t as the clock struck, and they all shouted and screamed, he
waved his arms, with their two great white wings a-flutterin', and
sprung upwards, expectin' the hull world, livin' and dead, would foller
him--and go right up into the heavens.

And Trueman's wife bein' right by the stump, waved her wings and jumped
too--jest the same direction es he jumped. But she only stood on a camp
chair, and when she fell, she didn't crack no bones, it only jarred her
dretfully, and hurt her across the small of her back, to that extent
that I kep bread and milk poultices on day and night for three weeks,
and lobelia and catnip, half and half; she a-arguin' at me every single
poultice I put on that it wuzn't her way of makin' poultices, nor her
way of applyin' of 'em.

[Illustration: "FAREWELL MY FRIENDS, FAREWELL MY FOES."]

I told her I didn't know of any other way of applyin' 'em to her back,
only to put 'em on it. But she insisted to the last that I didn't apply
'em right, and I didn't crumble the bread into the milk right, and the
lobelia wuzn't picked right, nor the catnip.

Not one word did she ever speak about the end of the world--not a
word--but a-naggin' about everything else.

Wall, I healed her after a time, and glad enough wuz I to see her
healed, and started off.

But Joe Charnick suffered worse and longer. He broke his limb in two
places and cracked his rib. The bones of his arm wuz a good while
a-healin', and before they wuz healed he was wounded in a new place.

He jest fell over head and ears in love with Jenette Finster. For bein'
shet up to home with his mother and her (his mother wouldn't hear to
Jenette leavin' her for a minute) he jest seemed to come to a full
realizin' sense of her sweet natur' and bright, obleegin' ways; and his
old affection for her bloomed out into the deepest and most idolatrous
love--Joe never could be megum.

Jenette, and good enough for him, held him off for quite a spell--but
when he got cold and relapsted, and they thought he wuz goin' to die,
then she owned up to him that she worshipped him--and always had.

And from that day he gained. Mother Charnick wuz tickled most to death
at the idea of havin' Jenette for her own girl--she thinks her eyes on
her, and so does Jenette of her. So it wuz agreeable as anything ever
wuz all around, if not agreeabler.

Jest as quick as she got well enough to walk, and before he got out of
his bed, Trueman's wife walked over to see Joe. And Jo