Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1881-09-17
efforts to reach the wagon before it drove

away.
Currency? SO you've been listnin'
to the speech, have your" observed Jerry.
well, twas tOl'able good One-tOl'able;
though there's some p'ints where me an
the gOv'nOr differ. low he means right;
but he ant just posted on some things.
Currency? Why, see here" Jerry drew
a fifteen-cent piece from his pocket and
began to wax warm. that's currency
-mis'able paper, that we have to take
cause we can't do no better"
"Oh! it's money? But about the
treasury, and redeeming it, and all that?"
pursued Bob.
"Eh? Oh! you've got some that's used
up pretty bad, have you? OF course, that's
what happens with such stuff. Well, it's
this way. If you save the pieces of the
rag money, an send 'em on to the treas
ury, they'll send you a lot more of the
same kind of paper-rag money. An a
pretty kind it isl'
THANK you, sir" said Bob, rather
blankly.
welcome, boy. You're welcome" and
Jerry drove grandly on, while Bob looked
dejectedly after him.
times any easier" he said; "and don't
"Oh! l do" cried Maggie, with dane
thing! He said that was paper-rag
money. / don't know why he didnt like
it. l should think it was just as good as
money for squashes and apples. Aunt
Prissy saves lots of paper-rags from all
the sewing she does for folks; don't you
know And he said if we sent any paper
rag money to the Treasury they'd send
back lot more money for it,"
$50 he didv' said Bob, with brighten
ing face. "Do you s'pose that's what he
meant? Must have been, for he did truly
say 50; didn't he? Wen tell Aunt
Prissy about it,"
"NOt just at first, Bob; not for little
WHILE" pleaded Maggie. Cause her big
rag-bag won't be full for ever so long,
and it would be so nice to s'prise her and
grandma. There's lots of rags we can
find in the roads and alleys and places,
and we'll do the first all ourselves"
"Yes, we WILL" agreed Bob, captivated
at once by so grand an undertaking.
Sand We'll begin to-day, as soon as we
get home, for a fluttering fragment of
cloth by the roadside soon caught
Maggie's eye, and then Bob espied small
piece of Jacket, that some marauding
boy had left on fence-nail when he
climbed into neighbOring orchard. SO
by the time the children reached the
little house where Grandma and Aunt
Prissy were beginning to watch anx-
iOusly for them they had various odds
and ends slowed away in their pockets
the beginning of their fortune.
Bob placed an empty box in an Out-Of-
the-way corner of the old shed, and there
they carried their treasures. The work
of gathering went on bravely. 1t was
wonderful how ready the children always
were to go on errands for Aunt Prissy,
and how fond they were of taking walks
when there were no errands for them to
do. Their eyes grew very keen, too,
searching for every fluttering shred by
the wayside.
Nobody who hadn't tried picking 'em
up could tell how many rags were lying
about everywhere" Maggie said.
And day by day their store increased,
until at last the box was full. That was
an eventful day when Bob carried them
off for sale. He slipped away quietly
with his load, and Maggie watched from
the window in a fever of impatience until
he returned, and then danced out to meet
him and hold consultation in the old
shed.
Twenty five cents! Awhole 25 cents!
Where'll we put it?" she said.
IL was carefully rolled In piece of
paper and placed behind one of the great
beams of the shed for safe keeping. Then
the children began the task of filling up
the box again. They worked faithfully
and cheerfully, with tolerable success,
too; but still the weeks were going by,
and the weather was growing older.
Chilling winds blew up from the river
and scattered the brown and yellow
leaves from the trees; and the toes that
looked out Of BOb's shoes were growing
red and cold. So when the next bOxful
of rags had been sold Bob looked down at
the money and said thoughtfully:
81 wish it was more; but don't know
but we'd better send it off now, Maggie,
fore the weather gets any colder. We do
want things so, and it's getting most
winter"
SWELL" assented Maggie. "Mr. Jerry
said they'n send a lot more like it. that's
lust what he said; and this is 30 cents,
and if they send lot more so cents we'll
have ever so much! We'd have had 60,
you know, only we saved out 10 cents to
buy paper to write our letter with"
II wish somebody would tell me where
the treasury is" said Bob.
"Oh! / wouldn't bother about that! I'd
send it right to the governor" answered
Maggie, cheerfully. "He knows where it
is and how to do it, or he wouldn't have
been telling the folks here. And 1t won't
be much trouble for him to get the money
for us. Mebby that's what governors are
for"
That seemed reasonable, and the plan
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