Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1898-07-21


Mercy" he called up, where's
the last paper? I don't see it any
where.
Goodness, Nathan Foote, shut
that door! You'll let in a mess OF
fies!"
''Wher's' the last paper, Mercy?"
Nathan's diminished voice rose, patient
and tired, to Mercy's ears through the
closed door.
''It's all piled up nice, Nathan. You
don't want it now. You take the
almanac over the kitchen table and
read the jokes!' she called back. He
got the almanac and put on his boots.
Then he dragged them wearily, step
by step, out to the stable. His griz-
zled, seamy face was drawn with ex-
hauston and pain.
Mercy Foote came downstairs at
precisely five O'Clock to get supper.
just as she stepped over the kitchen
threshold the last stroke OF the clock
was changing. That was her rule.
Mercy was as methodical as she was
neat.
Goodness" she exclaimed, 'there's
fy!-there's two fiesr' She caught
up one of the deftly folded news
papers that she kept hidden in handy
hooks and proceeded to wage war.
"Nathan's so careless!" she fretted.
''But l didn't think they'd find their
way clear in from the stabler'
She peered into the sitting-room,
and noticed that one of the papers on
the lounge was awry. ''Nathan's
been in there-yes, there's a wisp of
hay on the speckled rug! Now I
s'pose, I've got to go to sweeping"
1t was quarter of six before supper
was ready on the kitchen table. Mercy
had arranged the dishes precisely, but
there seemed very few of them. Its
too hot to light the fire, and 'twould
muss up dreadfully-the shavings and
all. Well have just cold lunch.
Nathan oughtn't to eat hearty victuals
after haying and getting all heated
up.
''Nathan! Nathan" she called from
the porch door, which she warily
opened only crack He was not out
there. She could not find him any
where.
She went all over the house, and
peered from all the tightly screened
windows. She put on her sunbonnet
and blew the dinner-horn. She always
put on her sunbonnet when she blew
the horn, nobody knew why. Mercy
didn't know herself
There was little circular hole in
the upper part of the kitch door,
protected by swinging disk OF wood.
1t was to blow the dinner horn
through Nathan made it for her so
that she need not open the door and
run the risk of the entrance OF flies.
She slid away the wooden cover and
quickly inserted the end of the horn
into the hole, and blew long, resonant
blasts. They echoed back to her
lonesomely.
The clock struck six-seven. Still
Nathan did not come. Mercy went
out to the hay field and all over the
little farm. Her heart grew heavy
with new, unacknowledged dread.
Where was Nathan.
'I'm beginning to get scared, poor
Mercy confessed to herself. Why was
it that she kept remembering the
sharp words she had said to Nathan?
Why did she remember how old and
tired out he had looked at dinner.
Why, when she went into the dreary
little porch-room, should the wooden
chairs stiff and uncomfortable, remind
her 50 insistently of their sitting out
there together-she and Nathan--to
save "mussing" the sitting-room? She
could see just bow uneasily Nathan
sat on the edge of his chair, witho out
any resting place for his shirt-sleeved
old arms-Goodness where was
Nathan?
Terrible things she had read Of
and heard of kept recurring
to her mind with dark insin-
uation. Could it be possible that
weary old men with fussy, scolding
wives ever.-ever-Oh no! But where
could Nathan be? Eight o'clock-one,
two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight
slow. solemn, significant clangs!
Mercy went out into the wood-shed-
into the stable-anywhere, away from
the sound OF the clocks voice that
scolded her incessantly.
The hungry old horse in his stall
was whinnying and paving for his
supper. Mercy stroked his nose.
"I'll go get you some hay, poney, ;"
she said. She went upstairs to throw
it down to him, and there was Nathan,
asleep in the hay! He lay in the pro-
found, relaxed slumber of utter weari-
ness. The yellow almanac had fallen
from his fingers and lay beside him.
She knew he was tired, and not very
WE'LL He had been driven to take his
rest in the barn
Mercy tiptoed back into the house,
breathing long, free breaths all the
way, and forgetting to shut the doors.
She built a fire and filled the tea
kettle and made many trips to the
pantry, coming back with sundry
dishes that Nathan liked, and crowd
ing the table with them. She took a
lighted lamp into the sitting-room and
"a l. Ill.