The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1903-12-03


peesuaAod. however. lat Il would
never - eaten. She went about ~
wort = dfSyeoEysU(nner. 6tle
ands Cit kiv&y 6 the ~
tie GDcl With alclS1 mjIrif1 ON. N
cardossssOf tn ps1F6e tn
Mr.. Potter carried IN armful Of green
corn into the kitchen, and laid 1t upon
. bsnch by the door, thsn started on
his way to. the injured haYrack. 81
Crash! crash! brNr-r-rap! Mr.. Pot.
ter, half way to the barn, turned quick-
II ut the thunderous noise, and looked
toward the house. A thick. dust Wa
Z - nom The ,kitshpa dor. and
FROM out the clou came. Ssswoman.s
.crfes~ and psnt lions.y Heavens!
Was Jabe Garner right after all. and
had the disintegration Of the world be-
Sni1 Yet there had been no shock.
md the cattle in q field ,close ~ were
eroysing contentedly. eyincing no
dgnsp Of fear. With 10 few rapid
strides, Mr.. Potter reached the kitchen
door. John hurrying after. 3
Upon the floor sat Mrs. Potter, ! pic
.ture OF helpless, hopeless woe. Her
anpearancegwasenough 10 bring laugh
ter from a. craven image. In her lap
WIS Eoodlysssupply Of fried potatoes,
her clothes were dripping with milk,
while numerous strips and triangles Of
wall paper lent additional decoration
to her garments. Her eys6s were full
sof dust, which she waayeinly endeav-
oring to remove with aacorner Of her
milk-aoaked apron. From the table
ran thin streams OF syrup, gravy and
pepper sauce. Tho dishes were in .
state of chaos, most OF than being
broken. Utter ruin seemed to pervade
tho kitchen. .ss
Its a-comin'! It's a-cofniu'!", walled
,Mr1. Potter. The eartbzis bein' swat
Tered up, and the heavens rolled to-
gether like . scroll. The Lord have
mercy on us Ill! OUGHT" The TERMED
woman had placed her hand upon . hot
frying pan that Icy at Mr. side.
Come. seiry," said her husband.
trying Ito suppress his laughter, "get
up. This amt no earthquake; It's
jest some Of that shit les Jabe Car
ner's poor work. Look at the collin.
Bout seven ton Of plaster's fell on.
It's a.mercy you wal 'tS4uashed flat.''
He helped his wife to her feet, and
O. she ut last got the dust from her
eyes, and beheld the condition De her
kitchen, q change came Over. her. The
fear Of being suddenly launched into
another world. passed away and she
again beheld things in their true light.
She glanced, little nervously, per.
haps, at the clock, and said, Good
land! Silas, don't stand there as if
yon was made Of wood. Get to work
and help me clean up this muss. John,
you get the shovel and 4 bushel basket.
My, don't I wish't that Garner was here
now!" She gazed at the wreckage
about her in manner that BODIED no
good to the visionary Jahe.s
It was ten o'clock before breakfast
was served in the Potter kitchen that
August day, but the meal Wa an ex-
cellent one, Notwithstanding; Its late-,
ness. Mrs. Potter was almost as ac-
tive and cheerful as before the blight
ing .'prophecy,' came to town. No
reference was made 70, the sArthquake.
ssVsilsl 55otncs, when John slyly remarked,
ma, don't YOU notice that it's con-
siderably past eight o'clock?"
:, His mother. made no reply, but mere
~ passed him the cookies.
John and Mary were married in Oc-
tober and moved lntoSa pretty cottage
just across the street from the elder
Potters' home. Mrs. Potter. her nerves
,oncesmore in a perfectly normal state,
found much to admire in her daugh-
ter-in-law; and often declared that as
an all-afound sensible woman Johns
wife was a shining example. She said
the young lady's equal didn't live in
shuter's Corners, and that when John
took fancy to Mary Rogers. he
showed excellent judgment. Orange
Judd Farmer. -.