Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-05-19
DAILY SHORT STORY
Beating About the Bush.
IOriginal.l

WY didn't We ever marry, MT.
Parker? If yed "a taken a wife ten
years ago ye'd "a had n nice family |
now instead of livin' alone on yer fine
farm
az came very near marryin' onct, |
Sally. l mismanaged the thing at the
start
"How's thatY
al was workin' fur Mr.. Noble at the |
time, and one day he said to me, says
he: Parker, l wish yed git married, |
cause woman would be handy about
the place. / don't mean n servant; one
to call on occasionally for job
II was jest a-startin' out to trim the
hedge and stood with the shears in my
hand thinkin' on what he'd said.
al reckon that's good idee, Mr.
Noble l tole him, AN idee that's oc-
Cured to me quite frequent of late.
Fact is, thurs a young gal been
thinkin of askin' TO marry me fur some
time
"'Have ye done any courtin'" he
asked.
why. no. 1 hain't no good at
courtin' nohow. Anybody marrics me
III hev to do it without courtin.
"'Well. Parker, in some cases where
practical women are concerned l don't
| know but it's just as welltto tell yer
story offhand as to beat about the
bush. Who's the girl?
THE young schoolteacher that start
ed in last fall-Miss Field
what he says, surprised like.
Miss FieldT
Yes 1 says. Dye think she's too
good fur me?'
'Shes the one to decide that. Parker.
1t wouldn't be right fur me to express
an opinion. The only way We can do
is To put the case TO her and let her tell
We herself"
He went into the house lookin'. sort
| o queer. and | worked on the hedge
| all day. That evenin' L concluded to
| try my luck with the schoolteacher.
| So l puts on my store clothes and
starts roun' to Deacon Weeks. where
! she was boardin' The twilight was
| still on. and she was a-sittin' on the
| porch all alone Thur was Il smell o.
roses in the air and Il half moon in the
| sky. She was a-readin a book, but
when she see me she laid it down and
| give me Il welcOmin' smile.
How d. do. Mr. Parker?' she said.
with the sweetest voice in the world.
II stood kind o awkward-like, and to
help me on she asked who I'd come to
see. and when l toie her I'd come to
see her she asked me to sit down.
Then. rememberin' what Mr.. Noble
said about not beaIin' round the bush,
1 begun.
"'AIiss Field 1 says, I was d -talkin'
| with Mr.. Noble bout my takiH'
| wife. He thinks one ii be handy bout
the place. He advised me TO 60 right
to the girl l wanted and tell her. l
tole him that you was my choi2e, but
that l thought you might be too good
fur me. He said you was the one to
decide that
"Fust off she turned sort o pale; then
the color come rushin' up into her
cheeks $ if cock he'd been turned on
inside her Gurus, l thought, how
some wimmen II be taken aback by
anything student. After all, it might
"a been better to "a done little pre-
v'us beaSin' bout the bush.
81 hope 1 hain't said nothin' that
shouldn't "A said l stammered.
.'Not at ALL she answered me. gath
erin herself together. You have paid
me n very high compliment, but l con-
fess 1 don't like Mr.. Mobiles taking it
upon himself to instruct you in the af-
fair
I'm sorry l mentioned him.
There's no harm done. After all,
Mr.. Noble has nothing 20 do with the
matter; nothing at all. You have made
me proposition and are entitled to
an answer. You can tell Mr.. Noble,
who has thought proper to attempt to
secure me for a handy person, that a
previous
At thought We said Mr. Noble he'd
nothin to do with it."
you're right: so he hasn't. Well,
then, while l feel very much cOmpli-
mented. l must decline your PROPOSE
ton. 1 shall always think of you kind
" and remember how you have hon
ored me-"
Then L went away. 1 was dead GER
tain that I'd made her mad by bringin'
in Mr.. Noble. After all, that was beat
in about the bush. The next mornin'
as he was drivin' out o. the place 1 tole
him I'd done the job. He pulled in and
asked me all about it. ] repeated what
we said as well as l could remember
and tole him I'd made q mistake by
bringin' him into it.
"'Perhaps you did. Parker he said
after listenin' to it all mighty interest
ed, but since the lady has a previous
attachment that would have beaten
you anyway
"'He drove off lookin' mighty glum.
Fact is he seemed to take my failure
as bad s If he'd made it himself. I'd
seen 'em more or less together that
spring, but never ag'in till the next
fall. Then l see 'em walkin' down by
the river side. Mr.. Noble was a-bend-
in over her and talkin' mighty earnest,
while she was a-lookin' the other way.
lies a-tfyin' to undo what he done
| f1r me as we'll as himself, said-