Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1911-06-14
An Interval
By F. A. Mitchell
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

Its queer how little difference ten
years will make in the look of persons
when you're with 'em all the time
and how much difference it makes
when you don't see 'em. And if you
don't see 'em for matter of twenty
year. why, you don't know 'em at ALL"
The words were spoken by Joshua
Sparks to his friend, Mahulda Stickler.
Yes, Mr. Sparks. and that's the
reason | don't take stock in the idee
that love is anything more'n Twin to-
gether."
Il knew of a case of that kind onct
1t came under my own observation
You know Martha Wrinkles, don't
you?''
Yes, l know her; she's skinny old
maid"
WAL, when Martha was a gal she
was as purity as any on 'em. was a
leetle soft on her myself then. But |
didn't have no chance. She was sot
on Ben Higgins, as fine lookin
young man as ever handled a pitch
fork And Ben was Sot on her. They
was the lovenest couple ever see.
They was goin' to git married when
Ben was TUX sick. He was sick a long
while, and when he got we'll the doc
tor said he'd better go off somewhere
else to git change of air.
ben, he went to Colorado, where the
air is dry and pure. He TUX pictur
of Martha with him. and they both said
their love was the undyin' kind. 1t
didn't matter how long they might be
separated, neither of 'em would marry
any one else, and they would marry
each other when they come together
ag'in.
ben was twenty when he went
| away and Martha was nineteen. The
separation was longer than either of
'em had any idee OF when they parted.
| Ben was five years gittin back his
health, By that time he thort he'd
come to an age when he'd like to have
little somepin laid up before he got
married SO he worked and worked
but somehow riches didn't come. 1t was
twenty-one years before he got back.
Neither he nor Martha was much al
writin, even when he went away
First off they wrote onct a month
then onct a year, and after that il
was onct in five years. But they was
true to each other all these years.
"Ben was forty-two years old wheI
he come back He come to me fust
before seem Martha at all. l didn
know him. Some men looks purt.
young at fortytwo. and some looks
purity old. Ben was one O the OLE
lookin' kind. He wore specs, his hea(
was smooth as a billiard ball. ant
what hair there was on the sides wa
grizzly gray.
Don't y'know me, Josh?' he said
I'm Ben Higgins
"Waal. to be perlite l told him II
had trouble with my eyes
He told me that he'd come home t
marry Martha He'd made some mon
ey during the last few years and wa
loOkin' forward to the realization o
the dream of his life. He TUX the pic
tur' of Martha out of his pocket an
showed it to me. My sakes, how ia
away it seemed. There sat a purt
young gal that I'd known twent.
yecrs before Now she was gray i
the front of her head, and the wrinkle
, she's got now was beginnin' to sprea
over her face and neck and arms an
hands | guess it makes a woman sou
loOkin' to wait for a lover. AnyWa,
she looked just as if she could bit
off tenpenny nail.
Ben says l, 'Martha's changed
bit since that was taken
"'Mebbe,' he said. she might hay
changed somewhat. I'm goin' to st
= her tonight, and I'll see how muc
she's altered
:, "'Come round to my house to su
' per- said. You can go to see Martl
afterwards
}, "FAll right he answered.: I will
81 asked Martha to come to suppe
. not tellin' her she was to meet her o
lover. | wanted to see 'em when The
first saw each other. | didn't go
no trouble of introducin' EN-. as eli
n of the table by my wife. and Ben $
y by me. the yunkers between. Cons
I quence was that Ben and MART
!! didn't have nothin' to say to ca
e other Fact is they didn't appear
Z take no interest into each Oth'
III When Ben and | got up from the
IL BILE l asked him if he wouldn't like
I'd go out and look at the stock. He So
81 he would. and we went to the barn.
After awhile Ben said he guess
he'd go and see his old love. Then
d told him Martha had been settin'
p the other end of the table at supper
g. you ought to seen the way he lot
ILL., ed at me- There was panied expr
OF sion. as though he had built beat
al full structure over him away up il
~ the sky and it had collapsed and co
oy down on his head. The first thing