Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1899-11-23

Ac uuu OCCupleu SluCo HIS SecOuu u
cousin, Ellejenette, had come to live
with him and his mother in the FIVE
roomed farm house.
"Oddie! Oddie! called his mother,
as he crossed the path which led to
the kitchen porch.
He neither answered nor looked at
her, and disappeared within the shad-
ow of the great barn door.
whats he come up to the house
for. Ellejenette, do you know?"
Ellejenette signifed that she did
not.
Mrs. Sylvester took her knitting
and placei herself upon the kitchen
porch, SO that she should not fail to
see her son when he emerged. She
was past 70 years old, and natural
propensity toward inquisitiveness,
sedulously cultivated through long
life, showed itself in the unlovely
form of thirst for knowing the most
trivial things her son did. Ellejenette
often wondered at Johns patience,
and warmly sympathizel with his
trials.
81 don't see what he's after up
here, this time O. day! Elleienette,
fetch them peas and shell 'em out
here! want some company"
81 suppose he's through work to-
day." Elleiienette ventured.
"Why, no, he isn't, Ellejenette
What are you thinking about? Don't
you know he said at dinner he
shouldn't be through with the south
meadow before tomorrow night?"
She rose, walked across the grassy
yard, and standing in the barn door
called again, "Oddie! Oddie!
Presently she returned.
81 can't get nothin' out O. that fell
ler except All right, pretty soon.'
Elleienette, you go and call him. He
always answers you"
ooh, 1 don't want to now, Aunt
Charlotte! I will when he comes
down. Won't that do?"
'Well, yes, s'pose so. Strange he
left off work this time o. day." and
Mrs. Sylvester continued to ring the
changes on this theme, till Ellie; ;enettes
mind wandered far away, and she took
refuge in day dreams from the fretting
and nagging.
The round, fat peas slipped from
their cases rapidly under her deft fin
gers; she did not need to keep her eye
on her work, and looked instead out
into the lovely summer world. Her
home for the first 20 yea o. her
life had been in tenement house in
large city, its surroundings little
short of squalid. Her father was
hard-working mechanic OF small cali
bre, her mother always an invalid; the
two died within few months OF each
other, and, oh. how gladly had Ellie
jenette given up her position as sales
girl in department store and come,
at Mrs Sylveste1's request, to make
her home at the farm.
John came out of the barn. Ellie
jenette saw that his working clothes
were gone and he was dress ID in his
Sunday best-all except -
"Oddie! Oddie!' screamed Mrs.
Sylvester. "Where are you going?
Why didn't you tell me you were
going away?"
'I'll be back pretty soon,' said
John, rolling out the light wagon, and
mo nent later leading out the driv-
ing horse.
Cant you tell us where you're
going?" pursued Mrs Sylvester.
''What you SO secret al OIL? Should
think you were going courting." Her
gaze reached his feet, and her quer-
ulous tones fell to shocked and dis
mayed key. 'John Sylvester, you've
got on your wool boots!'
"Well, mother y replied John, elf
you'll only stop calling me Oldie, I'll
keep them on night and day.
''You go take those boots right off!
I know where you're going You cant
fool me, and you can't make such
show OF yourself! You're going to
that wedding, you know you bel''
screeched the old lady. 81 guess Tip
Farnham won't like it very we'll for
you to march into church with them
wool boots on and all you're Sunday
clothes. How you look! Folks won't
get through talking for a year! Ellie
jenette. You speak to him!''
Ellejenet.e shelled peas.
81 should think you'd be ashamed!
All the Farnhans' city boarders will
be there. Go get your other boots
on! You sha'n't behave so! You
just
John was i'll the wagon, rolling
smoothly over the grass and out into
the dusty road. AS he passed Ellie
ienette an early summer apple spun
across the short, crisp growth and
stopped at her feet. AS she picked
up the gift she saw Johns ewes
twinkle, and she nodded her thanks.
81 do declared" Mrs. Sylvester be-
gan to whimper. coming back to her
seat and dealing the kitten, who had
been playing cats cradle with the
yarn q haartx slam uSeams no 81