The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1904-12-22

six years previous to this new year to-
| Cay. 1t didn't matter if it were five or
slx,-or seven or eight,-so long as you
subtracted four of the years The "sig-
nal CODE was in the back of all the rest.
Desire turned the pages to it with trem-
ulous fingers. She read it aloud as if to
Roxy:
| "Red-trouble. Come over.
White-all's we'll
Blue-nothing but rheumatism VIII
come over as soon as it clears off,
| Green-come to tea Have made pork
cake
| The little code" ran on through one
or two more colors But Desires eyes
went back. to the first and third signals.
'Red-trouble. Come over" and tnen
| the third with it's quaint ending-Desire
smiled over that. She and Delight had
/ always spoken of their rheumatism as
clearing off,, instead of getting we'll
| She and Delight had always had rheuma-
| tlsm; 1t had been a strong connecting
| link between them always. Delight had
inherited hers from her mother,-Desire
laugh and say they couldn't see that
| there was much choice between the fem
| mime kind and the masculine! Both of
| EN- hurt!
How often they used to laugh! That
was another connecting link. When they
were little bits. they had cried together
over their names and made long lists of
the beautiful ''poetry-names" they
longed for, on the walls of Delights shed
-Isobel -Ethelind ,-Jeannette, -Maude
Mathilde, how they had pored over the
lovely names and chosen" again and
again! But when they grew older, they
had laughed over the quaint old names
their mothers had put their heads to-
gether and given them. For they had
been named on the same day, when they
| lay, little red-faced, squirming morsels
In the same big cradle. The mothers
had waited until they were a monii old
! and then met together for mutual coun-
sell
"Red,-trouble. Come over" Desire
| shut up the diary sharply, but the words
kept saying themselves os er and over to
her. Che could not forget them. or
course it was a spot in the red table
| cloth, drying in the sun, but it kept OF
saying: Trouble. Come over, !" '.Trou-
| BILE. Come over, all the morning. 1t
/ took the pleasure out of the sunshine and
| clear, sweet air,-the soft, new-fallen
snow and the CHEEKY calls of the chfcka-
dees,-out of the whole bright New
Years day. Even Roxy could not settle
down to her alternate maps and placid
meditations in the sunny window She
| followed her uneasy mistress about,
uneasy, too, and full of wistful sympathy
But Roxy was wise and said nothing.
Some things tbs better not even to purr
to one another.
Four years ago trivial misunder-
| standing had separated these two lonely
women. 1t had not amounted to much in
the beginning.-a little grievance only,
but with true New England pertinacity
they had chung each to her own hurt,
nursing it into vigorous life It was
| four years old now. The narrow width
of country roadway thatran between
the two little brown houses might have
been the breadth of the sea.
Ill the early afternoon, Desire and
Roxy had New Years callers. The min
lister came first and prayed with them in
his simple, heartfelt way. He thanked
the Lord for peace and goodwill on
earth,-for the pleasant old year and
the beautiful beginning Of the new one.
It WIS grateful, comforting prayer:
there was nothing in it about misunder-
standings and trouble and rheumatism.
Then the doctors wife came in with
her baby, and stayed long enough to
patch pair Of little stockings. Then
Mrs. Deacon Blinn came,-then Hosy
Todds two little girls, last of all, laugh
ing Jefy Rand.
Merry Chris mean Happy New
Year," laughed Jeffy Thought I'd
come al wish 1t. I've been to all the
this-side-o' -the-street houses up to here.
an I'm comm back on the other side
'xceptin' shan't go to folly Wallace's
house"
Why not to Tolly's, Jeffy p
Jeffy laughed. he always laughed.
" Cause we've fell out, he said, cheer.
lily. You don't go to folk s houses you've
fell out with an wish em Happy New
Years. do you7"