Smyrna times., 1879-03-05

|
you hear p
Yes, he heard. He was very pale. bnt
with much of his fathers spirit he had
more self.control
Very well, father, and after that will
you
And now you will give me your solemn
promise" he went on, ignoring the bows
words, and working himself into a furious
temper, that as long as you live you'll
have nothing to do with machinery or the
low associates you have picked up with
1t, else you shall leave this house, and this
very night, too. Do you understand me?" |
Perfectly, and | chose to 90, sir He |
faced his father defantly. The library |
table was between them. Mr.. Wheaton, |
too angry for many words, pointed to
the door, and said, Go then!" And Will |
Wheaton turned from his fathers presence |
" 1t IS worse than we thought, mother"
How, my boy p
She put her hand suddenl to her heart. |
Mrs. Wheaton was an invalid, spending
much time in reclining chair, on the arm
OF which the boy was accustomed to sit for
the long twilight talks they usually had to-
gether. He took his old place, put his arm
close around her, and told her the whole
sOrrowful story.
g" care only for your sake, mother" he
said, at its ending "but trust me, as YOU
have always done-only trust me and wait"
Willis Wheaton slept that night in the
! village, in an unfinished room over the OBJ
Jectionable Mike Logan'S still more obec-
tionable machine shop, while in the elegant
! house on the hill, his mother pleaded as if
! for her life with the angry man whose only
| reply was, " lie knows my terms, and must
abide by them"
! Mrs. Wheaton's first letter tc her son
found its way into the shabby, second story
back room of a second rate mechanics
boarding house in Alton, Illinois. Will,
/ recovering from long illness, looked from
the window at the queer old houses of that
queer old town, seeing only the green lawns
! and fountains of his far-away home. "Ill
write you all about my good luck" he had
said hopefully, when he parted from his
mother.
Poor boy there lay before him long
Journey west, during which he stopped
many times to seek the employment he
could not find; temporary job at last in
Il steam boiler mandatory, where his in
experience made it impossible for him to
perform even the simple work he had un-
dertaken; foot-sore and hungry journey
further on, with money exhausted, and
strength nearly so : more employment for
few days-gravel shOvelling on a railroad,
the derison of brawny Irish laborers, re.
senting the presence of this white faced
STRIPPING; then sudden faintness over the
scant, coarse food in dirty restaurant, and
weeks OF unconscious among pitiful
strangers, under whose care he slowly
struggled back to a sense of the situation.
A few weeks later, and he signed papers
pledging himself to a two years service-a
sort Of apprenticeship meaning hard work
and small pay.-in the steam engine manu-
factory of Orr e. Co. of St. Louis; after
which he sent a letter home, the first since
he had left it seven months before. The
weak and lonely boy, homesck and heart
, sick, shed some tears over the reply, writ
ten by the tender, loving mother; but
there was no mistaking the only message
sent by his father, " You will be welcome
q home whenever you return to your senses
Six years later, Willis Wheaton, on hi:
$ way out Of the foundry, stopped beside g
@ stool on which sat one of the workmeT
eating his dinner.
t :" l sent down the pattern for that mould
ing, Hendricks" he said in passing.
And how about the rods, sir ?"
5 lie gave the necessary explanation, lean
ing against a bench on which lay littl,
" piece of torn newspaper. While he talked
:, he mechanically smoothed it through hi
ir fingers, suddenly stopping short and ex
). claiming, &" What = lie held the paper a
if arms length as if to make sure that hi
n eyes had not deceived him. The workman
,r looked, too.
/ 'Oh, the great Wall street failure, yes
~ last week. Why, Wheaton, your name
sir. Didn't notice before. Not-not an
q. of your folks, hope, sir" respectfully an
n anxiously. But the foreman gave no sig
m Of hearing him.
4. Twenty-four hours later he paced tn
+ platform of a little station where he wa
vs obliged to change cars before he coul
al finish his Journey home. A man passe
m him, stopped and looked round.
AZ Will Wheaton, he exclaimed, drol
al ping an oil.can to seize the traveller by tn
al hand, "and how are yezP"
TO- Not Mike Logan? ~
al Mike Logan by the powers, an hapI
st man the day to look in the face of ye
ar. All! but there's sad news at the old plac
90 SIR Things have been going to the ba
9d long since. Mr.. Gus he got to be a lit
10. wild like and spent good dale of none
'er for fast horses and the drink, sir. NJ
" Wheaton he tried to keep him stiddy in ii
X foine office in town-but belize you
heard about that. Yer mother writes
". yez, they say"
> "Only good news, Mike; nothing lii
Mt this Go on, Go on"
"Shurs, the end came pretty fast afth
on that. Mr.. Wheaton, he'd spent hapes
m. money tryin' to cover up the Wheaton d
he. grace, as they called it, and when t
,t's crash came he had stroke or somethir
but Mr. Gus, he's been sober ever sin'
and things-here's your train, sir. Go
,ou bye, an God bless ye!'
"If live, wife, I'll have to begin
his over again." the sick man said faint
de. 1--WE have lost every thing"
- "Not every :hing. We have our" E
in" stopped at the word "children," but
rue thought followed hers.
led al robbed you of one boy" he said, 81
1 tried to do my duty to them both
It's tried"
tier "Hard work will be pleasant change
,ere Gus" she said, trying to speak cheerfully
she looked towards the haggard young n
I've to whom this experience had not come
hen late.
"And-our Willis ~ 1t was the I
run. for months that he mentioned his name
fore ale has come home, husband, hoplh
ind welcome, Shall call him?
In answer to the look in his eyes she
own the room for moment, returning with
y Youngest son. The boy knelt by the
: N aide, his fathers hand on his head.
glad you came" he said simply, and I
He were the only words spoken at this sole