Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1909-02-17
"a month";" she says. staring AZ

him.
A week." says he.
She had queer way Of doing every.
thing by jerks, like as If she was hung
on wires and worked with a string.
Now she Strengthened up out of her
chair so sudden you almost expected
to hear her snap.
ga week?" she sings out. "Oh!"
Then she looked at me.
ooh, it's so, if he says So" saya I.
resigned like.
Land sakes! A week! 1 never
but it amt no use. What would be-
come of pa and the children?"
Couldn't you come over for the
days, at least?" asks Martin. you
might go home nights. you know"
And that's the way it ended, finally.
The Twins had made up their minds.
and when that happened, heaven and
earth wouldn't change 'em. At last
Eureka said she'd talk it over with
her folks and Van Brunt said we
would come over to her house next
day and get the decision.
"There!" says he, when the Sparrow
girl had gone. Skipper, the cook
question is settled"
Maybe It's" says I. Looks to me
as if you'd settled it the way the Teller
settled the coffee, by upsetting it. For
chaps that pinned for rest and quiet you
two do queer things. Do you realize
what getting mixed up with that Spar.
row gang is likely to mean?"
IF the whole flock is like the speci-
mean joy. If there was one thing
needed to make Ozone island a de-
light, a gem of purest ray serene, that
original would be the thing. She's a
circus in herself. 1 shall dream to-
night of pa and the doctor. Ho, no!
By the way, what's her Christian
name?"
1 told the name-the whole of 1t.
How them Heavenlies did laugh.
"Eureka!" says Hartley. "Splen-
did,"
"Eureka!" says Van. 1--WE have
found it! Sol, let's have lunch"
got 'em something to eat and then
the three of us put in the afternoon
chasing the wild animals. The chick
ems was fairly easy to get hold Of; laid
trail of corn up to the door of the hen,
yard and trapped the most of 'em that
way. But the pig was a holy terror.
He'd had his experience with Ozone
islanders that morning and he didn't
want any more. Up and down that
blessed sand bar we chased him, get
ing upset and firing ourselves out. The
pig race over to Eastwich want in it.
1 did most of the chasing; the Heaven
lies superintendent, as usual, and gave
orders and laughed. They pretty nigh
laughed themselves sick. Finally the
critter bolted into the woodshed and
locked the door on him. 1t was six
o'clock when 1 dumped him into the
sly. Of all the Natural Life days I'd
had yet this one was the liveliest and
most wearing. A week like it and my
natural place would have been the
burying ground. 1 cal'late lost three
pound that afternoon. / was getting
so thin that when fell down my legs
made grooves in the sand.
The next forenoon me and Hartley
went over to close the cook trade.
Van wouldn't go. He said the garden.
ing and the shipwreck and the steeple-
chase-meaning the pig hunt-had
given him sensations enough for a
week or so; he had some of 'em with
him yet. So Martin said he'd go, for
my"sake. l borrowed couple of spare
oars from Scudder, when he arrived
with the mornings dose of skim.
milk and cream and butter, and, as
took care to row the skiff this time, we
made the passage all right. Then
we walked up to the Sparrow's nest.
Twas pretty shabby-looking shack,
now I tell you. Shingles dropping off,
and fence falling down, and a general
shortage of mans work everywhere
But there was a bed of bachelor but
tons and old maids pinks under the
front window, and the windows them
selves was clean and bright. Eureka
had done her best to make the place
honey; you could see that.
She let us in when we knocked at
the kitchen door. Her sleeves was
rolled up and there was big basket
of clothes by the steaming washtub.
Editha, the 12-year-old, was grinding
at the wringer and Dewey, the baby,
was setting on the floor playing with
a rag doll. The rest of the tribe
except Lycurgus, who had gone ped.
ding clams-was off playing.
Eureka, she apologized for things
being so upset, but there want any
need for apologies. The house was
plain and poor-you could see that it
took a mighty lot of stretching to
make both ends come in sight of each
otner, let alone meet; but twas clean
as a whistle. Even the baby was
clean, all except his face and hands,
and no healthy young one ought to
have them clean.