The Climax-Madisonian. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1914-1917, 1915-10-27
A Quick
Transitiion
By EUNIcE BLAKE

not comm sooner when you sent to say
you wanted to see me. but was work
in at the cider press
Come in. Mr. Morehouse. It's gittfn'
chilly nights now l got some logs
blazin' on the hearth. and I'll bring up
some birch beer from the cellar
Josh Morehouse, bachelor of forty.
accepted the invitation and was soon
sitting on one end of a sofa drawn be-
fore the fire, while Amanda Waters,
aged twenty. sat at the other. Beside
Josh stood table on which were dish
of nuts and a bottle of birch beer. Aft
er a swig of the beer he began crack
ing the nuts and invited Amanda to
tell him what he could do for her.
Law sakes, Mr.. Morehouse, 1 don't
believe 1 can"
''Waal, now, that's surprisin'.''
"There's somep'n | want you to do
for me, but it's awful hard to say it.
Fact is, 1 want to borry you for
awhile"
"Borry meY
Mr.. Morehouse paused while crack
ing a nut and looked at Miss Waters
inquiringly.
''You know Enoch Rogers. Well,
Enoch has been talkin' soft to me late
ly, and / don't want him to do it. He's
a nice Teller, but he's nothin' but a
boy. 1 don't cotton to these kids, but
Enoch is givin' me an awful lot of
worriment. / don't want to hurt his
feelin's, and I can't stand it to have
him follerin' me about, maxim people
believe 1 belong to him."
''Why don't you tell him. squar, to
keep off?'
IT have. 1t don't appear to do any
good"
lickin', do you?"
"Oh, no, Mr. Morehouse. wouldn't
have you do that"
what do you want me to doY'
"Waal, I've reckoned that if you
wouldn't mind make b'lieve for awhile
l belong to you mebbe he'd give me up
and be ruckensiled to get on with
out me-"
"Oh, 1 seeI That's mighty good
way o. lettin' him down"
His mother and my mother are
mighty good friends, and Enoch is a
nice boy. So 1 mustn't do anything
to make bad blood. Jest as soon as
Enoch secs that some un has got
ahead of him he'll draw off and find
another gal"
You don't mean that he'd think
you'd look at an old Teller like me, do
your
la sakes, Mr.. Morehouse, how you
talk! You're just the age for q WON
an between eighteen and twenty five
! Girls want a husband to look up to
They don't want a boy that they kin
wipe the floor with"
! You don't mean it! WAL, now.
wouldn't "a thought any gal except an
old maid would want me-"
Mr.. Morehouse looked very much
pleased. The fire cracked merrily
dancing on the fender and gliding arti
cles in the room. The birch beer hat
delicious flavor, and the nuts. hav
ing been newly gathered. were thu
same.
when shall we begin, Mr.. More
house?" asked Amanda. moving from
her end of the sofa toward her make
believe lover.
Begin? Begin whatT
why, pertendin' we're engaged"
isn't there big difference between
pertendin and the real thing?"
"Mebbe there is. but if we don't act
engaged before people they won't be
Iieve we're engaged. Enoch'II thinl
I'm just sayin' I'm engaged to she
him off,"
THAT wouldn't do. would it? Blu
how are we goin' to act engagedT'
laws a-massy. Mr.. Morehouse, yol
don't reckon we're goin to know how
to act engaged without any practfcin'Y
''Mebbe not
Mr.. Morehouse took another pull a
the birch beer, and when he had sc
down his mug he found that Amandi
had moved to the middle of the soft
and there was barely room for a shee
OF paper between them. The fire wa
cracking and giving out its genia
warmth. Mr.. Morehouse felt very hap
by. He looked sidewise at Amanda
while she looked down at her lar
smoothing her dress. He wondered /
borrowed lover practicing to play hi
part was entitled to take kiss. n
dropped an arm, which was resting o.
the back of the sofa. to her waist. Sh
did not move. He felt encouraged
He drew her toward him till she wa
leaning up against him. Her head TOP
pied to the side: he turned her face
and his lips were drawn magneticall
to hers.
by jinx," he exclaimed, 81 wonde
if bein' real lover is better'n BOZ
ryed oneI'
Nobody kin-tel that without try
in" said Amanda
Another Kiss helped him on, and sti
another helped him on further. till a
last. as he afterward said. 1.-The word
just came right out by themselve
without my havin' anything to do wit
1T"
When Josh Morehouse went hom
that evening he was astonished at re
Numbering that be had stood With
an hour in three different positions
friend. pretended lover and betrotheC
cit beats anything" he said to hin
self. slapping his knee. how sudden
some things come about Just thin
that Mandy's wantin' to borry me I
head of Enoch Rogers should "a mad
a match between her and me,''
Its dollars to douehnuts that you W