Middletown transcript., 1910-10-01

nagging tongue. Some people,
remembering the fact, forgot her
claims to beauty; others lost
sight Of her pungent manner of
speech ia contemplating her bril-
liant dark eyes, fine teeth and
round, rose. flush ed cheeks.
Among the latter class, appar-
emily, was Bijah Barlow. Biiah,
D kinsman of Che late Mr.. Ket'
tier, was . lanky bachelor with
good.humored, gray eyes and a
cheerfully easy way of taking the
world in general. He kept
ssbatch'' in a cottage across the
widows lane, and farmed and
chored for her, all for love it was
supposed, since, according to re-
port, he had a good bit of money
smuggled away. Nevertheless,
Mrs. Kettler paid his wages
squarely up to the notch, and
this fact she took as justification
for the free expression of her
opinions concerning himself and
his leisurely methods Of work.
IfIwas as lazy as You. Bijah
Barlow, I'd 90 set in the sun and
let the birds build nests on my
head, she asserted, bitingly, one
day when he came strolling up to
lunch q good half-hour before the
time for footing the horn. What
you been about to-dsyG
Getherin' up windfalls for
cider, he answered, easily, drag
Ring a chair onto the kitchen
porch and fitting it up on two
legs.
And haven't tetcned an ear Of
corn in the round LOT, Of course.
No, he pitched his hat careless
~ at q nail, which caught it pre-
cariously. That lots the hottest
place this side of HayWay-ii.
Nothin'll happen to the corn fore
we get o cool spell. Look here,
Setta, the neighbors are a-pining
to know when our little romance
is a.going to calum. .ni-ate-What's
the news from headquarters.
The news from headquarters
is, said the widow crisply, "that
there won't be any calumniation,
nor no consideration Of any kind.
until you gather every nubbin
out O. that round lot. Whoever
said there'd be any calumniation,
anyhow I never.
No, returned Bijah with a lazy
grin, but you thought 1t, I reckon.
Keep your reckonin's to your.
self in the future, then, curtly
requested the widow, looking in
TO her pot-pie kettle with blazing
cheeks.
It was true that the neighbors
did speculate about the affairs Of
Mrs. Kettler and her farm man.
ager. The general opinion was
that a wedding would be the up
shot.
Setta Kettler can jaw him all
right, Mrs. Sim Stubbs maintain
ed. She'd do that if he was an
angel with wings and a harp,
but she'll take him. Ketch her
lettin' such an easy-like chap get
away. She knows she can bawl
Rt him all day and he won't bat
an eye.
But I don't see how he can like
it, said Jane Lark, who was chop
ping green tomatoes for picking.
Men haven't got cat sense
when it comes to widders with
red cheeks and big fashy eyes,
replied Mrs. Stubbs, shrewdly.
Jane Lark sighed, and won.
Tered why her ancestors could
not have handed down big black
eyes and redundant bloom to her,
since they had left her nothing
else, except a two.room cottage
and d cabbage patch, Indeed,
Jane was 50 poor that she had to
work around among the neigh
bors in preserving, picking and
house-cleaning seasons. She was
a plain little :person; her com.
plexion could claim no rose tints,
her eyes no especial brilliance |;
still, the latter were of q a-soft,
pleasing blue-gray and her mouth
had a more gracious curve than
had Mrs. Kettler's skimped red
Z
lips.
Well, Mrs. Stubbs summed up
the matter, you'll have a chance
toSee how things are going, if
you help Setta with her pickliu'
next week.
Yes, Jane agreed, and once
more she sighed. Jane was Mrs.
KettIer cousin. Perhaps that
was reason enough why she
should Be required, while at her
kal5 tsvase houea. to work harder