The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-02-09

uC0oAA6 oo n44AO6u 10 " CAOCh U0aU GlT6u.
His wife had the coffee hot for him and
brought him in steaming cup without
asking a question. Judith Hunter had
been out at service before she married
Billy, and she had learned good many
things besides cooking beef to turn.
Billys sat with his legs out and his
head sagging on his breast. It was q
spring day, but Iowa springs have chilly
nights following sunny days, and the
warmth of the fire in the alright stove
was grateful to him. To another OBJ
server it might seem a plain, little par
lor, and he might smile over the min
e!'re of the gorgeous chromos that
came with their garden seeos lneally
framed in brown paper) and two or
three photographs Of famous pictures,
but to Billy the fresh paint and bright
paper, the ribbon and lace tides, the
one plush easy chair and the glistening
cabinet organ made it dream of lux
ury. They had eight rooms in the house,
if you include the "lean to-, which
was such comfortable laundry and
summer kitchen for Judith. 1t was a
very good house indeed, and the garden
was so large that Judith kept tiny
poultry yard. In the summer it was
beautiful to sit on their own piazza and
be shaded by their tree, really tee
large enough to shade, and to look at
the honeysuckle and geraniums and the
green rows of onions and parsley.
No landowner in town could be
prouder yesterday than Billy had been
Of his little domain Now his handsome
brow wrinkled sullenly above his black
eyes, and he gazed about him in a
dreary stare, seeing and not seeing, like
man taking farewell. He sighed be-
fore he drank the coffee His wife, still
saying no word, smoothed the short
curls which his hat had matted on his
forehead. He patted her hand. She was
a tall woman. as tall as he, and of a
fine, supple figure. Her eyes were very
bright and her skin very clear, and she
had delicate, irregular features, which
changed SO prettily when she talked
that no one ever found fault with their
irregularity.
Its you that I'm thinking about.
Judith, you and the kid, said Hunter.
He nodded his head toward the open
door, through which one could see a
cradle rocker.
"we'n do. Billy said Judith.
Come, now. You eat piece of pie
it'll do you more good now than for
breakfast-and I'll get your pipe. Are
they going to strike, them"
''Well, as bad. They voted to send q
committee to HOLSTER and ask him to
submit their differences to an arbitra-
ton committee or they'll strike Mon
day. HOLSTER won't listen to them,
not to anybody. guess. and not to
Robb and Luke Wigger anyhow. BE
sent Luke off week ago, and the other
man is Johnny Mellin. who's mild as
skimmilk and was put on to represent
u.s. He'll set there and get red in the
face and say That's right to whoever
speaks last
"But did you speak to them. Billy
Did you say the things you were going
to7'
Billy's face grew red. eyes, I did.
and wish l hadn't. I never made a
speech before, but I felt so worked up
about this thought could talk to the
boys, jest give EN- plain sense-how
this here strike amt got a show on
Gods earth of succeeding you'll
say you got fool for husband, Judy.
got up on my legs, and got scared.
| was jest as scared as used to be
when I'd play hockey when I was kid
and met Father Mahan, and he'd be
saying, is your mother sick, Billy
Hunter, that you're out Of school2'
could feel my voice wabbling under
me. and all / could get out was some
fool things about strike that failed
was worse than no strike. and then
Robbie got up, so slick and with
such lot of fine, big words about or
ganized labor and the great union be-
hind us. and capital already on the run,
| and he worked EN- up about those new
fellers (and they are disgrace; they
| can't manage their blast nohow, and
they may be killing somebody any day.,
and he got the boys fgLt ting mad,
and he called me his cautious friend,
like was a coward! And then they all
hollered. You see he's got such way
with him. a little, smiling. white
teethed Teller and smart as steel trap,
and there amt anything on earth we
workingmen like like Teller who can
talk. y
Cant he see himself it's crazy2 ?"
He sees we've got $4,000 in the
treasury and how we've been cut down
and cut down this winter. and he sees
HOLSTERS got some big ,rders on now,
and that's all he does see If you tell
him HOLSTERS obstinate's the devil. he
jest laughs and says he's heard folks
threaten to bite off their noses to spite
their faces before, but they don't do it,
all the same, and HOLSTER can't bluff
him. l don think HOLSTERS SO bad as
they make him out, but he's got the
devils own temper when you git his
mad up. They'd have struck this very
same night if it hadn't been for young
FitZmaurice
"But he don't belong to the union, !"
said Judith, who was now seated by
has 49,