The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1905-12-22
AMa,rimoniialS Sand Bar

its trials aud tribulatlons 1t was Miss
Mary Jones. splnster, who came over
ana took charge OF things for three or
four DAYS. She had known the deacon
ana his wife for several years, and II
was reported that when the wife found
herself dying she said 10 Mary
II am going to that better land.
am glad on my own account that am
going, but sorry on Samuefs, He VIII
be left all alone and how he will gel
his shirts washed, his cooking done and
his bed made don't know. You must
he KIND 10 him. Mary, and year or
so after am gone should he ask you
! should he ask you
| Bur she got no further. After the
| funeral and as the weeks Went by
| SOME folks interpreted this 70 mean
| that Miss Jones was TO marry the dea-
con if he asked her and others thai Sue
| was only TO oversee his house.
| For ten months the deacon himself
gave no sign OF how he personally in
| terpreted il. Then it was noticed that
he began to walk home with Mary
from church and prayer meeting and
pay her other little attentions. She
was living with brother who was
married, and by and by The deacon be-
came frequent caller When full
year had gone by Uncle Joe Tracy, who
was known to be pillar OF goodness
as well az the biggest gossip in the
country stopped the deacon on THE VII
lage street one day TO say:
Look a-here. Samuel, I'm a-hearin'
that you are sorter shinin' up 10 Mary
Jones
"WelI. it's my business If am" was
the blunt reply.
$50 ii. is, Samnel--so 1t il, but don't
YOU make no mistake on Mary Jones
She lived with US Tor four years when
she was 4 gal, and I'm tellln' you she's
got worse temper than sore footed
eat"
Il hain't seen no signs of IT.
"And mebbe you won't till you are
married, but lis there, just the same,
She's expectn' to marry you, and she's
as soft and smooth as 'lasses. but
when you are married 1t will be dill
fcreut hing She'll Ter her temper
loose ana make your hair stand up"
Il don't believe Il word OF it, and
don't thank We for your gossip" OBJ 1
served the deacon as he broke away.
one moonlight night a week after his |
talk with Uncle Joe the deacon invited I
the spinster out for row on the river /
1T wasn't much Of river nor much Of |
a boat. ana the deacon wasn't much of /
a hand at the oars, but ii seemed the /
proper thing to do under the roman /
tic occasion The whippoorwills were
singing, the harvest moon blinking aud /
the weeping Willows waving tkeir
phles la The soft night air as tlles sot
out, aud everything Wont vel for ten 1
minutes Then Miss Jones suddenly
discovered that the boat was leaking
ana that she had already got one OF her
feet wet. The deacon was sorry, bur as
far as he knew all rowbo.ts leaked,
aud people who went out in them bad 4
TO make the best Of IT, He bent to his 4
oars to keep time with the whippoor
wills, but he hadn't been rowing Ave
minutes when he nirted one Of them
ont of The water and ut the same time
fllrted about gallon of the briny over
Mary.
Deacon Bradshaw she called ont
as she rose up.
II am sorry, but couldn't help IT,"
"But you ought % have helped ii. 1t
was very clumsy in you. I'm al wet
through. and we must tmn back this
minute. | don't believe you know any
thing about Il boat.
III you hadn't been bobblng around
It wouldn't haze happened
81 wasn't bobbing around. | say |
want 10 60 right back home"
The deacon started to pull the boat
around aud lost an oar. In trying to
recover that one he not only came
within IN ace of upsettlng the boat, |
put lost the other
why don't you jump outi' shouted
he splnster at him
Because the water here Is over my
mead and I can't swim
Then what are we gong 10 al0F
Deacon Bradshaw, you are nothing but
/ blunderer"
Nobody could have done ans differ
mt. Yon were bobbing this way and
hat. and"
II wasn't bobbing, You ought TO be
Ishamed Of yourself to try to lay 1t on
o me. Amt you going TO do any
hing"
The only thing we can do is to wall
or the boat 10 drive ashore
And how long win that be;"
NO telling Ii you hadn't been talk
ng about the moonlight on the water I :
hOuld never have asked you 10 come
'ut rowing. / guess you'n get moon
light enough"
Miss Jones didn't answer this taunt.
HE kept getting madden and madden.
ut she concealed the fact until the
,oat finally grounded on sand bar In
nidstream. When they had both
crambled ashore she found her voice.
he called the deacon names until she
lad ratified of a hundred Of them. She
her pity for the wife dead
ID fearn VH mana r1ff. fnt fIta 70 - 3 T.