Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1911-04-06
TIE GLASS
WIDOW
BY NJ QUAD
Copyright 1910. by Associated Lit
er4ry ir

be a hay widow or straw widow, but
It IS always given us grass.
Miss Minerva Saunders was grass
widow. She should have called her
self Mrs. but the report had come to
her that her missing husband, Abel.
had been seen to drown himself In
mllpond She waited year and then
called herself Miss and removed TO
Pcfiinsvillc. She had not been there
three months when Moses Drew.
farmer. saw her at church and adj
mred her and began counting. lie
should have been told straightaway
that Abel was deceiyinG husband
and that that drowning business might
have been one of his little tricks, hut
he wasn't He went right ahead and
courted under the idea that ne was in
love with miss About eight months
after meeting the woman he asked
her TO be his wife II was then nearly
two years since the absconding Abel
was supposed to have gone TO the bot
tom Of the pond, and Miss Saunders
bushed ana stammered and said she
guessed so.
4 That was enough for one night On
the next the wedding day was set.
planned On the third MS the happy
couple sat holding hands the absconder
walked into the house He had not
been drowned He had not come any
where near H. OF course there WAS
excitement. more Of It than as II a
circus elephant had broken loose.
Abel apologIzcd for his advent lie
was sorry he came. He realized what
worthless critter he was and he
could never forgive himself for hay
Ing broken mp happy marriage TIE
would go right away and commit sui
eide and let the matrimonial event
take place Tie asked for q dollar and
got It and then disappeared Mr..
Drew had to be talked to In q sooth-
ing way forP long time, but he finally
sat himself down 70 wait until the
grass widow became a real widow
In about three months n stranger call
ed on Mrs Saunders to say that he
lived twenty miles away and was a
carpenter. He had man named Abel
Saunders up on the Scaffold with him
one day when it fell TO the ground and
Abel WIS a dead man. He only had
time to tell his name and express the
hope that his dear Minerva would now
go ahead and marry Moses
In five days more the preacher would
have tied the knot but Abel walked
into the house again. II was some one
else that had fallen from the scaffold
and been buried by the town If pro-
vlded with a cheap suit Of clothes he
would make an end Of himself this
time.
Three months went by and nothing
from Abel During this interval there
was no talk about the wedding day.
There must be no more surprises. II
was lucky that the couple had gone
slow Mrs. Saunders received ny mail
from n town fifty miles away five af-
fdlvits that n mani who had been
found frozen to death i'm snow bank
was the lamcntCd Abel As the frozen
l,gs had broken short OF IN carting
the BODY around there was no doubt
ef denth.
"Plonso excuse me for saying these
look Cood to we said Mr. Drew as
H. looked up after rcnding the at'ida-
Wits
"Un, Ab'l is sure gone this time"
~i"hrl tha Wife.
Aa hour later Abel saunders walked
n ard held hi. toes 70 the fire 70 toast.
Minerva succeeded tn faintinc away,
but Moses Eww arose in his anger
ana shouted OUT
Then ron wer" not frozen stiffF
Ne: oh, no.
And they didn't break the legs Off
your car"osS!
Legs: oh. my legs are all right"
AND you've come h1"k,'
'fono back? Yes, but I'm not going
to stay long I thought I'd go ont skat-
Ing tomorrow and skate into an air
hole. Nou can both come along and
see noe do il. ana then there won't be
any moro false alarms
YOU go 70 grass, sir. and I'll so
home. This is a pretty musS for re
spectacle man 10 get into"
Mr.. Drew stamped out Of the house,
nnd Minerva got chilly on the door