The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1869-12-31
Betty's Story,

DER ia great zeal harder than ring
or byoOeh, except the last were
diamond. But a wateh-mercy upon
US! 4 good, fine, gold watch, worth,
/ duEst To say, a hundred dollars. Ii
took rle down.
Wherever do you suppose / put
my watch2r said misSus, one day;
"its nOt in the case, and / don't see
il an1zFheres in the room"
SaSrI, "YOu took it off i'm the nur-
sery, and | was there asking Brown
question. / saw you take it off, be-
cause the baby cried for il, and you
laid 1 in the marble table drawer"
Bat ii isn't there, Betty" says she.
"Pv,s looked everywhere, and Pm al
mosa sure | left it there, too, for when
Miss Cass come, L thought of it,"
Yo}I see, / never in the world
dreamed they'd suspect me as having
stolen the watch. Mel as had been
living out for twenty years, and never
taken the valley of brass farden.
! Nor should IA known it but for Miss
CelrS the bluntedest child to speak
her mind you ever saw. Says she,
one day
20, Betty, what did you want with
mammals watch?n
Says /, Darling, never set eyes of
mine onto it,"
90 buteverybOdy says you stole it"
said Miss Celia.
With. that / went red and white.
MeRciful it was that I'd learned to
CONTROL my temper, or | should "a
struck that child; but Didn't. Invent
away, too mad To speak, and heard
Miss Celia say, before | shut the door,
She did steal il, for my mamma
said So"
IdOn't think / ever felt so bad, so
mean, and so hateful in all my born
days. Me stealing a watch! Why,
what did want of a watch? / would
not carry one unless / could support it;
and as to stealing, the honest blood of
all his honest ancestors riz up against
it!
Here Betty stabbed her ball of yarn
with large-sized knitting needle, ,and
we children kept as still as mice, list
ening and wondering.)
Well, the upshOt of the matter was,
after i got ealmed down, went To the
missus.
"What makes you say 'missus'?"
queried little Eleanor.
because Pm English, little dear"
replied the hOmely-faced, large-heart-
ed dame, "and English words and no
tiOns seems more natural"
The missus seemed to feel as bad rs
/ did, and didn't like it at all that
Miss Celia had spoke as she did; but
then, she was worried about the watch
and she put il to me, what did 1
think?
'I think it very strange" said, of
course; "but as to my taking the val
ue of pins head, it isn't TO be bFo't
agin me in all nay life. My parents
was honest, and my grandparents be-
fore 'em."
'I don't think 1t of you, Betty"
said missus. ats not thinks it: it's
my husband. He's fretted and wOr-
ried because he give me the watch,
and he can't bear to miss things"
"And what does he think I'd do
with it?" | asked.
"Man-like, he thinks you would sell
it," replied the missus.
I've often laughed at my answer,
"Well, yes, I'd be most like to do that
of anything, | do suppose, if Pd "a
took it,"
Missus smiled. Pm sure from the
first she didn't believe could do such
q thing.
"Whatever shall dO?'' asked. az
can't stay here under suspicion"
1 knew they couldn't hardly keep
house without me, she added, lifting
her head.
"Don't go, Betty" said missus, "Pll
vOuch for you. If it is sold, the watch
will be found, of course; then the thief
can be traced"
So went about my work, but the
thing worried me dreadful. It,seemed
to stare me i'm the face all the time
Well, children, | had most eXtraOT-
binary dream. ! dreamed that | took
that there watch and buried il i'm the
butter-tuh.
How we laughed as she said this.)
/ told missus of it, too; and she
laughed out loud. But the strangest
thing was, that dream haunted me,
and could hardly work on account
of it. / seemed drawed to that butter
tub, whether would or no. So one
day ] jest made up my mind that i
was going To satisfy myself, and so
down stairs / went 10 the butter-tqh,
and brought it to the light, and then
/ looked it all over with the butter
spat.
"Did you find it," cried two or three
breathless VOises.
81 found it," said Betty, stabbing
her yarn-ball again.
"And did you put it there?"
81 did," she replied with . decided
nod. al went To the missus, and l
said heres your watch, and | found
it i'm the butter-tub, accordin' to my
dream, which dreams is strange, some
times"
'eBut you didp't-didH't-"
'fNO, ] didn't steal it," said Betty,
proudly. ''IC seems they watched me
after that, and they found me goin'
down cellar with some table-elOths at
dead of night; and the man who seed
me was so frightened at the ghost, as
he thought, that he screamed out, and
down 1 went over the cellar stairs,
and walked up with my shoulder out
of place"
That's the long and short of it. /
walked in my sleep, and in that state
Pm afraid wasn't honest. But that
was the last of it, children. PYe new
er walked sinee-in that way,I mean.
So Betty gathered up her needles, and
marched out of the room.