The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1877-07-31
A wAIP.
An Otterville Family Put in q Con-
dition Of Consternation--thc Link
OF an Old Romance.

OF an Old Romance.
In the neighborhood IL the little town oi
Otterville, On the Missouri Pacific, resides
n st.id old deacon IL the church, who h,s
bufl tied the rougl, winds al nearly sixty
winters. His head Is white with the sands
ii time, anil his face - grave with the wis
dom ii experience. But correc, Il the old
gentleman has ieen considered, IL seems
that there was left single cleft in the ar
NOR III his morality, aud one day the devil
who is always looking Tor weak plaess-
crep, into il. The deacon in spite al his
vears j. ii robust manhood, and has al
eye to
ErXoN FORM.
In fact il is a weakness which his neishbors
had long time suspected, Tut could never
rightly get the hang ii it. This may have
i,een occasione,i bv little domestic infe-
l,citv between the good deacon and his ~ii-
which sprung up some five years as", AMI
o,ca,i0ned, Mt the time, considerable iecai
scandal. II Was then believed that Young
widow living in the neighlnrhood wss the
ca.,>e I'll il but she moved away and mat
tiers after awhile s.,bered down ,o their u<u-
al sicady-g"ing pace. Perhaps n"thins
mere would ever have bs,n thought ii II,
but Tor the fact iha, the train brought To-
the station, lev days since, 4 it'll.
SIX YEAR OLD wAIF,
a bright, we'll dressed boy whom the con-
ducior had been instructed To PUT in the
/ w,v III the deacon. This WAS eisily done.
| in a>much as the old gentleman and his
wife were ON the platform when the train
arrived, and the railroad official very Po-
/ ii,cIy remarked t. him that he was in
| strucied Ia leave that Young man in his
care. The deacon was evidently taken
aback and had mn word in which 10 ex-
press his surprise. Bn, the good lady Wa
equal to the emergency. who told you
/ Ia leav. this child with III ~ she demand
al almos: hercely.
.IIis mother, madam, or ut least, per-
sons who claims 10 liz such. She said the
deacon hal the best righ, tn the bay, and
would take care I'll him.
During this conversation the deacon
Io0ke,l ~ IL
A CONVENIENT HOLE
large enough To ensuli him would he 4
. cat blessing Just ut that moment. lie
evidently stood in no end oi awe al his
wiry-ieatured better hall. There was \
cruel glitter in her cold grey eye which
might have emphasized this apprehension;
but somehow she concluded to max. mo-
scene.
at is all right, sir" she said to the con-
,inctor; 1--WE will take care Of the child"
The next moment the train whirled
away.
It's "a strange faculty which people have
of finding out that something has gone
wrong. They seem To know il immedi,te'
IL, although this little episode was conduct
Ell very quietly there was quite crowd
around before il was brought Ia n conciu-
sion. The parties had talked in very low
tone oil voice, but
EVERY WORD
had been heard; and long before the dea-
Gems little farm wagon was out OF sight OF
the depot, gossip vas busy with the incl
dent. Ii grew into romance, and the old
story which coupled the deacon's name
with that 81 the pretty widow was revived
with all the exaggerated conjecture CON-
mon To such things. And now the story
goes that
/ THE LITTLE wAiF
so unexpectedly given into the deacon's
charge is not his grandson. "a has been Civ
en- out-not the child Of his runaway
daughter who disappeared nearly seven
wears ago. hut little tender flower which
grew out OF the waste III the old deacon's
aiicc,ions-the offspring Of the gentle dali
: lance which caused so much trouble a lev
years since. Whichever way il Is the BA-
zoo has M means Of knowing: il only gives
the facts rs il heard them, and leaves To
the curious the pleasure OF unraveling the
romance I'll the old deacon's waIf.
!