The Monmouth inquirer., 1898-03-24
TURNED UP MISSIN'.

Hodgkins was lost. The whole neigh
borhood was torn up and the men was
out ridin' all night and, wimmern was
scairt and everythin'. The way it was
was this:
One evenin' about dusk Abe Hodg-
kins he come over to my house and said
he was worried about Pap-that's his
father-as he'd took the sorrel mare
and gone off somewheres and hadn't
come back. He'd never stayed out so
late before, and the folks were consid'-
able shook up over it. Pap was ole and
he was deef, and, though he was perty
spry for an ole man, they was s'picious
somethin'd happened to him.
went back to Abe's house with him,
and we found his wife jes' a tearin
around. She was always a-jawin' and
a-naggin' the ole man when he was at
home, but, like wimmern folks, she was
takin' on like SIXTY when she 'feard
J he'd had an accidhnt or sCmethin'. She
bawled and STAYED around heap, and
| finally Abe and me set eff to go and
rouse the neighbors and make some in
quiries and see If anybody had heard
of him or seen him.
The upshot of all we could find ont
ridin' west on the Pawnee road about
O'Clock that afternoon. So lot of the
men folks got their horses and set out
o hunt him. 1t was bright moonlight
night, and we rid along till we got to
Widder Miller's place, and then we
questioned the boy, and all he told was
that he'd seen him, as l said Then we
rode along and crossed over to the
Pawnee road and asst at all he houses
If they'd seen an ole man on sorrel
mare any time Il at y, but we couldn't
hear no more news OF him.
They was nothin' for it but to turn
back and go home. We found my wife
and several Of the neighbor wimmern
still up and all over in Hodgkins' try
in to calm Mizz Hodgkins. AS soon as
we come in she lit on Abe.
''Hev ye found him?" says she.
Nav says Abe
Then she tuned up with another
cryin' spell and says, says she: 20
lordy, lordy, lordy! | knowed some
thin was goin' to happen. knowed
it. It's a Judgment, Abe Hodgkins,
on you for the way you been treatin'
you're pore old father. Here / been
slayin' the eends o. my fingers off for
that pore old man, and you been abus-
in him and neglectin' him. He was
yore own blood too; he want none o.
mine l know yen find him dead in
some fenst corner, or likely drowned in
some pond. Did We search Bainbridge's
pond?"
Nav" says Abe. What in the
world d he be a-doin at that pond? 2"
says he.
70 hot no, ho!" she cried. There it
is again. You all see the way I'm
treated Any idy of mine is jes' sneer-
ed at and made fun of Well, Abe
Hodgkins, when yere pore old pap
comes home drowned in that pond ye'll
be sorry, yen be sorry. o lordy, lordy!"
There new mind, Mizz Hodgkins, .
says Miss Bascom, putin camfort on
her hankchief an rubbin her head.
"A, my pore old pap!" said Miss
Hodgkins. He was such a comfort
There's his ole cheer right over you. |
seen him sit there many a time. right
there, a-boo-bool right in that--a boo
ho!-that there cheer
Don't take on so Mizz Hodgkins,'
says one of the wimmern. He'll turn
up all right. Mebbe he's just gone over
to some O. the nighbors we hadn't seen.
He'll come home to-mor'."
No, he'll never come home no
more!" says she. Il feel it. Somethin'
tells me he hahn never comm back
no more to his lovin' darter o, lordy!
oh! oh!-and she leaned back gaspin
on one O. the wimmern.
Abe's boy spoke up from the next
room, where the children was in bed,
and lowed pap had gone to town mebbe
to git some terbacker, as he was pit
nigh out.
"Shet up ther, Ameos Wilbanks,
said his mother, a sittin' up again.
What de you mean by talhin' about
terbacker and sinful things in sech
time as this?"
Well, they carried on till late. and
finally, as they couldn't do nothin' else
they got Mizz Hodgkins to bed and
went home, agreein' to start out again
mex day.
l had my rheumatics next day, and
couldn't ride out, so / went over to
Hodgkins's to help calm things and
wait to hear the news. Abe's wife was
at it again, bellerin' and weepin'
around while she was reddin up her
house.
1t was about 10 o'clock, guess, when
up rides pap into tue yard on his sor-
rel, with two or three men folks. The
wimmern streaked it out o. the house,
and fairly pulled him off'n his mare,
and they all shuck hands and ole pap
was beamin' and smilin' like he'd
been elected to somethin. He was SO
deef he couldn't quite make out what
twas all about. Abe finally explained
that pap had rid over to his darter's
Mizz Sanders's, and they'd met him
comm home. Abes wife pushed
through the crowd and come up closte
to the ole mans ear and yelled:
what did We go over there for, an
not tell anybody and make so much
trouble, hey?
We'll says pap, 4 got to thinkin'
about Mirandy's leetle boy and wonder
in whether she give it a drink o wa
ter often. Leetle babies needs water
sev'l times every day. So rid over to