The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1888-08-10
tables. chairs. linen. ~plate-leayinc little el,.

dine fishing be must be told, az sure as fate.
And she was mortally aieared 10 tell him
not for her own sake, you may depend, but for
Jim's. Well. back comes Peter, and sees the
house a most refurnished with the things AZ
the neighbors had lent TO bis wife. What's
the meaning Of this?' says he. We've been
| robbed, Peter says his Door wife, more dead
than alive. What's gone with Jim, them
says Peter. OH he's of on one ofhis sprees, ,
says she. He's "A good deal too fond of his
sprees,' says Peter, and there the matter end
| ed for that while.
'Six months afterward poor Peter heard
that the police were on his sons tracks at
Nantes. So off he trudges there afoot, fer.
rets Jim out and briggs him home by the
scruff of his neck. lleneyer asks him what he'd
done amiss, but be says to him, says he: III
| you don { stop here and live decent and re-
spectacle with me and your mother for a
cOupl" of years, you and me will have
"A crow To pluck together But tho
scamp wouldn't be said-not be. He
just fancies he can twist his faith
er and mother around his little fin
ger. So he takes and pulls a face at Peter.
Peter gives him a cuff as lays Master Jim on
his beam ends for a matter of six weeks. His
poor mother she almost broke her heart
over it. Well, one night, as she was quietly
sleeping by her good mans side she hears n
noise as wakes her. Up she jumps, and the
first thing she feels is "A stab in the arm as
makes her scream out. Peter he wakes,
strikes a light and sees her bleeding. He
fancies it must be a thief-as if there was
such n thing in these parts, where you might
carry II sack of gold from Croisic to st.
NaZaire and no one so much as ask what
you'd got in your handl Well, Peter goes
and looks for jim. Jim was Nowhere to be
found.
But in the morning in he comes as cool as
q cucumber and has the face to tell 'em as
1 he's haaD Gnopninu tha nirht nt Rntz M
need to say as all this time his mother was
at her wits end to find n safe hiding place
for her money. Gas for Peters, Lawyer
Dupotel Of Croisic always took care OF it for
him. Ofcourse Master Jim's pranks had
cost the old folks IL pretty penny by this
time. In fact, they were well-nigh ruined.
And that was hard for folks
as had been worth-house and all together
a matter of f400 OIL S500. Nobody ever knew
how much it cost Peter to get his son out OF
that scrape at Nautes, when the police were
after him, and it seemed as ifthe whole family
were doomed to bad luck. For everything
had been going wrong with Peters brother.
| And so, to comfort him, Peter says to him:
My Jim and your Polly must make a match
of it one of these days Meantime to keep
him from starving, Peter gives him a berth
in his fishing smack, and Peters wife she
takes and sews n real Spanish doubloon in u
bit of a bag and showed it into her mattress,
NAbA GOl l. ohN hillItu vi I. % VI DO
life, in her own haadwriting-for she was a
good scholar, was Peters wife.
well, no mortal could ever tell how jim
come to nose that bit of gold, but nose it he
did, and off with it to lie Croisic to spend it
in pleasure. But as chance would have il
back comes Peter from his fishing hat very
night, and what does he see floating
on the top of the water, close by the
landing place, but a scrap of paper,
which he picks up and carries home to
his wife, who falls in a dead swOon as soon
as ever she sees For Polly in her own hand
writing on the scrap of paper. Peter, he
holds his tongue, but goes straight to LIE
Croisic and hears that his son is in the bill
lard-room at the inn. To the door of the
inn he goes and says to Dame Flowers, the
the landlady, L told our Jim not to spend a
certain bit of gold as he'll be paying you
with presently I'll wait here, and when he
gives it to you just bring it to me and I'll
give you its full value in silver By and by
Dame Flowers brings him the doubloon, and
he gives her the value of it and takes it
straight home.
"All the folks at lie Croisic know that much.
but they can only give Il rough guess at
what I'm going to tell you. As soon as he
gets home Peter bids his wife clean up the
parlor, than he makes up the fire, lights a
couple of candles, sets two chairs on one side
of the hearth and u th~ree-legged stool on
the other, and orders his wife to get out his
and her own wedding clothPs-aS we laid up
safe in a coffer-and brush them up
a bit. Then he puts on his wedding
clothes and goes to his brothers house
and asked him to be on the lookout in front
of his (Peter's) house and give him warning
if he hears any one a-landing on the island.
After that he goes back home by the time lie
thought his wife had got her wedding clothes
on, loads his gun and hides it in the chimney
corner. Presently back comes Jim-late
enough, you may be sure, when | tell You he
staid at LIE Croisic till 10 o'clock drinking
and gambling.
"As soon as he shows his face his father
says to him, "Sit YOU down On yonder stool;
you're in the presence of your father and
mother, whom you've offended. and now they
are going to judge you. Therefore Jim be-
gins to whimper, seeing as how there was Il
fearsome look in his fathers face, while the
mother was sitting there as stiff as an oar,
If you cry, or stir from that stool-if you
don't sit there as still as a mouse, I'll shoot
you like a dog, says Peter. And so Jim sits
there as dumb as a fish, and his mother, she
neuer opens her mouth. Look here. says
Pete, there was Il Spanish doubloon in this
bit of paper. That dobloun was in your
mothers mattress, and no one but heI
as put it there, knew it was there. | found
this piece of paper floating on the water when
L landed. This very evening you gave that
doubloon to Dame Flowers, and your moth
er has missed hers from the bed Now, what
have you got to say for YOURSELF"
Jim takes and swears as he never touched
his mothers doublOon and the one he'd paid
away was one he had left when he came away
from Nantes after his frolic. so much the
BETTER says Peter. But how can you
prove the truth of your words? VIII You
take your sacred, solemn oath as you didn't
steal your mothers doubloon?' Jim was
quite ready to swear by all his hopes OF
heaven. But his mother stopped him. Jim.
my boy says she. 'Bewarel Don't fore
swear yourself You may turn out Il good
boy yet, if you'll only repent and mend youI
ways And with that she burst out crying.
You're an old this and an old that, as al
ways wanted to bring me to ruin!" cried Jim.
Whereupon Peter turns pale, and cries:
J What you've just said to your mother will
help to swell my account against you.
Come, now. are you prepared to swear?!'
Yes says Jim. Stop a moment, says his
father. Had your doubloon got this same
cross upon it as the sardine merchant from
which | TOOK it put upon our piece? This
question staggers and sobers Jim a bit, and
he begins to blubber. Enough said, cries
his father. I'm not going to tax you with
your old misdeeds. But look you here. ]
won't see q Bend-the-Sea swinging in the
gallows in front of Croisic goal. So make
haste and say your prayer. \ priest will be
here directly to confess YOU
Meantime Jim's mother had left the house
to escape hearing her sons condemnation
While she was outside in came Peters
brother with the rector of Piriac. But Jim
was far too artful to make any confession: Es
thought he knew his father well enough tC
make sure that he'd never kill him till he had
confessed. Well, seeing Jim so obstinate
Peter says to the priest. Thank you sir. al
the same, for coming. am sorry to have
troubled you; but | just wanted to give my
son a lesson, and beg you to be GOOD
enough to keep the matter quiet. As for
you, Jim, the very next time | catch you go.
ing astray your fate is sealed, confession o
no confession
"Then he sent him upstairs to bed. The
laa firmly hnlierinm rs his fnthnr mnant Il