The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1906-05-25
WOMAN'S CURIOSITY.

observing something in the newspa-
per that he wanted to preserve. the
young married man produced his pen
KNIFE and cut the article out. The
chipping was about a quarter of a col
nmn in length. Then he finished read
~lng the newspaper, placed it on the
center table for his wife, who was up
stairs with a woman neighbor rhapso-
ulzlng over some bargains she'd got
during the days shopping, and, after
calling upstairs to his wife that he
was going out for little while, did go
oHt
When he got home, a little while
after nine O'Clock in the evening, he
tound his wife puzzling over the news
paper from which he had cut the clip
ping. Her jaw was quite set, and she
looked considerably worked up.
"Hey-o," he said, chipperly, coming
In after hanging his hat and coat up
IN the hall. "Your neighbor gone
homer"
To which she vouchsafed no reply
whatever, but, turning over the news
paper in her lap, pointed to the space
from which the clipping had been cut,
and asked him: ~
What's this you cut out of here?"
RUBBER" said he, banteringly.
Curiosity killed cat
Nary the smile did the wife of his
bosom crack, however. If anything,
her jaw became just little bit more
rigidly set than it had been when he
entered.
"Oh, no, no curiosity" she said, in a
hard tone. mot the least! Dear me,
no! But what was it you cut out?"
How dye know cut it out?" he
asked her, tantalizingly
To himself he was saying Nov,
aren't women just the limit for being
wild and crazy to find out the least
little thing that seems like as if it's
sort O under cover? I'll just keep her
dancing over that while"
well, nobody else has had the paper
but you," she said, and so of course
you must have cut this thing out,
whatever it was. Now, what was it?
Tell me-"
Il haven't said that l cut anything
out of the paper" said the man.
''Do you know" she said in tone
that became harder and harder, "you
are acting very strangely about this. I
don't profess to understand it at all,
deed don't. Cutting things out and
then looking guilty when l ask you
about 'em- Deed, | can't understand
1T. What's the reason, pray, that you
are afraid to tell me what this was
that you cut out of here?"
ooh, don't be so inQuisitive." said
he, shedding his coat and donning his
smoking jacket. What goods it going
ito do you to know?"
John Swuggs," she said, sternly.
rising to her feet and casting the pa
per from her, what is the meaning of
-all this mystery, anyway"
"Oh, mystery, nothin'," he replied.
Mystery, shucks. Whatchoo talking
about-mystery!"
! II demand to know" she exclaimed,
walking over to where he sat curled up
in his easy chair, what this ia that
you cut out of the paper Is it about
something that you don't want me to
know about? If so, do you think I'm
going to permit myself to be hood
winked in such easy fashion? Do you
s'pose there are not other copies OF
this paper? But the idea-the very
idea!-of your snealIing around that
way, cutting things out of the paper,
and then not telling your own wife
what they are. Is that thing you've
cut out of the paper about your"
"Tommy-rot," said the man, picking
up magazine and turning the adver-
tising pages over idly. about me!
1Whatchoo think I've been doing to ret
my name in the paper?"
J That's exactly-what-I-don't-
know-but-wha - find
out" replied his wife, with snap of
the Jaws after every word. 'If it's not
something about you, then there's no
reason why you shouldn't be willing
to let me know what it was about, or
who. The idea Of your being SO Sc
icretive as all that"
"Oh, bother,' said the man. "Lemma
read"
John Swuggs," said his wife, now
beginning to exhibit symptoms of tear
fulness, "do you think you are treating
tme right? Do you think it is manly
for you toto keep me in the dark in
this way? That clipping certainly con-
ltained something that you didn't want
me to know about, or you wouldn't be
so stubborn about telling me what it
was and showing it to me-"
You're from Missouri, aren't you?"
said the man. meanly. Got to be
shown, haven't you?'
'It's only perfectly natural" she
replied, showing more symptoms of