The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-12-18

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J Naitstill crept down the hill with her
homemade rag doll in her rms She
stood on the outskirts of, the crowd. a
silent. absorbed little figure clad in a
shabby wooden coat. with a blue kuit
'loOl framing her rosy face. Deborah.
her beloved. her only doll, was tightly
clasped in her arms. for Debby, like
her parent. had few pleasures and
. must not be denied so great a one as
, ''l:>. Suddenly one Of the t%hOughtless
! ni:ng scampS in the group. wishing to
rcate Il new sensation and add to the
General excitment. caught the doll
rom the child'S arms and running for
ward with Il wild warwhoop. flung it
intO the flames. Waitstill did not lose
n instant. She gave a scream Of an
. '"'';*'l and without giving any warning
- hcr intentions. probably without
"Hlizin% them herself. she dashed
Trough tie little crowd into the bon
':i' and snatched her cherished off
rim" from the burning pile. The
''IO!c thing vas owe in the %twinkling
, Of ar eye. for Uncle Bart was as quick
rs the child and dragged her out Of the
imminent danger with no worse harm
! don" than a good screening.
He led the little creature up the hill
to explain matters and protect he;
from n &roldin@. She still held the doll
! against her hcaying breast. saving. be-
tween the Soh>: II rollltlt't let nv
nclhy burn up, | couldn't. Uncle
Bart, she's got nobody but ne, Is my
dress scorched SO much | can't WrArit:
You'll tell father how it was. Uncle
Bart. wont you:"
pebby bore the marks Of her Hd
venture longer than her nWUrr. for
she had been longer in the fire. bul
stained and defArrl rs she WAS. she
was never replaced and remained the
only doll of WaitStill'S childhood. At
this very moment she lay softly and
safely in a bureau drawer ready to be
lifted out. some time. Waitstill fancied,
and shown tenderly to Patty's chill
hren. OF her W possible children
she never thought. There was but ont
man in the world who could ever be
the father of them, and she was sepa-
rated from him by every obstacle that
could divide two human beings.
Village 'auntS'' and "unCles" were
elected to that relationship by the
cOmmOn consent of the community.
their fitness being established by great
age. by decided individuality or eccen-
tricity of character, by uncommon low
HblenesS or by the possession of an
abundant wit and humOr. There was
no formality about the thing. Certain
kie." or AUNT Kitty" or what not.
while certain men were distinguished
as "Uncle RiSh." or "Uncle Pei" with,
out previous arrangement or the CON
sent of the high contracting parties.
Such Il couple were Cephas Coles ia
Their and mother. Aunt Abby and Uncle
Bart. Bartholomew Coles trade was
that of a joiner. AS for Aunt Abby'S.
it can only be said that she made al
trades her W by sovereign right OF
investigation. and what she did not
know about her %neighl,or's occupations
was unlikely to be discovered on this
side of Jordan. One of the villagers
declared that Aunt Abby and her
neighbor. Mrs. Abel Day. had argued
for an hour before they could make il
bargain about the method of dissent
mating a certain important piece OF
news. theirs by exclusive right of dis
covery and prior possession. Mrs. Day
offered to give Mrs. Cole the privilege
of Saco hill and Aunt Betty Jacks. she
herself to take Guide Board and Town
House hills. Aunt Abby quickly proved
the injustice of this decision. saying
that there were twice as many fam
lilies living in Mrs. Days chosen terri
tory as there were in that allotted to
her. so the river road to Milliken's
mills was grudgingly awarded to Aunt
Abby by way of compromise, and the
ladies started on what was a tour of
mercy in those days-the furnishing Of
Il subject of discussion for long, quiet
evenings.
Uncle Bart's jOiner's shop was at the
foot of Guide Board hill on the River.
bOro side of the bridge. and it was thu
~pleasantest spot in the whole village.
The shop itself had a CHEEKY look. with
it's weather stained shingles. it's small
square windows and its hOspitablr
door. half as big as the front side of
the building. The step was an OLD
milestone too worn for active service.
and the piles of chips and shavings Oh
each side Of it had been there for 80
many years that sweet williams. Glove
pinks and purple phlox were growing
in among them in the most irresponsi-
BILE fashion, while a morning glory vine
had crept up and curled around a long
handled rake that had been standing
against the front of the house since
early spring. There was an air of
cozy and amiable disorder about the
place that would have invited friendly
Capitalization even had not Uncle
Bart's white head, honest. rudy face
and smiling welcome coaxed you in be-
fore you were aware. A fine NOdhead
annlo troo Sha6ol tbo S;6n vvi,1nu,s