The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1909-07-29
The crOsspatch Mans
;---~-~~Fourth O. July


The Crosspatch Man was sick again,
and this time II must be pretty bad.
for all the morning Meredith had been
watching the servants spread straw
before the house and mnfie the big.
shiny door-beil.
Poor mani" mamma said. plying
lly. He Is sick so often,-
But he's Crosspatch Mani mutt
tered Meredith stifiy. Then he repent
ed and looked as shamefaeed as a very
little boy with very round. dimpled
face could look. I'm sorry he's very
sick" he said. slowly. Il s'pose Il
hurts even Crosspatch Men
Mamma did not notice. She was
having her little noon gossip" with
papa. and they were still talking about
their invalid nelghbor.
1T isn't quite so bad as It seems. you
know" papa was saying. ~He always
has the straw laid down and things
mufiied when he has one Of his worst
nervous attacks. II doesn't mean all
that It does in most cases. He IL ter
ribly afflicted by noise at almost any
time"
'.Noisel I should think SOL" That
was from Meredith, who pricked up
his ears at the word Didn't he know
how the crosspatch Man felt bout a
noise? Didn't he belong to the Rudd
Street Secondg Wasn't he captaing
And oh. my. the times he'd seen the
Crosspatch Man a-scowling and a.fum-
ing. when they marched past his win
dowi
'But Fourth OF July will be terri
Bile day to him-poor mani" went on
mammals gentle voice. That made
Meredith start little. He had been
thinxing about Fourth o. July. too.
(Did he think much OF anything else
He had been going over
In his mind all the glorious program
OF the day. For the Rudd Street Sec
ond was going to celebrate in a worthy
manner. They were going TO even
Guido themselves each year-and
hadn't they had the proud honor OF
being the noisiest street In the city
for two Fourth O. JuIys a-running7
Let 'em Just wait TIL they heard this
Fourth O. July
II was three days of. That would
give the Crosspatch Man time to have
the straw taken up and the bell I'M
mufiled. for his worst times" never
asted more than two or three days
Then he'll have to cotton up his
sars." unused Meredith. philosophical /
y. watching the big foreign servant
hat wore a turban go back and forth
,ast the Crosspatch Mans window.
rhe house Meredith lived In and the
Mans house we're quite
lose together. 50 It was easy to watch
hings.
Unfortunately for an invalid with
he terrible affection called nerves."
sudd Street was regular nest Of
oys. There were boys everywhere on
t. You ran against boys when you
rent east, and boys ran against you
Then you went west. Boys sprang up
q the most unexpected places. The
ouses seemed to be running over with
oys. And really, there was at least
ne boy-and on an average two or
hree-ln every house on Meredith's
Ide. except in the Crosspatch Mans
ouse. On. dear me. no. there weren't
ny boys there.
On the other side Of the street you
ad to skip the ~mlddlestg house and
Iiss Quilhot and Miss Eromathea's--
b, yes. and the minister's house. OF
purse. Miss Outlet and Miss Fro
Iathea were old maids. and the min
ter--oh. no, he wasn't an old maid,
1t you couldn't expect him to have
1ys in the house, for how could he
'er write his sermoDsg
So It was. as I said. an unfortunate
rect TO have nerves on. And the
Man had 80 many
The three days in between soon
emit away, and It was the night
0 very night-before iti There we're
Ily few hours more, for OF course
"a didn't have to walt Eli the sun
SO on Fourth OF July.
Meredith had drilled the Rudd