Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1885-11-04

"Wllllng, or not hell have to go,
was the answer ..t.
HamiI Brown found him sitting
forlornly on the wooden steps of the
little house that had been his home. !
s'Poor little chap, you here alone
Where are the women of this town, [
wonder ?"
He sat down beside him in such
friendly way the boy suddenly burst
into tears and cried as never, before.
The dazed condition that had, .envel-
oped him had washed away, and he
was a little Borrowing boy, as full of
grief as any other who had lost his ALL
Mr.. Brown let him cry till he sobbed:
"Will not somebody put me in the
grave with them?" Then, with one
arm around him, he talked and talked
till the stars came out.
In the spring when the men, came
down from camp red-cheeked, black
eyed and handsome lad came with
them. Wholesome, hearty food, life
in the keen, clear air of the hilly for
est had worked q miracles j 1t had vi
tailed the whole system. Body and
brain had alike received an impetus.
Ha1nil Brown said to Seth Grattan,
who exclaimed over the vigorous
looking boy: Eyes, 1t has been good
thing for him, / think, and | know it
has. for me and the other men, for
what do you think of a boy who says
his prayers every night and is always
obliging and pleasant, and who is
brave enough to shame us all? Yes,
I believe in heredity too, and [ know
whose son [ am, and whose grandson:
but I know, too, that with all my OPP
portunities and education, I've been
disgrace to them. Since [ was ex-
PEELED from college six years ago, I've
roved and wandered, to be brought to
my senses by this little fellow, who
might have had home with your
paupers, though your taxes would
have been increased thereby. Thomas
Armstrong, with a wide-awake, brain
and a thirst for knowledge, is going
with me where | am going, like the
prodigal of old. You have heard Of
the philanthropist and millionaire of
N? Well you may be surprised,
but he is my father, and 1 know him
so well, know the 'fatted calf will
be killed."
A little later, like the butterfly from
o. Jill y SdilO, l1Ol1AlI O1OWh Cl11OIS gu
from his old life, shorn of much that
outwardly had made him such a con-
trast to the youth, VINO, six years be-
fore, said his last good bye to parents,
home and friends, that with troubled
hearts, but never wavering love, had
hoped on, never doubling that some
time he would return to them. In all
of his wanderings he kept his old latch
key, and it would be hard to tell ofthe
influence of that voiceless bit OF met
al. 1t was talisman OfuntOld value.
1t meant an open door, and though
led astray by bad habits and wild
companions, each look at that key
riveted the chains he could not break.
Had it been lost it is impossible to
conceive of what might have been the
barrier swept away. When at last he
turned the key in the familiar door he
forgot everything but this: it was the
hour when the father used to gather
the children about him, and in re-
spouse to his tap the "comein" was
so like that of old he thought of moth
ing except the dear faces before him.
The scene that followed is too sacred
for pen of mine.
To Tommy armstrong, who accom-
panied him, the journey was a COM
plete bewilderment, though Mr.. Brown
had In a measure prepared him for it;
but the immensely of mountains and
prairies was inconceivable, and city
blocks and parks with their adorn-
ments swere hard for such boy to
imagine. With glistening eyes the
father gazed upon the boy, who Hamil
ho1 4o,1ryb4 hi,,o Tho 1oconY, ho4
love and home had failed to, and with
out transferring the affection that be-
longed to his own son, he received him
with open house and heart. The tide
had turned, and in spite of the luck
that had followed the Armstrong;, the
uphill march began.
Hamil Brown, leaving his sins be-
hind him, bravely struggling back into
the niche that long before should have
been his, looked upon Tommy with
pride as well as love. AS the days
went by he gazed in astonishment at
the boy, for each endeavor strengthened
the used faculties and his progress was
steady and sure. Itseemed that from
some far-away ancestor an inherent
persistency had come down to him
which with material aid developed
qualities hitherto dormant.
A score Of years later the little town
that had had almost a Rip Van Wrinkle
sleep, awoke from it's lethargy. Half a
mile north of the village buildings
sprang up, as by magic. Ponderous
machinery was put in place. The
progress of the stream that once lazily
meandered through the town was
stopped by a huge dam, and the rush
ing torrent seemed to enter into the
spirit of the wide-awake projectors,
Ere many months passed the inhabit-
ants became somewhat accustomed to
the screech of the locomotive and did
not gather daily to look upon the in
coming or outgoing trains that the
most sanguine had never expected to
see till after the advent of the hand
some gentleman who had SO suddenly
appeared in their midst. Without
making himself known he spent a day
or two looking about, his keen eye de-
tectlng the possibilities of the place
e,,@, nh Of co.