Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1908-08-27
MOlly's Little Pie.

back as he stopped to take an armtul
OF wood from the pile. The winter
wind blew about the thin fringe OF
white hair beneath his old fur cap and
brought tears to his still fiery black
eyes. He groaned as he went with
his burden toward the neat little
farmhouse. He was laboriously hll-
ing the wood box after doing the
morning chores, and he was very tired.
Ma opened the door and closed it
after him, but she did notspeak. He
avoided her gentle blue eyes. 1t had
been almost six years since he could
talk to her without disagreement. Ma
went back to her pie.making on the
table near the window and looked past
the scar cornstalks, half buried IN
snow, to a little brown house from
whose chimney the smoke seemed to
rise almost gaylY into the dead gray
day. There was a red barn near the
little house, and to and fro in the yard
ran small figure in a red coat and
cap. Mas heart yearned toward her
daughter Molly's four-year-old Jim.
my. Then she sighed and looked
around at her husbands obtrude face.
John Davis was what is called a
good man. but he was hard. He boast
ed that his great-grAndfather WAS an
Indian and that he himself never for
gave an injury. He had wanted Molly
to marry Peter Andrews and had
therefore considered himself hopeless.
ly injured when she insisted on loving
and marrying Richard Burns, though
he had no real objection to Richard in
himself. Molly was as stubborn as ne,
and there had been no visiting be-
tween the two households by his own
command. He was master in his own
house, and ma obeyed, though under
protest, for their two sons were out
west, and Molly was ell she had. She
had long since ceased to argue with
pa about it, and, though she did not
go to Molly's house, she made the
most Of any chance meetings with her
or the small Jimmie. She had not
been in her daughters house since the
time Jimmy was born. Pa had not
tried to stop her then.
And now it was the day before the
new year began. Ma went on with
her pies, big and rich and thick with
the best mince meat, and she did now
as she had always done aince Molly
had been tiny girl-made one die in
a little yellow saucer-Molly's little
pie. Each year she continued tc do
this, her husbands contempt notwith-
standing. This time she did it osten-
tatiously, holding it high on her hand
as she trimmed the crust off around
the edge. She intended to attract
his attention.
He removed his mittens aud had
taken down his old gun from the rack.
he sat cleaning the gun, with his feet
on the hearth and his teeth set. He
was in torture from rheumatism and
so weak he could scarcely get through
with what work must be done out of
doors, but he carefully hid his condi-
ton from his wife. Ma would put him
to bed and dose him md tell him he
had to forgive Molly and have Richard
over to relieve him of the heavy work.
Richard wanted to do this too. Ma
would be scared and say he was too
old to be alone and too old to be un-
forgiving. he was only sixty, and he
never had forgiven any one, and he
did not intend to begin now, and he
had eaid he would never see Molly's
baby, and he never would either
Then he looked up and saw MollY's
little pie balanced on her mothers
hand. 1t was the last straw.
"Ma," he said, you're a worse
idiot every year. Quit maxim that
little pie! Molly Il never come over
here to eat it and you can make up
your mind to that. You've had time
enough And l forbid you to be ev.
erlastin'ly meetin' her and Burns like
I know you dol Tl-I'll lock you
up, old as you be, if you can't have
any sense l don't want to have to
say this again next year. You throw
that pie in the slop bucket this min
ute or I'll come over there and do it
myself" he rose. but his rheuma-,
tism made him pause. And then ma
did what she had not done once before
in forty years Of their marriage.
She faced him with blazing eyes and
dared him to touch her or the pie,
and he stood speechless beneath the
torrent of her words. he had not
seen ma reused before.
"Johp Davis" she finished after she