Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1880-02-26

/ poor of course. She didn't believe in send
| ing in many gs-self-dependence was
/ duiv-but she offered to take Tim.
| Having the boy to raise makes me more
1 careful about the morals of the whole place.
she said. returning to her original subject,
land as for there being no thieves round
| here. I've thought for some time that meat
/ went pretty fast from our smoke house"
"Don't-now Liz'beth. I'm sure no
ones stole any" said Mr.. wilkins with
| startled. uneasy look. "lou couldn't have
counted. the hams and everything"
NO. don't count, but can miss EN- for
| all that" affirmed Mrs. Wilkins. decidedly.
Il know there's more 90 than We use
ANYWAY. its no difference, wouldn't.
| Liz 'beth-there's plenty, YOU see, more than
We want" advised Mr.. wilkins. urgently
but rather incoherently. Then he caught
| up his hat and started for the barn.
Mrs wilkins looked after him with pity
/ ing disappro,al.
When you've more than YOU want YOUR
self. leave it handy for somebody TO steal.
! Well. that's new commandment. do de
/ clare" she said.
| No, so dreadful new. either. Aunt Liz
| BETH interposcd Tim. stoutly; cause the
Bible folks was told to leave some OF their
harvest so the poor could come and get it.
/ read it myself; only it wasn't called steal
/ ing then, and Was to be left handler than all
! slowed away in smoke houses"
Timothy" began Mrs. wilkins. But Tim
suddenly remembered that the chickens
were waiting for breakfast. and choose to
interpret the exclamation as an admouition
! in that direction.
"lcs'm, I'm goin' 10 feed EN- right away"
he observed, seizing basket OF corn and
{ darting through the door by which his uncle
/ had departed.
In truth it was not altogether easy To
mould Tim to the desired shape; there was
! too much individuality about him. Encasing
hun in MIR Wilkins's code of manner, vas
putting too large 4 boy into too small
lacket: he wa, ALWAYS bursting out a; the
/ elbows or tearing of the buttons. Mrs.
/ Wilkins sighed at thi, new evidence Of th,
number Of thing, in the world that needed
I her attention; but England never. Apcotcd
I every man to do hi, duty morc strongly than
+ Mr.. Wilkins expected TO do hers.
That evening the mysterious light ap-
pclrcd again in the storr-r room of the mill
I She could plainly sc them. for jus; beyond
her own back gate an open field sloped
directly and ,,ccpl, down to the building
/ The road afforded public and more circuit
/ GU, mode Of reaching II. but from the hill
F top the suspicious ~ture-room was directly
in range. Mr.. Wilkin, determined to;akc
a more thorough observation than the k.tCh-
en- window allowed. and throwing shawl
F over her head she picked her way carefully
down the iCy steps and crossed the ward 20
the gate. The snowy field Jas white lnu
Sl!>tcnin- in the moonlight. AuG standing u
tEr ,hc.terluS shadow ui posi- she watched
the door below
Before she discovered any one entering
there she heard sound, IN another direction
step, IN the Yard behind her What il
she should prove beyond all doubt tina, her
meat MAS stolen aul detect the thief With
that quick thought she turned her head
cautiously. Yes some one tried iht >muAt
house door and entered. Breathc,>ly Mr>.
Wilkins waited untjl the figure FcappcarcG.
passing a!un. IN the shade of the house.
and i, IL emerged into the clear moonlight.
she leaned eagerly forward TO catch full
SIGHT OF il. Il was eagerly recognized. Mr..
Wilkins. beyond all question. stealing meat
/ from his own stores.
The revelation was astounding. In her
f a,tonishmcnt she incauriou,ly loosed her
hold on the gate-post. TOOK q step forward
I and her feet slipped on the trcacherous
/ ground. She sat down violently and in an
/ instant she waS speeding rapidly down the
/ hall toward her original point OF nvestiga-
/ ton.
/ For once the path Of duty was smooth be-
{ fore her-entircly too smooth and lev She
could not check or guide her progress; her
+ feet struck with force against the mysterious
/ door. pushed it open and She slid into 4
/ hall
( Thieves. gamblers, or whoever they were.
+ she must mol be discovered by them, flashed
through Mrs. Wilkins mind-more an in
stlnci of self preservation than thought
and springing to her feet she slipped behind
I some boxes piled near her. The noise at
,tracted attention. and in moment the store
room was opened. and boy looked out
Guess its only the door blew OPEN don't
catch good" he reported.
I Lock il then, James; and then bring in
/ the kew" said voice from within; and to
| Mrs. Wilkins CONSERVATION the order Was
/ obeyed, and she was prisoner.
/ The boy left the other door slightly ajar as
/ he re-entered. A CLEAN of light shone INTO
the hall, and there were sounds from the
room beyond-a scratching Of pens, and
/ woman's voice; it sounded wonderfully like
| that of the little knitting woman, directing
and encouraging.
/ We'll done, Susan
Now don't be disheartened VIII. OF
course while YOU work in the mill, and can
only study at night, you can't get along Just
as some do who 90 to school all dav; but
what YOU learn may be of some use to YOU
/ We care most for things that cost US trouble"
There were few simple mathematical
! problems. and then reading. and the words,
/ spelled out with difficulty by some, were
Bible words.
Chart, sutiereth long and is kind. 1t
faunteth not itself. Thinketh no evil.
Beareth all things, belie,eth all things, hop
eth all things"
Ii was easily understood Mrs Wilkins
leaned forward little, and could peep into
the room. Fifteen or twenty boys and girls
from the mill gathered into night school.
| Then those wonderful words. read so slowly
and emphatically. seemed suddenly TO
sumo new and deeper meaning than Mrs.
Wilkins had ever thought of their possess
ing. Some things do show more clearly in
| the dark than in the light.
As the timid little woman. who would
have been frightened at the sound of her own
voice in any other audience half so large, ex
| planned IN her simple, gentle way, the pas
sage read, it occurred to the listener outside
that some one was keeping SHARP watch
on those mill people, after all, and that this
might be better way of doing it than might
be practised by any police force 1t was
very informal school. One girl had brought
her best dress that the teacher might show
her how to mend a rent in it, and another
was trying to knit a pair of mittens for her
brother. Every winter has its thaws. Mrs.
Wilkins had a heart down under all the crust
of opinions that she christened duty she be-
came interested, despite her uncomfortable
situation.
The position was unpleasant She did
not like playing eaves-dropper to this lnno-
cent gathering, but there seemed no help for
it. She could not escape through the locked
door, and boldly revealing herself, and ex-
planning her absurd suspicious, and the re-
markable way in which she had come there
was more than even her thought could en-
dure. So she kept her place, hoping that
when the pupils were dismissed she might
slip out among them unnoticed. But when
the lesson hour was over they departed slow