The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1915-06-01
COPYRIGHT or mr. cE17N7y ca

| gers, the suspicious and condemnatory
tail of his eye on Abraham.
"Haow'd yew git here?" he burst
| forth. What yew bin an done with
my wife. an my horse, an my man,
an my kerridge? Haow'd yew git
here? What'd yew come fer? When'd
yew git here?"
"What'd yew come fer?" retorted
| Abe with some spirit. "Haow'd yew
! git here?"
None O. yer durn' business"
A glimmer of the old twinkle came
back into Abes eye, and he began to
chuckle.
Il guess we might as wal tell the
| truth, Sam'l. We both tried to be so
alfred young yesterday that we got
| played out. an concluded unanermous
that the best place fer a A No. spree
| was ter hum"
Samuel gave a weak smile, and
drawing up a stool took the cat upon
| his knee.
yes" he confessed grudgingly, II
| found out fer one that 1 haint no
spring lamb
"Ner me, nuther," Abe's old lips
trembled. 81 had eyester-stew an
drunk coffee in the middle o. the night;
then the four-o'clock patrol wakes me
up ag'in. Here, be SPORT they says,
an sticks a piece O. hot mince pie I'M
der my nose. Then was SO Uneasy l
couldn't sleep. Daybreak l got up.
| co. IL
belt, an / sorter wandered over ter the
bay side, an not mile out l see tew
men with one O. them big fishin scoot-
ers a-haulin' in their net. An l walked
a ways out on the ice, a-signalin with
my bandana han kercher; an arter a
time they seen me. IT was Cap'n Ely
from Injun Head an his boy. Haow
them young 'uns dew grow! Las time
l see that kid, he want knee-high tew
a grasshopper.
WAL, says tew 'em, l says:
Want ter drop passenger at Twin
Coves' Yes, yes they says. Jump
in An SO, Sam1, I gradooated from
yer school O. hardenin' on top ton O.
| squtrmin' fish, more or less. l thought
I'd come an git Angy," he ended with
sigh, IAN yer hired man'd drive us
back ter Shoreville; but thar want
nobody hum but mewin' cat, an the
only place l could git inter was this
here shop. Wonder whar the gals has
| gomez"
No mention of the alarm that he
must by this time have caused at the
station. No consciousness of having
committed any breach against the laws
of hospitality. But there was that in
the old mans face, in his worn and
wistful look, which curbed SamuePs
tongue and made him understand that
as little child misses his mother so
Abe had missed Angy, and as little
homesick child comes running back to
the place he knows best so Abe was
Fastening back to the shelter he had
scorned.
So, with an effort, Samuel held his
| peace, merely resolving that as soon
as he could get to telephone he
would inform their late hosts of Abe's
safety.
There was no direct way of tele-
phoning; but message could be sent
to the Quogue station, and from there
| forwarded to Bleak HILL
I've had my lesson" said Abe. 1.-THE
place fer old folks is with old folks"
"But"-Samuel recovered his au-
thoritative manner-"the place fer an
old man amt with old hens. Naow,
Abe, eff yew think yew kin behave yer
self an not climb the flagpole or Jump
over the roof, want yer to stay right
here, yew an Angy both, an spend yer
week out. Yes, yes" as Abe would
| have thanked him. 81 take it," plrng-
ing his Land into his pocket, "yew amt
| slowed away nothin' since that mince
| pie; but l can't offer yer nothin' to
| eat till Blossy gifts back an opens up
the house. 'cept these here peppmints.
They're fine; try EN-"
With one Of those freakish turns of
the weather that takes the conceit out
of all weather-prophets, the snow had
| now ceased to fall, the sun was strug-
Cling out Of the clouds, and the wind
was swinging around to the west
Neither of the old men could longer
| fret about their wives being caught in
| a heavy snow; but, nevertheless, their
anxiety concerning the whereabouts
| of the women did not cease, and the
inconsistencies which Abe felt for Angy,
and Samuel for Blossy, rather in
| creased than diminished as one sat on
| the roll of canvas and the other
crouched on his stool, and both Rugged
the fire, and both felt very old, and
very lame, and very tired and sore,
Toward noontime they heard the
welcome sound of wheels, and on rush.
| ing to the door saw Ezra driving alone
to the barn. He did not note their ap-
pearance in the doorway of the shop;
| but they could see from the look on
his face that nothing had gone amiss
Samuel heard the shutting of the
kitchen door, and knew that Blossy
was at home, and strange shyness
| submerged of sudden his eagerness
to see her.
What would she say to this unex-
pected return? Would she laugh at
him. or be disappointed?
"Yew go fust," he urged Abe, AN
tell my wife that I've got the chilblaine
an lumbago so bad can't hardly git
tew the house, an had ter come hum
fer my st. Jerushy Ile' an her receipt
fer frosted feet"