The Dawson journal., 1885-07-16
HE MADE A MISTAKE.
NJ. Quad in Detroit Free Press.

NJ quad IN Detroit Free Press.
eyes, he may be a fraud -prob
ably is one," replied the man un
der the white plug hat as he re
placed his change, "but I made
mistake on the wrong side of tn,
ledger once and Idon't want to ge
caught that way again.
Glow was it?"
"Well, I'm neither a Christian
nor philanthropist. Fact is, Tn
rather hard-hearted man on the
average, but | used to be a little
worse than I am now. One even
ing, five or six years ago, right in
front Of this very store, boy
about twelve years of age hit me
for a dime. He had tears in his
eyes, q drawl to his voice, and |
spotted him at once for animpost-
er He went on to say that his
father was sick and unable to
work, and that he himself had
been down with fever and had
no strength to look for a Job, and
| laughed il derision and told him
to clear out or I'd give him in
charge"
"It's an old dodge" observed
the man who was smoking q corn
cob pipe.
Exactly, but it may not always
be dodge. [ had pocket full of
silver, but I was too onery mean to
hand over a dime. Suppose the
boy was lying? Suppose he want
ed the money for himself? How
contemplate in me to begrudge
that trltling sum to a little chap
who was all skin and bone and ev-
identity needed a square meal"
"Bosh! There are men in this
city who are looked upon as shin
ing examples who cheat and swim
de the people out Of thousand
dollars where vice gets a shilling.
This little incident l have been
relating went out Of my mind in
an hour, but the next day,as [ was
looking over an old tenement with
the owner, who wanted me to fig
ure on repairs, who should [ come
across but the boy OF the night be-
fore. He was in bed and raving
with fever. In bed! We'll, he
was tossing about on a heap of
rags. In the same room was the
mother, trying to earn few cents
at the wash tub, but not having
the strength to work for more
than five minutes at q time. Also,
tho father-just alive with con-
sumption, and occupying bed no
better than the boys"
Same boy, eh?" queried the
man with corn-cob pipe, as the
hard lines in his face began to
melt.
"The very same. There was a
quaver in his voice no one could
forget in a single day. He was
raving away of this or that, but
the father was quiet and inclined
to be cheerful. AS / sat down be-
side him for a moment, after leav-
ing S. bill in kis skeleton hand,
he said:
"God bless you for a good man!
When little Ben started out last
nigh we hadn't either light, fuel
or food in the house. He m@t
some kind-hearted man that gave
him dollar. 1t might have been
you. But for that money God
knows how we must have suffer
ed"
Might have been me! When I
remembered how / had repulsed
that boy the thought stabbed me
like knife! [ was trying to say
something to cheer the dying man
when the fever-stricken lad sprang
up, evidently recognized my voice,
and cried out:
please, mister, don't have me
arrested! Don't let 'em lock me
upl I'm telling the trr TIL ain t
lying!"
He came right over and got
hold Of me, and | tell you if ever
a man was broken down it was
this individual. left S25 there
when [ went away, and l sent a
doctor around, but inside Of a
week father and son were dead.
One died blessing me, and the last
words Of the other were an en-
treaty to me not to call him a
fraud and have him locked up.
That's the reason my hand goes
down for the chink when a man
or boy strikes me for change. I'd
rather give thousand dollars to
frauds than to have another hon
est boy die with my refusal grind
ing into his soul"
A Western exchange gives this
account of the failure of kind of
Hi Kimball scheme: "The great
Tri-State Construction Company