Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1910-08-31
THE PRIZE
CUCUMBER
By M. QUAD
Copyright. 1910. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

| On the 10Th day of June of a certain
gear, at o'clock in the afternoon. when
he was hoeing in his garden. Deacon
Amos Gray Strengthened up to rest his
back and then and there decided that |
| he would marry the Widow SpeoneT. |
He had been a Widower and she |
widow for three years. She lived near |
him I'm the village, and they had KNOWN |
each other before marriage.
Her garden needed hoeing. He set
about 1T. 1t gave him sort OF sense
of ppoprietorship. 1t was her garden
now, but after awhile it would be biz.
He had been at work for u quarter of
an hour when the widow came to- the
open kitchen door and discovered him
and. called out:
why, deacon. this is truly good of 4
you. was just wondering who D
COULD get 80 hoe my garden"
When be had been at work an hour
the deacon uttered a few grunts and
signs. and came TO anchor on the step
, The widow was looking fine for wo~
man of forty. She was robust and In
, good health The services of doctor
, wouldn't be needed for many long
! day unless she fell down the cellar
stairs And she looked like IA woman
who would esteem it a privilege to
build the kitchen fire every morning
for four weeks after the grounding
had come out and seen his shadow
Yes. she WAS ali right, aud the deacon
opened his mouth and said:
"Widder Spooner. ne an you have
known each other a long time"
!. Yes, deacon"
It Long before either one of us was
y married.
b Yes"
S And l guess we alias sorter liked
each other
Yes.
: And now Abe is dead and Martha is
n dead and we are lonesome, wilder,
G Why shouldn't We
c She waited. but he stopped right
there. There was Sister Nancy. Hadn't
he better sound her and see how she
was going to take it? Yes, that would
be the NiSest way. He therefore be
gan to talk about the drought and
: other things. and after working for an
other hour he went home. He didn't
speak to Nancy-not ON that subject.
She was trying TO get supper with green
wood. and she was hopping mad. He
split up a dry board for her and blew
up the fire, but he had lived long
| enough to know that when d woman
II gets real mad she must have at least
II day to get over it. Next morning
/ Nancy was so clipper that he decided
to take his chances without speaking
to her on the subject.
In the afternoon the deacon die
some more hoeing, and there was an
other talk on the steps. Yes. the Wild
ow Spooner we'll remembered his TAX
: ing her to spelling school in the OLE
days. She remembered their sliQin:
. / hills together; she could recall the rel
apples he used to give her.
Happy days them was, wilder
happy days" be sighed.
Yes, they were
@ But now you are wilder and an
a widower"
Yes"
And both Of us goldurned lone
some."
Il am sometimes very, very Ion,
so some"
But we needn't be, widder-w
needn't be. S'posin' =
ne "Well"
He couldn't go ahead. The though
had just struck him that she NIGH
re have wooden leg or a stiff knee an
hot fnr Iof
"a doing the washing and ironing H
could dimly remember hearing tia
ou she had fallen from an apple tree an
:, broken a bone somewhere. He woul
wait and make inquiries. 1t thus can
Tvs about that he went home again wit
nothing decided. Now. the deacon W.
ate a great county fair man. He alway
Is; had an exhibit Of chickens. eggs {
icy vegetables. He believed that if an
=; thing could save this world from Il
fate of Sodom it was the Methodist r
ar ligion and county fair held every o
to tober At that very moment he w;
In raising prize cucumber to exhibit.
De was only foot long now. but it won
ner be rod in length before time for pu
fo. ing.
1OI ~
ro- beacon cray let week go past VII
re- out seeing the Widow Spooner. He g
my up one morning and stepped outdoo
has to inhale the fragrance of the air b
- fore sitting down to breakfast. Abo
-, the first thing his eyes lighted on w
ted a woman standing over his prize C
cumber 1t was the Widow Spoone
md She had an ak on her shoulder. and b
jaw was set.
why. wilder. what does this mean
WA asked the deacon as he sauntered o
10 her,
,oro You have the same as asked me
the ,,.rrx, x-o,, . Sba ranliad as she snat
ent. 1850
fol- her hands and fiourished the ak.
n,,d '.But not right out.
reg But near enough. Deacon, when