The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-09-04

I'm not prepared to pay tonight, =
continued William. 'sThis whole af-
fair was gotten up on the spur Of the
moment. 1 hadn't expected to do it,
never dreamed OF such a thing. rndrop
in and settle with you tomorrow"
"An right" said Ebenezer, with his
good-natured grin. All the people in
the room were smiling. William after
ward said to his wife, in describing the
incident: 81 don't know when I've seen
a lot of people so kind of happy and
pleasant lookin'."
Thus the time slipped away in social
intercourse and conviyiality. Mean
time, out at the farm on the edge of the
village, Melissa was waiting in growing
anxiety and suspense. The clock was
not more puncsual and reliable than
William. For Is years he had gone to
the Corner every week to do the little
household trading. He started COM
monty at half-past seven, and could be
seen coming down the road on his way
home as the clock struck eight.
But tonight eight o'clock Went by,
the quarter-hour, and still no William.
Melissa stood by the window, gazing
anxiously down the road. At last she
made up her mind to set her yeast, and
then, if he did not come, to walk down
to the village and see what had become
of him.
It was just a quarter of nine when the
gate clicked sharply, and a quick, un.
familiar tread sounded on the walk
The next moment the door opened and
William burst in. His manner and APP
pearance startled Melissa even NOR.
than his absence had done.
For the land sake, William, whats
happened?"
William stood on the door-mat, facing
his wife. His eyes shone. He tried in
vain to repress his happy excitement.
AT last, with an almost boyish whoop,
Melissa" he said, II want you should
get me out a five-dollar BILL"
well, l declared said Melissa.
She took her hands out of the flour,
dried them, and sat down weakly in a
chair.
THE truth is" William continued,
I've been on a spree, Melissa. "A kind
of a debauch, so to say. I've been treat
in the boys down to Hull's. Who2 Let's
see. There was the Fiske boys, and
Will Cornell and Joe, some friends of
theirs from the city, and I don't know
who beside; half the town was there.
l give EN- an evenin' they won't forget
in a hurry. And now," he added, pre-
tending to draw a long face, 'I've got to
square up, 1 s'pose. Never mind; it
amt often you get a chance to give as
much pleasure as that. I'd "a done
it if I'd had to mortgage the farm.
That's what I said to myself when 1
saw them all standin' round so pleasant
and cheerful and happy. IH do it,
says if have to mortgage the farm. "
Melissa, with a dazed look on her face,
took down the old pocketbook and
counted out five dollars in silence. Will
liam transferred the sum to his own
wallet, and went on describing his adj
venture with a loquacity that bordcred
on enthusiasm. Melissa regarded him
from time to time with anxious side.
long glances; she had gone back to her
mixing. At last she said, in a worried
tone: Don't you think, William, you'd
better take a little lavenderY"
NO. said William, but I'll tell you
what 1 will do. I'll go down and square
up with Ebenezer right now. L don't
want that debt should stand"
"Land!" remarked Melissa; Its close
on to ten o'clock"
81 don't care" said William. II guess
he won't be shut up. I'd rather not let
the account stand over
He took his hat and went out. The
truth was, he found Melissa's mood de-
pressing. When a man has made inn
portant sacrifices in the interest of his
fellow beings, when he has re-
versed all the habits and in
stincts of a lifetime for the sake of
giving pleasure to others, and when he
believes that his native town is ringing
with the praise of hisgenerous conduct,
it is hard that his wife should offer him
lavender.
He reached Hulls just as the prcpri-
etor was shutting up shop for the
night. He was greeted with languid
hospitality.
you, WilliamY" said Ebenezcr.
"Lordl you didn't come back to pay for
that soda water, did you? Why, that's
no consequence"
Eyes, / thought I would, William an,
swered, a little crestfallen. II thought
I wouldn't let it go over" He drew out
his wallet and began to unstrap it slow
ly. How much will it be 2" said he.
well" Ebenezer p~ondered, yawning,
"let's see. There was the two Fishes,
and Joe and Will Connell, and the city
Teller, and Stu Wilson, and Billy Scott.
Seven in all. That,n be IS cents, |
guess"
William gazed for a moment, open
mouthed, bewildered. Then without a
word he laid down one of the five bills
he had brought, received the change and
left the store. Once out in the street,
he took off his hat, mopped his face
with his handkerchief, and let the night
wind blow through his hair.
When he reached home, his customary
manner was so far restored that Melissa
said nothing more about the lavender,
81 guess his walk done him good, said
she to herself.