The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-10-12
SPEAKIN' OF
WIDDERS
BY M. QUAD
Copyright. 1912, by Associated Lit
erary Press.
BY NJ. QUAD

Josiah" said Deacon Trueman as
hey sat down in the bayfield, TO take q
.est and drink from the water jug
1t is being talked around that you are
sparkling the Wilder Simcoe. 1t hain't
none o my business, but you know I'm
living with my fourth wife and have
nacheraIly had some experience with
the sex.
"A wilder woman is wife whose
husband has died and left her free to
play the devil with men for ten miles
around.
Yes, in my counting around court
ed wilder women as we'll as the other
kind. | thought 1t might be jest as
well to find a wilder with farm and
plenty OF live stock as to take u wo-
man with nothing but what she stood
in. | found that wilder. There was
hundred acres of land. good house
and barn, and tho horses, cattle. sheep
and hogs made my mouth water.
II didn't let on that I'd come court
ing. was In the tombstone business
then. and ] told her I'd called TO see
about a stone for her husband | de-
scribed the one I'd put up for my wife.
and then we got to telling each other
how lonesome we was. and both agreed
we'd never marry ag'in.
That's where we both lied and knew
we were lying,
THAT wilder woman drawed me on
In fifty different ways. but mostly by
tears when she spoke Of the denarted.
| never saw tears In her eyes that |
didn't want 10 put my arm around her
waist and wipe them away. She said
that man was an oak tree and woman
only a wiler and that Ii was natural
for the willer to want to lean agin the
oak
"One day / decided to settle things.
| drove over. and she had the same
smile for me until | began to talk
business. Then she said she guessed
I'd made a mistake In the house, and
hinted that I'd better drive on for a
mile and a half.
What dye s'pose she had done
while appearing TO be as innocent and |
childish as a spring chicken? Got |
Teller to look up my property and |
found that was under mortgage. and |
she let go as IL had been a hot later. I
les. she did. and all the time she was !
telling me that If she ever did marry
ag'in she didn't care how poor the man
was If he only had a manly heart in
MS manly bosom. meaning me- II I'd
been counting long nun to be head
over heels in love Id have come home
% hang myself in the barn.
"a wilder woman don't hit fair
rom the shoulders.
"You don't know when to believe her
Ind when not TO.
when you think you've got her she's
omewhere else. When you begin to
latter yourself that you've got all the
ther fellers on the run. she's working
Ter cards to ring In a new bunch.
zone experience with a wilder
woman wasn't 'nuff for me. It's Jest
Ike when you git bowed up with
owder. You know you've been blowed,
ut yet you banker to go back to the
pot and look around for the frag-
1ents ! was buying hay that sum-
1er. and l called on another wilder
, see If she'd sell me FIVE tons.
"She wasn't Eve minutes finding out
nat was a widower. :
las she knew that I'd cult the tomb
tone business and she would be safe, I,
be begun TO talk about her dead and
one Moses. He had split her life. He :
as dead. and she didn't want to talk
gin him. but she had to say that he
as n pesky mean man. When she
arried ag'in she hoped TO marry her ),
Iual and a man who loved her for !.
srself alone.
Il went away from that house so
lstrated that ! forgot all about the :,
". I'D have bet steers 10 calves !
at the wilder was gone on me at :,
st sight =
''of course I went back agin. Had :,
see about the hay. No hay for sale. >,
Il we sat down on the shady veranda "
ID talked. and when we got through >.
king | was asked to call ag'ln.
1T halnt no use In denying that I .,
ought 1 had struck n good thing. :,
lere was a good farm and a nice :,
oder woman that could do a Mon !,
Y washing and ironing and he ready :,
bake bread on Tuesday. l used to >,
and hold that widder's hand In the -
,onlight and hear the whippoorwiils Al
g snd feel Jest as III could melt IA