The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-06-19

THE SCAREDNESS
Of DORCAS TRIP
By ANNIE HAMILTON
D0NNEIL

Dear land, yes, we've had an cpl
demic fast enough down to the
Bridge! But it's over n gone, thank
goodness, an nobody dead, without
it's me-" Aunt Roxy Knapp's lean
old face wrinkled into a smile. my
DEAR" she added, II can count the
little creatures that I didn't nuss on
the fingers O. hand"
Aunt Roxy had come up river for
her annual visit to little Rosemary
Lamont. Rosemary claimed Aunt
Roxy because, she reasoned, she
might have married Uncle Rufus La
mont "as easy as not" in which case
she would have been an aunt,
wouldn't she?
"I suppose you amt heard how it
happened? No, OF. course not-well,
soon's I get my breath I'll tell you
the hull story. It's a kind of funny
story the way it's turned out, but,
dear land, it might've been solemn
enough! The Bridge folks amt liza
BILE to forgive Mis- Trip for one
SPELL"
Miss Tripp?" Rosemary queried,
ooh, Mrs. Trip, with so many little
Tripps!"
"Five-boys and girls equally d.
vided. She's the one I mean, my
dear"
Aunt Roxy" Rosemary whirled
about from the kitchen stove, "how
do you equally divide five children"
1.-TWO boys, two girls, an the
twins-one a boy an one a girl, and
neither Of EN- but a half. Two an
two's four an a half n a half is an
other. There's your five children,
equally divided. my dear!" Aunt
Roxy's laugh wrinkled again pleas
antly. She put out a slender old hand
for Rosemary's cup of steaming tea.
Under its benign influence the cpl
demic story unfolded.
"Dorcas Trip was born scared,
an it grew on her, till when she
come to be married and have children
7 declare to goodness if she wasn't
most too scairt to bring 'em up! Ep-
idemics was her worst dread Of all.
She was always certain the children
were going to catch something. 1t
frightened her nigh to death to hear
| they was a case O. measels in town,
or humps, an when somebody
dropped in an up n told her Corne-
liza Higgins boarder's little girl had
the scarlet fever, you ought to've
seen Dorcas Trips face! Before
that caller dropped out all the little
Trips had the scarlet fever and the
twins was dead an buried.
Well" Aunt Roxy took {. reminis-
cent sip or two, Il heard how scairt
she was an I went right over. Aunt
Roxy says she, as pale as a ghost, I
wish you'd button the children up,
I've got to finish packing
Packing I says, took all in a
heap. Then I saw she was examining
things into valises like n pos
sessed. She never looked up but
KEEP right on talking. I'm going to
Cousin Flavilla's,' she says. The
children's got their best dresses on
for traycling-if you'll button EN-
up. An I wish you'd hurry, Aunt
Roxy says she, hurrying like every
thing herself, I'm no going to stay
in this plague-ridden town q minute
longer than l can help. Do you sup
tie children! The twins are delicate
none O. the children could ever
stan the scarlet fever. What I say
is'-kind CT screaming it out-'that
people nc business taking summer
boarders an rerilling the lives Of
their innocent ~neighbors! Cornelia
Higgin ought to be ashamed of her
self! First she knows she'll have
blood on her SOUL"
Aunt Roxy rocked creakily. Yes,
she didn't know but she'd have an
other cup g tea. Rosemary got it
with alacrity, its fragrant steam fill
ing the little kitchen pleasantly.
WELL, my dear "a mite more SUI
gar, if you please), Dorcas went. In
less'n four hours after she beard the
news she was on her way to her Cou-
sin Flavilla's. You know where Fla
villa Cross lives, don't you? A
dreadful manufacturing place, swarm
ing with furriners. 1t used to be real
aristocratic up where Flavilla's house
is, but it's all built up with them fat
houses now. Dorcas stayed there till
somebody wrote from the Bridge that
Cornelia Higgins boarder's little
girls scarlet fever had turned out to
be the teething rash. Then Dorcas
packed up an come flying home with
all the little Trips a-tripping. My
dear (Aunt Roxy stopped rocking,
stopped slipping tea; the teaspoon
marked off her words solemnly),
"rny dear, in-just-seven-days-
l Down." calculated gentle Rose
mary, eyciteIly. 1t seemed the cru
cial moment Of the story. Aunt