The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1867-08-09
The Man at the Door.
BY MARY KILE DALLAS.

no tfamps here, said 7, and shut
the door in his face, did The wind
blew so j could hardly do it, and the
sleet was beating on the panes, and
the bare trees were groaning and
moaning as if they suffered in the
storm. NO tramps here; Tn lone
woman, and I'm afraid of en-
Then the man | hadn't seen yet for
the dark went away from the door,
champ, champ, champ, through the
slush, and l heard the gate creak, as
our gate always does; and then champ,
champ, champ, came the man back
again, and he knocked on the door
knocked not half SO loud as he did be-
fore-and l opened it hot and angry.
This time | saw his face, pale ghost of
face, with yellow-bro hair cropped
close, and short, and great staring blue
eyes; and he put his hand against the
door and held it open.
How near is the next house, ma ami
said he.
Three miles or more, said /.
And that is not a tarven {?
No, said I; no drinks to be got
there; it's Miss Mitten's, and she's as
set agin tramps as | am.
i don't want drink, said the man,
though | do want food You needn t
be afraid to let me in ma am, I've been
wounded, and am not able to walk far,
and my clothes are thin, and it's bitter
cold. I've been trying to get to my
parents at Greenbank, where / can
rest until | am better; and all my
money was stolen from me three days
ago. You needn't be afraid; let me
just lie before the fire, and only give
me n crust, to keep me from starving,
and the Lord viii bless you for it.
And then he looked at me with his
wild blue eyes in a way that would
have made me do it if it hadn't been
Ia seen so much of these impostors.
The war was just over, and every beg
gar that came along said he was sol
der, travelling home, and had been
wounded and robbed
One that | had been fool enough to
help, limped away out of sight, as he
thought, and then, for / was at the
garnet window, shouldered his crutch-
es and tramped it with the strongest.
No doubt but your pocket is full of
money said, and you only want a
chance to rob and murder me. Go
away with you.
Drusilla, that's my niece, was baking
short cakes in the kitchen. Just then
she came to the door and motioned
with her mouth to me, do let him
stay, aunty, and if | hadn't good sense
| might, but knew better than chit
of sixteen.
Go away with you, said /, louder
than before, i wont have this any
longer
And he gave kind of groan, and
took his hand from the latch, and went
champ, champ, champ, through the
frozen snow again; and thought him
gone, when there he was once more,
hardly with a knock at ala faint
touch like child's now.
When / opened the door again he
came quite in, and stood leaning on
his cane, pale as a ghost, and his eyes
bigger than ever.
"Well, of all impudence, said |.
He looked at me, and said he,
Madam, | have mother at Green
bank. / want to live to see her. /
shall not if l 60 any further tonight.
They all want to see their mothers,
said / and just then it came into my
mind that l hoped my son Charlie,
who had been real soldier, an officer
he had come to be, mind you, wanted
to see his mother and would soon,
Il have been wounded, as you see,
said he.
Don't go to showing me your hurts,
said i; they buy EN-, so they told me,
to go a begging with now. read the
papers, l tell ye, and I'm principled,
and SOS our clergyman, agin giving
anything, unless it is through some
well organized society,
Tramps are my abomination. And
as for keeping you all night, you can
not expect that of decent folks
got
Drusilla came to the door, and said,
Let him stay, aunty, with her lips
again, but l took no notice.
SO he went, and this time did not
come back, and sat down by the fire,
and listened to the wind and sleet, and
felt the warm fire, and smelt the bak-
ing cakes, and the apples stewing, and
the tea drawing on the kitchen stove;
and / ought to have been very comfor-
table, but | wasn't. Something
seemed tugging away at my heart all
the time.
gave the fire poke and lit anoth-
err candle, to cheer myself up, and ]
went to my work basket 10 get the
sock I'd been knitting for my Charlie;
and as | went to get it saw some
thing lying on the floor. picked it
up. Ii was an old tobacco pouch,
ever so much like the one | gave
Charlie, with fringe around it, and
written on it with ink, From g. i. to