Show DEFENDING HIMSELF Or the Story of n Subtcrfuscons Man Who 9tndo u Failure A man who had not been conducting himself him-self very well and who was endeavoring to make himself agreeable to his wife remarked after a long silence Speaking of cyclones We have not beem speaking of cyclones sho reproachfully broko in Werent we speaking of cyclones this morning he meekly asked NoWhen When was it we vera speaking about cyclones cy-clones I I dont ksioxr Wasnt it last week I tell you I dont know Wo must have been speaking about cyclones cy-clones some time I dont remember that we have Well now you may not remember it Memory you know is a very treacherous thing It seems to be she answered I told you to send some coal up this morning i out you didnt do it I ordered it Are you sure it didnt come comeOrdelcd Ordered it1 she contemptuously repeated Yes ordered it Wasnt my fault that it fildnt come Did my part Why yon told me not more than an hour ago that you had forgotten it and now you say that you ordered it They were sitting in front of the grate He passed his hand over his brow in a helpless help-less way looked at the clock shook his head sadly and said I cannot help what my former declaration declara-tion was I may have uttered numerous absurdities I ab-surdities whilo worried with a troublesome dealthat I have had on my hands for sometime some-time but I know I ordered that coal early this morning Yes I suppose soI Louise you arc cruel Do you think soP she exasperatingly asked L askclYe Yes I do You are not only cruel but are actually heartless I Did von hrinf that Inmhi tvrxil I 1 stopped in nth store and they said tbat they were out of tho best quality Why didnt you go to another storer Well I wanted to catch a car andwell I wanted to get hero in timo for dinner and I thought that another time would do for tho lambs wool so when they told me that they didnt have the best quality I hurried away so I could cat dinner with you But you didnt get here in time You were nearly two hours late Again ho passed his hand helplessly over his brow I started all right ho said but the car stopped just as we were going into the tunnel tun-neL I asked the conductor what was the matter and he said the cable was broken Why you told me that you were detained at the oflice Oh that was yesterday evening No it waa this evening Thats so It was yesterday evening that the cable broke Why you were at home on time then Ho leaned over and propped up his chin He was the picture of ill used sadness of cruel neglect SIlO spoke again and he moved uneasily Well Louise wo wont talk about it I have done my best and if I have failed why I cannot help it You have done your best to prove that you have not failed she answered Silence followed What were you going t i say about cyclones she asked after a timeOh Oh yes I was thinking of something that took place out on a Kansas prairie A terrible cyclone about ten feet wide came through the country The narrowest and JDOst forcible cyclone the people bad ever known When it struck a building it simply cut a hole through it and went on Struck a hill after it crossed the prairie Bored a hole through Railroad is going to use the hole for s tunnel Went on and struck another prairie There it encountered two men walking walk-ing along They were about ten feet apart They didnt hear the cyclone and one of them had just taken out a corkscrew and vas about to hand it over to tho other one I when here came the cyclone It passed be tween them but took the corkscrew Terrific wincl Why when they found the corkscrew about a mile further on it was straightened out like a darningueedle James you actually tire me Youd just as vell stop trying to talk Did you bring au evening paper One m my overcoat pocket I believe She went to his overcoat and took out a small bundle unrolled it and then laughed Whats the matter Louise Nothing only here is thoiamVs wool He arose put his arms about her and tenderly said Darling I have been a villain I tried to defend myself for No James she answered putting her arms around his neck you are the most lovable man in tho world when when you dont try to deceive me But you wont do it again will you 1 No5 Never in the world Never so long ns I live v She was satisfied was happy and James really meant what he said 1iauweU ah I Opio P Read in Arkausaw Traveller |