The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1914-01-31

| Who's running the place, anyhow?
Your"
"Not-exactly." | explained. Pit. of
course, when anything comes Up they
consult me. The housekeeper is a
fool, and now that the house doctors
gone"
Gone! Who's looking after the
patients?"
We'll, most of them have been here
before" | explained, and | know
their treatment-the kind of baths and
all that"
"Oh, you know TIE treatment" he
said, cycling me. And why did the
house doctor go?"
He ordered Mr.. Moody to take his
spring water hot Mr.. Moody's spring
water has been ordered cold for eleven
years. and | refused to change. 1t
was between the doctor and me, Mr..
Van Alstyne."
"Oh. of course" he said, "if II was
a matter of principle" He picked up
his hat and looked at his watch
Eleven thirty" he said. and no
up TO the police"
IF there was only something to do"
said, with lump in my throat, but
to have to sit and do nothing while
the old place dies; lists awful, Mr..
Van Alstyne."
Were not dead yet" he replied
from the door, land maybe we'll need
you before the days over. If anybody
can sail the old bark to shore, you can
do it, Minnie. You've been steering
it for years. The old doctor was no
navigator, and you and | know it,"
The storm stopped little at three
and most of the guests waded down
through the snow for bridge and
spring water. By that time the after
noon train was in, and no Mr.. Dick.
Mr.. Sam was keeping the lawyer, Mr..
Stitt, in the billiard room, and by four
o'clock they'd had everything that was
in the bar and were inventing new
combinations of their own. And Mrs.
Sam had gone to bed with a nervous
headache.
Senator Biggs brought the mail
down to the spring house at four, but
there was nothing for me except a
note from Mr.. Sam. rather shaky.
which said he'd no word yet and that
Mr.. Stitt had mixed all the cordials in
the bar in a beer glass and had had
to go to bed.
| nearly went crazy that afternoon.
| put salt in Miss Cobb's glass when
she always drank the water plain
Once I put the broom in the fire and
started to sweep the porch with a
fire log. Luckily they were busy with
their letters and it went unnoticed, the
smell of burning straw not rising, so
to speak. above the sulphur of the
spring.
Senator Biggs went from one table
to another telling how we'll he felt
since he stopped eating. and trying to
coax the other men to starve with
him.
It's funny how a man with a theory
about his stomach isn't happy until
he has made some other fellow swal-
low it.
Then they all began at once. II you
have ever heard twenty people airing
their theories on diet you know all
about it. 1t always ends the same
way: the man with the loudest voice
wins, and the defeated ones limp over
to the spring and tell their theories
to me. They know I'm being paid to
listen.
But when things had got quiet-ex-
cept Mr.. Moody dropping nickels into
the slot-machine-I happened to look
over at Miss Patty, and / saw there
was something wrong. She had let
ter open in her lap-not one Of the
blue ones with the black and gold seal
that every one in the house knew came
from the prince-but a white one, and
she was staring at 1t as il she'd seen
ghost.