Samantha at the St. Louis Exposition | Page 9

dogs.
Well, Jabez knew I wuz onwillin' to have him tackle the job of warmin'
our house with his new water pipe invention, because I had spoke my
mind about it when he and Karen had been over to spend the evenin',
and Karen come over the next mornin' ostensibly to borry a cup of
molasses, she wuz lookin' wore out, she'd worked so hard the day
before, doin' a big washin' and bringin' the water from the creek, and I
sez, "Why didn't Jabez bring it for you?"
"Oh, he wuz so busy with his inventions I couldn't bear to disturb him,"
sez she, holdin' her hand to her achin' side, "my son is the greatest
genius in the world and folks will admit it yet, he's a young man of a
thousand."
Sez I, "I should think more on him, Karen, if he should go to work and
take care of you instead of you at your age workin' so hard to take care
of him."
She married when she wuz quite well along in years and wuz gittin' old
now and hadn't ort to work so hard. But her pale face lit up, "Oh, he
will take care of me luxuriously when he's completed some of his
inventions."

"But," sez I pityin'ly, "you know they hain't worked yet, any on 'em.
You hung your washin' yesterday on the remains of his Perpetual
Motion, and his motor carriage bein' dug up from the creek, his uncle
uses it as a hen coop."
"Oh, but they will be successful, they will."
"I hope so, but I feel it my duty to tell you that I feel dubersome about
it, dretful dubersome."
"But," sez she, "the New Perpetually Gushing Hot Water Tank is goin'
to make us independently rich. He's takin' the plans now of Luman
Heath's kitchen stove and riggin' up the machinery; Luman is to pay
him lavishly, you know Luman's wife is my own cousin."
I see how it wuz, Karen's friends, to please her, wuz willin' to offer up
their sure comforts and solid foundations as a sacrifice on the altar of
friendship and the thought come over me, mebby I'd ort to. But it did
seem as if I couldn't.
Sez Karen, "If it is a success at cousin Luman's, as it is dead sure to be,
Jabez is goin' to take it to the St. Louis Exposition."
"He thinks the foreign powers will want to treat with him for it. But I
told him I would ruther he would let our Government have it. But
'tennyrate he won't let the Powers git the better of him in the contract
and control it and enrich themselves at his expense. He will get his
onparelled idees patented before he takes it to St. Louis, it wouldn't be
safe not to. I spoze the papers will be full of it."
Such talk didn't seem to move me a mite, but it impressed Josiah
dretfully and he sez, "I shall have this new invention stand next to my
hen coop at the Exposition of St. Josiah."
I shuddered and turned the subject round quick as I could. Well, Karen
labored with me over two hours, dwellin' in particular on the perfect
stillness of the heatin' apparatus, and agin as before that thought
tempted me awfully, for I'd hearn the cracklin' snappin' sounds that

sometimes comes from steam heat and dreaded to have it reproduced in
my home, and seein' my looks Karen amplified on the idee, How sweet
it would be in December to set down in a rockin' chair in the still
warmth of a day in July and go through the winter in that luxurious
lovely way. She talked till she had to go home almost on the run, for
she said Jabez'es mind worked so hard it exhausted his body
completely so she had to have the most nourishin' food ready for him at
the very minute or he would break right down. But to the last she
praised up Jabez'es work. But I wouldn't say a encouragin' word furder
than this, "I feel dubersome about it, Karen, dretful dubersome."
That afternoon Rosy come over to stay all night, and she too tackled me
on the subject. He had asked her to, always hangin' onto some woman
for help. But with her too I used the same tick-tacks I had with Karen, I
said mildly after each modest plea for his great genius, and how well he
would do the work, "I feel dubersome about it, Rosy, dretful
dubersome."
Then she, too, sweetly spoke of the summer warmth, and the entire
absence of noise, and agin that thought tempted me, but I sez, "How do
you know, Rosy, that it will be entirely noiseless?"
"Oh, I know