The National tribune., 1903-06-04

1.-The trouble with Petesi Is that his moth
er didn't spank him enough when he was
little" declared Mrs. Klegg' with some irri-
tation, for intuitively she knew that
| Maria would have bad half hour over
the publicity given hers and her lovers af-
fairs, and she felt like giving Pete what
his mother had withheld n He was yet .'lit-
| tie" enough, SO far. as that was concerned,
| and not nearly as old in act as he was in
years. IF you see the little scamp. you
just send him right here to me-" she said
| to the Lieutenant, who still stood with cap
in hand. casting admirins glances at the
| two girls, particularly at Maria, whose
| cheeks riyalled the big cabbage roses she
was trying to arrange in a deep dish, and
out of which they would tumble in spite
Of her care.
Certainly. Madam" responded the
Lieutenant heartily: IF You say SO, III
| have Pete put in the guard house for an
hour or two. You know it will not be hard
to trump up something to discipline him
| for, and he is always getting into mischief
when idle. He and the crowd he runs with
| are just about enough convalescent now to
turn camp into an inferno out of pure
| love of being busy"
"Oh, no; don't put the poor little fellow
in the guard house," begged Maria, her
heart in her mouth. "Guard hOuse. Why
it seemed something unspeakably awful to
| her and Annabel. IF you will send him
| round to us, we will discipline him." she
added with a smile that finished the cap
| ture of the Lieutenant.
"And have you any other word to send
to the General he asked, turning to Mrs.
Klegg.
"Why, yes" she answered heartily;
| 'thank him for his interest in my daugh-
ter, and tell him that if he would just run
| in and call on us, that me and the Deacon
and the girls would be right glad to see
him. Not that this is much of place to
have callers, but, of course, You know we
amt expected to have things here like
| they are at home" .-
"a house is fully furnished that has
women in it." replied the Lieutenant gal
lantly. 'You can't understand, Mrs.
Klegg," he added earnestly, what gleam
of sunshine good woman is to the poor
devils down here. Why. / know that there
have been many deaths because the sol
| diers wanted mother, sister, or wife, and
| could not have them, SO their hearts
broke" g. req --,'e-.-- l'
| ''That's just dreadful" broke in Maria,
the tears yelling up in her eyes, while
| Annabel went white as the apron she
| wore. "Well, we amt going to let 81 and
Will die that way. Ma kind of thought
| that 1 oughtn't to come, when things
wasn't really settled between me and Will,
but knew how we felt toward each other,
| friends dying of q broken heart because
the baby he had never seen had died, and
he grieved himself to his grave for sight
of his poor little wife. nost cried my.
self sick over that, and ] said that if
ever VIII got s..ck"- al
Then she paused in confusion. She was
actually making confident of an utter
stranger, but the Lieutenant saw no i'm.
propriety in what she had revealed. "Yon
he replied emphatically. :aGen. McGiiii.
cuddy says that if you ladies' had not
come down-that Sergts. Klegg and Elliott
would have slid out OF life without an eff
fort. Everybody in camp is interested in
their welfare and delighted to see them
improving so fast. The Surgeon says that
all the boys in the hospital have improved
wonderfully since you came" @
I'm so glad we could do something" re-
piled Maria modestly, "and-and you have
all of you been so kind to u.s." she added
| impetuously. Il can see now that women
in camp must be dreadfnl'nuisance-' :
"Mis' Klcsg."fsaid a fatty -unctuous voice
at the door behind Annabel, ''De gem,
man in de udda room what 'dey. cal
81, say he all want his wife, and de Doc.
tor he say tell Mis- Klegg he want her to
hep dress de mans leg what's shot off
an / dom know which Mis- Klegg all
whose. but reckon's yOn'alls knows" and
Elephant waddled away while the two
Mis-" Kleggs excused themselves and
left the room. The Lieutenant had started
two or three times, but came back to talk
about nothing at all, but finally he got
away, and Maria turned her attention to
the aIl-important subject that was just al
that moment filling everybody's mind. the
wedding. She had been turned out of the
| hospital till the Surgeon had made the
rounds and the patients had all been at
| tended to, for, being unmarried, she might
! not remain, as Annabel could. She had
chafed under the restriction, but gave in
at last, when the Deacon set his foot
down.
"Who will marry us? Where shall II
take place? Shall we have any wedding
supper? If we do, Of what shall it con
sist? Would VIII be so weak that he
would have to sit, or could she come in on
his arm!" All these questions and fully
dozen more were fitting through heI
brain when her mother returned. MA
do you suppose we can have anything tG
eat at the wedding?" she asked anxiously
To eat on all occasions. christenings, wed
dings, funerals, it made no matter what
was one of-the cardinal virtues, and to
question the feasibility of providing feast
on the occasion of the wedding of the old
est daughter of the house was to Mrs
Klegg almost as sacrilegious as denying
that there was personal hell
"Well. don't suppose We can have
much of q supper or dinner or whatever
it may be. such as we would have at home
but we will have cake anyhow. 1t wouldn't
seem like a wedding without cake"
Maria frightened visibly. 81 thought
mebbe you would think like that, but
don't want to make any trouble. Could We
have more than one kind. do you think
MAJ. I'd like fruit cake"--
j 20, ny! we can't have no fruit cake
down here" replied Mrs. klegg decidedly
'.They aint no time to make it and get
it good and meller. Why, wedding fruit
cake ought to be baked month before
baked your pas and mine nearly six
weeks before" she added reminiscently
81 remember just how that cake looked
1t was so big that had to bake it in sec
tions and pile them on top Of each other
and the frosting! My, Maria, you just
ought to have seen that frosting. l made
it myself 1t took the whites Of two dozen
eggs, and a dreadful lot of powdered SUI
gar, and put it Oh two inches thick.
had some of the fruit cake for the com
pany the day that 81 was baptized, and
your pa ct the last of itdhe day you was
born" tsd
"But Ma" said Maria persuasively. 81
can make it myself by that receipt that
Uncle Daniel brought from London and
said was Queen Victurys own receipt
Il.