The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1873-06-25

Partlet stood looking into the kitch
e. dare, say have done a yer,
foolish thing. she pondered; bn
Eineeed 7 could not help it. y
course he'll spent IT at the puhli
|house. and Isha1l do without m,
oil cloth, that will be the end OF j
|all.". =,
And there was conscious fnsl
on her cheek, as if she had dom
something wrong, when she rejoin
ed the Squire in the sitting-oom.
sWell,' said Squire Partlet. sha
that ne'er,de-well gone at last?'
sYes.' 2 - 'S' -
.sTo Stokes tavern. I suppose .
tI hope not, Josiah.
sFm afraid its past hoping for,
said the Squire, struggling hi
shoulders, tAnd now for. a pleas
ant evening. How it does rain, t.
be sure..' %@ . ~ :. =
And Mrs. Partlet kept the secre
Of. the dollar bill within her .owr
heart. v+ega'p ,,g4 NJ gj4 y
It was six months afterward tina
the Sonire came into the room
where his wife was preserving some
great red apples into iellyaaiA' :. :
: SWELL, well quoth he, 'wonder'
never will cease. The Ruddilovet
have gone away" ..l{.,q...a.s ~
sGone where p -. ,.r.
ri don't know-out West some
where. with a colony. And the,
say Luke hast touched "a drop II
elk months >. y sllgtya1 si Z
sI'm glad Of that said Mrs. Part
let. ,...--,.-y .!
1T won't last long said tht
Squire. despairingly. = t'"' ~. q
sWhy not?'g .fE y
!, sOh, I don't know. ...Thaven'
anv faith in those. sudden reforms.
Mrs. Partlet was silent; sht
thought thankfully that, after all
Lnke had not spent the dollar bill
in liquor. a. - -: - ..''..
Six months--six years-the time
sped along in DAYS. in weeks, al
most before busy little Mrs. Part
let knew that it was gone. The
Rnddiloves had gone back to Be-
quosset. 'A II ...l'~ ~ .. ~
Luke had made dis fortune, as
the story went, in the faSaway El
Dorado, vaguely phrased "Out
West'' by the simply Seanosseters'
" sThey do saw said Mrs. Buck
ingham, that he bought that ere
lot down opposite. the courthouse
and is going to build such a house
as never was flg 80 q.
He must have prospered great.
y,'eaid the gentle Mrs. Partlet.
Z sAnd his wife wears a silk gown
that will stand alone with its own
richness" said Mrs. Buckingham
Il can remember when Luke Rnd'
dilove was nothing but apoor drum
ken creature
f" CAN tbe more credit to him
now,' said Mrs. Partlet, enphatl'
callv. -: .4,sr.= .%"a,s1,
.It's to be all o, ,stun.' said Mrs
Buckingham. with marble man
ties and inlaid floors. And he't
put a lot of ofpapers and things under
the corner. a#.' -. :,
THE corner what? said Mr.. Part
let, laughing. Floor or mantel !!
Stun, to he sure, said Mrs. Buck
ingham. Like they do in public
buildings. you know.
THAT is natural enough
"Well, it's kind O. queer, but
Luke Ruddilove never wasn't like
nobody else. Folks think it,
dreadful strange, he should put
one dollar bill in with the othel
things J.,
Mrs. Partlet felt her cheeks Ausl
scarlet; she glanced up to where
the Squire was checking off a lis'
of itenls 10 the bill he was making
out against some. client. But. hi
never looked around, and Mrs
Buckingham went on. with heve1
ceasing flow of chit chat, and se
the color died away in her cheek
After all the money, bad been me-
own to give, and the old oil clotl
in front of the dining-room stow
had answered very we'll. ,....
She met Ruddilove that after
noon for the first time since hi
return to Sequosset-Luke himself
vet not himself-the demon OF in
Temperance crushed out of his ma
ture, and its better, nobler element
triumphing at last. He locke
her brightly in the face as ne he'll
out his hand, - '',t D..
sMary.' n. @'. ".a.@.<
81 am glad to see you back her
again, Luke she said, tremulou'
ly. ..... ID. n9a.' ~: Jya.,.I. e,
and we'll you might be- he r'
joined. =
DO you remember the night 70
gaze me the dollar bill, and ,begge