Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-08-17
The Daily Short Story
Mr.. Tibbs' Washday.


her hands from the suds and felt or
her crimping pins TO make sure that
none OF them had slipped out, for the
sewing society met that afternoon, and
she wanted TO look well, and she re-
marked with emphasis that ''she wish
ed to heavens that 1t didn't always
blow like sixty on washing days" And
she added as a meteorological fact that
1T blowed last Monday and a week
ago last Monday too"
Tibbs scratched his head and gave
vent to his perplexed state OF mind by
exclaiming, WAL, by jimby, ] don't
see what a man can do"
I'll tell you what to do" said Mrs.
Tibbs, whirling the clothes wringer
round with will as she ground out
the grist of Tibbs' shirts and drawers
into the clothes basket. You go and
put mp that clothesline and hang out
them clothes. The wind blows enough
TO take n woman right off her feet"
Tibbs rose reluctantly. All men dread
the clothesline racket. 1t is trying to
the masculine nerves. Tibbs put his
hand to his back and volunteered the
information that he guessed he was
into his spine"
Mrs. Tibbs was not in the slightest
degree interested i'm Mr.. Tibbs' gloomy
antlcipations, but went on wrestling
with the the clothes wringer and spat-
tering the soapsuds in every direction.
Mr.. Tibbs put on his hat, buttoned
his coat. tied his neck up in a red muf-
fer and shivered. Seems to me-" he
remarked, that / feel touch of that
old sciatica in my hip joint
Now, you put that clothesline up
tight" said Mrs. Tibbs, entirely ignor-
ing his observation. Last week the
sheets dragged on the ground, and
had TO rinse 'em over. Pull it tight.
Mind the hooks don't come out of the
posts. Be careful of it where it's tied.
Put up the oldest part of the line under
the pear tree for the towels and don't
go to hanging out them clothes in none
Of your slipshOd ways, Tibbs. Hang all
the stockings feet down. Put Annie's
flannel petticOat in the sun and hang it
square. Pull them tablecloths out
around the hens after you get 'em on
to the line. Pin the colored things on
with them oldest clothespins or they'll
mildew the white things. Hang that
ragged sheet under the shirts SOS the
holes won't show. Folks is allus star
ing at a clothesline. Put that embroid-
cred nightgown of mine next to the
street Mind. now, and not set the
basket SOS it'll tip over
And in the midst OF il Tibbs went
out with n bag of clothespins and the
line in one hand and the basket bal
anccd on the opposite hip and the wa
ter which the wringer had not squeezed
our running down over his leg in little
rills. There had been some snow, and
then, by way of variety, there had been
some rain, and then 1t had frozen. and
the footing was exceedingly slippery
and insecure. Tibbs soon found that
beyond a doubt that passage of Scrip
ture which tells us that the feet of the
wicked stand on slippery places is
true. He had great difficulty i'm pre-
venting himself from going down the
side hill, where the clothes posts were
located, faster than he wanted. OF
course the line was fun of kinks, which
is the family trait of clotheslines, and
Tibbs skinned his hands 10y pulling the
line through them to get out the kinks.
and when he got mad and banged the
board on which the offending line was
wound against the wood Pile he barked
his knuckles and tore off one corner
of his thumb nail
Mrs. Tibbs and her cousin. Sally
Green. who had dropped in for a morn
ing call, were looking out of the win
dow to see how lie was getting along.
and they both laughed at his mishap
and said that was just like n man.
Mr.. Tibbs got desperate. He took his
pOcsetknife and severed the line in it's
kinkiest part, and, having tied up one
piece of ii. he began to hang up the
clothes. He had his mouth full of
clOthespins, just as he had noticed Mrs.
Tibbs always had her mouth on such
occasions, and he slapped the clothes
on TO the line with n will.
Up few the kitchen window, and Mrs.
Tibbs stuck out her head.
Turn that shirt t'other side up.
Don't hang them sheets by the cornersI
Put the towels on the old line! Don't
hang them flannel drawers of Toms
up by the legsi Pull out that edging
on Mary AIMS skirt, Look out, there
you've stepped right into the clothes
basket What fools men arei know
ed you'd make a mess of it! 1 wish I'd
hung 'em up myself If L had blowed to
Guinea in doing it,
Tibbs discharged the clothespins and
began to swear. 1t relieved his mind.
He got the other piece of line and fas-
tened one end of it to the post, then he
gave n good pull on it to make sure it
was tight, and it parted amidships, and
the sudden let go upset Tibbs' equilib- !
rum, and in spite of himself he went |
rolling down the icy hill like an empty |
flour barrel.
Mrs. DOnovan's pet goat was enjoy |
ing a little feast on n batch of old to- |
mato cans and some discarded Oilcloth |
half way down the hill, and |
when she saw Tibbs coming she quit |
the oilcloth and charged on him, with |
all her batteries open. so to speak.
1t was an exciting scene, and it was |
made still more so by the appearance |