The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1898-11-11
y Err hair was drawn back in lit

y Err hair was drawn back In lit
Fl tie waves from her brow. Now
- - and then she would raise her
gentle eyes and glance out through the
pantry window toward the patch of
tall, waving hollyhocks that Jim had
planted four summers before. She was
kneading dough, and two or three times
she stopped to scrape the clinging bat
ter from her fingers with the back OF
case-knife.
She hummed a little old-faShiOned
tune, emphasizing the "tum te tum'
with savage jabs at the rapidly harden
ing dough on the shelf-board before
her.
"Janew J
No reply.
"Janev'
The ungainly figure Of a young girl
in gingham, her hair escaping in
strands the loosely tied knot at the back
of her head, appeared in the pantry
doorway.
What dye want?"
II want ye t. git them biscuit tins out
o tn kitchen cupboard an bring 'em In
here t me.''
The girl slowly turned and shambled
across the kitchen floor, the turnover
heels of her old slippers Gathering on
the white scrubbed boards as she
walked.
Il never see slch a girl" muttered
Mrs. Springer to herself. Seems like
impossibility t. git any decent help
out here in tn kentry. Ali tn girls
that's good fer anything gifts up an gifts
teowrn ez soon ez they're tn right
age t. be good fer anything. Only them
as is too lazy t live is lef' fer US out
here"
"Here tn tins be, Missus Springer"
Jane dragged herself into the buttery
and laid the baking plates on the shelf
at Mrs. Springer's elbow.
Mrs. Springer turned, her hands and
arms fecked with flour.
Did ye grease 'em?" she asked
sharply.
mo, ma'am; ye didn't tell me to-"
i Didn't tell We to? Hain't We got
d sense enough t. do that 'ithout bein'
toF?'
The girl took the tins and shambled
back into the kitchen, to return them
after space Of five minutes, CREASED"
us they anything elseY' she asked.
Yes; meow go out an git me pail O.
water. hain't got time t. do every
thing"
Again the girl disappeared.
From the great lump Of dough on the
board Mrs. Springer pulled little Jumps
and rolled them into f1abby globes.
which she placed in regular lines on the
bottom of the biscuit tins.
She had patted the last little lump
into ball and wedged it into a corner
Of one of the pans and stepped back to
survey her work, when through the
open doorway Of the kitchen floated to
her, on the cool September air, the call,
"Missus Springer! Oh, Missus Spring
err'
> "Neow I'd like t. know who that is"
she exclaimed as she crossed the floor
and pushed opeBthe soieen door.
"Fer tn lan's sake, Zeke Evans, what
be you a-wantin'?"
She had stepped out on the back
porch, all green and blue with clinging
vines and open morning glories.
The little man In the light "rig'
wiped the perspiration from his brow
and clambered out Of the vehicle over
the wheel
He advanced toward Mrs Springer
and extended yellow envelope. "This
KUN las night" he said, lies fore tn
ten twenty arrove. Th' operator asked
me t. fetch 1t. At fust thought I'd
bring it right over, not thinkin' but
what it might be from Jim. Then I sez
t. myself, sez I, 'Missus Springer will
be t bed an better wait till mornin', so
I fetched 1t over on my way deown."
At the name "Jim" Mrs. Springer
clutched the bit of yellow paper. and.
with fingers that wavered a little, tore
open the envelope.
Zeke waited.
The envelope dropped to the floor of
the porch. Mrs. Springer held the dis
patch in her left hand and followed the
scrawled writing with the fore finger
of her right.
One glance at the words and she cried
out, Its Jim. He's comm home. It's
from his capdng sayin' he has been sent
home sick in tn care O. two other SOL
diers. He lef' tn camp yesterday after
noon anil be here airly to-morrer morn
in'''
'Sho! Ye don't say" exclaimed
Zeke. "Dew it tell how bad he be?
Why didn't thet durn operator over t.
tn depy tell me it wuz frum Jim an I'd
a-brought it t. We las night
Mrs. Springer smiled and cleared her
throat. ''They's time enough, Zeke," she
said. "I'll go right in an fix up his
room SOS t. have everything ready
when he comes. AS yew drive on down,
yell over t. Budd. He's in tn spring lot
hoein'. Tell him t. come right up here t.
TIL haouse, thet Jim's a-comin'."
rs there anything 1 kin do fer ye?"
asked Zeke, a little tone of anxiety in
his voice.
'No, they amt nawthin'. An don't
believe I even thanked We fer bringin'
me this telegram, Zeke."
Zel.e blushed and stammered that
"that was all right" and turned to
Chamber over the wheel again into his
'erfg."
I'll tell Buddv' he cried back over
the top of the carriage as he drove on
down the lane.
Matilda Springer went back into the
kitchen and through the little passage
way into the front room. There by the
half-curtained window, through which
the sun rays had filtered on another
September morning, long before, and
lighted the face of a man in a coffin,
she read again the telegram. Jim is
sick and l have sent two members of
the company along with him."
Mrs. Springer laid the telegram On the
table and went over to the old hair
oIo+b cofo Sbo sat tIprp in tho san1i-