Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-10-05

Z
he could tell mora stories in half an hour
than any six Of the honest people Pete
knew taken together. He was, 80 Pete con-
Guided, nobody,s enemy but his own. It would
! take more time than you are willing to give,
and deeper knowledge Of mental intricaeies
| than possess, to detail the process through
which Pete was brought:to the point OF prom
Using to creep into the Poysett farm house and
| rifle the old desk that stood between the sit
ting-r room windows. The grocer's bill was
growing longer, his wife was paler, and she
| worried him by entreaties to let Whettles alone
aud forsake Toppan's; the aggregate Of such
| stfaws ia not small. 49, ..*
| The opportunity came, fitting the mood as
| exactly as if the mood had made it. Frank
| Poysett was going to Boston to meet John Will
ley; the women folks" would be alone.
! tsYou take Poysetts." said Whestles; '.you
know the lay of the land there; and the same
night I'll try Turner's, over on the hill. Well
! meet somewhere about /, down there under
the big elm, and divide. After that I'll make
! tracks across lots and take train somewhere;
nobody'll think Of you"
I Tinker Pete was equally sure Of nobody sus-
pecing him. He had always been honest-this
! he thought with q pause-and, being simple
minded sort Of fellow, he never calculated the
! effect in other peoples eyes Of having been
seen with Whettles.
but s'pose ny courage gives out" he said
! uncertainty: Il don't knows can do it, after
ALL It's easy enough to got in, but what if
so'mee,oody should see me:". I. might end in
| what's worse"
MAN alive!" said Whettles, impatiently.
| 'sAfraid at your time of life? We'll, here's
| what Ili do They go to bed early; you can
| have it over by midnight Now, I'll come back
that way, and il you're there and afraid to stir,
expect you're going to back out If have to
| do all the work, I get all the pay"
! 'Oh. mean to do it fast enough" said Pete,
doggedly. Things can't be much worse of
than they are now.''
"Aad i amt there by IL, youth know
sonethin's happened aud I can't come; 80
you'll have to go on your own hook But be
sure you're at the big tree by l."
Whettles, like many another skillful tactician,
did not tell his catspaw all his plans. He had
| no intention OF doing what might be done for
him 1t was only polite to assure Pete of
helping him out should his courage fail for
fear, under too great dread, that he might
break away from the plan altogether. Whettes,
who had as little right to this name as to many
another article lie had possessed at various
times, was as truly an arrant coward as a viii
lain. All his i'll deeds, and they were numerous,
had been DONE as far as he could manage It, at
the expense of somebody else II the robbery
at Turner's seemed feasible without too much
danger, he would keep his word; if not, there
was at hand the excuse OF having been watched
Or prevented, and Pete could be coaxed or
treated into sharing what spoil he had from the
Poysetts'.
That evening Mrs Poysett and Linda had an
cary tea, and, having done the indoor work
sat down for one of the quiet talks that had
grown 80 precious because they were so soon
to cease. The journey to Illinois was 80 long,
and Llnda's beginning new life such 3 serious
matter, that it seemed the two would never
have done talking it all over. Henry, the near
est neighbours boy, had shut up the barn long
ago, the milk was strained, and the pals were
washed.
GIVE laid out dozen O. them coarse crash
towels for your dishes, Lndy,' said Mrs. Poy-
sett. Yes, [ know you've goS a lot o new
ones; but you can't have too many O. such
things There amt any such thing as bein'
extravagant about keepin' your dishes clean
and shiny. Your grandmother Poysetr used 10
say she believed I'd like clean towel to every
cup Indy, how glad am that you amt got
to live with d mother-in-law!' A husky sigh
of relief was here Mrs. Poysett's tribute to the
memory Of the woman who had made tho first
ten years of her married life o discipline.
"fo think John and Frank will be here to-
morrow night at 7 O'Clock" said Linda dream
lily Wen have ounce for supper, won't we,
AIother?"
eyes; and guess.we'd better be abed just
as early we get there. You be fastenin'
up anu I'll wind tho clock" Mrs Poysett did
that in the dark, for Linda had taken the lamp
into the kitchen eight! Well, I declare" said
the good lady as the clock struck after she had
CROPPED her way up stairs. ''And it's right too;
for Lidv put it round this r.ornin. Seems to
me it took you good while," she went on, as
Linda came in with the lamp. Il don't bieve
but what you went through some extra fasten-
in up, now we're alone"
s'Not bit, MOTHER" said Linda, with a smile
cut short by yawn. II stopped to put the cat
out"
Il always think Of what your father said,"
unused the old lady. cit WAS after the Hamp-
stead murder. We never'd had our doors fast.
ened in the world till then. and as soon as news
Of that come, everybody was scared to death,
and your father put a button on the back door.
And the first night he turned it. he laid awhile
thinkin, aud then says he, If there's only a
wooden button between me and death, guess
I'll trust in the Lord and not the button So
he went down stairs and turned it back again.
What a lot of hair YOU have got, Indy, and
how quick you braid itl'
When Pete crept up to the house at 10, the
women had been soundly asleep for two hours.
He tried the kitchen window; il had no faste1l-
ing, and went up noisel"ssly. He stepped in
and stood trembling. The clock in the next
room licked with appalling 3oudness. His knees
smote together, but it required as much cour-
age now to fee as to remain Perhaps for ten
minutes-perhaps hours, judging by his own
exaggerated reckoning--he stood in fear: and
then, as the clock licked on steadily rs if 1t had
no reference TO him, his heart beats grew faint
or and his courage cEawled back.
He crept toward the sitting room door on bis
hands aud knees There stood the old desk,
ated shadow and half thrown into light by q
shalt from the moon. Probably the KEY was in
the lock. He had seen it there himself dozen
times--had seen Frank bring in fat roll of
bills after selling his oxen, toss them in there
and put down the cover without turning the
key. There had been no robberies in Belburn,
and go people trusted more in human nature
aud less in steel and wood. But the sitting-room
was so light! He should never dare 90 in there;
the very thought of having his shadow thrown
~. Il; %Lo l.
and chairs, gave him another sickrning spasm
Of fear. What if there were only women in
the house? Suppose one appeared? where
should he hide himself? He was not thief by
nature or training He would crouch down in
a corner and wait for Whettles. He had been
there ages, when the clock gave warning; ages
longer. and with an alarming preliminary whir
it struck twelve He started up with an after
impulse of gratitude that he had not shrieked.
When had the hour before struck? 1t seemed
incredible that he could have slept, but it must
have been SO, or, what was more probable, he
had been too absorbed to hear it. It was time
for Whettes. He crept back to the kitchen
window and waited in the cold draught Of air.
Minutes passed, each seeming ten. He began to
grow angry. Did the fellow mean to play him
false aud not come at all? AS anger rose. his
courage to Go the deed ebbed. do not believe
conscience asserted itself very strongly. Life
was harder than it had been even one day
before. and there was no flour in the house
now i1S N1S Sbiil uuus Will Dut
the after effects of the whisky Whettles had
had gwen him were nervousness aud irresolu-
tion The clock gave warning for another hour.
False, friendly old clock, if he could have seen
your face he would have known it looked ten
minutes of midnight then; instead, he believed
it would strike one. Too late for Whettles.
Perhaps he was now at the old elm; he would
hurry there and bring him back to- do his
share of the work. He closed the window
behind him and hurried Of to the rendezvous.
There wsk no one there At that moment the