The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1900-07-05
THE
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BY ANNIE HAMILTON DoNNElu

l
No, he hasn't ever been, quite"
"Quite marriel?"
eyes, not quite"
Lucretia adjus:e her sewing
| glasses aud sorted out two or three
patchwork squares. The suggestions
of story were iu her face. Theu she
was rocking gently, aud the rocker
! gave forth its familiar creak which
was suggestion, too. When Lucre-
tia's chair creaked il that way, her
hearers settled into their chairs au,l
waitel. 1t was only matter of wait
ing
"Well, there's them that are absent
minded and there's them that are ab-
seut-minded," Lucretia said. 81 sup
pose you've noticed that? Horatio
Mixers the lattermoss kind land,
yes! have not been to the North
Pole nor to the South Pole, but it I
had we, T shouldn't ever have run
across his equal anywhere on the way
not for observation-disclosures.
She tried a pink triangle with the
chocolate and then blue one.
Neither exactly met her ideas of har-
mony, and finally. with a sigh, she
substituted vivid green.
"Yes?" some QUE said, suggestively.
''He was never entirely married, you
said, Lucretia?"
'sThe green'll do" she decided, and
then returned to her story. mo, but
he got pretty near it-as near as the
postofice"
The creaking waved little trem-
ulous, as if the chair were laughing
with Lucretia. Of course every one
else was. There was something con-
tagious in Lpcretia's silent mi"th.
ITO this day I haven't got over it"
she gasped. "Nor. guess Cicely
Cove hasn't nor Horatio. lie hasn't
been to the postoffice siuce. My little
Jerry gets his mail"
She threaded her needle slowly.
"Poor Horatio!'' she smiled. ''No,
he hasn't been since he came 80 near
getting married. Land, yes, 1 sup
pose I might as we'll up and tell the
whole story! I've got your appetites
whetted up!''
Il should say 80! Mines as sharp
as Uncle Nehemi' Castles scythe"
Polemia Dunn exclaimed.
This was neighborhood pleasau-
try, but Lucretia's mind was on
Horatio's narrow escare from matri.
mony, and she let it slip by unappre-
ciated.
''It was this way: nobody but
Horatio Mixer could We done it.
Land, no! But Horatio's equal to
anything absent-minded under the
light of the moon! He and Cicely
concluded to get to the parsons and
get spllcel. Cicely'd g,t all her fix
ings ready, and there didn't seem any
u. Q putting it Of any longer. So
Horatio harnessed up. II was good
two miles to the parsons. They
started along about two o'clock, 50 as
to get there betwixt hay and grass, so
to speak"
"Well? Well, Lucretia?"
"Twarn't we'll, chuckled Lucretia,
unfeelingly "Horatio's unlucky star
rose early that day aud soared! I
calculate twas right up overhead by
the time they got to the pos:otlice.
Cice'y said she guessed they might as
we'll stop and get the mail-poor
Cicely!-as twas weekly paper day.
So Horatio went in and shut the door
of matrimony behind him. Cicely
heard it slam, but she didn't realize
what it meant. She set out there
holding Horatio's horse and waiting.
She waited two mortal hours"
''Lucretia!"
'sTwo-mo: tal--hours. Then Cicely
she climbed over the wheel and went
home. The horse kept On waiting
land, he'd have waited till crack Of
doomsday! He was acquainted with
Horatio.
''But Horatio, Lucre:ia?"
"Horatio? That's what say! Well,
you see he'd run across Hannibal Blu
ney, and that reminded him of
Hanpibars yoke of steers. He'd been
planning, off and on, to swap his
moving machine for them. They got
arguing, and argued themselves ont of
the back door, across lots, to Hanni-
balls. It was two hours or so later
that Horatio came back, towing the
steers He hitched them on behind
his wagon and climbed in, as self-con-
graduating as you please. He was
real tickled.
'sSome of the neighbors wee out
on the loungsng seats, and they spread
it round what Horatio aid next 1t
made a good story, after they'd found
out about Cicely. Horatio took up
the reins, looking kind of puzzled,
they said: 'Warn't there something
else I was going to do?' he ruminated,
out loud. Seems to me there was an
errand. Now where was I going to
from here?'
'He scratched his head consider
able and then he looked relieved.
"'The parsonage! That's it! I was
going to the parsonage on an errand.
Get up, Molly! and he rode away,
with those two steers capering along
he'd forgot themr'
Lucretia's bright bits of patchwork
drifted to the floor in rainbow
stream. She glanced across at
Polemia, and began to laugh again.
LAND" she gasped.
'Iandr' echo ed Polemia. ''Well?'
"'Well! I'm glad you think 50.
You're the only one! What do you
suppose that man did thea?"
"Went to the parsonage and
and" But Imagination failed.
"That's just what he did! Went to
the parsonage-and-and set there in
his wagon, with them steers gaspiug
behind, trying to remember what his
errand was! Well, after a spell of
racking, aforementioned. 1 guess
ho{&or 5ro,,, ~