The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1876-11-09
VOL. %.
JOHN OADY'S HONESTY.

pale blue eyes, and altogether had {
weak and sickly appearance. From the
time he could remember, he had lived
with his uncle, who was druggist
Left an orphan at very early period in
life, his kind-hearted relative had taken
him to raise, and when he was old enough
he was set to sweeping the shop and
running errands. He increased in alti.
tude so fast that his uncle, who was 6
short man, was a good deal bothered il
making his wornout pantaloons fit the
long legs of the growing youth, but he
had an ingenious housekeeper, who dis
covered the art of making passable
pair of pants out of two old ones. To be
sure, the legs did not always harmonic
in color, but the difference was SO trif
ling that it was expected John Cady
would never be the wiser of it. John, al
the age of sixteen, slept in the shop.
Perhaps that was the reason the poor
fellows eyeballs were yellow instead of
white, and his complexion anything but
that of health.
Every Thursday afternoon his uncle
permitted him to have holiday: the
rest of the week he was expected to work
with the patience and regularity of a
mule in a treadmill, and never complain,
even if he went to bed hungry. His un-
Gle managed his house upon plan SO
frugal that nothing was wasted that
could possibly be eaten and digested by
man or beast.
Poor John Cady had many heartaches.
He used to watch the boys play, but
never found time to join in their sports
Gradually he became quiet, melancholy
youth, and grew up with little idea
how he was to make his mark in the
world. In the winter months his uncle
sent him to night school, and by this
means he acquired all the education he
ever possessed. But he was honest,
strictly SO, and notwithstanding the
rough lessons he was taught in life, he
ever was Conscientious in all he did
Like all boys he had his dreams. His
uncle could not deprive him the pleasure
of building air castles, and many such
structures John reared while lie perform
cd the drudgery OF the shop. In various
ways, however, he had earned little
money, which he had boarded up, until
the sum amounted to about fifteen dol
lars. This wealth he had acquired in
his afternoon holidays, assisting milk
man who lived hard by, and who had
taken pity upon the unfortunate youth.
By his advice John Cady had demanded
salary from his uncle, who had prom
ised to give him two dollars week and
his board when he should be seventeen
years old. John never forgot his friend
the milkman for putting him on the road
to fortune, and as it wanted s months of
the time when he should receive pay for
his services, he looked forward with the
eagerness of child to the coming of the
happy day.
1t was clear, cold afternoon in Sep
tember that John Cady stood at the cor
ner of the street waiting for the cars to
take him out to G-town. He had an
old maid aunt who lived there, and he
occasionally made her visit. When the
car came along, John ensconced himself
in corner seat, and gave himself up to
castle building. Pretty soon the car
stopped to admit an old gentleman, who
took seat directly alongside our hero.
He was man of some sixty years,
dressed in dark brown clothes, the pat
tern of which went out of fashion about
the time John Cady was ushered into
life. A heavy gold chain, with an i'm
mense cornelian seal, hung on his watch
fob, and white fur hat surmounted his
white hairs. No sooner had he taken
his seat than he took out G welI-stufed
pocket-book, and began counting the
notes it contained.
Just at this moment John Jady raised
his eyes, and coming back TO the realms
of this world, gazed at the old man with
undisguised establishment. The pocket
book was crammed full, and the notes
were hundreds, five hundreds and even
thousands. Certainly there must have
been $4,000, in that wallet, and the
old man thumbed them over SO careless
ly that John Cady was sure he had thou
sands more at the back of them. He ap-
parently made no more account of his
wealth than John did of the seventy five
cents slowed away in the corner of his
vest pocket. The longer our hero gazed
upon the old gentleman, the more IN
comfortable he began to feel in the
proximity of a person who could sport
with thousands in such manner.
Apart from the sense he had of the
utter incongruity between a man with a
pocket full of bank notes, and another
with only seventy five cents, he felt
there was practical danger in sitting SO
close to exposed wealth. The pocket
book by mistake might get into his
pocket, note might get entangled in
one of the buttons of his coat, the old
gentleman might conceive he had been
robbed, and John might find himself
suspected and accused. A shiver passed
over him as he thought of these things,
and he hastily changed his seat to the
opposite side of the car. A poor and
hungry looking woman, who was sitting
on the other side of the old gentleman,
and had been eagerly watching him
count his wealth, Immediately followed