The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-01-27

gers and looked at the clock. 1t was
later than she had supposed.
But" said she, co~mplacently, the
worst is over. I'll get all this flour
cleaned up, and nobodyll ever guess
what a siege I've been through. Ill
have that bread in the oven by 1
o'clock"
Rut Petrina reckoned without her
dough. The yeast, chilled by the
long mixing, had perhaps become dis
couraged. AT the end of an hour the
leaden mass showed nc sign of rising.
At half past IL the telephone rang.
Hello" sounded Roberts warning
voice. IF you've any evidences OF
guilt to conceal you'd better be aboW
it. Mothers had enough OF slgnt-
seeing, and is on her way home"
Anything to conceal! That hideous
mound of leaden dough-surely no
mother-in-law could be permitted to
behold a failure like that! But
where, in that tiny, one-storied cot
tage, could one conceal a crime OF
such magnitude?
"Perhaps," thought Petrina, that
dough might be squeezed into some
thing smaller"
She seized the shining water pail,
and poked and punched the enor-
nous cold lump into it. But where
should she hide the pail? Apparently
the house afforded no ~concealment
for large tin, pals of dough. She was
about to move the heavy davenport IN
the living room, in order to make
space behind it for the pail, when
| Mrs. Martin became visible from n
window.
Darling impetuously into the guest
room, Petrina hastily lifted the lid OF
her mother-in-law's trunk, which she
knew to be, empty, dropped the pail
inside, and thought she closed the LID.
Unfortunately, she did not know that
| the lid had a trick of sticking.
OF course, with all that dough on
her conscience, Petrina was not en-
tirely care-free that afternoon; but
now, at least, she possessed a definite
plan. The ash barrel, unfortunately,
discovered overlooking in her moment
of need, should be emptied the next
day. Robert should once more spirit
the guest away, and Petrina would
remove the dough to the barrel, cover
it neatly with ashes, and run to the
exchange for a ready-made batch OF
bread. 1t seemed a good plan, but 1t
was ever carried out.
While dressing for dinner that
evening, Mrs. Martin noticed that the
trunk lid was ajar, and by the same
| token knew at nee that some one
had had it open. She had an imme-
date and alarming vision of thieves
in the house-quickly modified to her
intense bewilderment when, seeing
something white through the open
crack, she realized that whoever had
tempered with her trunk had put
something into it! In the next second
she guessed what had happened. The
thieves, interrupted, had thrust their
booty hastily into the trunk!
Summoning all her courage. Mrs.
Martin raised the lid and looked in.
Now it happened that the trunk,
with the pail resting in the deep, open
tray, stood within two inches of an
Iactive hot air register; and bread
dough, as everybody knows, is con-
trary, untrustworthy stuff. Having
refused to rise at the proper time.
now, when nobody wanted it to rise.
it was making up for its earlier de.
ficiency. Swollen to four times it's
original bulk, the clean, vigorous
dough filled the tray with rounded.
puffy pillows. The trunk seemed lit.
orally filled with it.
"Petrina!" called the %bewildered
lady. Robert! Come here! What
on earth is this?"
"It's-it's bread" stammered Pc.
trina, guiltily. II spoiled it and
and hid it,"
Spoiled it," exclaimed Mrs. Mar.
tin. "Why, it's just right to go in
the pans. But, my dear child, there
must be enough here for ten loaves,
10 you always make 81 huCu: Auu
why did you put it here?"
Of course, since there was nothing
else to do, Petrina told the whole
story. \.
Dear, dear!" laughed Mrs. Martin.
"And I thought thieves had been
here! Don't scare me like that again.
There's that 'woman's exchange
place. with everything so good and
so reasonable. Why in the world do
you bother to bake when you live
almost next door to a treasure like
that?~ I'd have suggested it long
ago but for fear you'd think I was
criticising. Bless you, child, If I
were as smart with a needle as you
are, I'd buy all my bread, tool"
This is the last time" declared
Petrina, scooping armfuls of dough
into the bread-pan, that I'll yer
pretend to be more of anything than
l am."-Youth's Companion.
Richest Family in Europe.