Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1879-04-08

kept on thinking over everybody that
guessed had thousand dollars, and
Every one I guessed had it I guessed
wouldn't lend it to pa. And then l
thought about Mr.. Flood and said, "I'u
90 down to his bank and get it, for he's
got more than thousand millions, and
Town in the Bank of Nevada the cellar
q full of gold, and of course he don't use
it all the time, and I'll borrow a thou
sand dollars for pa, and before Mr.. Flood
wants it I'll take it back and pay the
interest,"" And then jumped up and
hurrahed for "Jones & Co.." took
my best bonnet and put on my gloves,
and took off my st0re-apron, and comb
ed nv hair, and got into a car, went to
the Nevada Bank, and told the clerk I
wanted to borrow a thousand dollars !;
and he laughed and said he guessed 1
had better see Mr.. M'Lane. And II ask
ed who Mr.. M'Lane was. The clerk
said Mr.. M'Lane was the president, and
was in the back room, and I went into
the back room, and Mr.. M'Lane said:
"Well, little girl, what can do for
you ?"
And I said: II want to borrow a thou
sand dollars"
Mr.. McLane he opened his eyes, and
screwed his chair around, and looked at
me, and said, IA thousand dollars !"
with as much surprise as though thou
sand dollars was all the money he had
in the bank. Then began to get scar
ed, and cried, and then told Mr.. M'Lane
ali about pa and "Jones & Co.," and
what we wanted to do with the money,
and that would pay it back to him and
bo lob od Liudor n,1zzlod oud osboI -, a
what my pas name was, and told him,
and where the store was, and all about
ma and Maud, and how the baby died,
I guess that was not very much like
business, and I don't know what Mr.,
McLane wanted to know all that for
Then he looked at me again, and guess
money, when q gentleman at the other
desk came up to where I was sitting on
a chair, and Mr.. McLane said, "Well,
Flood, what do you think of this young
merchant?" And then I knew it was
the rich Mr.. Flood ; and looked into
his eyes, and they kind of laughed, and
he said: "Let her have the money. I
will endorse her note" Then I jumped
up and kissed him, and he kissed me
back, and Mr.. M'Lane made note for
ninety days, and 1 signed "Jones &
Co., )" and Mr.. Flood wrote his name on
the back of it. I took the money away
in a canvas bag, that Mr.. M'Lane said
I must bring back, and took the money
to pa, and didn't he look surpassed when
1 poured out the great big gold twenty
dollar pieces on the counter?
Then told him what had happened
at the bank, and when asked him if he
didn't think was pretty good bust
ness woman after all guess he felt real
ashamed.
After this, never see anything like
it-such lots of carriages and such nice
ladies kept coming every day, and most
all of them traded with me, and pa was
just as pleased and happy as he could
do. Jones q Co., was making lots of
money. When took Mr.. Floods money
back, just marched right through the
bank, past the big counters, into Mr..
M'Lane's room, and I took very good
care to let the clerk that laughed at me
before lee the bag. Mr.. Flood was in
there, and Mr.. M'Lane, and I opened
the bag and turned out the money on
Mr.. M'Lane's desk, and Mr. Flood came
up and laughed, and Mr.. M'Lane laugh
ed, and 1 heard Mr.. Flood tell Mr..
M'Lane they would have the cham
pagne-lunch to-day. And then Mr..
Flood told me if 1 wanted to borrow
money again not to go to any of the 9TH
er banks, but to come to his, and thank
ed him, and Mr.. McLane brought nv
note cancelled by great blue 7Paid1
stamped across the face, right over where
I wrote "Jones & Co." Then I told Mr..
Flood that perhaps when we felt able to
send for ma I should come and borrow
some more money, because wanted to
buy house for ma and Maud, so that
they wouldn't have to go into any more
nasty boarding houses, and Mr.. Flood
said I should have all the money want
ed.
When we sent for ma and Maud.
grandpa gave ma the money to come,
and SO we didn't have to borrow any
more; and we took nice cottage, not
very near the store, for pa didn't want
ma to know about Jones & Co., though
L was just crazy to tell her.
For several days we fooled her. She
thought pa had store down town, and
I was going to school. told lots of fibs
about being detained at school, going
down town, and all sorts of stories to &C.
count for being home late.
One day who should see coming into
the store but ma.
"Have you any pearl shirt-buttons, lit
tie girl ?" said ma.
"Yes, ma'am," said I, looking her
right square in the face.
"Goodness gracious!" said ma. IT'S
that you, Vevie.
said "Beg pardon, ma'am, what did
you want?" And then ma looked at
me again.
I had store apron on, and small
cap like French girl; and. because 1
wasn't very high, pa bought noe pair
of wooden brogans, with felt on the bot
toms, into which slipped my feet, and
they made me four or five inches taller:
aud ma stared at me, and then laughed
and said:
"Oh, beg your pardon, little girl
you look so much like my daughter Gen.
evieve that 1 thought you was her.
Then / heard pa smoker down behind
the counter. He had seen ma come in,
and hid. Just as soon as ma went out
pa jumped up and laughed, and said,
Snatch off your apron and cap, Vevie,
and run round the block and get home
before your mother"
did, and when ma got home she was
the most surprised woman you ever seen.
We hucW ILLS GuiuS CCuluu'L IaSC, anu
80 that night we told ma all about the
house of Jones & Co.," and ma kissed
pa and said he was splendid, noble
fellow, and just IS good as gold" and
that she "never was so proud of him in
her life," and fell to kissing him and to
crying and taking on. I never saw ma
act so foolish in all her life, and pa said
she twas making love to him over a.
gain"
Well, now, the story is about over
Ma came down to the store to help. At
first she looked kinder sheepish, espe-
,ially when some lady came in that she
had known at the Lick House; but soon
she got over all that, and began to make
oonnets, and we had a milliner store
and then she insisted upon saving the
expense of separate house, and we
moved into larger store next door, with
lice rooms fixed up to live in, and a nice
show window for bonnets, and little
Maudie is beginning to be handy about,
and all of us work, and we are just as
happy as the days long, and have lots
Of money.
I never seen Mr. Flood but once since,
when I went down to the bank unbe-
known to pa, and told Mr.. Flood and
Mr.. McLane that any time they wanted
10 borrow thousand dollars Zones &