The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1878-08-29
San assuming old fox!" she exclaimed
"A COMPOUNDED bore!" he CALCULATED.
IAN extra fire, Seth!"
A lamn to read lY Susan p

An assuming old fOx" she exclaimed |
"A COMPOUNDED bore!'' he calculated. !
IAN extra fire, Sethl'
A lamp to read by. Susan!''
"Meat for dinnerl'
sand coffee for breakfastr'
will he stay long, do you think2''
Two or three months, judging from
the size aud weight Of his trunk"
"A pretty bill of expense, trulyl And
not dollar to pay his boardl''
"Fuel and. light, and what he'll eat and
drink will put us back whole year in
our calculations. This comes Of having
relations! wish I hadn't one in the
world! And to think he's nothing but a
great uncler'
This interesting conversation was pro-
longed some time; but enough has been
given show the feelings of Mr.. and
Mrs. Grower in regard to Uncle Abel.
Morning did not mend the measures Of
the couple, yet the worthy old gentleman
was urbane and smiling. seeming not to
notice the frigid atmosphere that pre-
vailed. He tried in vain to make the &C
quaintance Of the children, but parental
oversight prevented the object in view,
1t was recolected that they, with a Ger
tain class designated as "fools," were
said TO tell the TRUTH" and that, in this
instance, was not to he spoken.
Uncle Abcl's sight was impaired, but
he was not so blind that he could not de-
tect dissatifaction, though in a measure
cloaked. His tarry was short at the
Grower mansion; in a week he took
leave of his nephew and niece, to their
unbounded satisfaction.
1--WE have done WE'LL" they said, ito
get rid Of him so easily. He might have
staid u month";"
And Uncle Abel was forgotten in the
great struggle to make fortune.
One year aftcrward, they heard of his
decease by means of the following sig
niticant letter, which was found among
his private papers, and forwarded to them
after his death;
"Nepheao and Niece :--When childless
Ola man crosses your threshold, yearning
for love and sympathy, and that care
which youth should voluntarily accord
to old age, treat him not coldly, begrudge
him not the food he eats, the iire that
warns him, nor the light that enables
him to beguile lonely midnight hour.
And moreover do not forget the hole in
the floor: That this advice may benefit
you, is the wish of your
"uNCLE ABEL"
"Thc hole in the floor" What did it
mean? Light slowly began to leep into
the bcwildered brains Of Mr.. and Mrs.
Grower, revealing a startling truth in
every line Of the singular epistle before
them. They looked at each other in
blank dismay in the consciousness that
their hypocrisy and littlcness had been
exposed. A place had been cut in the
floor for the admission of pipe from the
stove in the room below. Being carly in
the season, this pi pc had not been adjust
cd tor tile winter, and the space was con-
sequently open.
Uncle Abel occupied that chamber and
had no difficulty in overhearing every
word that had been uttered beneath him
by Seth and Mrs. Ssuan. The hole in
the floor had betrayed them. How un-
fortunate they should have forgotten it!
The secret Of his short visit was under
stood. B 'tll were much discomposcd
that their petty meanness had been
oAouSuI ~ IISlls Out were CCQSOle0 Nv
rejecting that nothing antagonistic to
their intereat would come Of it.
But ali! great many improbable
things transpire in this world. Who
would have imagined that Uncle Abel
was worth his thousands? Who would
suppose that he was in possession of
fortune, called by the initiated 'sinde-
pendent The assuming old fox" had
shown his cunning. Seth ard Susan had
ovcrreached themselves. In striving to
save a penny they had lost great many
pounds. They were Uncle Abel's only
surviving relatives, and he had intended
making them his heirs.
But alas! the hole in the floor he had
willed his money to charitable institu-
ton, bequcathing them only the knowl.
edge of their parsimony and self-abasc-
mcnt. 1rretricvable mistake-irrcpar.
ablv error! The important bjcct of their
lives defeated by a hole in the floor, when
ust upon the verge of realization.