The Penn's Grove record., 1883-09-22

1UdJ SOu1uS DIS IL DIS DTOWu Wal HUI
fond of children but l really am, when
they come like silk frocks and other oc-
casional luxuries /; considered as every
day affairs, however, if / am to be al
lowed a preference between the two
why, give me the l)custs of Egypt and
accept my grateful thanks.
When 1 have impartially divided
their bowling household gods between
the eight sisters who live so uncomfor-
tably near, the sun is sinking behind
the trees in a blaze of glorious yellow.
There is a long road with many leafy
turnings, that Calico knows as well as
/, and while she dawdles along it with
languid elegance that suits us botll, l
sit, tailor fashion, in the bottom of the
cart, thinking, needless of whip or rein.
l read a story once of a devil-fish
crawling over the roof of a pretty cot
tage by some southern sea. / don't
suppose there was a word of truth in it /;
but, some way, ever since pa made a
clean breast of his troubles, l can't get
| that shiny black monster out of my
| thoughts night or day. | should say,
indeed, that a mortgage like ours was a
trile the worst of the two, because
there's only one weapon to fight it, and
where in the world is pa to get the first
red cent of that terrible three thousand
dollars ? If pa had only told me in
time, perhaps l might have done some
thing heoric with my poultry-a flock
of grey geese did grand things for his.
tory once on a time-but no, he kept as
dumb as Cheops, until l found it all
out myself, and no thanks to anybody.
The way of it was /: Ma started me
down to the meadow n evening last
week to see what pa meant by keeping
supper waiting, and when | found him
leaning against the barn there rs quiet
and gray as the twilight shadows, why,
| think the One who doeth all things
well must have put it in my heart to
wake him up and tell me the matter.
There is no woman in all this big
glorious world so weak as Samson with
his head shaved, and so he told me be-
tween sobs-I don't ever want to see
my father Cry again-how the big fam
lily had gobbled up the small earnings,
and how at last there was nothing to do
but to borrow money on the dear, shah
by old place, and now a villainOus bill
of some sort was coming due.
"Never mind, dad" l said, ''come
along to supper III get you out of
your fix"
/ don't think pa realized at the min
ute-and I'm sure | did not-that l bad
never so much as seen a hundred dol
lars in all my life together, for he fol-
lowed me home contentedly, put his
head under the spout while 1 pumped,
and then, with his hand on my shout
der, went into the house and ate supper
enough for two The next day pa was
out of his head with a fever, and now
to see him prodding about the farm with
a stick in his hand and a pain in his
back-poor, dear pa! OF course, the
first thing that suggested itself at his
bedside was blood, and plenty of it, and
| did saddle Calico and race off to MUIR
der the mortgage man-but l might
have saved myself the trouble, for the
vile creature wasn't at home; then l
turned the old mans head toward the
family so~ns-in-law, but there wasn't a
husband among them who had the cash
to spare-they don't seem to spare any
thing quite as conveniently as children.
l even decided to
"Say, young woman !"
l am not a coward, but the creature
who has brought the cart and my
thoughts to such a sudden halt looks so
like some great famished wolf standing
there at Calico's head, that l shiver
from head to foot, and he sees it.
"You needn't be afeard," he gasps,
in a rasping sort of whisper. 81 haven't
the strength to harm you, if my will
was good for murder-look at this.o
His eyes turned toward his breast
his right arm lies stifly across it, clotted
with something that must be blood and
the fingers look like the flesh of a dead
man.
l think he understands that l am
sorry for him, for before my heart
can jump back to its right place again
he drops the reins and touches his man.
gey cap.
give been skulkin' in these ERE
woods Miss, nigh onto a week, and
what with starvin' and the pain o. this,
Pm most about dead played out"
"If you will cut across the fields to
| that farm house over there" | said
kindly, 1 am sure-for God knows /
pity him from the bottom of my heart
81 will see that you get a good sup
per-"
II couldn't crawl there much less
walk, and my time for supper is over
for this world, l reckon"
am so sorry for the poor, m~isery-rid-
den creature standing there in the
summer twilight, with the fragrant
woods all around him, and the birds
chipping sleepily in the trees-so very
sorry, and / tell him SO.
He totters as | say it, and l am just
making up my mind that Calico and ]
have a disagreeable job before us, wher
he lays one miserable hand on the
wheel and drawing his face neal
enough for me to see the ghastly seams
that want has scared there, cries i'm
ploringly
.There's them that are hi nting me Il