Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1878-08-29

can assuming old fox!" she exclaimed
"A COMPOUNDED bore!" he calculated.
can extra fire, Seth!'
"A lamp to read by; Susanp'
Meat for dinner!"
"And coffee for breakfast!'
will he stay long, do you think9"
1.-Two or three months, judging from
the size and weight of his trunk"
"a pretty bill of expense, truly! And
not dollar to pay his board!"
''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 uncle!''
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, yetthe 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 GER
tain class designated as ''fools,'' were
said TO tell the TRUTH" and that, in this
instance, was not to be spoken.
Uncle Abel's sight was impaired, but
he was not so blind that he could not de-
tect dissatisfaction, though in measure
cloaked. His tarrv was short at the
Grower mansion; in a week he took
leave of his nephew and niece, to their
unbounded satisfaction.
eve have done WE'LL" they said, etc
get rid of him so easily. He might haye
staid month";
And Uncle Abel was forgotten in the
great struggle to make fortune.
One year afterward, they heard Of his
decease by means of the following sig.
nifcant letter, which was found among
his private papers, and forwarded to them
after his death;
"NepAeao and NSece:- When a childless
old man crosses your threshold, yearnine
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 ire thai
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"
'The hole in the floor" What cid il
mean? Light slowly began to creep into
the bewildered brains of Mr.. and Mrs
GROWER, revealing startling truth in
every line of the singular epistle before
them. They looked at each other il
blank dismay in the consciousness thai
their hypocrisy and littleness had beer
exposed. A place had been cut in the
floor for the admission of pipe from the
stove in the room below. Being early ir
the season, this pipe had not been adjust
ed for the winter, and the space was con
sequently open.
Uncle Abel occupied that chamber ano
had no difficulty in overhearing every
word that had been uttered beneath him
by Seth and Mrs. Ssuan. The hole il
the floor had betrayed them. How I'M
fortunate they should have forgotten it
The secret of his short visit was under
oIcoA. u I'll NClC lluCu ulSCOm pOSCO
that their petty meanness had beer
brought to light, but we're consoled by
rejecting that nothing sntagonistic t
their intereat would come OF it.
But ali! a great many improbable
things transpire in this world. Who
would have imagined that Uncle Abe
was worth his thousands? Who would
suppose that he was in possession of &
fortune, called by the initiated ''inde-
pendent" The ''assuming old fox" had
shown his cunning. Seth ard Susan had
ovcrreached themselves. In striving tc
save 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 a charitable institu-
ton, bequeathing them only the knowl-
edge of their parsimony and self abase-
ment. 1rretrievable mistake -irrepar.
ably errorl The important bject Of their
lives defeated by a hole in the floor. when
ust upon the verge of realization.