Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1884-02-09

when he could not, he boarded at the "wid.
der's."
"The wilder was powerful weakly
woman" The only thing about her that
seemed up to average was her appetite But
John asserted that somehow her "wittles
didn't do her no good" Neither did me cine
seem to help her. She tried everything that
ever was advertised if she could raise money
to buy it, or if John could steal it for her,
and yet she was weakly.
The neighbors all knew John woull steal,
but it did no good to accuse him of it. The
accusation always had the effect of shamng
the one who made it, instead of John. No
one could call him thief and see the honest
surprise and injured innocence of his homely
face and not feel rebuked.
"Damn you," said a neighbor, clustering
because he felt self-accused in accusing this
humble, patient and yet manly creature,
"Damn you, didn't you take side of meat
out of my smoke-house night afore lastp
"Yaas zur" John drawled.
"What did you do it forf'
"The widder was out o. grub"
"Why didn't you come and ask me for meat
like Christiang'
"a Christian, zurl'
eyes, Christian
Christians he'd all things in common; widders
he'd as much as any"
"But didn't you know that meat was
miner
"Ain't you the Lordsr
81 hope So"
''And don't he intend for us all to hev
grubf'
YES; when we earn it."
81 work when l can get work, and the wild
der, she's one of the Lords helpless ones. Do
you low he'll throw off on his helpless and
his porei"
"But still you should have asked me for
the meat"
''See here, mister, you mought a let me had
It, and then agin you moughtn't. l knowed
the Lord he'd it fur me, and knowel he
hedn't 'pinted watchmen to keep it from me.
So just naturally took it."
=, The man looked into the depths of old
Johns clear blue eyes, way down to where a
baby soul faced him in angelic innocence, and
| lie turned upon himself in dumb wrath, hum
yblsr and worsted by the encounter, and
walked away poiidering
Hfew days afterwards John went. to him
to borrow his gun "He must kill some
game" he said, cor they would be
out Of meat; a side of bacon didn't
last that family long.n The man
| lent him the gun and a horse to ride, and
saw no more OF him until the next evening.
''What luck did you havei" the neighbor
asked:
hidden" said John, "nothin' to brag on,
but1 got a bit O meat such as it was"
) TIE neighbor wondered little why John
had not brought him piece Qxnowing that
he WAS as generous with his own things as
witt other people's.) but supposed he, had only
killed q fawn and that there was not enough
of il to divide. But the fact was, John had
got tired of bearing the continual anxiety
about meat and had. d.determined to give his
mind arrest for a few weeks; so he had killed
a'3-year-old beef belonging to the man OF
whom he borrowed the gun and salted II
away carefully.
1t is strange that the sly manner In which
he took the property of others should fail I'd
put the seal Of condemnation on his acts In
his own and his neighbor's eyes; but it did
not appear to do so. He wanted it; he knew
he would be opposed il he took it openly;
moreover, it seemed beggarly to ask. There
fore he chose between existing evils and stole
IL.
During the last harvest the poor old crea-
ture ever saw he worked like a sailor and
earned the best wages going But the "wid-
der and young onesn were out Of clothes; and
never a drop of patent medicine had there
been in the house for months. So the money
melted down fast; but the children were well
provided for and the "mantel tree shelf" was
crowded with a choice assortm, mt Of bottles
and boxes-Ayer's Sarsaparilla, TUFTS Pills,
Samaritan Nervine, Vinegar Bitters, Lind
sey's B.ood Searcher, Catarrh Remedy and
Cough Pastiles. Even Rough on Rats was
there although invisible; poor old John be-
ing the kind of rat the whole business was
rough on. But John had no idea that this
family imposed on him, or that they were
under any obligations to him. And the family
were equally ignorant Of the situation. The
widow bemoaned to her neighbors the natu-
raj generosity that rendered it impossible for
her to refuse house room to the "shfless crit
ter" and the elder children were insolent to
him and guyed him numerically. All but
Sary Jane.
Sary Jano was only years old and q
cripple She was the least mite Of a child
ever seen for her age, and had never borne
her weight on her dear little pale feet in all
her life. Sary Jane could not have been az
smart as the others; at all events she had nc
more sense than to love old John. She would
sit close to his head and keep the flies of
Of him as he took his MONDAY nap, and
would even shake her tiny fist at her big,
rough brothers when they torynented him in
her presence.
John carried the little one ON his shoulder
over the neighborhood, and was delighted
when the kind hearted women gave her half
worn garments and superannuated toys
The "widder" used to tell John how Sary
Jane ''mourned" for him when he was gone;
and John would listen with such glowing
eyes it seemed as il his whole soul was alb
sorbed in the narration.
EYES," the widow would drawl out ''she
won't go to bed without you; she just humps
along to the door, and thar she sits as still as
mouse, bent for'ard, and a listnin' with all
her years. It's no use to tell her you won't
come: she just jerks her shoulders, impatient
like, as if akin us to keep still, and thar she
sits till she falls asleep"
AS said before, the harvest was past and
tic money vas spent; and Sary Jane had got
III wish Of her heart. She had a pair Of
:...ocs and two tiny red stockings. It did moi
s;'rear to be her intention to wear them,
though she put them ON and Off many times
., oh dav and rarelv ufYare1 tham ont of har