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Show I COVRTIN' A WIDDER. I By GEORGE A. HARRIS Copyright. 1903; by DMly Story PublUhlnt Comp&ny i Jump at the chance. All you lack is git-up. Why can't you ride over to Durham to-night strike while the Iron is hot you know." "Sart'in Deb, sart'in!" and he sprung to his feet with a suddenness which fairly took away her breath, "Just hunt me up a paper collar, and grease my best boots, and don't forgit a clean handkerchief in case I should shed tears. I spect the neighbors will say its airly for me to go courtin' wid-ders, wid-ders, but what they say don't put short cake in my mouth, or mend the holes in my stockin's. No-sir-ee " yourself to eat a few mouthfuls anyway. any-way. Here is cold ihicken and lemon tapioca cream, and boiled cabbage and canned string beans, and a two quart jug of old cherry cider drink every drop do now it will do your soul good." Solemnly, and as though he was performing per-forming a sacred duty, Ebenezer proceeded pro-ceeded to manipulate his knife and fork, and when the plump chicken was reduced to bones and the tapioca cream had vanished from sight, when every fragment of cabbage and canned string beans had disappeared from the platter, and the last drop of old cherry cher-ry cider had gurgled slowly down his throat, he leaned back in his chair and smiled upon the widow with moist eyea. "I be'lieve I never see lovlier chicken chick-en then yours, Mis' Jumper! rooster or pullet?" "Rooster." "I snum Janle if this don't seem like old times, come over here and set down side of me, I want to have a long talk with you." "In just a minute, Mr. Pert." "O, now Janie," and his face took on an injured look. "Don't call me Mr.' Pert. It used to be 'Ebby' once, don't you remember?" "Y-e-ea-s?" "I've thought of you all these years Janie, I have I swan I never see anyone any-one I loved half as well as I did you. P'haps you don't believe it but its the truth. Now things has worked our way spos'n we j'ine conditions. Say, Janie, will you hev me?" "O-O-O-My-My-My ! "Say 'Yes,' Janie." "Yes, Ebby." "Yes, cousin Deb, there is no use talkin' I've senn more bad luck than any man livin' and it does seem sometimes some-times as if the Lord or the Old Boy I dunno which had a pertickler spite ag'ln me, and took delight in pilin' on the whacks! Who would ever have 'sposed a big, noble lookin' woman like B'lindy would have dropped off right in the dead of winter when my i-heumatiz and lumbago, and ashmy and brownkeeters, always rage the wust kind? O, dear! what shall I do?" and Ebenezer Pert, a little wizened man, with pale watery blue eyes, and scattering wisps of yellow hair, buried his nose in the depths of a gingham handkerchief a yard square, and groaned dismally. "Do," responded cousin Deb. "Why, spunk up and put the best foot forward. for-ward. A widderer of your age with nine children on his hands has got to hustle. You can't lay round and eat and sleep and smoke old cob pipes same as you always have done." "I never disputed Job's troubles," snifled Ebenezer, and he flourished the gingham handkerchief spasmodically, spasmodic-ally, "never he had 'em like me but his comforters was angels compared to mine. 'Twould melt a heart of stone to eee the way I'm fixed. But my sufferin's air about over I shall never climb winter hill I feel it in my bones. I ain't had a decent thing to eat sence poor B'lindy died, nothin' but dough cakes and slops, and my stummick is all out of kilter. Poor B'lindy! what a treasure I've lost! so prudent, so clever natered!" "Look here, Ebenezer, I've advised nd advised, but what has it amounted to? If 'there is anything I despise it is a snivelin' man that has got no gumption. You've got to face facts, B'lindy's gone, you've lost your ber-den ber-den bearer, and all your howlin' won't bring her back," and Deb, flashed a glance at her elderly relative which was far from sympathetic. "I know it. Deb " he whimpered, "but my poor heart is buried in her grave. Nobody knows my feelin's but myself. I shall never find another to take her place not if I live to be as old as Methuseller! She took all the care of the critters and the milkin', and the barn and the house, and the young uns, and if " "If," broke ,-in Dnb. sfiarpjy, "you, don't stop your wailin's I'll leave this house inside of twenty minutes, bag and baggage. I've hearn it jest as long as I'm a goin' to. I have