The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1883-03-07
THE BABY'S BANK.


one valve and opened another, "I
wasn't always an engineer. I wasn't
anything for long time. had the
knowledge in my head all the while,
but it was lost under heap of rubbish.
What fools men are when they're left
to themselves sometimesi Now look
at me. Would you say ! was ever .
trampP" @
A trampl his white muscular throat
white and wholesome under the coal
dust his strong, well-knitted frame,
clear eye and firm hand, denoted man
OF pluck and courage, a practical work
er, not the idle, nerveless, relaxed OBJ
ject, which is denominated tramp,
and which is a blight on the face of ma
ture. No, this man, guiding the good
engine Mohawk, was never a tramp,
and we told him sol .5+f
"But / was, gentlemen" he said,
coolly sighting a long stretch of road
over the backbone of his engine, and
letting her out little for a dead-level
heat. 81 was not only a tramp, but
the meanest kind of one, and l worked
harder and suffered more to get my
self into that condition than ever did
to reach this" and he looked proudly
at the polished trimmings of his flying
steed.
"rn tell you how it was" he said,
at last, as he slowed up to round a
curve and then went easily on past the
fields clad in their summer verdure,
past woods that were panoramic in a
flash of beauty, and away into the open
country. 81 was tramp-no matter
how came to be, orwhy. lost home,
friends, self-respect, all that makes up
manhood-but didn't wear red rib
bon at my watch charm then, and my
brain was muddled-there is many
more like me-and- Invent from bad to
worse, but 1 had never broken the
laws; never wronged any one bu. my
self, when / fell in with some fellows
who thought they had found a tool,
and they had. They say every man has
his price, and they offered me mine; it
was the price of my soul, too. and
agreed to take the money and do the
work
iJ was this-to sneak round and get
acquainted with the inside of a house
the house of the richest man in the
place. and to show them the way; they
aid looked the most respectable for
the purpose. Gentlemen, you wouldn't
have trusted one of the gang with a
ten cent bit, least of all me as 1 looked
then, but felt almost proud of the
compliment, and that afternoon l was
to go up to the house to look for work
or to ask for food, just as it happened
to strike me, when there was no one
home but the women folks, and look
round to see how we would get in that
night-for robbery, and perhaps muir
der, was what they meant.
1t was just such pleasant, peaceful
afternoon as this, and all the doors and
windows were open and not a soul saw
me as lounged in through the garden
and up to the veranda- The gang /
had fallen in with had made one mis-
take-they had kept me sober for the
work, not entirely clear-headed, but
sober enough to make me feel I was
doing a mean, dastardly trick. to make
me for the first time in many day
ashamed of my own company. But 1
had gone so far l must go on. had
walked up to the steps and into the
house without meeting a soul, and
stepped into long, cool room. and
there l saw on the mantle in great,
clear, gold-framed glass, a white face
and two red, bloodshot eyes-my own;
but what a fright they gave me, and
then l saw something else, a small iron
bank, such as children keep pennies in.
1t was made of latticed bars of wrought
iron, and between every bar was the
CLEAN of silver quarters and half-dol-
lars, and smaller gold coin. hadn't q
penny to my name. / was hungry, tired.
footsore and disgusted with what / had
undertaken. 1t came over me like a
flash that could take this money, and
get out of reach of the gang; it would
be a dishonesty, but not such as this
they had planned. reached out my
hand and stopped. There at NV very
feet, on a lace pillow-and all white
and fluffy like an angel-lay the lowell
est baby / ever saw in my life! She
was asleep, but as ! looked at her in
startled wonder, she opened her eyes
as wide and blue as daisies, held up
both pretty hands, laughed like bird
singing, and said: Joe, Joe,' which
wasn't t my name at all. didn't touch
the baby's hand, and l didn't touch the
baby. While / stood there pale little
woman came out of the room and near
ly tainted when she saw me, and / sat
down there and told the whole story,
and asked her to have me sent to Jail
for protection from myself and others;
she sent for her husband and all the
time we were talking the baby laughed
and cooed and called me by the name
she gave me, 'Joe,' and the rest of the
gang were waiting at turn of the
road for me to come back to them.
81 didn't give them up-it WASH {
worth while, when 1 had put the peo-
pie they had designs on on their guard
and they left the town that night.
[ didn't go to jail; the man whose
house was to be robbed gave me some
work, but didn't reform all in a min
ute, and he never could have reformed
me at ALT was the baby did it. She
trusted me; when felt the old bov get
ting the better of me l went to the
baby and she smiled at me, and / grew
strong right Oft made man of me.
never could tell what that baby saw
In my face to make her help me in that
way, but it wasn't of this world. She
knew she could save me, and she did
That was ten years ago, gentlemen, and
I'm more of man to-day than ever
was, and it's her doing"
''She must be quite large girl now,"
we said, inquiringly.
''Alay be so! don't know how
that is; some folks say they don't reck-
on them by months and yearsi I'd
like to feel she's the same sweet, smil-
| ing baby, holding out her hands in
that confiding way and calling me
'Joe'-she loved to call me that-but I
| never wanted any one else to use the
name since she said it-one night. She
was going to sleep, never to wake up,
the doctor said; they told me she
wouldn't know me. that would disturb
her. L went in on my knees, 1 crawled
up to the bed aud looked at her; dear
saint, she was as white as the sheets,
and her pretty curls never stirred a
hair, and her sweet ewes closed and 1
groaned in my heart, Tor l thought she
was gone, and then, then she opened
her eyes and then came a great struggle