The age-herald., 1900-06-24
, An U Az HNAFAA N II Il II
 Or a Story About Shorty's Wife.
BY ELlzAstTH CHERRY WALTZ.

Sss9@3 89GSG0990GD8SO8830&V In the warm summer twilight a young woman in black print gown was sitting on the doorstep of detached frame cottage
 T.lh a strip of garden in front. A bit of
 sewing lay, forgotten on the ground before her.
 An old woman came around the house carrying a leaky watering can. q b'lieve you'd let the pinks and every thing else die for want of drop of water, she grumbled.
 T know you like 10 do it. was the dreary
 reply, "and 1 do forget most things"
 You'd better not give up too much" said
 the old woman, suggesuYely. U Pears like you ought to be getting a little reconciled. "Oh, I get so lonesome!" said the younger woman, then remorsefully, mot that don't feel obliged for your company, but it's the change, mother l cant get | over wanting to get up when the first whistle from the foundry blows, to hurry, | hurry up the breakfast and fill the dinner l pail and then do what l please until night l time, always knowing Billy will come home and supper will have to be ready Now | it is all blank" she finished sadly enough. Billy was good company" agreed the old woman, always d joke" | Always a joke a tale. All the shop | doings and the jokes on the men, and l about the new babies, and when their
 wives went visiting their folks, and how l Shorty liked my pies. o, mother, don | you remember all the stories about shorty! 1 Why sometimes, sometimes, mother, 1 almost think 1 miss those tales about | Shorty more'n anything else.' The old woman set the can down by the l fence and crouched down the lower | step.
 Billy thought heap of Shorty. Every | thing he did and said was just about right, | wasn't it? she said.
 The young widow picked up her work and wiped one eye.
 q do miss that all hearing every day l about those sayings and jokes and what | Shortys wife did and her goings on, now
 much he thought of her and wanted to
 do for her. It made a new man of B1lly' l and I know other women could thanK l Shorty for changes in their husbands. 1 Billy used to say he had such master | ful way of saying things he would or wouldn't do in his home. He thought 1 nothing in the universe was good enough for his wife" 1 "Where did they live?" asked the old woman "Aint it a good piece out?' "Yes over two miles from the foundry.
 Shorty was always going to have us out l there on a Sunday, but somehow 1t never l happened. and now Billy's gone. l guess most of the men have forgot him already
 'They don't come anear often, agreed l the mother, "out O sight Is out mind 1 most everywhere"
 q sort O looked for Shorty to be one 1 of the main ones at the funeral, went i on Lucy, thoughtfully, but l guess he is 1 better at cracking jokes than carrying | comfort. La! They were all such strangers 1 They never seemed to be those men that l Billy told about There was that one that | called three or four times. l mean the
 tall man, good-looking and pleasant. Don't 1 you remember his name?" l Pears like it was Campbell or some | thing like it. There was always some wo- | men here and he acted shylike. l believe,
 on my life, he's out in the road now. He's | coming in, Lucy. Fetch chair out" l A tall fair man. neatly dressed, was con-
 ing in at the gate. He accepted the chair
 and the greetings with shy pleasure.
 ''The boys made me kind of committee ! to come up and see Joe Owens who is sick"
 he said, '.and mentioned that they'd like to | hear of your welldoing, Mrs. Bassett." Lucy's eyes filled with tears. | I'm obliged" she said with feeling | and I'm getting in some sewing to help | out. Maybe" with a sudden resolution | 'the boys in the shop would like to hear
 how I miss hearing about them. Billy | always told me about the jokes and the l good times. 1 know every one of them | by name, and all about their wives and | children and whenever they had anything | going on at their homes. It was good | company to think over all that when Billy 1 was away
 I've miss Billy awful" he said, watch ing her wistfully; Billy used to be tell | ing things in the shop, too. We all knew | you, and then-well, Billy was generous , with his lunch and we all thought our
 selves mighty lucky to get piece of your
 good pie, Mrs. Bassett"
 | She gave a wan smile.
 1 q don't have the heart to bake pies now. | They just stand round. Billy always had
 to have a half pie for Shorty; Billy loved l Shorty so. He used to tell me about him
 used to say the best things in the world
 about her. I reckon, MT. Campbell, she l was such a fine woman that she never had l time to bake him pies.''
 | A neighbor called the old woman from
 the fence, and she left the two at the steI
 to reply.
 50 you heard a great deal about Shorty's
 wit, did you?' asked the big man in low | voice.
 70, yesi The way he talked about her
 to the men made every one of them better
 to their wives. He just held she was the
 salt of the earth, and that no one could
 be good enough to his wife and children 1 It done the men good than ten l preachers MT. Campbell" 1 And yet" said Aleck Campbell, gently | Shorty had no wife. It all joke. '' l What" she cried, in sudden anger. l That's right" he replied Shorty lis l tened to so much praise of certain Lucy l that he had to match her by pretending | he had finer wife. He didn't have
 could mt have I know that" l How do you know that?" she asked 1 tremulously
 l Don't you know? I thought you did. l Why, Lucy, I'm Shorty himself!'