The Minneapolis journal., 1902-07-25

by Rodney McCune, tae local "boss," and
haa sdaof as
Of the legislature for vote for street car
franchise, and. after stormy interview in the
county By declaring that he had decided to
withdraw from politics. The editor or the
Herald rescues an old man named Fisoee from
a gang Of toughs and takes him home and
the next day employs him on the Herald.
j.. i CHAPTER IL.
v'' The Strange Lady.
It was June From the patent inner col
unns of the Carlow County Herald might be
CLEANED the information (enlivened by cuts
of duchesses) that the London season had
reached a high point of gaiety; and tnat,
although the weather had grown inauspi-
ciously warm. there was sufficient gossip FOR
the thoughtful. To the rapt mind OF Miss
Selma TIbhs came delicious moment OF
comparison precisely the same conditions
prevailed in Plattvtlle. .-.,-.-.
Not un6uly nigh: Miss Selma lay this fiat
teriug urotion 20 her soul, and we'll might
z she iIerald 'aeolare that Carlow events were
crowding thick, and fast" The congress
sional representative of the district was to
deliver o. lecture at the Courthouse; circus
was approaching the county seat, and its
glories would 10 exhibited rain or shine;
the court had cleared UP the docket by SIT
ting to unseemly hours OF the night, even
until 10 o'clock-one farmer witness had
fallen asleep while deposing that he "had
knowed this man Hender some eighteen
years"-and. as excitements come indeed
when they do come. and it seldom rains but
II pours, the Identical afternoon OF the lee
ture strange lady descended from the
sRouen Acconlm odation and was greeted on
the platform by the wealthfest citizen OF the
county. Judge lBriscoe. and his daughter, Min
ME, and. (what stirred wonder to an itch al
Nv HNc1,a md
they then drove through town on the way to
the Briscoe mansion. all four, apparently, In
huttar of pleasure and exhilaration, the
strange iady engaged in earnest conversa-
tion with Mr, Fisbee on the back seat
Judd Bennett had had the best stare at her,
4abnt, as he Immediately fell into dreamy
; and absent state little satisfaction could be
got from him, merely an exasperating state
snsnt that the stranger seemed to have
g kind OF new look to her. However, by means
:, 70 Miss Mildly Upton, domestic Of the Bris-
coe household, the community was given
something little more definite. The ladys
name was Sherwood; she lived in Rouen;
and she had known Miss Briscoe at the east
ern school the latter had attended Ito the
feverish agitation OF Plattville) three years
before; but Mildly confessed her inadequacy
IN the matter OF Mr.. Fisbee. He had driven
j. up In the blackboard with the others and evil
4 IDENTIFY expected to stay for supper. Mr..
Tfbba the postmaster Git was to the post
. Office that Miss Upton brought her informa-
:. tion) suggested, as a possible explanation,
Of Miss Mildly Upton, domestic of the Bris-
i Goes had invited Fisbee on the ground Of his
z being the only person in Plattville they es-
teemed wise enough to converse with her;
. but Miss Tfbbs wrecked her brothers theory
( by mentioning the name Of Fisbee's chief,
.nYou see, Solomon" she sagaciously OBJ
: served, "if that were true, they would have
invited him instead Of Mr.. Fisbee, and
q: wish they had He isn't troubled with ma
lara and yet the longer he lives here the
. saliower- looking and sadder-looking he gets.
/ / think the company Of lovely stranger
: might he of great cheer to his heart, and 1T
: will be interesting to witness the meeting
j between them 1t may be- added the poet
= ess, that they have already met, on his
travels before he settled here. 1t may be
that they are old friends-or even more
.tThen what returned her brother. what
is ne don' settin' up in his office all after
noon with ink on his forehead, while Fis-
: bee goes out ridn' with her and stays for
supper afterwards?"
: AIthou ghAthe problem Of Fisbee's attend
: ance remained mere maze Of hopeless
: speculation, Mildly had been present at the
: opening Of Miss sherwoods trunk, and here
was matter for the keen consideration of the
ladies, at least. Thoughtful conversations in
regard to hats and Innings took place across
fences and on corners of the Square that
afternoon; and many gentlemen wondered
Tin wise slence) why their spouses were alb
sent-nninded and brooded during the evening
:. meal.
snt At thalf-past seven the Hon. Hedge Hal
. loway of Amo delivered himself of his lee
:lre: THE Past and Present. What We
May Clean from Them, and Their Influence
On the Future At seven the courtroom
was crowded, and Miss Tibbs, seated on the
platform (reserved for prominent citizens),
! viewed the e1pectant throng with rapture
It 10 possible that she would have confessed
to witnessing sea OF faces, but it is more
probable that she viewed the expectant
throng The thermometer stood at 81 de
grees and there was rustic of necessarily
; moving palm-leaf fans as. row by row, their
yellow sides, twinkled in the light of eight
oil lamps. The stouter' ladies welded thei1
fans with. vigor. There were some very pref
ty faces in Mr. Eialloway's audience, but II
:; is a regularity OF Plattville that most o1
Nl those females who do not incline to stoutness
incline far In the opposite direction, and the
fElear ladies naturally suffered less from the
temperature than their sisters The shorr
,siaInb is cared for, but often there seems the
Intention to innpart moral in the refusal o.
Ii sProyidencer to temper warm weather to the
ful.-hodied. -'' >''''' - .'
e : Old Tom. Martin expressed strong con
soiousness Of such intention when he observed
q to the shocked Miss Selma. as MIR. Bill
Snoddy, the stoutest citizen Of the county
wadd1cd abnormally up the aisle: 'The Al
mighty must be g.ttin' heap Of fun out o
4 Bill snoddy tonight" 49,
s tsOh,#s Mr,G Martini exclaimed Miss Tibbs
nutterlng at his irreverence. :. = 49,. -.
z ASss.Wrhy,- you would yourself Miss Seliny,
returned. old Tom. Mr.. Martin always spok
in one key, never altering the pitch of hi
high dry, unctuous drawl. though, when hi
purpose was more than ordinarily humorous
his voice assumed a shade of melancholy
New. and then he meditatively passed hi
fingers through his gray beard, which fol
lowed the line Of his jaw, leaving his uppe
lip and sraost Of his chin smooth -shaven
Did syou over reason out why folks laugh s.
much at fat people?" he continued. s'No
8 na'nrn. Neither'd anybody else.'
4 why is It, Mr.. Martini asked Miss Selma
s.It,s like the Creators sayin', Let ther
4be light He says, Let ladies be lovely
Miss Ijbbs bowed)-"and Let rnen-folks b
Observation-Disclosures and, Let fat people b
hcli up to ridcule till they fall Off Yo
canss tell why it is; 1t was jest ordaine
thAt-a-way."' !" s.2s --. II,
The rooc1 was so crowded that the juyenil
portion OF the aasemblage was esconced in til
I windows Strange to say, the youth Of Plat
& Wiley not present under protest.: as thei
lectures being we'll understood by the youn
Of great cities to have Instructive tendencies
The boys came tonight because they insiste
upon coming. It was an event Some {
thara had made sacrifices to come, endurin
even the agony (next to hair cutting !
ss,lffering) of having their ears washed. Con
= & f.-.. .a>I1