The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1885-04-03

SCalrS, WITH ler CueShS uuSuSu bu IL
diguant scarlet. Miss Jemima followed
her.
"Uncle," said the girl calmly, as the
old man raised his bleared, ~exDectant
eyes toward her, there is no tobacco
there"
Tive sold it," quoth Miss Jemima,
putting her arms akimbo.
you've sold my tobacco! My blue
Virginia brandt"
Eyes, I have; and where's the harm,
I'd like to know? I wasn't goin'to have
it clutterin' up my cupboard no longer!
I've sold it for S."
"Then said Ebenezer, with O sort Of
stony calmness, you've just got SIS for
a pack of the best Blue Virginia tobac-
co that was ever put into a pipe-bowl,
and $500 in money, that was IL a tin
box in the lowest pound parcel but two.
That's where I'd stored away my little
s~avin's. Thought they'd be safe there
but they wasn't, it seems. You've had
your own way, Jemima, and I hope you
feel better!"
Miss Terminals lower jaw dropped.
"Sakes alive! why didn't We tell me
on II, EDeneZer BuItOfQ
Because l didn't choose" said the
old man bitterly, I'm sorry on Ellen's
account. Imeant she should have a lit
tie money of her own, but as for you,
Jemimy, Tn free to say that [ believe it
serves you right"
Miss Jenlima sank, rather than sat
down on allow chair by the table, let
ting her head fall into her hands. To
the gripping, avaricious old woman, to
whom q dollar seemed a bright idol to
be worshipped and bowed down before,
this loss was most disastrous, and nOn
the less so, because it had been wrought
through her own secret, spiteful Off
| ciousness. The tears, hard, salt and
bitter as the waters Of the Dead sea,
oozed one by one down her red eyelids
and fell on the table; a low, choking
sob, like the croaking of a bird of prey,
broke from her lips.
But alas! her repentance had come
to o late.
The autumn wore itself on, and when
the first snow-tlakes dizzied through the
dull, gray air they buried old Ebenezer
Buxford under the leahess willows in
the country graveyard.
Aunt Jemima packed up her belong
ings and went with her niece to a dis
tant state, where they could buy a little
place, and try to earn their living by
means of a market garden; and so they
dwelt for two or three years.
Jemima Buxford had laid her plans
to keep her niece With her always. Ell
len was so bright and helpful, and full
of odd ever-ready resources, but love
sprang into the scale opposite old Je-
NINA, and love outweighed her. Ellen
promised to marry George Stapleton,
who had the largest farm and the most
substantial farmhouse in all the neigh
borhood.
$50 you are from Millowfeld? Queer
old place, that" said George one even
ing, as he sat on Miss Jemima's door
step, m~editatively chewing a straw, II
came through there onc years ago,
when I drove a pedler's cart.
"Youp echoed Ellen, "a pedler's
cartP"
Eyes; that's the way I laid the foun-
dalton of my fortunes, such as they
are. I didn't always own a farm of
400 acres. And the oldest thing hap
pened to me there"
Aunt Jemima PIT on her spectacles
and stared hard of Mr.. Stapleton,
while Ellen asked: "What was it"
"Well I stopped at a strange little
out-of-the way house under a hill to
get a drink of water one morning, and
a little old woman with her face tied
mp with the toothache, and a sun bon
net tipped down over her nose, like
| an old witch"
"Humphl" interjected Aunt Jemina.
"Came out" pursued the uncon-
scious George, " and wanted me to buy
| a lot of tobacco. Well, tobacco WASH t
exactly in my line, but the old woman
was very anxious to be rid of it. so I
closed the bargain at So; cheap enough,
but at the same time ar pnch as /
could afford to pay. And I never
opened the packet untila month after
ward, when / was going up into the
lumber districts, where L expected to
find q good market for that sort of
thing. And here comes In the queer
part Of my story. When / was max
ing up my pound packages of tobacco
into small parcels, suitable to my trade
/ found in one of them, tied and pa
pered Like the rest, q tin box with"
"Four hundred dollars in bills in
itlD fairly screamed Aunt Jemima,
Eyes, I know. I sold you that ar to-
baccol And when you found you'd
got what was never intented for you
why didn't you bring it back?"
Gently, gently, Miss Buxford, :
said George Stapleton. 81 did bring il
back the very next weel., for although
the temptation to keep it was very
strong, yet ii somehow lay heavy on my
conscience. And when I got back The
old house was shut mn. not a soul iu