The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-06-17
THE
SIXTH WIDOW
BY NJ. QUAD
BY NJ. QUAD
Copyright. 1910. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

age Of Glen Head when the sixth ar
rived. Her name was Tompkius.
There was one widower in Glen
Head TO Offset the five widows. lie
was Thomas Jordon,
The good natured Tom Jordon helped
10 unload her furniture and wrestle
the bedsteads and bureaus around He
bought lime and q whitewash brush
and hired boy 10 whitewnsh the eel
lar. He took hoe himself and cut
down the weeds In the front yard.
The Widow Tompkins was thankful
and affable, but she held Mr. Jordon al
distance He had been told all about
the husbands of the other widows
when they died. how they died and
their very last words. He knew the
financial resources of the house TO
cent. He even knew that one Of the
widows had sore heel and that two
others hadAcorns. h In his fatherly way
he questioned the sixth widow. but he
was turned down at every point. BAT
fed curiosity kept him thinking OF her.
The more he thought of her the more
he wondered ii Providence hadn't sent
Mrs Tompkins along to become Mrs.
Jordon. In month or SO he decided
| that it was So See how easy II was.
| See how those five widows had neg
| lected logic for years and years.
The Widow Tompkins sized Mr.. Jor-
| don up for a fatherly man and good
| fellow. but logic came In here again.
| Falherly men and good fellows are
| slower than nolasses III January about
getting around to propose marriage Ii
things are left to their natural course.
The i've ether widows hadn't figured
| this out An event must happen. Prov
1 idence was right around there to help
it to happen.
AZ the end of three months the fa-
tberly man was quite at home In the
house of the sixth widow-just neigh
borly. you know; just dropped in to
say If she wanted the kitchen door
painted or the ceiling whitewashed
he'd see about 1t for her. On this par
ticular day we have in mind he was
in want Of couple of empty barrels.
| 1t struck him that he had seen three
or four in the widows cellar when the
| whitewashing was doing, He found
the kitchen door open and walked In.
| He found no one in the house, and he
walked down the eelar-only neigh
b0rly. you know; just ueighborly He
had found his barrels when he heard
the door shut Oh him aud the lock
click He climbed the stairs and
pounded on the door and called out
his name and Grand, and a voice an
swered him.
'-Ah yon tramp. I've got you I'M
der iock and ley aud am going for
the constable"
Mrs. Tompkins. this is no tramp.
This is Mr. Jordon."
"lou can't lie to me, sir. MFR. Jordon
doesn't walk into folks houses and
down cellar"
But | did. l was looking for
barrels
well. you can keep on looking until
the constable comes"
He sought to further explain. but
she ridicuIed the idea. The fact that a
tramp had robbed house In the vii
iage few days previously gave her
| good groundwork to build on. The
most she would promise was to leave
him down there until he had under
gone an entire change OF heart and
was prepared to live an upright life in
the future 1t was ! O'Clock when Mr..
Jordon found himself a prisoner. He
sat Oh the cellar stairs for the next
two hours vainly trying to convince
the woman upstairs that lie was no
tramp He gave his name over and
over again. but the steady reply was;
"You are simply trying TO initiate
MIR Iordon's voice, but you can't i'm
pose Oh me. | think | will call him
In and let him settle with yon"
i From 3 to 4 o'clock Mr.. Jordon pa
troled the cellar. Tie had cobwebs
and whiewash aud old barrelS fol
/ cnmp1uv. He could have called from
one OF the narrow windows TO Il pass
erhy but he didn't care TO. He didn't
want to be laughed at. From 4 to I
he sat OIL the stairs. giving his name
over and over again and taking his
solemn affidavit that he was Thomas
,Jorduu and no Weary William. HIS
words brought no response from tht
other side of the door. From TO
he sat at the bottom OF the steps ane
saw the cleaning enter the wiiidow'
and heard the whippoorwilis tune up
Then Il rap on the door above eailet
him ND to hear the words:
Il am now going for Mr.. Jordon''
But | nm MIR. Jordon.'
"Your voice does sound bit llkt
his. but you can't deceive me- Mr.
Jordou Is 4 ti4le man."
But SO am l."
mir. .Iordon thinks am fine wo
man"
IN 80 do ="
N. II believe MIR. Jordon intends to asl
me to marry him."
81 know he does. ask you RICH