The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1901-02-09
.66e Lost
Valentine

Miss Lavinia Dart was in her kitchen
one morning in February.
Miss Lavinia rarely lost, her self
poise under any circumstances, and
she had not, at the age of forty-siz
years, become the victim of that STAY
~er of peace and happiness of woman
kind-nerves.
She's the easiest person to fit in
this town." said Miss Dodd, the Har-
leyville dressmaker. can she's dread
ful tasty" +
Then Miss Dodd, having once "got
started" on the subject of Miss LAWN
ia, would go on and say: I'D jest
liie to know why she never got mar
ried. I've often been on the point Of
askin' her, but somehow I could
quite fetch myself to it."
1t was well enough that Miss Dodd
sconld not quite "fetch" herself to the
point of questioning Miss Lavinia re-
garding any possible lover of the past,
for there were limitations to Miss La
winia's patience and g%entleness, and
those limitations were reached when
one attempted to take liberties with
her private affairs.
Presently there wa a knock on the
kitchen door, and when Lavinia opened
1T the Widow Rice, elderly, uncomfort-
ably stout, and in manifest perturba-
ton Of spirit, entered the kitchen.
Dropping heavily into a small rock
tng-chair near the shining stove. and
allowing the shawl she had thrown
over her head to slip to her shoulders.
she said gaspingly and with a sug-
sestion Of tears in her voice:
II do mo- what you'll think, Laviny
Dart; I do mo what you'll think, but
it want his fault. He couldn't help
dt-poor man! It want his fault that
his sled overturned on the way home,
an he never spoke again after they got
i'm to the house. I don't see as you
can blame him none or me either. I
do no. when I've been so upset by
anything, Laviny."
What is it, Mrs. Rice?" asked La
vinia. II have not the least idea of
what you are talking about"
Il don't suppose you do, Laviny. I'm
go upset I hardly know myself what
I'm sayin'. But I guess it'd give most
anybody a queer urn to find that they'd
had something ten years that didn't
blong to 'em, an that the owner ought
to of had years an years ago. That's
what's happened to me, an the thing
I've had belongs to you"
ITO me?" Z
eyes, to you, Laviny Dart"
ut cannot be anything Of any con-
sequence"
II hope it amt. I'm sure I do. But
this mornin' I went up into my attic
to look round for more cloth to finish
up a quilt. I opened an old red chest
that I've KEEP some o. my poor hus-
bands clothes in aver since he died,
because I kind O. hated to cut 'em up
Or give 'em away an see somebody
else wearing them. The very first
thing I took out was the coat my hus-
band had worn the day he met with
the accident that caused his death. The
sleeves an collar were SO moth-eaten
that I made up my mind that I might
as well cut 1t up an use what was
good Of It for the quilt. So I took it
an some other things downstairs an
was shakin' them out in the wood
shed. / picked up the coat an was
shakin' it mighty hard when the old
linn broke loose in one place an out
dropped a letter! Yes. Laviny Dart,
Z letter addressed to you!"
II Tt me?"
To you! I never was 80 set back
IN anything in my life! Topped right
down on pile q wood an tried TO
puzzle It ali out, an II didn't take me
treat while til do sit Yon know
thew that, q Iisyin' right across the.