The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1909-04-02
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By ALICE LOUISE LEE.
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The people Of Mecca Summit said
that Miss Mehitable Winthrop, post
mistress and general storekeeper,
was "one to speak her mind" There
fore, as she picked up her date stamp
one April morning and brought it
down with a whack on the ink-pad,
she spoke her mind emphatically to
the dozen or more collected in the
room, waiting for their mail.
They must be poor and they may
be shiftless,' said Mehitable, but
they're strangers in strange land,
and when | get to it I'm going to
call" She referred to the five new
comers in the long-unused yellow
house below the Summit.
We'll, as for me, | shall not CALI"
Mrs. Cramer spoke with asperity, her
upper lip and nose ascending 10 a
yet higher plane than that TO which
nature had raised them. Mrs. Cra-
mer, formerly Of Patchunk City, was
professedly careful Of her social re-
lations. THE children wanted to go
there yesterday and play with the
them? No, indeed" Mrs. Cramer's
head followed the incline of her nose.
Dear only knows what they'd
CATCH"
Edward Heiner tipped his chair
back against the counter. IIeiner's
farm adjoined the lot containing the
yellow house. "They came between
two days" he declared, suspiciously.
AT night when | went to bed they
want there, and in the morning
when | got up, there they was"
Uncle Billy Loss, aiding his niece
Mchitable with the mail. pushed his
spectacles along the bridge of his
nose toward his eyes, and read aloud
the inscription on an envelope:
Mrs. d. c. Peasley.' That must
be them,' and he tucked the letter
into the pigeonhole allotted to such
P's as did not rent a postofiice box.
Mrs. Cramer drew her lips up
wants to, | don't intend to get any
nearer the inside of that house |
can see in from our house, and that's
enough There's nothing to see ey-
cept bare floors and a stove. There
are shades at the windows-not
'em rolled clear to the tops of the
windows"
Here the outer door swung open
with a jangling of the call-bell fixed
TO the top, and three boys Of assorted
sizes trailed up to the counter and
looked over They were hatless.
wore gaping shoes and long blue over
alls. They secured the letter ad-
dressed to Mrs. Peasley and fed down
the hill toward the yellow house,
while Mrs. Cramer continued, tri-
umphantly:
There! Don't they look like lit
tie vagabonds? don't believe the
entire family has a hat among 'em.
They go wandering around over the
hills in this awful slush and mud
without hats. believe myself they're
Gipsies'
The man looks sickly," spoke
Miss Mehitable from behind the
sNd'h VI bOStOiltt DONtN.
"Sickiy or lazy" amended Edward
Heiner.
Mrs. Cramer stepped to the stack
of post-boXes. Huh, Is this all for
me? Haven't | got a letter? Well.
those that want TO call, may" And
with this parting shot at Mehitable,
Mrs. Cramer LETT with her nose high
IN air.
The following day Mrs. Cramer's
nose formed an exclamation point as
she entered the postofice Those
people" she began, "all Rocked up
to our back door Yesterday, as cool
as you please, while | was sweeping
the stoop. and began to talk. tell
you, l finished sweeping in a hurry
and got inside"
"Probabaly." spoke Mehitable.
they're lonesome, coming out OF the
city"
why did they come. them" asked
Edward Heiner, sliding down on his
shoulder blades.
His auditors were interested, but
uninformed. The question. however
seemed flooded with light a few days
later. when certain drummer from
Patchunk City arrived, abounding
as usual, in general information.
Doesn't that yellow house belon,
10 Judge Anger down in Patchunl
City?" inquired the drummer.
Yes. IL does" replied Heiner.
The drummer. looking with salts
faction at the depleted candy case
continued. meditatively. 81 wonde
II that family ain't the Peacleys tha
used to live in the alley back OF MS
II SO, you people better put ns-