos and crocodiles play
leapfrog over the flower beds. No, madam,
no nat,lralists for Phineas Peel
Pretty Mrs Peel never allowed her tenn
per to get the better of her She laughed
softly at her husbands fears and did not
alter her determination in the least
'Has it slipped your memory, Phneas, :"
she asked 'that Rhyd cottage is a portion
of my property? If choose to let it to
naturalist, even though he be foreigner,
am perfectly justified in doing so"
This was true enough, and Phineas
Gained down.
'Herr Schmidt's collection of mon
strosities, as you call it" went on Mrs
Peel, probably contains nothing more
dangerous than Deaths head moth in
bottle. Anyhow, have no intention to
disappoint him."
"But p
"Ycu will treat him with the respect
due from one gentleman to another, Phin-
cas-" broke in Mrs. Peel "And now,
dear, Well dismiss the subject"
Phineas Peel was-though at times he
doubted tia lucky fellow. He had carried
off a young and handsome woman from a
host Of suitors.
Why Mary Marsden had chosen to be-
stow her hand and fortune on such plain,
everyday sort of fellow as the diminutive
Phineas Peel was always mystery to her
acquaintance The wedding was an ac-
complished fact before her relatives had
recovered from the shock caused by the an
nouncement of her engagement
Mary appeared to be happy enough too.
Phineas, taken as whole, was not bad
sort of fellow. He was jealous, that was
true, but his wife came to regard that us
an extra proof Of his devotion.
Had the proposed tenant of Rhyd cottage
been an aged, decrepit, broken down old
a I,n,, ,tr1,I
the right hand of fellowship. But, alas
Herr Schmidt was young and handsome
far too handsome, Phineas thought.
Every we'll, Mary" said Phineas, TAX
ing his hat from the peg and making for
the door; "you have overruled me as usual
and must be prepared for tho conse-
quences. In less than II week we shall have
the house and garden overrlln with every
conceivable variety of reptile, from the
beastly lizard to the boa constructor"
And Phineas stalked Indignantly forth
with the merry laughter of his wife ring
ing in his ears.
u Il Il
A month or more had passed, and so far
the fears of Phineas had proved to be
groundless. Herr Schmidt's "monstrosi-
ties'' had been kept well within bounds,
and as yet Mr.. Peel had not seen so much
az strange caterpillar in his garden which
never looked better.
However, he WAS not happy. He had
taken an aversion to the new tenant from
the first and would never be satisfied until
he had got rid Of him.
"Confound the fellow" muttered Phin-
cas- one evening as he sat on an upturned
bucket behind the pea sticks. "He's prowl-
ing about on the other side of the hedge
again. Hope he won't catch sight of me,
for Pm about tired of his oily tongue and
eternal smile. Hcllo What the deuce is
the meaning Of thiss''
Down the garden path tripped Mrs.
Peel The naturalist was evidently ex-
pecting her and greeted her with smile
that almost brought tears into the eyes of
the furious Phineas.
'GooT efening" he said. "You vos
joost leetle late. !"
TWAS soon evident that this was not
the first chat INDUCED in over the bound
ary hedge. Though Phineas strained his
ears he could not catch the drift Of the
conversation. Like flash he remembered
that Mary had often of late taken u stroll
In the garden at dusk. Was this the ex-
planationp
Phineas had been glaring at the couple
from behind the pea sticks for ten minutes
or so when he saw his wife take rosebud
from his favorite tree and hand it over the
hedge with a charming smile to the de-
lighted Herr Schmidt. Then, witha pleas
ant "Good night!'' Mrs. Peel tripped
lightly into the house.
You villainW Missed Phineas savagely,
Jumping from his seat and shaking his
fist after the retrcating figure in tho next
garden. an pay you out for this -
The rage of Mr. Peel was something to
be remembered. Nothing but blood, he
vowed, would obliterate his wrongs. But
he would be cautious He would smile
and smile and murder while he smiled.
Selling n pea stick, he tragically buried it
in the heart of an unoffending cabbage
and played havoc with stately row Of
sunfowers.
Half an hour later Mary saw him take
down huge old fashioned duck from the
hook in the hail.
There's German vulture in the neigh
bcrhood," he volunteered impressively,