The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1886-10-16
SAVED THE CAPTAIN.
An Old Lady's Good Act to a
Poor Family.

1t certainly was very provoking. rs
John Bathurst said, "for an honest man
to chop wood for weeks in the cold, and
to give his own and his hired mans and
his teams time to haul it up TO the
house, just to have it stolen by some
sneak of fellow, who was probably too
lazy to work"
He talked about it several evenings at
the post-oilice, where he went for his
papers, taking care to let it be under
stood that hc'd show the thief no mercy
if he caughthim. When the neighbors
dispersed on one of these evenings, and
took their several ways home from the
post-oiiice, ono or two passed by little
cottage, at the gate of which stood
tall, so!dierly- looking man. They
nodded to him, rs is the custom in the
country, although they were not ac-
quainted.
Some time before, he had come to the
neighborhood and taken up his resi-
dence in the cottage, which, with few
acres of land, had been left by an old
uncle of his. At that time they had
learned that he was an Englishman,
who had formerly been Captain in the
army. His wife and little daughter
had come with him, but neither the
farmers nor their families had ever had
any save the most formal intercourse
with them. Squire Saunders and two
or three of the leading men had shown
"A disposition TO be friendly with him,
but although he had received their ad-
vances with civility. this was of such
cold nature that he was left severely
alone by the independent little COM
munity, which had no wish to be ''looked
down upon by any man, even if he had
been Captain in tho English army"
John Bathurst. especially, who had
.gonc into the war n corporal and had
come out a Captain, felt himself ag-
grievcd at the naughty bearing of the
Englishman, who had once actually ad-
dressed him as ''my good man." soon
after his arrival at the cottage What
Captain Gerald lived upon was q
mystery which puzzled the neighbor-
hood He seemed to have no connec-
ton with the outside world, with the eX-
ceptiOn of one correspondent, from
whom came monthly letters with such
regularity that it had long since been
decided by loungers at the post-oifice
that the correspondent was lawyer. and
that the letter contained remittance.
But for the last two months no letter
had come. Evidently the Captain had
not expected any, for he had not gone
to the post-oifice, and, indeed. save for
seeing him with his wife and little girl
out for daily walk. his neighbors
would have forgotten him.
During the nutting season the new
comers always carried well-tilled baskets
home from the woods the nuts peeping
from under the red aud yellow leaves
with which the baskets were fancifully
hcaped An irregular kind of thrift
seemed to prevail ut the cottage, for the
apples in the little orchard had every
one been picked with the elaborate care
which bctokens both ineXperience and
plenty of time.
The ncjghbors, who in passing had
not 'ced the harvesting, had been greatly
amused thereat. The potatoes. planted
in the early spring by the old uncle,
now months dead. were lifted tenderly
from the earth and transported to the
cellar with the concern of the mser for
his gold. The corn was husked and
stored away with the same solicitude,
and the few vegetables which the we'll
TILED garden provided received the same
tCHuCi CttiC.
John Bathust's mother, who had been
in Bloomington for two days visit to
her daughter, came home just ut night
fall about fortnight after the first eX-
citement of the wool-stealing
''And you didn't meet John at the
Corners?" her daughter-n-law had
asked after greeting her.
.'No; and 1 thought it very strange
that Johnnie would not be ready to
meet his mother, after she had been
away for three days and two nights. l
felt 80 certain that he'd be at the Cor
ners, that made Montezuma go twice
into the post-otlice to make sure that he
wasn't there"
And the old lady sat before tho fire,
still warmly wrapped in her heavy cloak
and her serviceable, though unfashiona-
BILE, furs. looking rs If a trlile doubtful
whether she had better remove them ut
all. after this slight upon the import
ance of her home coming. She had al
ways been accustomed to being treated
with the utmost Difference by her chill
dren, especially by "Johnnie," whom
sho most loved, but from whom she de-
manded unlimited homage,
~ don't see how John conld have
missed you, mother, unless he was over
at Jacob Parsons. They've found out
who has been stealing the wood, and
John and lot of them have set a trap
and are going to wait for him tonight.
1t must 'be that they're still talking II
over, and that's the way John came 70
miss you," Mrs. Bathurst explained,
with soothing manner.