Evening journal., 1910-04-15

Il shall stay right here until he pops
the question. No widow under forty
has any business to be a widow over n
year. II wasn't fifty-two I'd be mar
ried within six months"
You'd rope I'm a man the same as a
calf I supposef' asked Mrs. Spicer
sarcastically But | forbid you TO
meddle with my affairs. like Joe
Tillman, but even II he was to ask me
TO marry him don't think ia do it.
that is, can't say that ] would
"Oh. well. we'll see about it, said
the elder sister and there the conver-
sation dropped.
In making his visits to the widow
Joe did not come by the highway run
ming past both houses. Instead of that
he cut across lots and approached her
house from the rear He had two
/ fences TO climb, and he always sat on
the last fence for a time to get his
courage up. Sister Martha. without
pretending TO see anything. noted this
thing and planned accordingly. She
planned for a jar. She was a very
practical woman. and one day when
her sister had gone TO the store she
hunted up a handsaw. and. removing
the top rail- she sawed IL almost in
two and replaced 1t. 10 was just at
the spot where Joe climbed over. II
might work. aud it might not. She
would take her chances on that
That evening. as the sun went down
and the gloeming came on and the
birds twittered their last notes and
the skeeters began roaming for prey,
Joe Tilman might have been observed
making a sneak across the fields. He
hadn't visited the widow for three
nights, being in terror Of her sister.
He had stood It as long as he could
and was now coming to borrow her
barn or smokehouse or front fence.
The two widows sat on the veranda
aud waited One waited 20 see II Joe
would come. aud the other waited for
the jar that had been planned for
Joe and the jar arrived together. If
his heart hadn't been beating so tu-
multuously as he laid hands on that
top rail he would have noticed some
thing wrong. but as it was he climbed
up and took his seat and had scarcely
begun his hitching around when there
was q crash aud be went backward
head over heels.
A crash was heard on the versnda.
and both widows uttered exclamations
aud rose up. Both reasoned il out that
! IL L. aNN m fT4rsf 40
/ fence. Yes, il was Joe He lay in a
heap on the far side Of the fence, a
1 leg doubled under him. and the wo-
men had to take down lot Of the
/ rails 10 get over and at him. At
| the first groan he gave they knew his
I leg was broken. At the second they
ran for mattress and carried him
| into the house The hired man was
hunted up ia the barnyard and dis
patched for n doctor. and long enough
] before midnight the broken limb had
been set and the patient was doing
well. Indeed. he was doing so well
that the Widow spicer came out OF
the spare bedroom with blushinl
cheeks and said to her sister:
Martha. what do you think haI
, happened?'
Hasn't broken the other leg houn
dering around. has hep
"Joe has asked me to marry him.
"Hoot. But l had given him tw
weeks to make up his mind in
"But what do you know about it?"
"Why. ! broke his leg. I made u
my mind to break his leg or bis nee
to bring him 10 time. and now it won
be over six weeks before he can lin
of to the preachers with you and
married. Sarah. there is only one way
treat bashful man who is in love wit
you-break his leg and make him talk