Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1900-12-18
BILL PAID HIS BOARD

WV IL ibl OhOl liiOiiAh hIN OiA man
Mcfarland and Mrs. Mcfarland were
getting uneasy. They made their
living by taking in boarders, and most
of the boarders made their living by
working in the factory, the conse-
quence of which was that the weekly
board bills were in some cases only
partly met and in some cases not met
at all. Mrs. Mcfarland worried, and
when she worried she talked to her
husband for the greater part of the
night and he lost sleep. So did the
men who occupied the rooms on eth
er side of them, for they knew what
that steady murmur was about.
you've got to get some money out
of some of them," said Mrs. McFar-
land.
"We can't 90 on this way any long
er. There's Bill Seney owes lis nearly
$50. Why don't you make him pay
something? DO you hear me, Rob
ert?"
eyes, hear YOU" grunted McFar-
land. But what are you going to
do? They'll all pay when they get
the money, and if we get to bounding
them they'll get mad and quit, and we
will lose the connection"
eve might just as well, as far as
| can see. The connection isn't 60
ing to pay our bills unless there's
some money in it, and we might as
well quit before we get any more into
debt. Why don't you go for Seney?
Pm pretty sure he could pay some
thing if you insisted on it."
"Why don't you ask him? Ishould
think you could do it just as well as
l can"
81 should think that l had enough
to do with the cooking and the house
work without running around attend
ing to your business. If you can't see
that man and get some money from
him I'm going to quit, and that's all
there is about it,"
Mcfarland kept awake long time
after the partner Of his joys and sor-
rows had stopped talking and gone
to sleep. He was a little man, meek
and timid, with whom the battle of
life had gone so hard that he had been
content for years to hover around the
outskirts as a sort of camp follower
The idea of asking any man for money
was painful to him. He knew what
1t was himself, and imagined that
everybody else must have the same
sickening sensation of impending
doom that he experienced in the
presence of dun. And Seney was a
burly, loud-voiced man, with a ter
rible eye and fierce whiskers. Nc
Farland's heart sunk within him at
the thought of insisting on having
money from this trucuIent giant.
"Insist" was the word his wife had
used, and anger filled the old mans
breast at the absurdity of it and the
unreason of woman generally.
He knew that the factory would
soon open again and everything
would be paid up and he could keep
on with his duties of marketing, milk
ing and tending the old COW, which
was pastured on the vacant lots of
marshy grass, carrying water from
the well and doing such other chores
as might become a man. His life
was not one of rapturous enjoyment.
but it was comfortable enough, and
his wife's threat of"quitting" fright
ened him. lie fell asleep contriving
delicate means of broaching the dis
agreeable subject with the dreaded
Bill Seney,
With his wife's eye upon him he
rose from the breakfast table as Bill
Seney rose and followed him out to
The door. AS the delinquent turned
to walk up the street Mcfarland
hailed him in a tremulous voice
"Oh, Bill,@ he said, 81 want to
speak to you minute-privately"
"Well, there amt no one around
is | see" said Bill, grufliy, "What
s it?"
Mcfarland cleared his throat nerv-
ously and then, with his eyes on
button of the mans coat, smiled and
'aid; 'sHow are you fixed financially,
Bill?"
81 amt fixed at all, /" replied Seney,