Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-02-25

.IU j" WA aOOO q NJ ~
had been chosen, once upon q time.
BY Patricia Woodkirk as night for
q Colonial dance. Her guest had come
in wigs and with powder and patches,
while she herself had been dressed as
Martha washington. And-there had
been q George, too. Patricia had
ouarreled with him bitterly on that
very night after the last dance and
had been too obstinate ever since to
admit It either to George Worthing-
ton or to any one else.
Patricia continued to live in the old
homestead and 1t was In the very
room, in which she now sat that her
merry party Of young folks had con-,
gregated q few years ago. Most, OF
them were married now and scattered.
Her friends were largely among
the married couples OF the town
though, not two weeks ago, Patricia
had entertained q young woman IN
her home and the taste Of gay young
life once more had brought back her
own bright girlhood. !.
Corinne jamersonthe young girl
who had been Patricia's guest-had
won no end Of admiration from the
towns young men: and she, having.
come from the city with her attrac.
tive, II frivolous, manners, found IT
not q little interesting to add notch
after notch to her bean stick.
Az Patricia thought over the stay
of her young guest she recalled sew
eral instances in which the young
woman had firted with the acknowl-
edged bean OF one OF the towns own
girls. Perhaps-in fact as Patricia
recalled it all now she was sure
there were many uneasy hearts since
her departure.
"I'll have party on February
twenty-second!" Patricia almost said
1t aloud.
The closed the magazine with q
bang and sat alert. t"I'll ask all the
girls and boys to come and bury the
Ratchet. Well have a formal cere-
mony of it and" her cheeks FL
as the plan unwound itself In her
brain wear powder and
patches"
Suddenly her face clouded again
and her eyes took on the reminiscent
shadow.
But" she said, half aloud.
Then, as il fearing she would go
back on an impulse. she know in
tuitively was good, she rushed to her
desk.
Sitting down, she wrote the first
Of her invitations in almost breath
less haste. In 1t, she asked one
George Worthington to. dress AZ
George Washington and come to her
party to help to bury the Ratchet.
She folded. sealed and addressed
the note without so much as read
ing it! It seemed, when she stopped
for even an instant to think. such an
awful offense against her family
pride.
In due time she wrote the other In
yitations and not single one was
refusd.
ut looks as If every one was anx-
ious to bury the Ratchet" she
thought as she read an acceptance
from one young person whom she
knew Mad strayed from the side OF
his sweetheart to worship at the
shrine of her young guest, Corinne. 4
~ The great room OF Patrtcia's home
was lighted with looking Co
lonial candles, when the Colonial
danes began to arrive Men in satin
breeches with large buckled slippers
and heavy white wigs soon talked
sedately with danes in sheer white
fichus and voluminous skirts.
Patricia, herself, was beautiful
young Martha Washington as she
stood to greet her guests In the same
costume she had worn on q night not
SO many years ago. a
AS the evening wore on, each male
guest was present with a Ratchet.
He was told that. outside in, the con-
servatory In tubs and flower boxes
hidden away were numbers CORES
ponding to the ones on the handles
or the llatchets. It was his duty, 20
Patricia told each one, to seek the
proper girl and with her md the
number in the conservatory. To-
gether, they we're to bury the hatchet
with whatever ceremony they found
most fitting for the time and place.
When every man had found q girl,
Patricia sat alone in the great sitting
room, the candles burned to half
their original size !, One guest had
not come and Patricia was the odd
girl.
Presently replica Of George Wash
ingtcn stood in the doorway. He had
lentered, unannounced. His apologies
to Patricia covered his emotion as he
held her little hand in his own, letting
the soft lace Of his sleeve fall over 1T
His excuse was his desire to wear the
same suit he had worn on night
they both remembered-and his diff
Guilty in getting into 1t.
Patricia laughed to cover her own
embarrassment.
land rye brought along the same
Ratchet / carried that night-and for
got to bury he said,
"The-the others are scattered
about the conservatory now, burying
theirs. Patricia told him.