News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1902-09-24

ready"
AS they trudged homeward together
neither of the women spoke WheI
they had entered the store, Mrs. White
kind paused where Ike was weighing
some bags of corn and leaned against
the scale beam so heavy that the scale
rolled from her.
81 do declare" she painted as she
watched Tabitha's gaunt form disap
pear through the curtains into the sit
ting room.--"I declare that gal has had
lot more to put up with than heap
Of us ever dreamt Of" Then she left
Ike with his sheet of brown paper, his
stub pencil and column of figures,
and, going into the kitchen, she began
to watch the Murray cottage through
the window.
The bell was changing out its first
summons to meeting on the third Sun
day morning of the Rev. Mr.. Murray S
honeymoon. In dressing gown and
slippers he sat at his desk, big Bible
on his knees, making notes on a sheet
of paper. His wife sat at the little
window against the glass of which the
white jasmine vines, blown by the
wind, were fitfully tapping.
They had been talking about the plan
for the purchase of the parsonage hav-
ing fallen through. She was sure, she
admitted, that it was due solely to the
ugly rumor set afioat by that meddle-
some envious Tabitha Bogsworth, and
as she recounted skillfully many ficti-
tious instances of Tabitha's meanness
Mrs. Murray rubbed her eyes faith
fully on her apron. When they grew
red, the Rev. Mr.. Murray waxed sym
pathetic and valiant He had been
proud of his wife-so proud that he
forgot the disparity between his age
and hers-ever since she had shown
him the proposals Of marriage from
the brainiest, most conservative citi-
zen of the village, and he plumed him
self, boy that he was, on having won
wife against such a rival.
give been wondering" he said eff
could not do something from the pull
pit to stop this report, to convince my
people of the untruth of it."
In her excitement she ceased rubbing
her eyes.
Il wonder if you couldn't" she re-
sponded, half hopefully.
''If only knew more about Tabitha."
he said refiectively as he closed the
Bible and laid it on the desk. But the
people seem pretty well convinced of
her honest belief in what she saw that
night, though some of them admit that
she might have been mistaken"
Mrs. Murray turned her face to the
window and eyed the slow swinging of
the jasmine vine for a moment, look
of weighty indecision on her face
Presently she plunged into the iniquity
she had already carefully planned.
y"If Tabitha Bogsworth had only
known that the paper | burned that
night was to save her from being talk
ed about" said Mrs. Murray in a stud
led regularity of tone, "she would new
er have spoken of it for anything on
earth. She may have thought it was
my husbands will"
"The paper you burnedw cried the
minister. why
"No; l did net tell you about it,"
broke in Mrs. Murray, because it was
not my secret, and Mr.. Menefee seemed
so anxious to keep it from being
known. l am afraid that even now |
have no right to tell you about it."
But" protested the preacher, eff it
ho1, TO ,,1t Il bo 11cJy re-
about you, why, you ought to speak, to
me at least. Is it possible that all this
time you have been shielding another,
and a person, too, who has injured you
in the eyes of the public"
Mrs. Murray's little laugh had no
more naturalness in it than the song
of a mechanical hooking bird, but it
furnished true music to her husbands
ears.
"Yes," she said, with little shrug of
her shoulders; Il have been trying to
shield Tabtha all this time. If | had
explained at first, the story of the de-
stroyed will would never have been cir
culated."
"Tell me all about it," he said eager
ly as he bent over her and touched her
hair gently
She laughed again, this time not so
freely, for she was busy formulating
the lie upon the success of which de
pended, she felt, her success or down
fall in the village.
81 do not want to cause you to think
i'll of the woman" she said to gain
time
81 cannot think worse than do" he
said.
"Well, I'll tell you," she agreed. est |
down and do not touch me. 1t makes |
me nervous. You have heard that Tab
itha was in love with Mr. Menefee
and wanted to marry him?"
The preacher nodded. 1t was plain |
that the subject was an unpleasant |
one to him.
"Well," resumed Mrs. Murray, "even |
after we were married she followed |
Joe (Mr. Menefee) with constant re-
proaches. She wrote to him almost |
every week, although he never an
swered her letters. He showed me-
the speakers voice Jagged as if her in |
were slow-'he showed me |
every one. They were the silliest |
things you ever saw, threatening sui |