The newspaper., 1906-05-11
"MOURNFUL" MULLEN.
Concluded from last week.

sort of smelt trouble" he said apol-
ogetically and yet smacking his lips
over the word. land SO came in.
Your boss is cast" he said going on
to the stall.
"That's the word! That's the
word.'' cried the widow. you're a
real farmer. You know something.
Get him out OF it,"
AS nimbly as a grasshopper, Null
len clambered over the crib, sat upon
the animals head to render his strug-
giles futile and united the halter. The
horse scrambled up and went to
munching his hay.
"There's a man for you,' said the
widow, pointing at Mullen and
scowling at the Cap'n.
"Well, 1 guess that man that has
commanded a three. master thutty
years, with fist and marlinsp1ke,
is about as much account as
humped.over old land -lubber whenit
comes to scorin' p'ints,' retorted
the Cap'n, bridling.
on all L d ''-
amt fit to taller his boots' the
widow snapped.
The fact that any person could
class him below any human IN the
town of Smyrna-him, the skipper
that had been king of the coast
stirred all the old sea-dog' s pride and
resentment. He was about to enter
into vigorous expostulation, when
she picked up a hay-fork and drove
him out OF the barn-one vigorous
thrust that brought blood from his
tough palm showing him that she
meant business.
He heard her say once more to
Mullen: You're a real man, and
he shuffied down the road growing
oaths and meditating revenge.
''You're the man they call Mourn
full. amt you?" asked the widow,
when the two were alone.
"My name is Mister Andrew Null
len. and if the hectors in this place
have tackled any nickname onto me
they amt got any right to do 1t.
swell, all know is that they say
Won never laughed hearty in your
whole life, and / couldn' tnever stand
it to have a man like that hangin'
round much. No wonder yonr first
wife died."
"The folks that is allus goin' round
tee.heeing' amt got much brains
,,S,lx, he retOrtpd
"No slurs at me, she said smartly.
81 like fun, and / know just as much
as anyone. People that can't laugh
when there's call for it has got some
thing the matter with en- Then
she signified to Mullen that she had
enough of his society for that day,
and she did so by picking up hoe
and going out into the garden, leav-
ing him without n word.
Therefore the Cap'n trudged one
way, consumed by pique and rage
that woman should so slight him;
Mournful Mullen trudged the other
way, equally smarting under her
contempt.
And as the days went past that
feeling increased in each of those
rugged breasts, unuil it became a de-
sire to show the contemptuous wo-
man that they were no such persons
as she had imagined.
Now all that Smyrna understood
about the matter was that both
Cap'n Jotham Sprague and Mourn
full Mullen were showing attentions
to widow Briggs, running on her
errands. spelling her at her farm
work and in general acting out like
two rivals who were dead in love.
The Cap'n remained saturnine.
Mullen remained mournful.
So it came along into August when
the days were hot and muggy, and
the flies pestered the bald-heads, and
the careful housewives and the cows
in the pasture.
For her Jersey COW that she had
named Maybelle the widow had de-
veloped an almost sisterly affec ton.
When she saw May belle frantically
lashing herself in the pasture with
her tail, or stamping in the yard to
dislodge flies, her heart swelled with