The Devils Lake world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1911-1911, 1911-05-12
THE GRASS
WIDOW
By M. QUAD
By Nj. QUAD
Copyright. 1910. by Associated Lit
erary Press


grass widow. The term might as well
be a hay widow or straw widow, but
it is always given as 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
millpond. She waited year and then
called herself Miss and removed to
Perkinsville. She had not been there
three months when Moses Drew,
farmer, saw her at church and ad-
mired her and began counting. He
should have been told straightaway
that Abel was deceiving husband
and that that drowning business might
have been one Of his little tricks, but
he wasn't. He went right ahead and
courted under the idea that he was in
love with q miss. About eight months
after meeting the woman he asked
her to be his wife. 1t was then nearly
two years since the absconding Abel
was supposed to have gone to the bot
tom Of the pond, and Miss Saunders
blushed and stammered and said she
guessed So
That was enough for one night. On
the next the wedding day was set.
On the second the wedding day was
planned. On the third as the happy
couple sat holding hands the absconder
walked into the house. He had not
been drowned. He had not come any
where near it. OF course there was
excitement. more of it than as If
circus elephant had broken loose.
Abel apologized for his advent. He
was sorry he came. He realized what
worthless critter he was and he
could never forgive himself for hav-
ing broken up happy marriage. He
would go right away and commit sui
eide and let the matrimonial event
take place. He asked for dollar and
got it and then disappeared. Mr..
Drew had to be talked to in sooth-
ing way for long time, but he finally
sat himself down to wait until the
grass widow became real widow.
In about three months stranger call
ed on Mrs. Saunders to say that he
lived twenty miles, away and was
carpenter. He had man named Abel
Saunders up on the scaffold with him
one day when it fell to the ground and
Abel was a dead man. He only had
time to tell his name and express the
hope that his dear Minerva would now
60 ahead and marry Moses.
In five days more the preacher would
have tied the knot, but Abel walked
into the house again. 1t was some one
else that had fallen from the scaffold
and been buried by the town. If pro-
vided 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. It
was lucky that the couple had gone
slow. Mrs. Saunders received by mail
from town fifty miles away five af-
f1davits that a man who had been
found frozen to death in a snow bank
was the lamented Abel. AS the frozen
legs had broken short of in carting
the body around there was no doubt
Of death.
"Please excuse me for saying these
look good to me-" said Mr.. Drew as
he looked up after reading the afida-
Wits.
eyes, Abel is sure gone this time,"
sighed the wife.
An hour later Abel Saunders walked
in and held his toes. to the fire to toast.
Minerva succeeded in fainting away,
but Moses Drew arose in his anger
and shouted out:
"Then you were not frozen stiff"
''Me? Oh, nor
"And they didn't break the legs of
your carcass!'
LEGS? Oh, my legs are all right"
"And you've come back"
"Come back? Yes, but I'm not going
to stay long. thought I'd go out skat-
ing tomorrow and skate into an air
hole. You can both come along and
see me do it, and then there won't be
any more false alarms"
"You go to grass, sir, and I'll 60
home! This is pretty muss for re-
spectacle man to get into!"
Mr.. Drew stamped out Of the house,
and Minerva got chilly on the floor
and returned to consciousness to fall
to weeping and to wall out:
ooh, Abel, couldn't have believed
it Of you'll"
"No, Of course not. 1 orter got
frozen, but I didn't. I'll be all right
tomorrow, though. Don't cry, Nerva;
don't cry"
"But Moses!'
ooh, he'll be all right in a day or
two. Just feels hurt at my coming
back. Thinks don't mean to skate
into an air hole, but he shall see. Yes,
skate right in, and that will be the last
of me. Cheer right up, girl"
1t is matter of record that Abel
Saunders went out on the millpond
next morning and kept his promise.
More than twenty persons saw him
deliberately skate into an air hole and
his body shoot over the high dam.
They looked for 1t, and though it was
not recovered there was no doubt about
the death. Three months later the
long delayed marriage took place. 1t
was a sure thing about Abel this time.
But was it? Six months after the mar
rage man was killed almost in front
Of the Drew house by wagon run
ming over him. Sure as you live it was
Abel Saunders. He was coming home
to say that he was still alive, but
would shuttle of in a day or two to