been here two months and you've not made the least effort to git a housekeeper." "I'd like to know who I'm goin' to git?" queried Ebenezer, and he eyed her warily through his fingers. "Well, there is plenty of widders. I heard Elder Trigger say there was twenty-seven drawin' Dinshins out of "A widderer of your age with nine children on his hands has got to hustle." and he snapped his fingers "Let 'em cackle!" The widow Jumpers' kitchen was as cosy and comfortable as fresh paint and paper, cretonne covered furniture, and gay home made rugs could make it A cheerful log fire blazed in the old fashioned fireplace, and Janie was in the act of lighting the evening lamps when there came a loud rap-rap-rap at the door. "Its only me Mis' Jumper," answered an-swered a faint voice from outside. "Don't you remember Ebenezer Pert?" "Well I guess I do!" and she threw the door wide open letting a stream of warmth and light upon the shivering shiver-ing figure on the doorstep. "I am so glad to see you, Mr. Pert!" and she clasped his numb fingers effusively. ef-fusively. "Let me take your overcoat over-coat and muffler, you must be nearly frozen! Now set up to the fire and give your poor feet a good toastin'. Have you been to supper no well then let me git you some and a cup of hot tea shant I?" "I should feel turribly obleeged If you would Mis' Jumper. I don't mind tellin' you I'm jest about on my last legs. I s'pose you've hearn about poor B'lindy?" the government, right in this neigh- borhood." "Well," said Ebenezer in a resigned tone, "it's pooty cold weather for a man of my years to start out lookin' up widders, but I 'spose its got to be done. Do you think of any pertickler one you can rickermend?" "Well-let-me-think there is Mis' Holden, she's as smart as a steel trap." "Yes, but I won't have her, she is homlier than a hedge fence. "Mis' Davis is a pretty good cook, but she is slow." "I won't have her nuther, she is crosser lookin' than buttermilk, and would jar on my feelin's." , "How about Mis' Brown, she is very capable." "I don't want her. I couldn't rellish her grub. She's got false teeth, caus 1 watched her handlin' 'em down to the donation, when she thought nobody no-body was seein'." "How would Nancy Green do?" "Nancy Green!" and he opened his little eyes in horror. "Cousin Deb Potter, air you crazy? A woman that's been disvorsted from three livin' husbands! hus-bands! Why, I wouldn't stay in the lame house with that woman for a million dollars!" "Well, I can't think of anybody else that could fill the bill unless its the "I snum, Janie, if this don't seem like old timesl" "O, yes, Mr. Pert, such sad news always al-ways travels fast. But you must try and reconcile yourself to the ways of widder Jumper over to Durham. Don't you remember, she was Janie Dob-son?" Dob-son?" "Janie Dobson! Well, I guess 1 do!" and a sickly smile overspread his withered face, "I courted her considerable consid-erable when we was both young. I 'spose she was really the woman 1 should have merrled, but we had a little bust up, and she merried old Proggit, and I merried Polly Dudley , and then she was a widder and merried mer-ried old Jumper jest after I merried B'lindy and things has always gone kind of skew-guy for us both. Poor little Janle, she was an awful pooty girl, red cheeks and black eyes, and shaped Just like a weasle. I snum Deb, how I would- like to see her and git to talkin' over old times! Who knows but I can coax her to keep house for me awhile; and then um-um um-um "-and he pokLhis cowaia's-ribs significantly. "That's the way to talk, EoenezUr. t think she would .come over and "I try to marm but it's pesky hard," and he began to ransack his pockets in quest of a handkerchief. "Losin' B'lindy was a tumble blow!" "It must have been, Mr. Pert," and the widow rubbed her nose with a corner of her white apron sympathetically. sympathetic-ally. "But I can feel for you dear friend I have lost two beloved companions com-panions " "But four, marm think of four three of 'em as likely females as $rer stirred a bannock the other to my sorrer was a weak vessel, who forsook for-sook a loving' husband for a sewln' machine man but she got her comeuppance. come-uppance. O, marm I've been called to wade through seas of trouble yes seas." "I know you have, poor girl, but you must try and -bear aip it is thejnly ay4. Ip; "suppose you have much appetite, but .'do .set down and force |