Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1907-10-30

THE WORST


man with the lank hair and shrill
voice as the car swung around the
curve.
What's terrible when it comes?"
inquired the man in the next seat,
lowering his paper and glazing over
the top Of it,
why, that what's bound to hap
pen, replied the man with the lank
hair.
And why's anything bound to hap
pen," asked the man in the next seat
impatiently
RAIN" breathed shrill-voiced
one, with a shudder. "And : snow!
Hail, too! Frost also! Fourteen kinds
OF unreasonable weather, all in row!
1t means that something awful is
bound to happen"
"Shucks!" snorted the man in the
next seat, slapping his paper in his
lap you talk like dizzy old dame
with the herb habit. Cut 1t out and
take a pill, for your liVer's loaflng.
Take a pill"
you can laugh" said the man with
the lank locks, in a grieved tone, but
l know what I'm talking about.
But l don't mind telling about 1t,
resumed the man with the lank hair,
after some slight molliicatory re-
marks from the red-haired man in the
rear because It shows just what
we're up against on this part OF the
big map. Grandfather was saying
last night that this year was a dead
ringer for 1881, and you've all heard
about the awful thing that happened
then.
What! You're not wise? What
ignorance! Anyhow, according to
grandfather, 1881 started off just like
this year Along in March, when or
dinarily the sleighing was good here
in town, there came bunch of heat
that made all the front doors in town
blister and peel. Then it got cold and
showed, then 1t hailed and then it
rained. And along in June and July,
when ordinarily Washington is like
furnace, 1t was raining and showing
and hailing all In twenty-four hours,
and the water was SO deep on Pennsyl-
vania avenue and the thermometer so
active that one day the Mary Wash
ington could steam at full speed from
Alexandria to the Soldiers home with
out taking soundings, and the next,
iceboat races would be in order. oh,
it was a fierce year, and we haven't
seen the worst of this one yet. You
listen to me-"
well, what was the awful thing that.
happened?'' inquired the man in the
next seat, with more impotence.
oh" replied the person with the
lank hair, II was getting down to that.
You see grandpa had just been mar
ried in January of 1881, and his wife
was q good cook and he was naturally
of an optimistic disposition, he didn't
take much stock in the calamity con-
versation that was going round. But
and he got so he'd sit looking out of
the window for hours at a time, won
dering just what form the impending
disaster would take, just like folks,
and particularly married men, are do
ing now So"
Look here" said the man in the
next seat, glazing at the shrill-voiced
onversationalist, "are you or are you
not going to tell us what happened in
1881?
Certainly" replied the lank-locked
individual, with an injured glance
around. 81 was just getting down to
it. Well, as was saying, grandfather
got so he couldn't eat. He knew
something was going to happen. All
signs pointed to it and he'd never
known such signs to fail And sure
enough it did and it was terrible.
1t was worse than he had ever imag-
ined Grandpa was poor"
'"Say," shouted the man in the next
seat, you tell us right away what that
terrible thing was that happened,
don't propose to"
Certainly, interrupted the long
winded calamity conversationalist
nervously, certainly l will right
away. AS / was saying, grandfather
was sitting in his Office this partic-
ular day in the summer of 1881, feel
ing sort of shaky and blue, and he
heard horse come galloping madly
down the street and stop in front of
his door. And he just knew that
something terrible had happened.
The man in the next seat pulled
tiercely at his cigar, but the lank-
locked talker doomed right along un-
noticingly.
Grandfather rushed to the front 4
door of his Office" he said, "and out
there was Morse covered with foam
and a man just falling to the ground
from exhaustion. And grandfather
looked at the man and his tongue just
Glove to the roof of his mouth. He
knew something fearful had occurred.
'Good-day, Smith, he said, after he
got his volce--the man who fell off
the horse was neighbor of grand
pastel. me the worst at once Is
1t bad?'
But the man on the horse Just
rolled his eyes and breathed hard.
% "roII mo nuinl,i, x,aIIad orondpo