Evening star., 1899-03-18

stay in the old house much longer any,
now. But l didn' z think this of you, Will
.Tryin to play reproachful. eh! Just
look back over the last thirty years Or
more. Amt 1 always sheen ali a brother
segtd sesb ans bel oaa Amt Martha been more'n
aseat asea an xovp pl20a bom ssteF S9ud ee2 An how
sonable man could want?''
Ihe deacon's Voice tfembled little as
ne rapidly summed up the list of unap-
pIeciated kindnesSes.
We'll. William, 1 amt forxettin, all that
not bit of it. But what If a man, after
a while. gets tired of livin' day in an day
out in rut? What if he wants to get out
INTO a bigger better life. I suppose
wouldn't thought of 1t If the railroad
hadn't been put through / got to goin'
there first when they was layin the tracks
well & tEat was albright enough, an then"
II do! Enough Of that! I won't
hear it from your lips
An then
stop man. I say stop. in the name Of
what little regard for decency you've got
left! L won't hear from you! didn't come
out here to listen to your boastin' an
plumin' yourself about your reckless, sense
less goin' onv'
The deacon's bloodless lips trembled as
he fairly thuudered the command, and
shook his clenched fist in unbrdled wrath.
won have 1t made any worse by your
goin INTO all the details OF what you did"
ne went on hotly. Il wanted you to listen
~ iSoSoii' az wanted TO tdlh 10 you ike
a brother. But there amt any reason left
IN YOU It's gone too far, an Martha an
l. m too late. You're proud of that broader
lite you talk about are you? All right,
lnen' now listen to what I've got to say.
The ways still open for you to turn over
a new leaf an come back an be one Of US
as you was before the Lowdens and their
tavern came to Quaker Church. It's got to
eide right.now. Either you quit this new,
broader life that you've been harpin' on or
you must get along without Martha an
me from this day for 'ard'
The deacon pronounced the sentence in
excited, impassioned tones. 1.-The ways
open. which do you take?" he repeated,
wiping away the beads of cold sweat that
stood out upon his brow
JoePs flushed face turned pale at the
deacon's words. They cut him like sharp
knife. and his brother knew it. But quick
ly the scornful look returned and he met
the issue squarely half way. Without
tremor he stepped close to his brother,
and, placing his hand gently on the others
shoulder exclaimed: william, William, II
it was the last thing on earth, didn't ex-
pect this Of you! If 1t was anybody else.
I'd a said he'd gone clean crazy. You an
mother never did circulate much around
among the neighbors, but never once had
an idea either of you had anything against
Miss Cook. I can't understand it. Her
husbands been dead for three years now,
an durin' that whole time she's hardly
been outside her dooryard. It's goin to be
hard to tell her that this is our weddin'
present from you an Martha, but I can do
1t, an 1 will One thing has got to be set
tied between you an me, howsomever'-
here Joels words became deliberate and
amt goin' to stand up an
listen to anybody throw miserable slurs on
the woman that's goin' to be my wife-not
even you, my own brother, an a deacon
in the church, who ought to be above such
q thing. / want you to understand that
If the Lowden boys did build their tavern
a. bnnSa rnSDOnSt-
BILE nor the worse for It! An as far as
that place is concerned. 1 hate 1t worse
than you do. It's hurt her property
scand lous!''
O. Wedding bells often ring out in unexpect-
ed places. Their notes are the sweeter
when they sound above the din of dtscord.
In vain the deacon, perplexed and con-
fused. his excited mind in whirl, tried to
interrupt Joel's words Then he gave up
the attempt and grasped weakly at the OBJ
Jects near him for support. He could only
gasp. Miss Cook--you marry Miss Cook
the widow Cook at the crossin'-I-
you-
We've been thinkin' it over ever since
the day the circus was in town. An last
night we fixed 1T all up an decided to
hitch"
Lord save US all! Joel, T. It was
too much for the deacon and his strength
deserted him. His knees bent beneath his
weight and his voice dropped to an inaud
BILE whisper He leaned upon the sleigh
and rubbed his eyes as If to bring back
his scattered senses Then he suddenly
found his voice again. 'Is that the mean
in of 1T all? Is that where you've been
goin' evenin' after evenin' when mother an
me thought you was al the Lowdens? Say
somethin', man!' Are youA struck clean
dumb?"
The scornful look had left Joel,s face and
the suggestion of triumphant smile play
ed around the corners of his mouth as he
watched the successive stages of his broth
er's collapse. But malice was not part of
Joel Birdsells makeup. He answered the
deacon's question with question: "You
aint forgot, William he asked seriously.
"the day you an me signed the pledge back
in Vermont? Well, I've kept my share of
it to this day. But / never signed a pledge
not to get married"
But you didn't tell u.s.
81 didn't have nothin for sure to tell till
last night. You know how courtin' is. Will
lam. A man don't like to speak right
Once again the deacon swallowed some
thing that seemed to choke his words
God bless you BOTH he said and his voice
trembled as he spoke. Then he added
quickly: Perhaps you'll forget the hard
things said. You see"
ITS just the same as If you hadn't ever
spoke EN-" Joel interrupted. Am now
perhaps there's time yet to go over to the
creamery. Supposin you tell Martha about
1t while I'm gone"
The quavering notes Of a song awakened
the deacon from a deep brown study as he
stood alone in the middle of the storeroom
floor. Listening, he caught the words until
they were lost in the rattle Of the wagon
wheels:
Bet my money on the old bay mare.
Somebody bet on the gray"
The deacon did not stir until the sound
had died away in the distance Then he
left the barn and slowly walked up the
path to the farm house. AS he reached the
porch he hesitated a moment Darn nv
fool picture" he said to himself, 81 might
have knowed 1t! But it's a good Joke on
mother, anyhow
Then he entered the kitchen, closing the
door behind him.
The Coffee Habit South.
From the New Orleans Times Democrat
1T took me about six months to acouire