The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1907-01-03
HAVING A
GOOD CRY
BY DONALD ALLEN
Copyright, l9B. by Ruby Douglas
BY DONALD ALLEN

and for week she had been supremacy
happy. There were chickens and ducks
and geese there ere guinea hens and
doves and rabbits, there were innocent
lambkns and frolicking calys and she
had tried to milk Il COW. fallen OF
fence and churned two pounds Of but
ter. But for Arthur Tyson this dream
Of bliss might have continued another
week, and pretty Viola might have
climbed to the roof Of the wagon shed
sold paper rags 10 a tin peddler and
gone blackberrying down In the mead
ow as Il continuance Of her romantic
adventures.
Arthur Tyson had not only fallen In
love with her, but he was intending to
ask for her hand. He hadn't published
his intentions In any Of the journals
or told the country postmlstress what
was in his mind but Miss Viola had
line on him You can't fool girl about
such things. The man who Is counting
her may talk about the Joys of bache-
lor life and pretend to be a cynic on
, affairs of sentiment. but size can read
him like book. When Arthur had
said that he would arrive at Viola's
eunts on the 14th-running down In
his auto in the forenoon and running
back to the city again In the evening
there was a look in his eyes that said
there would be something doing.
The 14th came, and then things be
gan to happen. A letter arrived from
Arthur to say that his grandmother
wanted him to hurry to her dying bed
side; a big bumblebee came droning
along, even as Viola was reading the
letter while seated on the veranda, and
stung her on the bare arm; windmill
man called on business and tried to
| tirt with her; she was chased out of
| the barnyard by a calf and chased
back again by a turkey gobbler: the
dog got hold of her cute summer hat
and ehewed 1t up. and she fell down
/ cellar while going after preserves and
landed on top of the family cat
Several other veXatious things oc-
Cured between the morning Of the
14th and noon of the next day. and an
/ hour after dinner Miss Viola made up
/ her mind to have n good cry. If she
cried in the house her aunt. who was
sharp eyed old lady. would see her
tears and ask questions; If she went
| to the barn to cry among the cackling
hens and new mown hay, the hired
man would come stumbling In; If she
hid away behind the grape arbor or
the currant bushes, there were bugs to
| crawl down her back as soon as she
was off her guard.
Down across the meadow and half
! mile from the house there was a small
grove and the discOnsolate girl finally
made up her mind that her tears of
sorrow should be shed around the roots
of those trees Her manner Of lodging
her aunt and getting out of the house
and down to the grove would have
! been called making n sneak" by some
| but n pretty girl who is looking for
| crying place should not be judged too
| harshly.
| She found the grove a capital place
for her business There were shade
and quietness and the whispering of
the summer breeze through the leaves,
and Miss Viola went at it and let the
tears fall, her chin culver and her sobs
i Brighten away the lone chickadee that
was taking daytime nap on a branch
above her head.
! Mr.. Tyson FASTENED to the bedside
Of his dying grandmother. thinking that
/ II would be a whole week before she
would die and be buried and the will
| mentioning him as sole heir read
| Upon his arrival glad surprise await
/ ed him. 1t was case of bilious collie
only, caused by eating too heartily Of
corned beef and cabbage at the ad
vanced age of eightythree.
He would have FASTENED away at
once but the grandmother objected.
| She had n story to tell--a story of how
that collie grasped and grlpped her and
| lasted her ten hours before the doctor
/ could bring relief 1t took her all day
to finish the story, and then 1t took her
nephew several hours in addition to
convince her that If he did not hasten
/ back to town the whole United States
would turn turtle.
He made things hum when he got
started but it was mdafternoon Of
/ the 18th when his auto arrived within
cannon shot OF the farmhouse which
! sheltered the girl he meant to make
his wife and of the grove wherein a
/ sad eyed maiden sat and wept-that Is
she wasn't sitting there just then. She
/ had other business on hand.
| At l O'Clock that afternoon at the
railroad station. two miles away. a
/ train bearing loo lunatics on their way
to a newly completed asylum had been
shunted on to the side track to let the
express pass. They were given re
freshments. and all of a sudden, while
the guards were about their hospitahle
work and their vigilance relaxed, a
dozen of the unfortunate people. men
and women, escaped from the cars and
scattered over the country,
/ OF course they were instantly pur
sued but three or four of them got a
long start. Guards and farmers and
/ farmers boys and farmers dogs took
up the pursuit with avdity
As Miss Viola sat in her grove and
sobbed and wept and threw sticks nj
the bugs crawling about she was star
I tied by whoops and yells and shouts
She brushed away her tears and re-
pressed her sobs and stepped out Of
the shelter OF the grove 10 see what