The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1898-03-09

valentine she had ever made; and
although she liked to share the fun of
making her valentines with the others,
she was a little secretive about that.
What should the paper be but aleaf
from one of the old diaries, one side all
written over in an Uniformed, boyish
hand; and this is what was written on
it, the ink faded by time:
81 cant bare to rite becos hity has the
/ Feeyer and cant bare knot TO rite becos
| Il semes like telling sombOddy. she held
mi hand tite when she did knot now eny-
boldly last mite and I did knot let them
send me to bed the fellers say IL she does
di hav other sisters but they are knot hity
| the fellers do not understand wen enybody
sails she will ever hava bo like our agusta
| hity sails the Tom Tinker verse and that
/ meens me as Is rote on the 1st leef of this
| DRY mi name IS Thomas Tinkham Pigeon
/ hity has got n Temper but so hav Good
Meny People and she Is Good way inside
and she is hity and she and will alwys liv
/ together but / cant bare 60 rite eny more
| for 1 want TO now what the dokter sais.
they say a feler must be A Man but wen it
is hity cant bare"
Here the words became illegible on
the old yellow paper; there were blots
and smudges as of tears Though
/ valentines are supposed to be dainty,
Christine didn't try to clean it Bit
And on the unwritten side, instead of
painting any of her pretty flowers or
drawing hearts or cupids, she only
wrote "the Tom Tinker verse" which
Hitty had lovingly quoted to her broth
/ er:
Tom Tlnker's my true love, and I am his
dear,
I'll gang along wi him his budget to bear
1t certainly was a very queer val
entine. Christine thought it would
probably be returned, even more
scornfully than the Christmas wreath
If Miss Pigeon should guess who
sent it-aud she would be likely to
guess that it came from the Belfry;
for she knew that her brother had
given them many OF his belongings.
She sent it with fear and trembling,
and she told none of the others, for
the older ones seemed, in their hearts,
TO share the feeling of Tom and little
Rufus, that the only proper form of
approach TO Miss Pigeon was bean
singer in hand.
The valentine wasn't returned; but
nothing seemed TO come of it. The
Bells Jane heard from Miss Pigeon s
Jane that her mistress had neuralgia.
One day after March had come, aud
bluebird had been seen to alight upon
the high-top sweeting tree, as Chris
tine came along the garden path there
came a shrill, imperative voice through
the knothole in the fence.
'If you have any more of those
leaves, stuff them through the key
hole; il you have the whole diary throw
it over the fence"
OF course Christine wasn't going to
do that with the diary that seemed so
precious; but she did send il around
to Miss Pigeons door by old Jeremy,
the gardener, for none of the boys
would go.
II was about a week after that a man
made, under Miss Pigeons direction,
a new seat in the crotch of the apple
tree-a seat that was delightfully."- COM
| Portable for back that wasn't straight.
Miss Pigeon seemed 10 know just how.
When it was finished she went up aud
examined il and tried it, Then she
called to Christine, who was sitting ON
the porch.
"pm a cantankerous old woman. l
was born cantankerous, she said.
"But there's your seat"
No one at the Belfry knew what TO
think Of Miss Pigeon; il was little
Rufus's opinion that a good fairy had
tapped her with her wand aud turned
her into something else, and he was
much disappointed 10 find, on peep
ing through the knothole, that she
looked just the same.
"It's delightful" Christine said,
slowly. "But il isn't exactly what ]
meant by the valentine" she added,
TO herself.
But few days after, what Chris
tine had meant by the valentine real
ly did happen! sometimes things that
seem too good 10 be true do come TO
pass in this world. Miss Pigeon
mounted the high buggy in which
she drove herself aud went down TO
Pequanket; when she came back Mr..
Pigeon was with herl Tommy dis
covered it first as they drove into the
yard aud raised IA shout. All the
young Bells rushed poll-mell into the
apple tree AMI dropped from its
branches into Miss Pigeons orchard
even Peggy who was sixteen
shouting aud laughing and crying all
together. They quite forgot Miss
Pigeon until her harsh voice broke
into the whirlwind of greetings; with
all its harshness there was a queer
little quayer in it,
"He's come back aud he's going 10
stay" she said. 1T is he that be-
longs here aud not l. II you're born
with cross.grained disposition you We
got TO get over It whom YOU re- young Or
you'll have 10 have mOre'n "a ten foot
fence between you and other peoplel
I'm going back TO nursing people ia a
hospital-yes, can, though you
wouldn't think il; and they like mel
There's a doctor / know who has in
vented a new contriyanco for-for
making backs straight voice
really broke now, but she recovered
herself instantly; they're easier 20
straighten than crooked dispositions
I'm going 10 send one here, an / want
her TO try it. She nodded toward
Christine, aud then she turned away
suddenly. Little Rufus ran after her
-prudently keeping his hand on the
, ! hpan slin0er in his pOeket (Ihev had