The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1879-11-07

idiots under the sun, and telling tn
wife that business was going to : dogs
and should be ruined. ass
"You ought to be ashamed or 4 6r
self, Tom," she said.
$50 am" says !, 81 didn't think
could be such q fool"
"Such fool as TO do q kind action :,
one who was evidently lady born, ant
come down in the world"
yes" l says, "to living in Be E.t'
place, where I've sunk no less than ter
machines In FIVE years"
yes" says the wife, "and cleareC
hundreds Of pounds, Tom, Pm ashamed
Of you-you man with twenty "n:k
men busy up stairs, q couple of thousand
pounds worth Of stock In the bank
a.
"Hold your tongue, will your
said roughly, and went out into the
shop to try and work IL of.
Luke came back soon after looking
very strange, and ! was at him directly,
Where's the seven an six?" says
angrily.
He didn't answer, but put three half.
crowns down on the desk, took out his
book, made his entries-date of delivery,
first payment, when the others due and
sill the rest of it-and was then going
into the house.
"Mind," l said sharply, "those pay.
ments are to be kept up to the day; and
to morrow you 60 down to the Rollys,
who live nearly opposite to 'em, and tell
'em TO keep an eye on the widow, or we
shall lose another machine"
"You needn't be afraid, father" he
said coldly; "they're honest -sough,
only poor"
] was just in that humor that wanted
to quarrel with somebody, and that did 1t.
when ask you for your opinion,
young man, you give it me; and when !
tell you to do thing, you do it." ! says
in q savage way as ever ! spoke to the
lad. "You 60 over tomorrow and tell
the Rollys to keep strict lookout on
those people; do you hearT
Father" he says, looking me full in
the face, al couldn't insult them by
doing such a thing" when. without an.
other word, he walked quietly out of
the shop, leaving me worse than ever.
For that boy had never spoken to me
like that before, and should have gone
after him feeling like mad, only some
people came in, and l didn't see him
again until evening, and a good thing,
too, for I'm sure should have said all
sorts of things to the boy that should
have been sorry for after. And there !
was, Tuning and fretting about, savage
with everybody, giving short ar'wers,
swapping at the wife, and feelir q
man does feel when he knows 49, ale
has been in the wrong and hasn't the
heart to 60 and own 1t.
1t was about 8 o'clock that l was sit,
ting by the parlor fire, with the wife
working and very quiet, when Luke
came in from the workshop with a book
under his arm, for he had been totting
up the mems piece work, and what was
due TO them, and the sight of him made
me feel as If wanted TO quarrel.
He saw it, too, but he said nothing,
only put the accounts away and began
to read.
The wife saw the storm brewing. and
she knew how put out was, for 1, had
not lit my pipe, nor yet had my e. ching
nap, which | always had after tea. She
did what she so well knew how " do
filed my pipe, forced it in my hand, and
just as was going to dash it to pieces
in the ashes, she gave me one of her old
looks, Kissed me on the forehead, IS with
one hand she pressed me back into the
chair and then with the otheAshe lit q
splint and neld 1t to my tobacco.
I was done. She always gets over me
like that; and after smoking in silence
for half an hour, was lying back, with
my eyes closed, dropping off to sleep,
when the wife said (whst had gone be.
fore I hadn't hesrd):
eyes, he's asleep now"
That woke me up of course, aud If ]
didn't lie there shamming and heard all
they said In q whisper!
How came you to make him more
vexed than he was, LukeT said the wife
and he told her.
al couldn't do 1t, mother" he said
excitedly. at was heart,breaking,
She's living in wretched room there
with Ter daughter; and, mother, when
saw her I felt as if-there, I can't tel
you"
$50 on, Luke" abe said.
"They're hslf-starved," he said in 6
husky way. "Oh, mother! its horrible
Such q sweet, beautiful girl, and the
poor woman herself dying almost with
some terrible disease"
The wife sighed.
"They told me- he went on, chow
hard they had tried to live by ordinary
needle-work, and failed, and that as {
last resource they had tried 10 get thu
machine"
"Poor things!" said the wife; "bu
are you sure the mother was lsdyw
"a clergymsn's widow says Luke
hastily; "there isn't doubt about 1t
Poor grill and they've got to learn tt
use it before it will be of any use."
"Poor 7i,s LukeT said the wifi
softly; and l saw through my eyelashe
that she laid hand upon his arm, ant
was looking curiously at him, when II h,
didn't cover his face with his hands
rest his elbows on the table, and give I
low groanl Then the old woman got up
stood behind his chair, and began play
ing with and caressing his hair Ike tn,
foolish old mother would.
Mother" he said suddenly, evil
you 20 and see them?"
She didn't answer for q minute, on,
stood looking at him, and then sait
softly:
"They paid you the first money!"
"No," he said hotly, 81 hadn't tn
heart IN taka II %
1T Then n. that money you paid wa
"Yes, mother" he says, simply; an,
those two stopped looking at the Other
till the wife bent down and kissed him
holding his head afterwards, for a fe,
moments. between her hands; for sh
always did worship that chap, our onl
one; and then / closed my eyes tigh
and went on breathing heavy and thinl
ing.
For something like q new revelatio
had come upon me. knew that LUX
was Is, and that ! was 81, blu. he alway
seemed like boy TO me, and here wi
waking up to the fact that he was
grown man, and that he was thinkin
and feeling as first thought and fe
when l saw his mother, nigh upo
eight-and-twenty years ago.
/ lay back, thinking and telling m,
self | was very savage with him for d
ceiving me, and that wouldn't hs,
him and his mother plotting again
me, and that ! wouldn't stand by ar
see him make q fool of himself wi,
the first pretty girl he set eyes on, VIII.
he might marry Maria Turner, the e
gineer's daughter, and have q nice b
OF money with her to put into the bu