The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-10-26

TROUBLE.

/
1t was evident that the Young ma
was worried. Indeed. it was so eyiden
that Loretta could not well ignore tn
1act. So. after a few commonplace
sne asked what was the matter.
isn't often that my friends are 8
evidently thinking of something els
when try my best to be entertaining.
she said. You have something on YOU
mlno and it might be good idea to tel
me about it. y " .e'
cont see how you guessed it." re
turned the young man. ssBut the trutl
ls mat l am just about as worried a,
anybody can be. / don't see how thu
thing can come out right.
IL may not be as bad as it seems ,
Loretta told him, comfortinply. ssGirl,
overlook good deal. Besides. a cir
who takes the trouble to get angry a,
you Is not often perfectly Indifferent. .
You're right again-it is a girl. !" the
young man said, sheepishly. 'sYou see,
we hve IN a neighborhood that is hall
city and half country and not quite select
enough to be fashionable. It's lust as
nice as 1t can be and We certainly enioy
our garden and our porch to beat the
Dand. MY mother almost lives out of
doors. Well, there was a house built
next door with fine chicken yard and
by and by the people moved in.s'
It's way people have of doing, ="
murmured Loretta.
mere was a man and his wife and
after while girl came home from col
lege, having been graduated with honors.
zee, she's as smart as a whip! And
honest, 1t doesn't keep her from being
pretty, either
.! am really surprised said Loretta.
wen, somehow we got to be good
!rlends, the young man went on dole
fully. TOO good friends for my COM
fort, it seems. Anyhow, got interest
ed IN her chickens-which are really fine
ones. you know, not the common kind at
all. l could understand how proud she
was Of them. She was fond of any kind
OF pets and she had cat that was a
dream: 1t had a long, plumed tail and
had taken prize at every cat show for
several years. She positively worship
ped that cat.
After while mothers vegetables
came up and a lot of flowers. for she's a
master hand at growing things. Then,
just as i'll luck would have it, Something
came and dug up her growing things. It
certainly was the limit Mother got so
discouraged that said I'd kill the crea-
ture that did it on sight, whatever it
was
"Reckless!'
Well, l never thought of the chick
ems" he proceeded, "till | found Ida
Flanders kind of chilly toward me. |
asked her over the fence one morning
what the trouble was and she said very
pointedly that her most valuable chick
ems were disappearing at the rate of one
a night. l didn't catch the drift of her
remarks at first, but when she stepped
upon a box and pointed 10 our lawn l
understood. There was the head OF her
finest rooster! She reminded me that l
had declared | would kill whatever it
was that dug up our garden and then she
said that she could see was man of
my word. 1t seems she had overheard
what ! said. Well l didn't know what
to say
why didn't you tell her that you
didn't know anything about her chick
ens?"
Tell hertz repeated the young man.
''As if didn' tell her! If said it once,
| said it thousand times. But do you
think she would believe me with that
chickens head lying at my feet? Not
much. And you wouldn't have either,
not after my silly threat to kill what
ever it was that tore up mothers gar
den.''
What did you do about it after that?"
''At first | didn't think there was a
thing | could do,'' he sighed. ''Lida
wouldn't let me come near enough to
speak to her. 1t made me wild to see
her smiling at everybody else
Il wouldn't have given her second
thought since she was so unjust"
"Oh, yes, you would the young man
assured her. ut would have been all
very we'll to talk like that in the spring,
but it was too late for me to quit think
ing of her then. Why, l lay awake
nights trying to fix it up and it was not
until last week that had an idea.
ut was the very day she bowed to me
as she was going out with young Saun-
ders. You know, he squints or some
thing. Well bowling to me was more
than she had done for so long, that | sort
of took heart and sharpened my wits l
had been so down-hearted that hadn't
really tried before.
LAS result Of that inspiration made
the finest trap you ever saw-neat, too,
by love. 1t was sort of original. be-
cause / had to fit it against the side of
the chicken house and make it large
enough to squeeze mans arm as we'll
as kill rat
Il had it there two nights before it
caught thing and then when went to
look at it before going down to the office
| found it had worked. There was cat
in it caught just as securely as you
please and dead as doornail''
..Oh, how splendid!' Loretta cried.
That surely will please your fair neigh
bor."
The young man looked at her sorrow
fully. ''Do you think so?'' he asked.
You see, it was her cat!"- Chicago
NauS