Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-07-02

until after dinner to find out about
them"
BLESS your heart, why should you?
If I can't tell bit of gossip In my
kitchen, certainly couldn't tell 1t any
where. Breaking eggs and the news
sort of go together It takes strong
er-minded woman than am to make
any kind Of answers with her hands
folded in her lap. There's nothing
clears the mind up as good as q sauce
PAN" She pushed open the kitchen
door as she spoke and we stepped from
the dim hall into It's flooding sunlight.
"You sit right down at the table there
and fire away; but, In the first place,
how would you rather have your
eggs?"
"It doesn't matter" answered: "any
way that is most convenient, l was
told, Mrs. Lathrop, that you put up a
gentleman and two ladies here last
night"
mo" she said over her shoulder,
"only. two ladies, the doctor didn't stay
but he came back for them this morn
ing. certainly should not have taken
them II had known about them at
the go off, Land knows, need board
ers bad enough, but like them to BE-
good plain everyday boarders, and
not unfortunates and their nurses.
know I'll dream about the poor lovely
little thing all my days. Do you sup
pose they're kind to people like that?"
people like whatg' faltered.
Mrs. Lathrop banged down the stove
lid and turned squarely on me. Sup
pose you tell me about them flrst." she
said, "and what you want to know
about them. don't mind saying right
here that like your looks, and that
I didn't like his; but he paid his bill
fair and square enough, and 1t seems
only right you should tell me what
you want Of them, before l, perhaps,
make more trouble for that poor un-
fortunate child"
81 am afraid can only describe one
Of them plainly to you." said I, land
can give you but detail or SO about
the others. What they looked like is
one of the things that wanted to find
out from you. am looking for man
and two women; all I know about one
Of the women is that she is probably
stout and middle-aged, and all know
about the man is that he Is nearly as
tall as I, has long nose, and wore
either checkered cloth cap or a
brown derby" Mrs. Lathrop nodded.
"And about the young LADY," she
asked.
About the young lady can tell you
a great deal. She is not tall; suppose
you would say that she is barely Of
medium height Her eyes are gray or
blue or violet, you can never be GER
tain which; and her hair is golden, not
yellow golden, but the color Of actual
gold itself. She-I find 1t is not 90
easy to describe her after all. But she
looks as II she had never grown to
what she is, but as If God had made
her so all at once, and loved what he
made" I stopped, stammering.
THAT will do" said Mrs. Lathrop;
NOW will you tell me, please. what
1t is you want with them"
II want to find them" I said; II am
not quite sure what shall do with the
man or woman. The young lady is
my WIFE,"
Mrs. Lathrop stared at me In round
eyed wonder, as IL for moment
speech had been taken from her; and
across the kitchen table she faced me
squarely. "Is that true?" she asked.
EYES," said.
For another moment she looked me
in the eyes, then t''rned to her cooking
with clatter and fury unbelievable in
such a little, bird-like person. Pots
slid Gathering to the back Of the stove,
which Kissed and steamed with flying
hot water. a dish fell from her hands
and she stamped upon it recklessly;
and Of a sudden speech came to her
in a perfect torrent
81 might have known they lied" she
said; "lied and triple-lied, that's the
word. Doctor! He couldn't have doc
tored horse; and she's nurse! I
thought when she first came in here,
sic looked as If she put more perox-
ide on her hair than on her patients
Nurse, Nurse. Whoever heard Of q
nurse with face like cast-iron lawn
dog and an expression that tried to
look somewhere between st. Cecilia
and kitten, and only came out look
ing as If 1t belonged to the matron of
a police station. Her nurse, and
left her all night with that poor
angel" 80
''Nurse?" said I. What do you
mean?"
ooh, thought you knew, but perhaps
you don't He told me first, the
blackguard; and then she told me, and
kept telling me, that that poor, lovely,
little thing was insane; not violent
you know, or should never have taken
them, but just that she had delusions,
and that she had got away from the
place where she was being cured, and
that they had found her and were TAX
ing her back"
Damn him!" said I. did he tell
you that?"
amen, SIR said Mrs. Lathrop,
"and it is just what he told me, and
she added more to it, that nurse did.
And I, who thought all my life that
had my wits, believed them. Be-
lieved them almost, that is. Thank
heaven, had a grain of sense left. Is
your name Mason Ellsworth"
1 was striding the room now; but
with the abrupt question I stopped,
my hand almost roughly upon her
shoulder. eyes," l said; why? Did
Nancy give you anything for me, any
rooccooo that vO,, have heen kaonino