Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1910-04-14

posted up"
July and the first two weeks in Au-
gust moped along, and everything at
the Old Home House kept about the
same. Mabel was in mighty good spir-
its for her, and she got prettier every
day. had considerable fun with
Cap'n Jonadab over his not landing
q rich husband for the Seabury girl.
Looked like the millionaire crop was
going to be a failure that summer.
But n morning he comes to me. ex-
cited as a mouse at a cat show, and
says he:
"Ah, ha! What did 1 tell you? I've
got one"
II see you have" says L. want
me to send for the doctor?"
"Stop your foolishing." he says. 81
mean I've got a millionaire. He's
coming tonight too"
I managed to find out that the new
boarder was a big banker from New
York. name of Van Wedderburn, with
a barrel Of cash and a hogshead of
dyspepsy.
"And I've fixed it that he's to stop
at your house, Barzilla," crows Jona-
dab. "And when he sees Mabel-well.
you know what she's done to the other
men folks" he says.
"Humph!" says 1. Maybe he's got
dyspepsy of the heart along with the
other kind. What makes you so cock
sartin?"
"'Cause he's a widower," he says.
"Them's the softest kind"
"Well, you ought to know" l told
him. "Bet you IS cents to a quarter
it don't work."
He wouldn't take me, having scru-
pies against betting, except when he
had the answer in his pocket. But he
went away cackling joyful, and that
night Van Wedderburn arrived.
Van was a substantial looking old
relic, built on the lines Of the Boston
~statehouse, broad in the beam and
with a shiny dome on top. 1 jedged
the meals at our table would be as
agreeable as a dog fight.
However. twas up to me, and |
towed him in and made him %acQuaint-
| ed with Mabel. She Want enthusiasts
tic until l mentioned his name. Then
she gave a little gasp-like. When Van
had gone up to his rooms, putting like
a donkey engine and growing cause
there Want NJ elevators. she took me
by the arm and says she:
"What did you say his name was,
Mr.. Wingate?"
evan Wedderburn," says /.
"Not of Van Wedderburn & Hamil-
ton, the bankers?" she asks, eager.
"That's him." says l. "Why? Dc
you know him?"
ooh, no." she says, II don't know
him, but l know Of him-everybody
does"
Well, everybody did, that's a fact
and the way Marin Bounderby and
"Maizie" was logged out at the supper
table was a sin and a shame.
But what surprised me was Mabe,
Seabury. She was dressed up, too
not in the Bounderbys' style-collar
bones and diamonds-but in plair
white, with lace fuzz. If she WANT
peaches and cream then all you need
is lettuce to make me a lobster salad.
And she was as nice to Van as if he
was old Deuteronomy out Of the BIZ
BILE. He set down to that meal with a
face on him like a pair Of ~nutcrackers,
and afore twas over he was laughing
and eating apple pie and telling funny
yarns about robbing his friends in
the street. judged he'd be sorry for
1t afore morning, but I didn't care fol-
that. I was kind of worried myself;
didn't understand it.
And I understood it less and less as
the days went by. Mabel cooked little
special dishes for his dyspepsy to
play with and set with him on the pi.
azza evenings and laughed at his
jokes and the land knows what. In.
side Of a fortnit he was a gone goose,
which WANT surprising, every other
man being in the same fix, but twas
surprising to see her helping the gone.
ness along. The Bounderbys packed
up and Lit out in ten days, and none
Of the other women would speak tc
Mabel.
And Jonadab! He want fit to live
with. The third forenoon after Var
Wedderburn got there he come around
and took the quarter bet. And the
way he crowed over me made my
hands itch for a ropes end. That
night I dropped a line to poor Jonesy
at Providence telling him that if he
could get a day off maybe he'd better
come down to Wellmouth and see tc
his fences.
The next day was Labor day, an6
what was left of the boarders was
going for a final picnic over to Bakers
grove at Ostable. We went, three cat
boats full of us, and Van and Mabe
Seabury was in the same boat. We
made the grove all right, and me and
Jonadab had hands full. baking
clans and chasing spiders out Of the
milk and doing all the chores that
makes a picnic so joyfully miserable
When the dinner dishes was washed
l went off by myself to a quiet bunch
of bayberry bushes half a mile from
the grove and laid down to rest. be
ing beat out.