Putnam patriot., 1916-02-25

shielding her face with her apron. knelt before the oven and drew out from the whitening blast of heat four brown loaves of salt risings.''
 Then she set the loayes upside down on the deal table and wiped her per spring face.
 A trite picture. hill old, in nearly ev- cry art gallery in the world you will see it. and few artists have ever had the courage to name it anything harsh CT than Gossip"
 Nothing good ever emanates from these afternoon quartets; the trail of the serpent is over it all. you will find trail of Borgia pasties. too, beauti- fully frosted outside and wonderfully poisoned within--slow poison.
 Mercy, they don't mean any harm; they wouldn't hurt q ty-So they say when confronted with some of their irreparable damage. The devil finds a-plenty for idle hands to do, but his main business is the culture of idle tongues. and from the very bottom of his soul-pardon the anachronism-he loathes the deaf aad dumb.
 h a country village the first topic for gossip is the behavior of the rival par sons wife, then. perhaps. the little mill liner, the little dressmaker, and finally any new arrival who minds his or her own business.
 An uncommunicatiye person is al- ways an object of suspicion; they have L.. la. ,aII- I-c. and talks and talks it's an effort to throw one off the track. No hope.
 So these four had discussed and dis sected the rival parsons wife. the go- ings on of the milliner and the dress maker, and so on. down to the strange aloof young woman who was staying out at the farm.
 Shes one O them actresses
 An the airs they put on 'mong de cent folksr'
 "Why, Bill hasn't said anything about her bein' an actress. mildly protested Uncle Billy's wife. mindful of the S6 the day.
 That's like a man, allus blinds a bat"
 "She seems nice spoken"
 It's their business to be. Actresses are th, on,y womin who go gaddin' about without their husbands. who're alus gittin' divorced. You never see q newspaper without readin' somethin' about thalr goin's on. Shes ben here more week an hasn't ben to either church. An she did not attend tn ice cream sociable-th last 0, tn season too. Hasn't been in tn village but three times. an never speaks t no- buddy"
 Actress, no doubt of it."
 Who's an aetress?" boomed a male voice from the kitchen doorway, and Uncle Billy marched in.
 There was futter, nothing more.
 The four women were rather spell bound over the suddenness of his ap- pearanee.
 Are you talkin' bout Miss Wynne, who I'm fishin? Well, I'll have y know, now n hereafter. she aint no actress.
 How'd you know she ain't?" asked his wife.
 How'd l know? Aint I got eyes'n ears? She ain't no actress. She don do no self advertisin'. an self adver- tisin' $ meat n drink t all tn actors l ever see. Keep your meddlin' tongues on'n Miss Wynne. That's all I've got [ say
 He flung his cap savagely into a corner
 The three visitors rose, settled theit bonnets dignihedly, smoothed their gowns and stalked out, not, however, missing the opportunity of extending commiserating glance at Uncle Billy's better half.
 Now look what you went an doner -on the verge of tears.
 "Whut l went an done. Dodgast it! Them busybodies"-
 "Willyum!''
 T tell y won't have 'em in my kitchen"
 Your kitehen!"-for the benefit of the three who were just passing the window.
 My house, then, f thatll suit y bet ter. BuZzin away decent folks's repi- tations. Them three make more trou. ble Il sturgeon in a nest O bass eggs. Tell everything they hear, n ball it all up when they tell it. They drove two ministers out O tn village already with their twis,in' tongu.s. An whut rifles me is, you let 'em in here t bulldoze int .1II
 He yanked his supper off the back Of the stove and ate it with deal of banging and fattling and rumbling.
 Tin sure I don't ask 'em t come here with their tales sure that the trio were now out of eafshot.
 HMebbe; but l notice y don't stuff your ears none He got up from the kitchen table. "'F anybody wants me I'm out t tn boathouse: got t overhaul tn dinged engine. F l was rich I'd throw tn blame loony ol sputterer int th' middle O the laker'
 He worked by lantern. He had the tops of the cylinders off when Cranford came in.
 Billy. do you want to make s10?"
 Ten? Well, now.
 ''I want you to take me over to King ston right away
 "Whut-t'night?"
 "Yes."
 Cant be done, Mir Cranford. Do il fer nuthin' in minute f could. First place. I'm takin' tn engine apart: sec ond place. they ain't no oil, not till t'morrow mornin An whut tn dick. ems V want [, go f Kingston ferf"
 ..I want very much to see a man there