The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1910-04-29
.Never heard Of youy.. he beiiowedI

ESVSI ucaIu "a yOu. Ae OclAoWeV
7forfIIr. IA then lifting shiiS.r voice. Int
an a~ngryEroar,- he called s.Man iteF. q
There was a sound of hurrying foot
steps=v7=heaYy. footballs quite unlike the
tread Of Mary Smiths fairy feet-and,
thes-front door opened and ejectcd#5hl
oyuhga wOnlaI;;3rosy checked, fat, quty
ering4 Will. desh and curiosity. sz
s.:4s Y Is It, pa 2, she demanded az
I4GffipIpaHlnl Smith drew. Aatlay pipe fr:N1hhh,f
t1issEggh ttsast pock4tt ahAll indicated HE
Visit117fsHHsMiliIlttth EsiaassasieCe of his hard:
soaesp ffy5sspl.ulr.setltllsistlbeea Mamie. Take,
him. MA ''ss sss 55s as..s#ssia#s4 YA
When Neutrality-suspicious. Of his tar
ribIeavoice had died on the still air the
girls nervous ssg,iggle broke the strain
ed iSslelnce..s- ess&ssie, NJ
'IsEhayey made nEmistake," explained
Meldon, for the third time that morn
ing. --~.2-ta1t.+aee~ z444,fd -
"yvho are you looking for2" asked
thee, Girl gopq natupetly. asg
4f"Afissa MARY Smith, She is tile daugil-
ter Of a Captain Smith. I do not know
his given name" Ralph Meldon pauss;
ed at the foot of the steps and re.
garded first the little brown church
and then the large conch shell on the
porch near the captains swinging feet.
"A great light broke over Miss Mamie
Smiths rosy face. 81 guess you mean
Captain Lelnuel John Smiths daugh-
ter. OF course you'd be invited, being
city folks, She paused and surveyed
Melden with genuine admiration in
her big brown eyes. 4E5
She said it was near the church
and had a conch shell ON the porctks,',
i%nsinuated, Ralph impntiently. ag
ooh, yes, indeed-just around the
corner Of the church on the other side
of the street. You see, almost every
house Oh this street belongs to- Smith.
Just las many folks call the village
'Smithport' as5they5do East Bay" #s
Captain Smiths white head bobbed
over lthefedge of the hammock. 'Time
was" he beloved, "when there was
a Cap'n John Henry Smith in every
house in this street, SIR" F
"Indeed!" Meldon was properly as
t%onished. cit must have made matters
interesting for the postmaster" fs
cit did, 1t did, sir, Postmaster got
so riled with worrying over which
John Henry Smith the letters was for
that he just dealt 'em out as they
come to hand in the boxes, begin
ming at No. L, one letter for each SO
long IS they lasted until the letters
give out. Then next mail time he'd
begin where he left off till every man
had a letter He had a sight of
trouble with. the newspapers, every
other II having a different brand fof
politicks." About once a"'week there'd
be a row over each Citing their right
letters and papers, and the wimmen
folks got to know 80 much about each
other's affairs. that the postmaster give
every John Henry Smith another mi
tiaffto#his name. Mines Cap'n john,
Henry 7. Smith," The captains rubi-
cuniE c~ountenance disappeared once.
more behind the hammock. haa&
Mellon turned the corner and march.
ed determinedly up the wide cross.
ADJ sstlurse I tsF II o III l III Al aatthle VI Il m All h 5 i l1gyESs 81 Ess
ave~evidence-of"a-gr greater prosperity.
Observation-Disclosures street of"the
Smiths. r.
Opposite the church was an impos-
ing red brick house, homely Of .archi-
lecture, but breathing forth comfort
and at this moment even gayety.
Strains Of music drifted from the open
windows, andpa long stretctAof striped
awning made a tunnel from the, gate
to the front door. Into this tunnel
Meldon marched regardless of i'm
pending festivities or that he was an
unihyited guest. afirq +. tas9Z-aB tHa
The front door was open, his hat
and stick We're taken away by a fut-
teringt maid. and he was left in the
shadow Of Al wide doorway where he
could see down the vista Of a long
room filled with people. He awoke to
i the fact that the orchestra had been
playing Lohengrin's wedding march,
and now the strains died away, and
the measured tones of a clergyman
broke solemnly into tile Silence.
Tse.Dearly beloved, : we ~aresiAgathered
together +i4*[I* this ma and this
woman in holy matrimony."
Meldon did not hear any more. He
leaned dizzily against the door Intel
and thought vaguely of that brief
period in the winter when he had re-
joiced. in, the sweet companionship of
Mary Smith, and now she was being
married, and he, an uninvited guest,
lurkedg at the threshold! ;~!p5:.. -.!2
The ceremony was over, and there
were the miurmur of voices and low
laughter. Meldon leaned forward for
one look at the bride. After that it
would: be his part to go.
The bride and groom were sur
rounded by a shifting group, but over
there by the window, where the late
iafternoon sun fell athwart her; golden
hair and pink flushed cheeks, was his
\ Mary Smith. Her gown of pink fluffy
chiffon denoted hleir: attendance in. the
bridal procession, but not as the prin-
lfcfpal.4 Other bridesmaids in pink
chiffon lowered near .her, or darted in
and out Of the group surrounding the
bride. Meldoni could now see dark
hair crowned with orange blossoms
ana Yeilt s. 19MI 2~Suitsai a!T :.