Daily Republican., 1881-04-22
SAVED.
BT ALICE DALE,

sian tfhlHhleu WIN apllallon. W "oi
der, indeed . only that day the storl
which he had SO long toresern an
dreaded had broken forth, and the te1
rible intelligence had reached him tha
he was homeless. That the old farm
where he had lived fifty years, was I
pass out of his hands into the poSrSSlu
OF strangers.
Hard, indeed, was it Tor the "d ma
to bear. And, wl"n he rencmbr"e
tho pale, patient wife, who had wake
by his side through all liIe'S wear
ways, iOr two score wears and more
when the bitter thought came TO hi
heart that now, after all their hard toll
they must close their eyes in death
drramIess sleep within the walls of tn
poor-housr, the Old man bowed his gri2
zled head, and vept like a child.
He Thought Of the time when she,
hright-evGd, roSy-cheekel girl, had lail
her hand in his, and vowed solennIy T.
be his wife 'tor better, for WORSE an,
right nohly had she kept that sacre,
vow. How they had worked and Striv
en- all their lives, and this wa, to b
their end, "A pauper'S grave
In all these years these two ha,
known no disseuSion, never, save once
They haI hut one child, a bright prom
iSing lad was Harry Warden, and tn
pride OF his parents hearts. He gtev
up to manhood and save for Il natura
eXubrr1ncr of spirits which prumpte,
him to all kinds OF mischief, there wa
DO fault to find with him.
But Farmer Wcrdrn was Il stern
hard man. He had certain rulrS an,
methods with which he rhaIked out the
lines whrTron his son must walk, an,
the least deviation thrretron called on
the most violent demonstration Ofwrath
Harry had ooccurcd Il good >ltlatIut il
a large business house. the tirIn Of Ora.
ry and Dean. Step by step, he AROSE
in The confidence of his rmp.Oyr yrrS nm
til il began that some day he might as
pirc to enter the firm, Il, .juuior partner.
oh those were proud days iUr The o!,
farmer.
And then ihc blow fell, The bright
hopes We're shattered, the end came
Harry was accused Of appropriating
funds trum his employers. Dh, the
horror Of it, t" the young man who saw
his WhOic life blasted; and the worse
horror Of knowing that hi, father his
old father, whom he loved 50 dearly,
believed him guilty.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
availcl with the ohiuratc old man. No
one trusted hin--no one believed him,
save the leal, The tru" mother heart.
which would not turn from her boy in
his hour of darkness. Dh--a mothers
love- hat will it not pardon the pity.
But not so with the fat her, who could
not forgive the blightlng OF all his fair
hopes and ambitions. He refused to lis
ten TO hi, son he cursed him and drove
him away from his door. The house OI
Dracy and Dean, out of respect for the
rId folks huShed the matter up, and
Harry Worden disappeared,
Tie hal been gone about six months,
whe Drary-tI" senior partnerships
tirS to the old man that he wishes tC
communicated with him in regard to his
son. But he received simply these
words; II have no son"
And the nard, old man buried his
heart deep down, away from the gaze
nf men, and went about his daiIy toi! rs
though nothing had happened
But everything went wrong. Crops
failed; cattle died; an ugly debt was
scored against them by one who had
friendship. A mortgage on
the farm app"aSrd the ravcuou, creditor;
but Us the year, dragged by, the old
man saw plainly thar thu debt could
never br wiped out. His wife began 10
irop and fade; life rot 600 heavy a bar
len for her, and the grave seemed near.
And on the day my story open, the
mortgage had been forecloscd, and Ear
nrr Worlrn kn,w the doom that
awaited them.
Sitting alone in the ruomy old kitchen,
with his grey head bowed. the old man
,aw the poor hou," walls loom up, grey
ind dreary before his eyes.
SIT would he better to die" he cried
Il his bitterness and despair.
There was a faint tap at the outer
loor. The o'd man arose, and leaning
heavily on his staff answered the sum
mons. A man stood on the Stcp--a
nan dusty and travcI-Staincd-thc tai, ,
straight form plainly outlined against
II" coId, dreary sky, whrrea November
sum was setting, chill and bleak. The
ravrlrr azcd earnestly into the old
mans rugged face.
II am weary" he began; 81 have
walked many miles to-day: can lind
,h"ter for til" night; and perhaps some
,r"ad and milk-anything, for am
The old man scowled gloomily.
"No," lie cried harShly, "hcgone'
We want no tranpS here"
For the love OF Heaven" pleaded
he waytArcr, "lct me stay and---"
But the door was slammed to in his
ace, and the weary traveller stood alone
IN the door stone under til" wintry sky.
Glitter, bitter" he muttcrcd, turning
lis eyes up to the old farmhouse.
God help those who must appeal to
'harity. Nothing can be colder or
more pitilcSs than the hearts of men,"
He sighed deeply and turned slowly
way.
Ltter in the evening, prompted by
omn impulse which he could not auaI-
ne, Farmer Worden went ont to the
,rrat, red barn which stood full of hay
md grain--a rich harveSt-but no lon
,er his own. His heart was very heavy
- he entered the building. Only to
'auSe in ainaZement to see u light burn
ny brightly III the huge loft full of fra
rant hay.
He paused in angry establishment, az
10 saw crouchng in the hay the travel
r whom he had turned from his door
t dusk, He lad lighted one Of
he barn lanterns and sat there as COM
'osedly rs though he had a right.
The old farmer stood unScen-his pre-
ence unsuspected, and watched the
novemcnts Of the stranger. And his
eart beat tumultuouSl y his breath
ame in excited gaSps he tremblel on
lis oakcn staff fer there, right before
lis eyes, the stranger was handling and
oun ting over a huge roll of money
ank notes and gold coins.
eyes it is all sate" the traveller ey-
laimed aloud, call there-ten thousand
oliars in gold anc banknotes. must
e careful, for it would prove a tempt
az haul to some prowling assassin.
ultimately, | met no one ON the road
,lay and M ona kpowa ar vuupant,