The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-02-15
WIDOWS VALENTINE.
81 ]. .. Harbour,

- ny y. IL. f1arDOUT.
The widow Darby, fair, plump and
looking far younger than her As years,
mad ridden into town with Jared Kent
81 because her horse had famed himself
ehat morning, and Jared happened to
pc going in" and had asked the widow
\ 70 ride with him.
Jared was what some of the people
OF the neighborhood called regular
born old bach" He had flouted and
{ scorned womankind most of the fifty
years OF his life, and had openly set
forth his conviction that men were
better Off without 'em than with 'em,"
particularly when it came to marry
Ing OF EN-" He had held to this con-
vtction so long and had proclaimed 1T
90 boldly and SO constantly that all OF
the match-makers in the rural neigh
horhood in which he lived had given
him up hopeless case beyond the pale
of their schemes for making bene
dict OF him.
Jared was not, like most avowed
women haters, grabbed, cross
I grained, sneeringly, cynical man,
which made his celibacy all the more
objectionable in the eyes of the match
makers.
He'd make real good husband If
he'd try" they said. Then he has the
incest farm in the neighborhood, with
sone OF the best houses on it and money
out at interest, although he's not bit
mean and stingy. He'll do his full
share always for neighbor in distress.
1t isn't because he's too stingy to sup
port her that Jared doesn't get a
wife,"
1t was clear, crisp morning in Feb
ruary when Jared rode to the village
with the widow Darby seated beside
him in his neat little cutter. The
sleighing was fine and the air keen and
exhilarating. 1t gave the widows
plump cheeks beautiful crimson
glow and made her black eyes sparkle.
She was in high spirits and her laugh
rang out frequently as merry and rip
pling as the laugh Of child.
But then the widow Darby was pro-
verbally CHEEKY. She had suffered
keenly the loss of her husband and
both of her children, but time had
softened her grief, and she was too
wise to spend her life in gloom and
grief over the loss of those who were
beyond all care and sorrow.
She had comfortable little home
and a few acres of land adjoining
Jared Kent's. She had known Jared
all of her life, but not once had she
thought of him as possible successor
to Joel Darby.
Jared will never marry anyone"
she had said. HE isn't of marry
Ing disposition. Some men are that
way. It's all they lack to make 'em
what God intended they should be-
My husband and / used to talk Jared
over a good deal, and we did our full
share to get him settled for life with
a good wife. We used to invite lots OF
nice girls, young and elderly both, to
our house and then have Jared come
over to tea and to play croquet with
him. He'd be nice and pleasant and
all that, but he never came any ways
near falling into any of the traps we
set for him. We thought once that he
did take kind of shine to nice,
sweet. real good looking girl Of about
R0Snamed Janet Deane from over Shell
way, who was visiting us. She'd OF
him an awful good wife, and l
her praises all the time, but moth
hme of it."
Is an elegant morning, isn't it?''
Jared, as he and the widow flew
3 over the hills and through long
bs in which the snow was drifted
host to the top rails of the fences.
oh, it's lovely!" replied the widow.
like sncw.''
$50 do l. You got much to do in
Iwn?"
mo; I'll be through with all of my
rrands in an hour. / can let some
ing go if you don't want to stay in
wn that long,
'Oh. that'll be none too long for
e. Where shall I meet your
'I'll be at Smith & Henderson's dry
bods store any time you say"
We'll call it II o'clock, then"
It was three minutes after II when
AIRED drove up to the appointed place
II meeting. The widow had stepped
Into the sleigh and he was tucking the
robes in around her when she said:
There. Jared, I'm just like other
women; I've forgotten something"
What is it?"
Il forgot to go around to the post
office. know that there's nothing