The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1918-03-12
ALittle Child
By
Martha Mccullough Williams


in the wind over to Bartons-shore's
I'm knee-high to a grasshopper."
How come you to be so shore?'
Widow Allan demanded, settling her
knltting-sheath more firmly against
her plump side. Miss Prue half shut
one eye-a devout church member of
course could not wink-set her arms
akimbo, advanced a large foot, and
said still with the oracular intona-
tons: I'D tell ye-only I'm main
afraid yell go strowin' all up and
down Bresh Creek neighborhood, and
gittin' me the name o. talkin' scandal"
The widow smiled broadly. Miss
Prue was known already for the head
and front of all gossip-especially of
the more lurid sort. Suit yerself," she
said TRANQUILITY. 'Tell hit or keep yer
mouth shet. / know and you know /
CANT possibly want to hear things half
as bad as you want to tell 'em."
Which was fact rudely stated. Miss
Prue magnanimously ignored it. 81
know you're a sensible person." she
began. "Besides-I ra'alely must have
somebody ter take counsel of. This
we're business is too much for one lone
woman ter wrastle with"
"How many other ones have We done
told a'ready?" the widow interrupted.
Miss Prue looked down: Il jest sorter
sketched things to Nan Wiekfield and
Josy Crimes" she began. The wild
ow threw up both hands, shaken with
gusty laughter. aye had better wrote
hit to the county paper" she said. "But
l wonder at yo' choosings. Nan and
Joe won't rest tell you've told the
whole neighborhood, not leavin' you
nobody but me-"
"They come in on me In the middle
of things-while the young man was.
here, asking the way-and maxim out
like he hung on admirin' my domin-
ecker pullets," Miss Prue protested,
"They seen him-also heard. So Jest
had to tell 'em-partly-the rest"
"Stop beatin' the bushes, fer good
ness sakei What is the restY' the
widow demanded. Miss Prue drew a
long breath. EFF / but knowed the
whole full of hit; 'twould be with
money-a heap of money. Five hun
dred dollars PIN an awed voice:
Enough to send a missionary clean to
China"
EFF didn't know folks CANT git
sunstruck in the late fall, I'd think
your head was fetched" the widow
exploded.
Miss Prue looked at her loftily, Sc
verely. snake light of hit all you
wanter," she said, "but that's the re-
ward. Here! Look at the handful
Didn't you find one like hit in your
letter box?"
The widow read, gasping. Sure
enough there was a reward-f1ve hun
dred dollars for information leading to
the capture of ceunterfeiters, double
that for capture actual. Followed de-
scriptions-three men, girl, hardly
more than a child, an elderly person,
very dark-skinned, small boy, al
most baby. All pictured in the usual
CHASTITY fashion of dodgers" Over the
widows shoulders Miss Prue glared
down at the alleged portraits. "Them
two's at Barton's, Shore" she said,
her finger on the dark woman with
the baby in her arms. "S'manthy told
me out of her own mouth they was
goin' to board boy-child and hits
nurse till after Christmas. Now 1 ask
you, what would honest folks be dom
sendin' child to the country sech a
time O. the year?"
"Oh, that amt nothin'. Town folks
has got so silly they don't s'prise me,
no matter what they do" the widow
you're hatchin' a mares
nest out of nothing, as usual, Pru-
dence. Your parents ought to a-named
We Im-Prudence-you talk so wild"
'Waitl You amt heard half" Miss
Prue said magisterially. 1.-TWO of the
men, and the gal, are at Barton's every
little while-come an go in a car-al-
ways on the edge of dusk else mighty
early mornin' And this other-him
come yisterday-he makes up the hull
three"
"Are you shore? Did he look like
them pictures?" the widow demanded.
"As much as anybody else,"- Miss
Prue answered, tossing her head. But
that amt all jedge by. He actually
offered me one O. his bad bills-a
twenty, bran-new-wanted to buy q
dozen pullets, and said he hadn't no
change"
you took hit-then you've got the
gang dead to rights" the widow said
quivering in her eagerness over the
unfolding drama.
Miss Prue shifted. II didn't do no
sech fool thing" she said. "Once is
enough for me. / amt forgot that time
/ took in a bad dollar SOS to sell a
dozen aigs-and had the bank man
shove 1t back at me. marked 'coun-
terfeit.' / told that thar man hadn't
no change-he might come again fer
the pullets. l don't believe he will do
it-but if he should"
''Well, what?" the widow asked as
Miss Prue's lips closed like steel
trap. "Oh, nothin'-much," said that
lady, "only I've got a telephone and
the sheriff's office has done promised
me already to come running when l
call it,
The Barton house, clean, rambling
and comfortable, had an absolute mon
arch, by name Roy Evers. He was five
years old, golden as to hair, blue-eyed,
chubby, and dimpled as Cupid. The
young woman who came internationally
in the red car Rugged him throughout
the most of her visits and left him
always with streaming tears. She
surely looked too young to be his
mother, yet he called her my man.
N.Y." and they were very much alike.
Roy liked the men who came and went
with Mammy-especially the tall one
with grazing hair, whom Nanny adj
dressed as Big Injun. Big Injun had
a way that made you mind in spite of
yourself. Johnny, the other man,
showed that even palmer than Roy
himself. AS for Nanny, all of them ap-
peared to think the earth ought to
turn around for her lightest whim. She
being Roy's bond-slave, his kingship
followed inevitably, with her as first
subject and Anne his nurse for prime
minister.
While Miss Prue was ,expounding
her beliefs to the widow, Nanny sat
smuggling Roy, and smiling woebe-
gonely at Big Injun. He had just said !:
make much of today, daughter; it
won't be safe to come again before
Christmas. Try as we may to blind
our trail, that detective hound, Feugle,
has picked it up. Fact-never mind
how know it. So be brave, girl, and
say good-by to the little man for q
while. shan't be easy in my mind I'M
til we have him across the big water.