Chickens -- Fiction; Farms -- Fiction; World War, 1914-1918 -- United States -- Fiction
In reality I didn't draw a perfectly free breath until I saw the entire
population of Riverfield seated in advantageous seats on the middle aisle
in the town hall at six-thirty, and beginning to get out their
lunch-baskets to feed themselves and the kiddies before the opening of the
convocation at eight o'clock.
According to the advice of Mrs. Addcock and Mrs. Tillett herself, I had
taken a stuffed egg, a chicken wing, and a slice of jelly-cake for my own
supper, along with Baby Tillett's bag of hard biscuits, over on a side
aisle, and from that vantage-point I could see the whole party.
"They are lovely--the loveliest of all, mine are," I said to myself as I
surveyed them proudly and compared them with other lunching delegations,
which I knew to be from Providence and Hillsboro and Cloverbend.
Baby Tillett crowed a proud assent as he stuck a biscuit in his mouth and
looked at the lights with the greatest pleasure. I took off his new cap
with its two blue bows over the ears, unbuttoned his little pique coat,
which I had almost entirely built myself, and which was of excellent cut,
and settled down to dine with him in contentment.
Then it happened that I was so weary from the day of excitement that I had
hardly finished my supper before I snuggled Baby Tillett closer in my arms,
as I felt him grow limp very suddenly, and with him I drifted off into a
nap. I was sitting in a corner seat, but I don't yet see how I slept as I
did and cuddled him too unless it was just the force of natural maternal
gravitation that held my arms firmly around him, but the first thing I knew
I opened my eyes on the whole hall full of people, who were wildly
applauding the governor as he stepped forward on the platform. Hurriedly
straightening my drooping head and looking guiltily around to see if I had
been caught napping, I discovered Matthew Berry at my side in a broad
chuckle, and I immediately suspected his stalwart right arm of being that
force of gravitation.
"He's dead to the world; let him lie across your knees and listen to the
governor's heroics of introduction to Baldwin," said Matthew as he settled
the limp baby across my lap with his bobbing head on my arm. And he
adjusted his own arm less conspicuously along the seat at my back.
"I was up at four," I whispered, as the applause died away and the governor
began to speak.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account