Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-11-17
pile of old MSS. Matilda displayed

pile Of old MSS. Matilda displayed
more reason in her fetch, it being
heaVy gold watch-chain that had beer
presented to Daniel Webster by tn,
state OF California on its admission t.
the Union, and that had fallen to he1
as an heirloom. Ny sister placed this
IN her work-box, which with deep-lyine
strategy was left on the sitting-roo9
table. It was locked, and the kew pu1
INTO the cabinet; this was locked in
5arn, and 50 on through a system Of
double locking as complicated as Mrs,
Puliet's: Where the final key was de.
posted !! can not say, for, like Oliver
Cromwell, it never slept twice in the
same place.
And then to bed, to awake countless
times through the night with the con.
vlctlon that a black-masked figure stood
by the bedside, and a voice was saving
rshpake, and I'll put IN ind to yez.H
Somehow l never could fancy any
put an lrishman being a burglar.
More than once we were aroused, too,
IN a way that would have terrified less
tlmld people, for Lou, sure somebody
mad effected entrance in spite of he1
nine hair-pins and a chair against
every door, would slip quietly out Of
PED to n of us, and with the idea Of
displaying great presence of mind, and
awaking her quietly, would put her
hand fiat on her face. Reused n this
manner, of course the victim BEGAN
screaming, in which Lou would in.
stantly join, thereby convincing her be.
Wlldered and terrified victim that some.
thing dreadful had really happened.
Inc duet OF screams would continue
until the others came running in and
matters could be explained. In too ex-
asperated moments it occurred to Ma
tllda and myself that the burglars So
cclety would have been preferable to
Louis.
Though a whole week had passed by,
and we had neither seen nor heard from
Jack Walcott, none of us doubted for a
moment but that he would find the
original of my description. A promise
with him, though given half in Jest, was
still a promise. I was standing on the
porch one afternoon, just before tea,
when he came tramping up the street.
L run down to meet him, but he refused
to come farther than the gate, OF where
the gate should have been.
"What is that pretty German story
you are SO fond Off" he began, directly
-"about the boy who longed for the
beautiful rare flower, and set out in
search Of it, wandering over the world
in all its highways and by-ways, its trod-
den places and forgotten corners, till, a
worn.out old man, he returned home to
lind the flower blooming unnoticed be-
side his own door-stone. Well, 1 have
looked everywhere for your hearts
treasure. to find at last [ have been
staring him in the face for the last two
years. He sits at the desk opposite me,
the city, wants to live in the coun-
try, even if he has the trouble of trains
he told me this morning, where
upon it flashed across me he was the
man l had been looking for. A nice,
quiet young fellow of seven or eight
and twenty" Why was it Jack spoke
men Of that age in such a paternal
way? He himself was but a little over
"He wants to come, and I
bring him out tomorrow night.
You'll be ready for him? His name?
yes: Walter Forbes"
L told the news at the tea-table. '.Not
chat we shall like him." I wound up,
d%ecisively, and the family echoed with
equal force, 'sWe shall not like him"
It was u%ngrateful both to Jack and our
protector. but we were too conservative
% take kindly to any one who should
in in the slightest on our man.
aers and customs. He was but the less
two evils. The frying-pan that was
only not the fire.
We were in a small futter of excite
all the next day, for our life was
20 quiet that even the meeting a stran-
ger was an event. True to his promise,
Jack appeared in the evening with our
defender. He was all that 1 had re-
luested-nay, I think, demanded-I
decided at a glance. That he was easy
Ind pleasant to talk with, that first
evening proved. Jack was unusually
quiet, even for him, so Mr.. Forbes had
The field to himself. After all, I thought
% myself, as l prepared for bed-the
lrst time for many weeks l could go to
sleep unheeding my match-box-per-
oaps, after all, we should not exactly
nate him.
In two days I could say it with more
irmness, for, beyond the blessed secu-
in which we now lived, Mr.. Forbes
proved a decided acquisition to our fam
ly circle. He was always so pleasant,
20 obliging, SO ready to lend a hand on
every occasion, that the first strange
oon % off, and we could look
1pon him as the mythical elder brother
or whom we had always longed. He
won Aunt Barlow's heart by appreci-
ating her inimitable beef stews; that
vas enough to have obtained her regard
or a less attractive man. He trained
,he vines on the porch with Matilda,
and sang with Lou, read Ger
with me. And so far from our
the presence of a stranger irk-
some, it was of him as of that famous
statesman: ''He was never in the way,
md never out of the way"
And then the relief of knowing we
could seek our couches in safety!
1t was toward the end of that first
month that we were one evening recall
ng our foolish fears and more foolish
methods of preserving our property.
Mr.. Forbes had not come. He might be
alter than usual that evening by reason
If making out the monthly accounts, he
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