The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1908-04-23
On Thin Ice.
BY JAMES NORTON.
Copyrighted. 1903. by the Associated
Literary Press.
BY JAMES NORTON.

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When the letter from Aunt Salina
was received announcing that she
would arrive on visit the next week,
mother and daughter looked at each
other for long minute, then the for
mer said:
I'VE must keep 1t from her"
Yes"
III we don't she will certainly talk
right up to the deacon and make things
worse than ever. Your Aunt Salina Is
not afraid of any living man. You
/ just act as natural as you can, and
don't let her catch on to a thing"
And yet five or six days later when
the guest In question arrived. she had
j not been in the house half an hour be-
fore she set her jaw and said to Mrs.
Thompson, her widowed sister:
Nov. Ruth. while Mary is upstairs
| want to hear all about II. There's
some skulduddery been going on here,
and | want to get at the root of 1t.
It's no use to put on that Innocent
look. for I'm woman that cant be
deceived"
Her daughter Mary, now twenty years
, old. had been keeping company" with
Deacon Bromleys son james. aud the
marriage day had once been set. Dea-
con Bromley had then favored the
match The widow had Il fine farm
adjoining his. aud if she took forty
acres off of hers and he forty off Of
his the young folks would have good
start In life. She as well as he could
also contribute considerable cash to-
ward building the new house and barn.
Yes. it would be good match all
around. and everything was going
swlmmingly when the deacon took In
summer boarder.
He was what might be called huff
cash boarder-that is, for two weeks
he paid half the price of board and
lodging in cash and the other In infor-
nation which changed the dcacon's
nature all over The boarder had made
q study Of family trees, SO he asserted.
and after scratching his head and CON
sulting the signs in the family almanac
for fortnight he announced that the
Bromleys were direct descendants o:
Lord Bromley of England. while Lord
Bromley himself was IA granddaughter
of William the Conqueror.
The deacon had always been rather
stiff necked man toward the coin
munity. and this information added to
his pride He did not question the
strangers information, and after
time it began to get in its work. lie
wasn't rich but he had the blue blood
In him, and that was even better In
four weeks he was walking as If he
had a poker down his back, and at the
end of four more he said to his son.
James, there is nothing that hurts
family more than misalliance.
What is the world going to say when
1t hears that Bromley has married a
Thompson
Are you talking about Mary Thomp-
son, father?" asked James.
lam. am seeing things great deal
different from what did few weeks
ago. Where did the Thompsons spring
from? Who are they? Was the first
Thompson a lord or duke or only a
"COPPER""
But, you know, I'm engaged to
Mary Thompson. and you know that
the family is respectable. No one can
say that there has been anything
against them, from grandfather down"
"Um UNI! None of them has been In
jail that know Of, but ! ask again,
Who are the Thompsonsr We know
who the Bromleys sprang from. and /
cannot consent to any plebeian alliance.
Until know who the first Thompson
was shall feel justified in opposing
this match. 1t will he no use whatever
to argue the matter with me. | am de
termined to preserve the purity Of our
blood as II has come down TO us"
james did not cease TO call nj the
widows. but 1t was not long before she
realized that he had something on his
mind and be was finally prevailed up
on to state It. He held In direct oppo
sition to his father, but that did not
satisfy the insuted mother or the high
spirited daughter. Strained relations
followed Such was the situation when
Aunt Salina arrived. She listened to
the story with grim look on her face.
and when 1t was finished she said:
Ruth, you were never any good at
handling cases like this, and you must
leave things to me. | know all about
the Thompsons and the Bromleys, too,
and I've heard a thing or two about
William the ConquerOr since | went to
Michigan to live. You just keep out
of the fuss and let me settle 1t my own
way"
But you won't go to the deacon and
call him an old idiotf' protested the
widow.
81 can't tell what I'll do. Providence
generally takes a hand in cases like
this, and | shall depend good deal
on Providence. We won't say word
to Mary about It,"
Providence didn't walt long before
taking a hand. December had come.
Instead Of being married ON Christmas
day, as the young couple had hoped
for, they were as good as estranged.
Between the house and the barn was
a goose pond of considerable depth.
End. though this had been frozen over
solid for two or three weeks, recent
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