Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1868-05-14
The Man at the Door.
BY MARY KYLE DALLAS.

| No IIdiIpS Here, Sdlu anu
shut the door in his face, | did
The wind blew so | 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. 'sNo
tramps here; | am a lone woman,
and | am afraid of EN-
Then the man l hadn't seen yet,
for the dark, went away from the
door. Champ, champ, champ,
came the man back again and
knocked on the door-knocked not
half as loud as he did before
and | opened it, hot and angry
This time | saw his face-a pale
ghost of a face--with yellow
brown hair, cropped close, and
great staring blue eyes, and he put
his hand against the door and
held it open.
"How near is the next house,
ma'am?" said he.
"Three miles or more," said l.
"And that is not a tavern?"
"No," said L; "no drinks to be
got there, it is Miss Mitten's and
she's as set agin tramps as | am"
81 don't want drink" said the
man, "though I 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 its bitter cold.
I've been trying to get to my pa
rents at Greenbank, where | can
rest till I'm letter; 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 crust, the stalest
crust, to keep me from starving,
and the Lord will 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 I'd seen so much of
these imposters. The war just
over, and every beggar that came
along said he was wounded and
robbed. One that l had been fool
enough to help limped away out
of sight, as he thought, and then
for I was at the garret window
-shouldered his crutches and
tramped it with the strongest.
"No doubt your pocket is
full of money" said |, "and you
only want chance to rob and
murder me. Go away with you"
Drusilla, that's my niece, was
baking cakes in the kitchen. Just
then she came to the door and,
motioned with her mouth to me:
"Do let him stay, auntie;" and
if hadn't had good sense / might,
but knew better than chick of
sixteen.
"Go away with you'll" says /,
louder than before. 81 won't
have this any longer"
And he gave kind of a groan,
and took his hand from the latch,
and went champ, champ, champ,
through the frozen snow again;
and l thought him gone, when
there he was once more, hardly
with a knock at ala faint touch
like child's now.
And when 1 opened the door
again he came quite in, and stood
leaning on his ne,pale as ghost,
his eyes bigger than ever.
"Well of all impudence!' said [.
He looked at me and said =
"Madam, l have a mother at Green
bank. / want to live to see her.
I shall not if l try to 60 any fur
ther tonight"
"They all want to see their
mothers" and just then it came
into my mind that l hoped my
son Charlie, who had been a real
soldier-an officer he had come to
be, mind you-wanted to see his,
and would soon.
"I have been wounded, as you
see" said he.
"Don't show me your hurts"
said I; "they buy 'em, SO they
told me-, to go a begging with now.
/ read the papers, | tell ye, and
I'm principled, and SOS our cler-
gyman, again giving anything,
unless its through some well-or-