The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-11-30

the floor or pulled your boots off in the
parlor in the evenin, she'd raise the
awfulest kind of row. guess you'll
hev to marry gal, Samuel. You are
old huff to be the father of any gal
around here, but | don't see no other
way. Hev you got any pertickler gal
| in mind? / was thinkin of Sue Sabins
the other day. She's 20 years old and
a great hand to- work, and inebbe you'd
be happy with her Her mother says
Sue likes to be petted. You've never
petted me, but mebbe you'll change
when | am gone. No, Samuel can't
| remember time in q years when
! you've pulled my ear or patted me on
| the shoulder or poked me in the ribs
| II
The remembrance that there had
been no shoulder patting or ear pulling
during all those long years brought
fresh outburst Of emotiontand for two
minutes Mrs. Gallup sobbed bitterly
! Mr.. Gallup laid down the milestone
and the sickle and picked up the paper
of tacks and balanced it on the point
| of his finger but he was oblivious of
! his surroundings.
| IL don't complain. Samuel" said
/ Mrs. Gallup when she could control her
voice again when | saw that you
was no hand to pet, let it go. I'm old
and wrinkled and scrawny, and can't
| look fur pettin. 1t will be different
| with a gal, however. If you don't pub
| her ear at least once a week and call
her angel, she'll git sullly and finally
run away with a tin peddler. Mrs.
| Bebee was sayin that Bertha Williams
would make a good gal wife fur you,
and Mrs. Williams says that you could
not do better than to marry Mary
| Hawkins, but ! amt goin to pick out
nobody fur you nor find fault with
your choice. All I'm goin TO do is to
die and become an angel and let you
! do jest as you want to. I've got jest
| one leetle favor to ask
The lump in her throat and the tears
| in her eyes checked her speech for
half a minute. and during that time
| Mr.. Gallup put the tacss down and
| lifted up the sickle again.
4 ITS only this, Samuel You needn't
do no weepin fur me when I'm gone,
and you needn't hang over the gate
and try to look all broke up over my
loss. You kin go right to playin check
,ers as soon as the funeral is over but
some night, later on, when you are all
alone in the house and the crickets
are singin, j want you to remember
that had nay good pints as we'll as
my bad. want you to remember that
| used clothes biler with seven holes
in the bottom fur nine years without
mendin and that hain't had new
corset fur 'leven years. Our teakettle
is over years old, and I've made one
set of cups and sassers last us since
we was married. That's all, Samuel,
and now I'll go in and die, and you kin
be loolSin around fur your second
wife!
She rose up with sob and retreated
into the house, but Mr.. Gallup knew
nothing of it. He hung the sickle on
a nail near the door. put the milestone
and lacks on shelf in the wood shed.
and then walked down the path and
closed the henhouse door and cast a
look into the pig pen. When he re-
turned to the house, Mrs. Gallup was
looking at her bowl of emptyings under
the stove and humming the air of 81
Want to Be an Angel" She had had
her lamentation and got over it, and it
would be three or four days before she
would break out again. NJ. QUAD.