Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1899-02-09

Clarissa Kemp-late, very late :
Clarissa Collins-carried each pot te
the back door and inverted it briskly
The little heap grew high and un.
stable. There were good many pots,
and it was quite distance from the
sitting room window to the back door.
Clarissa was tired when the stained
green-painted shelves were emptied
and all the litter swept up.
''There!' she breathed with little
gasp of relief, sinking into q rocker,
"I'm thankful that jobs done with
It's been staring at me ever since ]
came"
Clarissa invariably spoke of the day,
few weeks ago, when she and Jonas
drove from the minister's into the
little trim side-yard, as "when l
came" Since that day there had been
good mrny reforms at the Kemp
place. The heap of discarded gerani-
ums and fuchsias was only one of
them.
Il can't and I won't abide mess
of plants round, littering! There's
enough, goodness knows, that's got
to litter without putting up with what
amt got to. You've got to water 'em,
and you've got to putter with 'em
and coddle 'em, an there's always q
mussy, wet place under 'em and sprigs
and dry leaves. / can't abide 'em if
other folks can. Those that like 'em
are perfectly welcome-I don't"
Clarissa rocked backward and for
ward in the capacious, calico softened
chair, committing aloud Her come
ly, middle-aged face had look Of re-
lief upon it. Once only slight shade
of remorse quivered across it and was
gone.
He'd ought to know I'd do it, {"
she muttered, ''and he ought to have
got his mind made up by this time.
I've given him time enough ever
since l came | told him, ten minutes
after, that I couldn't fellowship with
a mess of plants. l guess that was
good and fair warning"
The rockers took to sudden creaking
as if pleading in Jonas behalf. In
the sunny windows the green shelves
looked bare and lonesome. There
were little round circles, smaller aud
larger, side by side along their lengths,
where the pots had stood. The big
gest circle of all spoke pathetically of
Jonas pet cactus that bore the dainty
pink flowers among its spines-that
"Alwildy" had set store by Alwilda
was the wife that had driven from the
minister's into the trim yard first.
Even Jonas was hardly fonder of
plants than Alwilda had been.
'"There's some sense to having
windows to sit by that you can see out
Of" mused Clarissa contentedly, gaz-
ing out on the strip of meandering
roadway stretching bleakly away up
hill. ''Now I can see the people
passing Deacon Pottle COM
ing already! I can tell it's the deacon
by the way the horse wags his head
and meeches along down the hill.
Seems to me I'd have creature with
some kind of spirit to him. Why,no;
it's Jonas-as live!'
With sudden accession of nervous
ness, Clarissa Kemp snatched rug
and hurried to the back door, Jonas
and the old horse were turning into
the lane. She could hear the pound,
pound of clumsy hoofs on the hard
clay. She threw the rug over, the
heap of broken plants and waited to
pull down one corner across the tiers
of interlocked earthen pots beside it.
81 don't want it to come on him all in
a heap" she murmured. ''Jonas has
to have time to get used to things. He
amt sudden man, Jonas amt. I've
found that out since 1 came"
Then she hurried back to the rock
ing chair by the window. Jonas was
just plodding past.
''Why, amt you early, Jonas?"
Clarissa called, little breathless with
hurrying. IT'S only 3 o'clock. I
wasn't looking for you back till sup
per time
'Yes, am early--whoa, back, Den
mis-. wh-o-a!--but the town meeting
ris' early. We got through our doings
sooner'n we expected to. They APP
pointed me moderator
Jonas voice had O ring of modest
pride in it. Clarissa laughed appre-
ciatively.
II should sayyou'd moderate splen-
didly. Jonas, 'she said, "but I shouldn't
we supposed you'd we moderated SO
fastp'
The old horse started up and went
staidly on toward the barn, with the
trail of Clarissa's laughter in his wAke.
"Clarissy's real humorous
woman" pondered Jonas; ''she's got
all of it that Alwildy didn't have.
Whoa, back, Dennis''
IfJonas noticed the unwieldy heap
under Clarissa's rug on his way back
to the house he said nothing about
it 1t was not Jonas Kemp's way to
say things. In the trig little sitting