The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1884-09-10

II thought would come upon you
bit by surprise, Tom," he said, without
any circumlocution. "The fact is, it is
that whiting that has brought me-"
"WlIiting, uncle r. calculated Tom,
with his first show OF surprise.
"Half ton Of whiting |" murmured
his uncle, irresistibly impelled TO dwell
upon the mystery. '&lalf ton Of whit.
ing Ay, here it Is" And he hourished
the bill under the others nose.
Tom took it gingerly and opened it
with serious face. IT seemed to Mr..
Bustead that he was not quite so much
Mt his ease AS he would have his uncle
believe and the old man glanced suspi.
ciously round the room. 1t certainly
was not the room Of hard working,
hard reading student; but still there
was nothing Objectionable in 1t. He
turned bis glance again upon Tom; the
after was contemplating the hill with n
broad smile genuine enough.
"Wcli," said Mr.. Hdlstead, "what
ave you to say about itY Half ton Of
,nitiug, you know, Tom?"
ne Young man laughed loudly.
# am not III fault this time, sir; 1t is
v. fnwn Tennis Clubs account sent in
me as secretary. gave the ground
uan the check TO pay it last week, and
ghy they should have had the impu.
fence 20 send 1t to you cant imagine
"Umph Dut how about the whiting,
rom? What il that for?'
Marking ont the ground, sir"
"Ol course it is, Tom Very stupid
+ me. Well, I'm very glad OF it, my
goy," said Mr.. Bulstead pleasantly. The
iystery Of the whiting was cleared mp,
M somehow it had made him fu5pi.
'ious.
"Now," said Tom, will yon come
with me 20 shop want to call at IN
he Hlgh-not II hundred yards OIL, sir ?
nd by the time we come back lunch viii
be ready"
Was The dust OF that whiting still in
Mr.. Bustead's eyes? At any rate, it
seemed to him that his nephew was pc.
ulilrly aud rcstiessly anxious to get him
mt of the rooms, However, he rose.
"Yes, Tom, certainly. Where did |
Pit my umbiclla? All, here il is, thank
you. Why what--the-deuce- is
hat p
If it had been another half ton Of
whiting piled upon the sofa the old gen
.lemau's face could not have grown
darker. The filing lying half hidden by
the sofa cushion Was II lady'5 parasol--n
dainty, tiny, wicked looking sunshade
Of gray silk, and by it was n glove OF
too, too apparent French XII. Mr.. Bu'.
stead's worst fears were confirmed with
vengeance. All along he had felt that
there was something wrong; this was
the haunt Of wicked dissipation he had
half feared he should find it.. Half ton
Of whiting, indeed In moment, and
before he had glanced at the young ie-
lows confused face, he thought the
worst OF him.
"Well, sir" he said, and there was
real sorrow MS well as anger in the tones,
"can you explain this with equal ease?"
"No, ] cannot, sir; but"
"You cant? Cannot say whose they
are or how they came to be ia your
rooms ? Fie, sir, lie / Or where their
owner is now, suppose q he added,
suddenly recalling the scouts seeming
attempts to delay him at the foot Of the
stairs, and marking the doors that led to
two inner rooms.
81 cannot account for them"
"And will not, supposeY
"You can put il that way If you like,
air. All that | can say is that ! am in.
Eocent Of what you are thinking OF me.
| give you my word Of honor, | am;
and ! can't say any more"
The old man was little impressed 10y
the youngsters earnestness. Tho oh
noxious articles might have been le(,
there innocently, of course"
"Then let me have look into Your
other rooms, young man, if you wish
me to believe you"
"No, / can't do that cried Tom,
springing, MS the other advanced, toward
The nearest door and setting his back
against it. He was cooler now, mud not
n bit confused. The old gentleman,
even in his anger, noticed that he looked
more handsome than ever before.
Don't be fool, Tom |" he cried, i'm.
peratively. Then suddenly changing
his tone to an appealing one-"Make n
clean breast OF it, and I'll try to forgive
you."
"There's nothing to forgive"
"rhan open that door. You won't ?"
GAS live, IL you don't before ] count
three, I'll cut you off without shilling.
Now, sir, one, two-it's your last chance
three | There, sir, I've done with
you now, sir--Tve done with you've
done with you !" And, clapping on his
hat, with furious haste and yet shaking
steps the old gentleman ran down the
stairs and, his heart full of sorrow and
anger, made for the station.
All, Tom, Tom A minute later he
opened the inner door, and looked rather
at the half-irightened, wholly
pretty face that appeared at it.
odd you hear anythingp' he asked.
"No, but do let mo get away. | am
30 nervous. He was very angry, wasn't
he? Yes. What was it about, Tom?
Bills ?"
Eyes," was the somewhat hating re-
ply; "bills and other things. dare
say he'll cool down. If you hear any
thing against me, you won't believe It,
will you ?"
ooh, Tom. how can you ask ?"
''Then there is no harm DONE" an.
swered Tom bravely and CALAMITY. And
after recommending from the window the
two left the rooms.
To return to Mr. Bulstcad, senior. 1t
was great trouble for him. Looking
back upon that halfton of whiting, he
wondered how that could have made
lin angry with the lad. If he would
My have kept to Tint he could have
orgiven him a ship-load Of whiting.
But this was different matter, and the
more the old gentleman thought of it, |