Page 30 - MailOrderBrideFlipBook

However, something seemed to be bothering Jim; something Eli could never quite put his finger on. Jim would never talk of his past, and Eli knew better than to mention it. Any questions of it had only been met with grunts of disapproval. Now, as they walked toward the pool hall, which was one of the main social centers of the town, he was glad to have Jim by his side. Most people didn’t make fun of Jim or contend with him on anything. Even though he was almost eighty, he had a natural wit about him that left most people who tried to confront him looking stupid. That, along with his grouchy demeanor, made people leave him alone. But not today. Word about the mail-order bride was already around town. Today, Eli and Jim were just too irresistible a target. Janice Klampton, whose husband ran the only general store in town, came marching up to them, obviously intent on making a scene. “What is this I hear, Eli Whittier, that you went and got yourself a mail-order bride?” Eli was just about to explain it, but Jim spoke first. “Well, of course, Mrs. Klampton, he had no choice.” “Oh, and just why is that?” “You can’t expect a fine young man like Eli to marry the kind of women that live around these parts. He needed to find a decent woman for a wife.” Mrs. Klampton was a large woman. In fact, large was too kindly a word for her. She was more like the size of a small battleship. She stood a good six inches above Jim and was nearly as wide as she was tall. Jim often said that if he were caught in the desert with a burning sun and 27