The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1912-07-19
A NEW
TIN PAN
Bv Nj. QUAD
By M. QUAD
downright, 1912. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

,,ben tin peddler approached the vii
lace of Harrison,
10 stopped his rig at the first house.
nh house belonged to Deacon Rush.
n, the back steps, seated side by side.
-.ro the deacon's wife and her nearest
o,cbbor and best friend-Mrs. Burt.
"Tinware, ladies?" he asked. Every
ching new and bright Finest milk pan
n tho country for only 10 cents"
ave always paid Is cents for milk
,.ns" replied the deacon's wife.
yves. and I've sold 'em as high as 10.
hut they have got new way of max
Ing EN-, and I'm giving you the benefit
NJ II I'll bring one in"
The pan arrived, new and shiny,
and stood all the tests it was put to.
M leaks. and it would almost serve as
. mirror. A dime was borrowed to pay
tor f. and after a little more talk it
vas left on the steps while it's owner
made a call at another house and the
deecon's wife entered her own to make
mn the bed that had been airing.
Now came the COW. She belonged to
man at the other end Of the village.
There was grass In plenty. but she
,onged for garden truck. She leaped
the back fence and helped herself. In
her stepping about she approached the
kitchen door and saw that new pan.
She saw the reflection of her face
and became astonished and indignant.
A crop cared. one horned critter gazed
At her in a defiant manner, and as she
was bovine that had never taken a
bluff she bumped up her back and
sailed in.
An hour later Mrs. Burt came back
after her pan. and her first yell
brought the deacon's wife out Of the
house. There lay the once shapely
and shiny pan in the dirt, trodden as
fat as q pancake. 1t might do to stop
a hog hole in the back fence, but no
artisan could never mold it into pan.
LANDS alivew exclaimed Mrs. Burt.
mercy on mer' exclaimed Mrs. Rush.
"That cow did itv'
"She must have!'
"And you let herr
Sarah Burt, don't you say anything
like that to me! l didn't know there
was COW in the garden
But you ought to have known. II
you'd keep your fences like other folks
the COWS couldn't get in. Look at that
pan that cost me 10 cents an hour
agOr'
"Was l to sit out here and watch
TT" protested the deacon's wife.
"You ought to have heard the cow
when she was tromping it."
you ought to have taken it home
or carried it along with you"
That's nothing to do with it. 1t
was left here. and it's destroyed. and
I'll be switched II l ever pay you the
10 cents?'
IF you don't I'll sue your
you dasn'tv'
There it was. you see-the first real
quarrel between neighbors the village
had had in many long years. The
happy minded peddler and the fighting
cow disappeared from the scene. but
the quarrel remained. 1t did more than
that The news spread and within two
hours Mrs. Henderson was saying:
Mrs, Burt shouldn't try to lay the
blame of on Mrs. Rush. When wo-
mans busy making bed she amt
thinking Of cows. l hope Mrs Rush
sues for the 10 cents"
And in the house right across the
street Mrs. Holiday was saying:
I'D let her sue and be hanged to
her! When new 10 cent milk pan
Is left on my back steps by neighbor
It's my duty as Christian woman to
90 out there every few minutes and
see that it's all right. shall certain
~ advise Mrs. Burt not to pay the
10 cents
BY the next day the village was
about equally divided on the question.
though some few were inclined to blame
neither the peddler nor COW. 1t was all
talk for day or two. and then came
action. The factions no longer bor-
rowed nor lent. They bowed stiffly to
each other or not at all on the street.
Ihey revived gossip that had been
oead fifteen years and rolled it under
tneir tongues. Carried into the church
es! Of course 1t was When thing
IKE that gets started in q village
tnere's no telling where 1t will end It
drew the elders and deacons and two
ministers in. and it made the attend
ance at sermons and prayer meetings
mighty slim. To all peacemakers the
ueacon's wife would reply:
Il wasn't set here on this earth to
LOOK out for other folks milk pans. and
l Jest won't do it,"
AND the reply Of Mrs. Burt would be:
she ought to have known about the
COW and I'll never pay that 10 cents"
II was quarrel and a division that
~sted five years and might have gone
VI tor another nve ou. Tor providence
~king hand in rh. game A
ramp who had the neasles headed
.nat way. and he simply handed the
""n an epidemic Not a score of
people were spared While none died.
al went to bed to be doctored and to
w neap of thinking. and the result
was That as fast as they could crawl
0u' tney eaSed their conscienceS by