The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1885-10-15
Eleanor Kirk


You might as well come inside here,
Johnny" said the pilot of one of our
large steamboats, to a boy who had stood
shlverlng on the hurricane deck. The lad
turned pale, anxious face, and with
pitiful attempt at a smile, said:
"Thank you sir, but thought there
was no admittance here"
"Oh, once in while we let friend
in,' said the pilot, kindly, with sweep
ing glance that took his companion in
from top to toe, and seemed to penetrate
to his inmost soul.
| "Where re you bound p he continued,
with hearty brusqueness from which no
offense could be taken.
81 don't know exactly,' the lad an
swered. "Tm going to Boston first, that
| is"
eyes, that's about what I thought"
the pilot interrupted, eff you can manage
to get there. Let me tell you something,
my boy. A man in my position has
every opportunity in the world to study
character, and as quick as my eyes lit
upon your face knew you were running
away from home"
The only response to this was hasty
|
gasping sigh which sounded forlorn from
one 80 young.
"And | wouldn't be afraid to wager
this steamboat that you have got another
living, and, more than that, as kind and
loviry a mother as ever drew breath.
Yo, wonder how | know all this" the
man continued, his eyes fixed on the
waste of water before him, and his steady
hands guiding the great craft with perfect
ease and precision but you carry your
mother about in your face, my lad, and
your eyes are bad give-away," he added,
with smile. "Now, | am going to tell
you story. You are about 10, take it
Yes, thought 50. Well, was year
older when | concluded | knew more
than my mother and all the rest of my
relations, and skipped, just as you have.
You feel that you have been the victim
of injustice, and all the right in the uni
verse is on your side. That was my case,
but | was fool, and so are you.
"There is no necessity of entering into
particulars, but was jealous of my older
brothers, and made myself believe that
they were in collusion to keep me out of
money that honestly belonged to me.
wanted some OF the property that was
eventually coming to me to travel with.
l was wild to see the world, and the ridi
cule of my brothers, and my mothers ap-
parent sympathy with them made me
desperate. Well, one rumpus followed
another, my mother all the time trying to
show me how unjust and ridiculous my
demands were, until one day threw all
affection and decency to the winds and
ran away.
"Now the point that l particularly
want to make in this yarn, my lad, and
which would give good many dollars
to impress upon others, is, that any fellow
with grain of honest love for his mother
in his heart is pretty sure to have some
thing to regret as long as he lives if he
hurts that mother by doing what you
and have. In a moment of anger we
say to ourselves, no one cares for us and
we care for nobody, and then some awful
trouble comes along, and we find too
late that we have only deceived our
selves.
"Now l tramped up and down the
earth for six months without sending a
line home, or hearing word from home,
and at last their came day when sick
years and my strength drove me back.
But not to stay or make myself known
to any one, but to take-or, / should
rather say, steal-some money or some
valuables which l could convert into
money, to bridge over the present emer'
gency. You had no idea that you were
talking with man that had been tempt
ed like that, eh? Well, l said to myself
that was simply taking small share OF
what was mine by right. There were
$4,000 held in trust for me, and it was q
great pity if could not have enough OF
it to purchase food and medicine. will
do myself the credit to say that there did
not appear to be any holes in that argu
ment then, and that in every other re
spect was an honest lad.
" 1t required no skill to let myself into
my mothers house. To slip the catcf
from one of the back parlor windows wa'
the work of a moment. My mother
always kept money in a desk in the sit
ting-room adjoining her bedroom. l hat
written note to leave there, telling hel
nv reasons for appropriating the money
Great heavens 1t makes my blood rur
cold as my thought goes back to th'
horrors OIL tnaL n1Snt. AS sOitiy raise.
the window and crcpt into the room
was struck, it seemed to me, with tn
chill of death. / had no fear of bein!
caught knew the ways of the hous
too we'll for that-and / was neve
in my life very much afraid of anything
or any body. 1t was chill that seemed
to strike clear through me, causing m
teeth to chatter and my heart to feel lik
q lump of ice in my bosom. These wer
novel sensations, and tried to analyz
them, but it was of no use. l found tina
literally did not dare to move hand
foot in this awful blackness. knew wher
the matches were formerly kept, and
could have reached them by couple {
steps, but how to take those steps wa
the question.
"At last, by supreme effort OF th
will, l CROPPED my way to the mante
piece. There we're two matches in th
box. struck one, and my hand shook 6
that was afraid it would 60 out befol
I could look about me. But it Taste
long enough, my lad, to show me sigf
which very nearly killed me on the spo
Just in front of me by the folding dool
was coffin, and knew then that it WI
the presence Of death in the room th'
had sent such chill to every fiber of m