The Red Cloud chief., 1880-04-15
IN PAWN.

were few in the rambling old pawn-shop
in the Bowery about which / am going
to tell you, and the strange little man
who kept the place had more time than
usual TO look over his stock and calcu-
late his sales.
A woman with a battered face and
bleared eyes had just been in and
pawned an infants chair, which was
probably the last article of any value
she had left in the house. And this was
not worth much, for "old Guttman "
as the p~awnbroker was called, would
only give her ten cents for the privi-
lege of leaving il among his possessions.
"Vat You do with the monish, SalP"
, he asked, as the woman, with trembling
hand, picked the dime from the coun-
ter.
I'm hungry" she replied, in a
maudlin way, "I'm hungry"
ave shall see," he answered, as the
woman, without another word, dragged
. herself from the place.
Then old Guttman moved round once
more among his strange wares, mutter-
ing a little TO herself in his own Ian
guage. Canary birds sung and hoped
about i'm gilded cages, quite forgetful of
their former homes, and a valuable NAL
tese cat, whose owner brought it food
!. every day, purred about the pawn
= brokers' feet, to all appearance as
happy as a cat could be.
1t would be almost impossible to
name an article of wearing apparel, or
an from paste To diamonds of
the first water, from gewgaws to solid
gold, that old Guttman did not have in
his shop. French clocks and wooden
CLOCKS licked side by side on a shelf,
while babies cradles, cribs, wax dolls
and playihings told a pitiful story of the
= destitution that made such sacrifice
necessary. There were oil paintings,
bronzes, statuary, books, and every con-
ceiyable article of bric-a-brac. In
short, Guttman's stock was unusually
extensive and varied, and his pride in
his miscellaneous assortment was CORE
spondingly large.
Among the pictures was a portrait OF
> a beautiful woman. 1t was in a costly
gilt frame, which occupied a prominent
place on an easel in a corner of the
shop. No one could glance at this
portrait without turning TO look at it
again. 1t was evidently the face of an
Italian lady, and was marvelously
lovely.
The pawnbroker, with his feather
= buster. reached this corner at last, and
as he busted the frame, he said, with a
shake of his bald head
"You hat been much trouble to me,
my lady. More than Won year, you bad
creature, you been here, and no monish
paid for you. You will 60 to de shen-
tlman what ask to buy you. You hat
break my rule with your great eyes, And
the ozzer eyes that comes in here and
cry for youi But old Guttman mast
hat a soft heart no more, my lady, no
y morei"
At this moment the door with the
three painted balls on the ground glass
pane, swung open, and a girl, perhaps
eight or nine years old, came into the
shop. She was ragged, and wet
- through with the rain. Her long dark
hair was drenched, and hung in great
limp masses down her back. She wore
neither stockings nor shoes, but her
feet were small and shapely, and the
rags, grotes1ue in their blending of
shades and %colors, could not conceal the
grace of the girlish figure.
sob! l have hurried so, Guttman,
dear!" she said, looking quickly about
her as she spoke, 'sbut she has kept mt
begging till this minute!" and the child
stepped before the portrait and looked
at it with her whole soul in her eyes.
"lIow much did they gif you, Nina?'
the p~awn-broker asked.
"Oh, only a very little. 1t was toe
wet for the gentlemen to stop and
= put their hands in their pockets. 1t is
p always bad when it is wet"
Sand sometime ven it ish dry" said
her companion. "Come to de fire."
"No, I'm not cold," the little one
answered, "and I must 60 soon. @
Guttman, what should l do if my dear
mamma did not live here with you:
Must she not be q beautiful angel,
my friend? 1 dreamed of her las,
night in heaven, and she was the love.
hest of all"
The pawn-broker had opened his
mouth to speak several times, but &C.
customed as he was to all phases of this
unhappy business, he could not bring
himself just then to say any thing to the
sorrow-stricken child about the sale OF
4 the picture.
More than year before, Nina's father
a man broken down in soul and body BY
hard drinking, had pawned the picturt
of his dead wife. Shortly after he died
and nothing had ever been paid on it;
SO, according to the rules of the estab
lishment. and perhaps of honest dealing
the pawn-broker owned the picture, ant
ieewas his to dispose of to any one wht
wished to purchase it.
Every day since the picture had beef
in old Guttman's care, Nina had visitet
the shop to see the face she loved q
well. Some days the little one woul,
efiit in and out half-a-dozen times, and b
this most unusual behavior, the pawn
broker had never made the slightest oh
lection.
When Nina's father died she was Mt
terly alone in the world, and. after q Lit
tie attention from the more kind-hearte,
81 her neigbbors, the child had drifte,