The herald., 1911-12-28
An Interval
By F. A. Mitchell
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.
By F. A. Mitchell

when you don't see en- Anu IL you
don't see 'em for a matter of twenty
year, why. you don't know 'em at all
The words were spoken by Joshua
Sparks to his friend, Mahulda Stickler.
Eyes, Mr.. Sparks. and that's the
reason / don't take stock In the idee
that love is anything more'n Twin to-
gether."
81 knew Of a case of that kind onct.
It came under my own observation
You know Martha Wrinkles. don't
your?
"Yes, l know her; she's skinny old
maid"
"Waal, when Martha was a gal she
was as purity as any on 'em. was
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 l ever see.
They was goin' to git married when
Ben was tux sick. He was sick long
while, and when he got well the doc
tor said he'd better go off somewhere
else to git a change of air.
ben, he went to Colorado. where the
air is dry and pure. He TUX a 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
a 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 at
writin'. even when he went away.
First of they wrote onct a month.
then onct a year, and after that it
was onct in FIVE years. But they was
true to each other all these years.
ben was forty-two years old when
he come back. BE come to me fuSt
before seem Martha at all l didn't
know him. Some men looks purity
young at fortytwo, and some looks
purity old. Ben was one o. the old
lookin' kind. He wore specs, his head
what hair there was on the sides was
grizzly gray.
Don't y'know me, JoshT he said.
I'm Ben Higgins
"Waal. to be perlite l told him I'D
had trouble with my eyes
HE told me that he'd come home to
marry Martha. He'd made some mon.
ey during the last few years and was
lookin' forward TO the realization OF
the dream Of his life. He TUX the pic
tur' Of Martha out Of his pocket and
showed it to me. My sakes, how far
away 1t seemed! There sat a purity
young gal that Id known twenty
years before. Now she was gray In
the front Of her head. and the wrinkles
she's got now was beginnin' to spread
over her face and neck and arms and
hands. guess II makes woman sour
lookin' to wait for lover. Anyway.
she looked just as IL she could bite
or q tenpenny nail.
Ben says l. 'Martha's changed a
bit since that was taken
'Mebbe.' he said. she might have
changed somewhat. I'm goin' to see
her tonight, and I'll see how much
she's altered
"'Come round to my house to sup
per- said You can 60 to see Martha
afterwards
"'All right he answered; I Will
81 asked Martha to come to supper
not tellin' her she was to meet her old
lover. l wanted to see 'em when they
first saw each other. l didn't 60 to
no trouble Of introducin' 'em. as city
folks do Martha she sot at one end
Of the table by my wife, and Ben sol
by me. the yunkers between. Conse
Quence was that Ben and Martha
didn't have nothin' to say to each
other. Fact is they didn't appear to
take no interest into each other
When Ben and l got up from the tn
BILE l asked him If he wouldn't like tc
go out and look at the stock. He said
he would. and we went to the barn.
After awhile Ben said he. guessed
he'd go and see his old love. Then
told him Martha had been settin' a,
the other end of the table at supper.
you ought to seen the way he look
ed at me. There was q panied expires
sion. as though he had built beauti
full structure over him away up into
the sky and it had collapsed and come
down on his head The first thing ht
said was:
Ibid she know who l wasy
"'No. but my wife has told her by
this time
81 saw he'd better not go to SCI
Martha right Off. and | told him SO
He agreed with me. When my wifi,
told Martha that she had set at tn,
same table with her old lover sht
acted about the same way as Ben did
She didn't go home that evenin'. fear
in he would go to see her.
"Ben stayed around here for awhile
He and Martha used to meet onct II