The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-07-11
WHAT AILS
NANCY?
~ BY M. QUAD
BY M. QUAD
Copyright, 1912, by Associated Lit
erary Press.

Miss Nancy Lee was a maiden OF
forty and dwelt in the village of Char.
iotte. She was thirty years old when
her parents died, and then she and
her brother Ben kept house together
for seven or eight years. Then he
died. and Nancy was left alone in the
world.
Miss Lee could have rented or sold
her cottage and boarded. bur she elect
sd to be independent by continuing to
occupy the place. 1t was peaceful
village, with nothing to make her
afraid, and for several years things
went on without break. Then, all
Of q sudden, an aunt in town thirty
miles away was brought TO her dying
bed and sent for Nancy. The spinster
was absent two weeks. She smoothed
the pillow OF the dying woman and
brought home feather bed and half a
barrel of pickles. No one noticed any
thing strange about her until she had
been home about week. She fed
aer hens and swept her house as usual.
The first one to discover that Miss
Nancy Lee was in trouble was Deacon
Haskins. He called at the house one
evening to borrow rat trap. and he
noticed that she was very nervous.
She kept struggling her shoulders and
hitching about. and now and then her
mouth would give twitch at the cor
ners. He solicitously inquired IL she
had stepped on carpet tack, and she
replied In the negative, and he went
home to say to his wife:
Prudence. Nancy Lee Is acting very
queer tonight"
Good landsr
'Hitched around all the time I was
in the kouse."
, you don't say"
acted as Il she wanted to back up
to tree and rub"
Deacon Haskins! I'll run right
overt Mebbe she's been taken with a
spell"
"Oh. guess 1t don't amount to any
thing. Been eating a green apple like
as not If she gets wuss she'll boiler
to us from the kitchen winder"
y The deacon's wife didn't go over, but
early next morning Mrs. Partridge sent
her son Willie over to borrow three
eggs for breakfast. He got them, and
he returned home with his eyes stick
ing out to exclaim:
I INA, Miss Lee was crying when l
went jnr'
\ "Is it possibleT
Eyes: caught her at t."
'Was she Just crying or boohooing?"
! "Shc was crying and rubbing her
back agin the edge of door"
Heaven save us! ! can understand
that she might be crying over so many
deaths in the family, but what on
earth was she rubbing her back for7"
1T itched probably" replied her hus-
band.
ut probably didn't do anything of
the sort. There's mystery here, and
I'm going to try to get to the bottom
OF it."
After breakfast Mrs. Partridge made
an excuse to drop in and see for her
self. The spinster's eyes showed that
BIG hQA D~SA WCGPAhSs A,hS niSo bG-
gan to hitch about.
You are like COW in hytime. Nan
cy, I've known you for fifteen years,
and II you are in trouble ! want to
help you out"
"y3ut I'm aot in trouble. One feels
lonely once In awhile. and then the
tears come"
Yes; I know how Il is. and I'm glad
it's no worse for you. Run into my
house any time. You know you're al,
ways welcome"
Miss Lee had denied things, but she
hadn't fooled Mrs. Partridge a little
bit. The caller left the house ostensi-
bly, for home. but slipped into the
house of Mrs. Goodhue and greeted
her with:
ruth Goodhue, there's something
going on in this town"
"Anybody's clothesline been robbed"
mo, but Nancy Lee is crying and
hitching around and rubbing her back
on the edges of doors"
"But what ails herr
"Thats to be found out. That's the
mystery. She says It hain't nothing
tall, but of course we know better.
We must make her tell"
YES. she's got to-"
The two women started out and call
ed on nine or ten other women. and
before night Nancy Lee was the talk
of the village She had been crying
aud hitching and rubbing and yet had
refused to explain. The good wife OF
Deacon Haskins had dropped in to
borrow a nutmeg and then had made
TO say:
Nancy. your mother and me used
to play together as children. Why
don't you tell me what ails your"
"I-can't-tellT was walled out
Nancy Lee. are you in lover" was
sternly asked.
mo"
Have you been Tilted"
mo"
The deacon's wife stuck and hung,
but the mystery was not to be solved
not that day. 1t was three days later
when twenty-seven women, headed by
the minister's wife. called and put the
epinster through the third degree.
Then the awful truth came out.
Nancy famed her back crying over