The Bagley Kidnapping [pp. 594-596]

7 he Bag-ley Kidizapilig.
THE BAGLEY KIDNAPING.
THERE was to be a Thanksgiving supper at the hall, at Dobbins' Corners.
That this had been brought about, was
due to the efforts of Mrs. Martha Bagley. Martha was a New England woman, with all the New England reverence for Thanksgiving Day. When she
married John Bagley, and came out to
this Western farming country to live,
she could hardly get over the general
non-observance of this day.
"My neighbors are so queer," she
would say, "like as not work all Thanksgiving Day, and have pork for dinner."
Martha herself always had the timehonored dinner of down-East, and on
each anniversary would picture with
homesick longings Thanksgiving at the
old home: the bare trees and fields, the
crispness of winter in the air, the comfortable barns, the well-filled granaries,
the old farmhouse full to overflowing
with home folks, come from everywhere
to be happy together on this one day of
the year. She could see in fancy the
buttery shelves laden with golden pumpkin pies, and smell the delicious odors
of mince meat and roast turkey, and
see the long table filled with familiar
faces, from the white-haired father and
mother down to the tiniest baby of the
flock. Martha had a little one whom
they had never seen. 0, if she and John
and the baby could only go home for
Thanksgiving Day!
But the continent stretched between
them. John said that was the only time
in the year that Martha was homesick.
Now, to ease her longing, she determined to have a Thanksgiving something like those she had been accustomed to. She began to plan it. Maybe MAother Bagley would make one over
there. But no, she would n't ask her.
Mother Bagley was peculiar, she would
think it was all foolishness to go to so
much trouble, when there was so much
work going on. She might have it herself, and invite all the neighbors, but
her little house was too small to hold
them, for "neighbors" in this big country included everybody around.
While she planned she was mixing
over bread in front of the pantry window, and looking out over the fields
she saw the old hall, standing gaunt and
weatherbeaten opposite the school
house. The very thing! why not ask
the neighbors to join together and have
the dinner there? She would do it. So
after dinner she hitched up, and took
the baby and went around, to see what
they thought about it.
There had been several early rains,
and the ground was in good condition,
and everybody was rushing in the summer fallow, before the heavy storms
came; and as some thought they could
not lose a day's work, the dinner was
changed to a supper at the hall on
Thanksgiving evening.
This hall had originally been built for
a store, but the venture not proving a
success it was used by the Good Templars, until the Lodge died a natural
death; and now the young people had
dances there, about the only amusement the country afforded. The night
of the supper it was bright with light,
and filled with long tables, except a
cleared space at the bottom, where the
young folks could play games, or dance
a set or two if Hank Williams did not
forget his violin.
Martha Bagley was busy everywhere,
now unpacking baskets, and setting
tables, or tending to the coffee-making
on a stove out of doors, and Baby Bagley did not like it at all. He was restless with his father, would not go to his
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[Dec.