Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1882-08-05

with pa to go to school. Then pa kept
getting worse. and worse, and went to
live in rooms and eat at restaurants;
and pa stayed out late at nights, and l
guess he drank more than was good for
him, and / thought something had cot
to be done. So said to pa one day:
"Pa, let's go into business and open
store"
And he laughed and said, ''What kind
of store" rn
And I said, "Oh, candy store, or a
stationery store, or thread and needle
store, just such as women keep and little
girls help in"
And pa laughed and said he would
think of it, and when he came home
that night asked him if he had thought
about it, and he said ne had not, anl
said he had better, and he said he
would; and that morning he didn't go
out, but stayed at home and wrote ma
long letter. So next day I went into
store on Polk street, kept by a nice
old lady who had bad husband. where
they sold everything, and she said in
French they called it lingerie. I did
not know what she meant, because it
was French, and asked her if she did
not want to sell her store, and she
said =
do you want to buy a store, little
girl? ?" And l said: "lIy pa does"
And she smiled and said she guessed
the sheriff would have store to sell in
a few days. I said I would tell pa,
because no knew Mr.. Nunan, the sheriff.
1t was one of Mr.. humans men that
sold pas house and furniture for him.
And the next day told pa about the
store and what nice one it was, and
he had been a dry-goods man once.
and had a large store, and sold silk
dress goods, and velvets and furs, and
laces worth more than $1,000 apiece.
1 don't exactly know what pa did,
but think something s'turned up" a
few days afterward, for heard him say
he had made ''raise;" and he showed
me more than 81, 900 in gold and notes,
and for day or two he carried them
in side pocket, and mostly kept his
hand over them, for fear they would
jump out and fly away; and pa bought
me some shoes and hat, and stuff for
aprons, and made them myself, and I
never saw pa look SO happy since ma
went away, and one day he said to
met
"Vevie, have bought the store on
Polk street, and you are to be my sales
woman and partner"
And sure enough, in q few days We
went into the store, and over the door
was great big sign of "Jones & Co."
and pa said / was the Company" And
when I said, "And so, pa, you are
Jones'?" he blushed, and I guess he
didn't like his old friends to know that
he was selling needles and thread and
tape and things. We had two snug
little rooms in the back of the store to
sleep in, and made'pa's bed and swept
out the rooms and tidied things. At
first pa shut up the store when he had
to go down town on business, but after
little while tended it, and when
there we're two customers in the store l
waited on one, and it wasn't long before
l could make change and sell things al
most as good as pa could; and by and
by, when he went down town, / tended
store, and we had splendid times. We
went out to nice place across the
street for our meals; 1 tended store
when pa went, and pa tended store
when went. ~. 4at
One day pa came in and looked dread
fully troubled, and then said; "Pa,
amt a partner, and don't partners
have right TO know everything, and
amt you hiding something about Jones
& Company q setA8
And then I found out that pa had
bouRhttoo many things for the store,
and that note for $1,000 had to be
paid, and that's what made pa feel bad.
And then I thought and wondered now
I could get 81, 900, and kept on think
ing over everybody that / guessed had
81, 600, and everyone that guessed had
it, guessed would not lend It fu pa.
And then I Thought about the rich Mr..
Flood, and said: II will go down to his
bank and getiit for he's got more than
Thousand millions, and down to the
bank of Nevada the cellar is full OF gold,
and OF course he don't use it all the
time, and before Mr.. Flood wants it I'll
take it back and pay the interest" And
then ! jumped up and hurrRhed for
Jones & Co., took my best bonnet and
put on. my gloves, TOOK of my store
apron and. cOmbed my hair, and got
into car, went to the Nevada bank,
told the clerk l wanted to borrow 81 900.
and he laughedand said he guessed 7
had better see Mr. McLane. II asked
who Mr.. McLahe was, and the clerk
said Mr.. McLiane was the president, and
vuoa in the hack Fo0rn and I won't into