The Winslow mail., 1898-09-10

Lemme know when they get here, y
mumbled Blackstone, as he dug his
head into the pillow again. Mrs. Black
stone sat up and distended
"P-r-r-ow-wow!" The challenger
was drawing nearer. Not ore. but
three voices answered him. For mo-
ment, as they converged, all was 81
lent. Then came mastery battle
cry; it was like that OF six months
infant who has swallowed his bib pin.
will" said Mrs. Blackstone. ''Wake
up. They've come!" He sat up and
rubbed his eyes.
In the next room they heard the
bump and the pounding of bare feet
on the floor. They heard door open
and the clinhng of glass.
Goodness, Will" whispered Mrs.
blackstone. "I'd forgotten that you
could hear things in that room so
clearly"
'It's very still night" her husband
mumbled wisely.
The footsteps moved softly across
the room again. "Slum-chunk!" The
fragments of a bottle tinkled on the
hard surface of the yard. This noise
had not died away before there arose
the long wall of the overtures to cat
battle.
"W-o-o-o-o-o-Ow wow-wow!"
Softly cautious footsteps crossed the
room again. Again bottle broke ana
scattered. Again rose the wall Of war.
There was nothing cautious about
the footsteps this time. Instead Of
the clink Of bottles heavy boot soles
clattered together. The time con
sumed in gathering ammunition indi-
Gated that an armful was being col
lected.
Swat! lang! BiH! Swat! Boom!
'T-f-ft, wiawow." yowled a victim.
'Thanl1 the Lord" shouted Hon Mr..
McShane "Whoop!"
Boom--sla1n--sln -slnash--slap-bif
There, by Hades!" they heard Mr..
McShane rcutter. The silence of Sun
day morning settled down again.
The Blackstones slept righteously
into daylight. But not so late as they
hadintended. At about the time folks
up the state go out to feed the stock
before preparing for church, there
came a rappirg at their bedroom
door.
"Bill! Say, Bill" said worried
voice.
"Wassermat?" asked Mr.. Black
stone.
did you send anybody into my
room to take my shoes out and clean
them?" asked Mr.. McShane.
NO" responded Mr.. Blackstone.
whats up?"
They're gone, that's ALL" was the
melancholy answer. ''I put them il
the closet when went to bed, the cne
that isn't the magazine, you know, so
that in the excitement of battle |
wouldn't get mixed up and throw
them. And now they're gone.'
Mrs. Blackstone slipped out of bed
and gingerly opened the door of the
narrow closet that connected the two
rooms.
"If he put them in here" she said,
peeping in the darkness, "they cert ain
ly must he here She opened the door
a little wider and shrieked. Her hus-
band was beside her in an instant.
'Look!" she cried, pointing into the
closet. "Lookl"
For goodness sake, you people,"
said wondering voice in the hall.
whats the matter?"
The voice cf Blackstone answered
him. enunciat-ng slowly and solemnly
recounting a catalogue CT things.
Zone quart bottle Of mucilage, one
quart bottle.of red ink one quart bot
tie of green ink. one half-gallon jug
of whisky, one bottle Of Ponds ex-
tract, one box of dry plates, two bot
ties Of developer, one large bottle Of
lime water"
"0ne pair russets, one pair bicycle
Shoes" Mrs. Blackstone took up the
list. '"The skirt frame. Your big
shoes. your patent feathers, your win
ter shoes"
"Gone, all gone!" they said, in cho-
rus.
"Have you found my shoes yet?"
asked voice from the hall.
Your shoes!" howled Mr.. Black
stone. "You good-for-nothing- but
shark-bait, steam snow-plows. Oh
you
"William" said Mrs. Blackstone.
Her husband strobe out into the
hall. He took his guest by the scruff
of the neck and led him to the win
dow. There in the area they looked
down upon such an ink-spattered gum
my wreck as seldom man is privileged
to look upon. On the stone steps lay
ore dead cat and by his side 2 huge,
yellow, gorestained Syracuse boot
The other rested under the largest
fragment of the ink bottle.
II must have got into the wrong
closet after all,' said Hon. Mr.. Nc
Shane, after awhile. "And they cost
$780,"
His case went against him by de-
fault the next day because he had to
wait for Blackstone to go downtown,
his own feet clad in tennis shoes, and
order a full assortment Of shoes sent
to the house "for a gentleman with
the biggest feet on earth" But Black
stone was unfeeling enough to say he
didn't care ,-cct -. I. can.
English Pickles ana S2Eoes.
One million three undred thou
=