The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1915-12-17
coat. with the letter in If.

coat. with the letter in It.
At 6 in the evening Mr.. Jastrum
, opened the front door Of his house and
was greeted With the smell Of gas.
"Pl,cw. My dear BETSY, hello! Where
are your
up here, dear!."
Mr.. Jastrum vent upstairs and found
his wife sitting in her bedroom in her
| fur cloak, with the windows open
Good %2racious.." he exclaimed, TAX
ing in the situation. when did the
leak occur:"
81 noticed a faint smell of gas this
morning rs soon as | got up. but it
was in the cellar and not very strong
in the house. | kept the cellar door
shut. but by noon the house was full
of it,"
"And why. may | ask, didn't you tell
me. so that ! could have notified the
plumbcr!"
when the leak in the water pipe
occurred ] asked you to stop at the
plumbers and send him right around.
You forget it. and the house was flood
ed, spelling both the dining room and
parIor carpets, besides the ceilings OF
both rUuins."
And gu OF revenge, to show your
"Not at all. Finding ! could not
trust to your memory all the way to
the Gas office. | concluded to subject it
to q much less strain. Both the post
ANA gas Offices are very near yours
the p%ostuiilre across the street, the gas
office on the same block. | wrote you
Il note asking you to 20 to the gas
Office and tell them to send q man here
at once"
and mailed the letter this morn
ing:"
Yes. There is a mail box, us you
know, just around the corner. The
pcstlman takes up the mail ut 0 Il. m.
My letter was dropped i'll the box not
two minutes after you left tie house
this morning and should have been
handed you On the II o'clock delivery.
Didn't YOU Irt it,"
"Gct it: NJ. Doubtless you thought
YOU put it in, but forgot it. You're
always ginmbliug about my forgetting
| to post your letters. While YOU are the
real delinquent. Nobody knows how
many times you have claimed to have
given me letters to post that you have
intended to post Yourself and have for
gotten"
did you post the one | gave you
this m~orning:"
Jastrum looked GaZcd for a moment,
then frightened. He thrust his hand
in his ovcrcoat pocket and drew forth
the letter.
Il met Hickson-,iust after-I left
you.' he stammercd guiItily, land he'-
Look at the address,"
lie did as she asked and saw that
the letter was addressed to himself.
Read it,"
lie tore Off the cover and read:
The gas is escaping in the cellar. Send
a man at once.
Jastrum stood looking at the letter
long enough to have read two pages.
"lsnt it p!ain: asked his wife.
Without replying. he rushed down
stairs and out. Summing the door be-
hind him. intending to get Il man to
do what he didn't know how to do
himso!f-turn off the gas. His next
N'oi 'itjSlbbi ti!lic III With Il lOlhC
wrench and did the trick. Jastrum
then went upstairs. His Wife stood
laughing at him.
"Nly GEAR" he said. not in reproach.
but giving the word its real meaning,
it, a horse Oh INC. Wait With din
ncr 6 few minutes while l go out and
telephone for seats ut the theatcr. Aft
or the play we'll sup at the hotel"
"C"rtainly. dc1r. Don't hurry. There's
plenty of time"
That night Mr.. and Mrs. .Jastruln
went I" bed by lampIight. The lex
morning the cas- leak WAS fixed, and
after that Mr.. lastruln made mcmoran-
la Of what lie should do downtown.
But unfortunately he usually forgot to
ron~n.t his memoranda,