The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-07-30
NATHANlEL'S LUCK.

Nyohs
NATHANIEL'S LUCK.
We boys used to call him Nat, but he
said his name was Nathaniel S. Niggler.
We often asked him what the rs" stood
for, but he never told us, and gradually
we arrived ut the conclusion that he did
not know himself, but had merely
added il because it was stylish to have
a middle name. Nat lived ut Mayberry.
a small Maryland town, where he stood
behind counter and exchanged dry
goods and other commodities for coun-
try produce, which latter was shipped
To Baltimore, and turned into cash. Nat
did not own the store, but generously
let the proprietor have his valuable SER
vices ut fixed weekly stipend.
AT Mayberry, an enterprising printer
had started a weekly papcr-a small,
sixteen-column affair. four columns to
the page-which he filled with the usual
assortment of reading matter: a poem.
a three-column story and several smaller
articles, all clipped from some New
York weekly. Nat was a constant reader
of the Mayberry Sentinel, partly because
the Office of the paper was in the room
above the store, and he could get copy
for cigar (Which cigar cost Nat no
thing; and partly because he had little
else to read.
One day, the Sentinel published an in
teresting story about poor clerk, who
was trying TO keep a large family on a
small income, and how hard he found
il to make both ends meet year after
year. This clerks father-in-law was
supposed to have been very rich, and to
have hid the money before his death,
but none of it could be found. At length
when the poor clerk was reduced to the
lowest extremity, and had retired for
the night in perturbed state of mind,
the deceased gentleman left his abode
in the land of spirits, and presented
himself. all ghostly and white, a his
son-in-law's bedside; and, after Waxing
him from troubled sleep, babe him
dig in certain spot in the garden, and
then promptly disappeared. The clerk
thought it merely dream-a very vivid
one, though--and tried to forget it. He
could not shake off its remembrance,
however. SO he told his wife. and to-
gether they went to the spot named,
and dug. They found ten bags OF
money, each bag containing live thous.
| and dollars.
This is synopsis of the story which
ornamcnted the first page of the Sentinel
on December 90 1t made strong i'm
preston on Mats mind, who read il as
piece of news. and straightway began
to institute aparallel between this clerk
and himself. They were both in the
same business; both married; both had
large families Il wish to remark, paren-
thctically. that numerically Mats family
was not large, but individually it was;
in fact, he had only one son, six months
old, but Nat considered him equal to
any family of ten sons and daughters in
Carroll county,; both had deceased
fathers-in-law; both of these, previous
to their decease. had settled little
house and plot of land on their daugh.
tiers, and both fathers-in-law were sup
posed to have been n little cracked in
the upper story. Nat Garfield his par
conclusion that his father-in-law must
also have had some treasure in the back
yard.
He read the story to his wife. and
asked her what she thought of it.
81 think it's only q story" replied
Selma.
"But don't you think your father may
have buried some treasure in the gar
den?" persisted Nat.
81 think he never had any to bury"
and Selma began TO get supper.
"How did he get this hOuse?" asked
Nat, following her up.
ale bought it, and only finished pay
ing for it year before we were mar
ried."
That's no reason why he shouldn't
have made money in the three years
following What was he doing in Balti-
more so much during that timer"
II don't know" said Mats spouse.
swell, | have an idea that he was
specializing in stocks and bonds, and
that he made lots of money and buried
it."
Selma would not believe it, but Nat
went to bed that night quite excited,
and in exactly the frame of mind to see
any stray ghosts which might wander
into his chamber. After much tossing
about he fell into troubled sleep, from
which he awoke to see q white, unearth-
Unlocking being standing at the bed
side, and pointing ut him with his sub
Shameless foretinger. Nat recognized
the ghost of his father-in-law, and wanted
to ask him about the bonds, but he had
no power of speech. At last the appari-
| ton spoke:
Look at page 2O4 of mig Journal"
Then the ghostly vsitant disappeared,
and Nat recovered his power of speech.
He speedily woke Selma with the anx-
ious inquiry where her father kept his
journal Selma did not know that the
| old gentleman ever possessed such a
luxury; but if he ever had one it must
be in the old trunk in the attic. He
could not wait for daylight, but took a
candle and commenced TO ransack that
trunk. He found q lcather-covercd
book labelled journal" and turned
nervously to page 204 where the follow
ing was written in pencil:
"Aay 23d. Today l buried, betUeen
The cherry tree and the chicken-coop. the
The rest was illegible. The pencil
marks were entirely obliterated; but
Mats lively imagination supplied the
letters "ds" to the last word. Then he
danced wildly around the attic, bump
ing his head against the roof with a per-
feet disregard of shingles. His wife
called out to know if he were crazy. and
| ordered him to return to bed.
what did l tell you. SelinaP" inter-
rogated Nat; 1.-THE old duffer-I mean
your lamented father-has buried no
end of stocks and bonds at the foot OF
the garden" And he showed her the
| journal to corroborate his statement. Oh
course that convinced her, and she
waited for morning with as much impa-
| tience as Nat.
At the first streak of gray in the east
ern sky, the faithful pair began to dig.
After removing two inches of snow they
came to the frozen ground. Then II
| was hard work. but what mattered that
when untold wealth was to be their re-
ward. So they dug and dug, and came
to flat stone. With breathless expec-
'tation they raised it. and what a sight