The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1908-10-23

where twas quiet. Dlu KNOW Oh buCu
place round here? Well, course /
wrote back that twas nice and quiet
right at our house. There want no
lie in that. was there, Sol?"
NO" says. Il should say
'twouldn't be shaving the truth too
close II you'd said there was more
quietness than anything else down on
the Neck road"
well" he goes on, not noticing the
sarcasm, II wrote and never got
word back. Me and Hubby had given
up hearing. And then, yesterday
morning, they come-both of 'em.
Nice loolzin' young fellers as ever you
see, they are; dressed just like the
chaps in the clothes advertisements in
the back of the magazines. The big
gest one-theyre both half as tall as
that mast, seems so-he took up his
hat and says, kind of lazy and grand,
like a steamboat capt'n:
"'Mr. Scudder?' he says.
That's my name, says l. l was
kind of suspicious; there's been so
many sewing-machine agents and such
round town this spring And yet I'd
ought to have known he want no sew
ing-machine agent.
"'Ah!' he says. You've been ex-
pecting us. then. Has the luggage
come?
What in time did know about his
luggage, as he called it?
No. says l. "Tain't'
"'Oh, well, never mind he says, just
as If a ton or two of baggage didn't
count anyway. Can you give us two
sleeping rooms, two baths, a setting
room, and a room for my man.?
Two baths?' says |. Cant you
take a bath by yourself? You seem
to be having lots of funny jokes with
me. Would you mind saying what your
name is and what you want2
HE looked me over sort of odd.
Beg pardon, he said. Il thought you
were expecting us. Here's my card
81 looked at it, and there was the
name Edward Van Brunt, printed on
it, Then l begun to get my bearings,
as you might say.
"'Oh!' says. 1 see.'
$50 glad, I'm sure he says. Now
can you give us the sleeping rooms,
the baths, and the room for my MANI
Hump!' says l, lookin' back at the
house behind me; If me and Hubby
bunked in the henhouse and the chore
boy in the cellar, maybe We could ac-
commodate you, that is, all but the
baths. You'd have to take turns with
the washtub for them / says.
HE laughed. He was so everlasting
cool about things that 1t sort of riled
me up
perhaps you'd like to hire the
whole shebang?' says /, sarcastic,
pointing to the house.
HE looked at it. II looked sort of
cheerful with the syringa over the
door and the morning-glories hiding
where the whitewash was of.
"'Good ideal! he says. L would
well, that was too many for me!
/ went into the house and fetched out
Hubby Ann-shes my wife. There
amt many women in this town can
beat her when it comes to managing
and business. if do say it.
How long would you want the
house for? says Hubby, when / told
her what was going on.
"a month"; says Van BTunt, turn
! ing to the other city Teller. Hey, Mar
tin?' T'other chap nodded.
"'All right says Van Brunt. How
much?'
Thinks /, I'll scare you, my fine fell
ler And so / says, A month? wei,
l don't know. Maybe, to accommo-
date, | might let you have it for two
hundred | sort of edged off then,
thinking sure he'd be mad; but he
wa'n't-not him. Two hundred It
is, he says, and fished out a little
blank book and one of them pocket
pens.
Names Scudder?' he asks.
YES says /. Nathan Scudder.
One T in Nathan
And l don't know as you'll believe
it, SOL" says Nate, finishing up but
that teller made out check for two
hundred and passed 1t over to me like
twas a postage stamp What do you
think of that?'
| didn't know what to think of 1t.
On general principles I'd say that a
man who wanted to board with Nate
and Hubby Ann Scudder was crazy
anyhow; but of course these fellers
didn't know.
1T beats me, Nate" l says. What
do you think?"
blessed II know" says Scudder,
with another of them long breaths.
"All I'm sure of is that they're up
home, with the parlor blinds open and
the carpet fading, and me and Huldy's
living In the barn. She's doing the
cookin' for 'em till this man of theirs
comes. Land knows what kind of a
man he is, too. And that check was
on a New York bank. and I've just
been up to Trumet here with 1t and
the cashier says twill be week afore
| know whether it's good or not And
| can't make out whether them two
are thieves, or lunatics. or what. And
Hubby can't neither. / never was so