The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-06-02
HOW KATY CAUGHT HIM.

HOW KATY CAUGHT HIN.
You're sure you won't be afraid,
Katy?"
40 no. father!'
g But lilly is so deaf" added Mr..
Dillingham;, pausing with his foot on
the carriage step. "Sha mt stop and
ask Aunt Priscilla to let one of the girls
come up?"
No indeed father; won't be bit
frightened
Well, there's nothing to hurt you,
and [ shall he back with your mother
some time tonight if it's a possible
thing. Good-by, daughter
Mr.. Dillingham; seated himself in the
vehicle, touched the old gray lightly and
drove away. Katy stood in the door
and watched her father off. She was
just thirteen years of age, and she
didn't feel bit afraid, and when the
carriage was out of sight she bounded
off the doorstep and across the road to
the big barn, whence she presently re-
turned with her apron full of eggs.
"Tilly," she screamed, going into
the kitchen ooh, lilly, let me make
sponge-cake, all myself, for dinner to-
morrow. I've found some eggs and |
want-to make-a sponge-cake.n
80 yes" said lilly, quite with the
air of one who can hear as well as
another one, but who like to play some
times at being deaf, ''make half dozen
of sponge-cakes if you'want to, dearie. "
So Katy beat the eggs, whites and
yelks separately, for ten minutes; she
put in the sugar and beat five minutes,
and the flour and beat three minutes
more. exactly by rule, and when all this
was done, and the cake Drowned to de-
licious perfection in the big oven, the
short November afternoon was already
halfway through.
I'm going to put my cake in the
preserve closet, lilly"
lilly didn't offer any objection and
Katy carried her sponge cake through
the pantry into the little dark closet be-
yond There were rows upon rows
of preserve jars, and above them on
the upper shelf Katy caught a white
CLEAN from the silver-the ever and
sugar bowl and cake basket and tea
pot, besides a quantity of spoons that
had belonged to her great-grandmoth
They were very heavy and all of pure
silver; and suddenly, as Katy stood
gazing up at them, she remembered,
with a little SILVER of dread, the face of
a tramp who had looked in at the door
the day before while lilly was cleaning
the silver at the table. He asked for a
drink of water, and when he had got it
he went away; but it seemed to Katy at
this minute that he looked at the silver
great deal longer and sharper than
was at all necessary. What if he should
come back? He wasn't vicious
looking tramp; indeed, lilly had
thought and said what u pity it was
that he should be a tramp at all-such
bright face he had and such pretty
way OF speaking, but
You can't tell much by looks" said
Katy, wisely, to herself. Il believe
mother would almost rather lose the
farm than that silver. Anyway I'll put
on the paddock before l 90 to bed.
suppose it's foolish though"
Perhaps that was the reason she for
got all about it. She sat at the window
for long time, busy with her knitting
and with thinking of how glad she
would be to see her mother again.
Two weeks is so long time; and Mrs.
Dillingham; had been a day more than
that with sick sister in Wakefield
almost twenty miles from home. The
clouds had shut down heavy and gray,
and it would be dark early.
But by the time Katy was ready for
bed she had forgotten all about the pad
lock, though she was really a little
nervous and frightened, and wished
more than once that Tilly's cot bed in
the little room over the kitchen would
hold her with lilly. But she felt better
when she had gone up stairs into her
own little chamber, and had fastened
the door; and pretty soon after saying
her prayer she crept into bed and fell
fast asleep.
When she awoke the clouds had
cleared away and the moon was shining
full in at her window. She awoke sud-
denly, with thoughts of the silver in
her mind, and presently she heard the
chimes of the old clock ring through
the house like bell-twelve.
II DECLARE" said she to herself then,
sitting upright in bed, Il didn't think
to lock that closet door. But it's safe
enough-mother never thinks of lock-
ing it."
She lay down and tried to 90 to sleep
again, but it wasn't bit of use, though
she counted more than two hundred
sheep jumping over a gate. She could
not help thinking of how badly her
mother would feel should that silver by'
any chance be stolen. 1t seemed to
her that there were strange noises all
about the house; and once sound as