Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-10-16
THE OLD CABINET.
It Brought Good Fortune to Two
Lonely Hearts

Lonely Hearts
81 dare say it's a great curiosity"
said Mrs. Minden, carelessly; '.but /
never did fancy these quaint old odds
and ends of creation, and 1 didn't bar
gain to have my house turned into a
for Uncle Zadoc's old
So 1 ordered it sent to the
dealers establishment this
He allowed me FIVE dollars
for it! And, really" added the lady,
with laugh, ''I think l should have
been tempted, if better terms could not
have been made, to pay the dealer five
dollars for removing it from the prem
iSeS.''
Mr.. Minder looked up from behind
the closely-printed columns of the daily
paper.
''And if your Uncle Zadoc inquiries
after it?" said he. because it will
hardly do to offend the old gentleman"
''Oh! we'll tell him it all fell to
pieces" said Mrs. Minden, calmly.
''Ten to one he'll never think of it
again.
And Mrs Minden replaced the old
teakwOod cabinet with modern chif-
f0nier, inlaid with china tiles, and gilt
tering with brass ornaments, and con-
graduated herself on getting rid of
Uncle Zadoc Johnson's ''old trash"
s'Oh, mamma" cried Beatrice Field,
coming in one day from carrying home
a roll of embroidered satin to the shop
for which she worked, 81 saw such a
locehy old Indian cabinet in Leckwood's
secondhand store as / passed by! 1t
was marked Fifteen dollars Mamma.
It would brighten up our dim little par
or like bit of the ORIENT"
Mrs. Field. a thin little woman.
sighed as she saw the sparkle in Beat
rice's eyes.
''But, Bee," said she. '.fifteen dollars!
How are we, with our narrow means,
ever to compass fifteen dollars?"
''Ah! but you don't understand, man.
maj cried triumphant Bee. MARY
lockwood says I may have it for ten.
if will help her make her dress for
the military ball! So. if you don't
think it too extravagant, mamma,
dear"
slave your own way, my child" said
are the support of the family; it would
be hard, indeed, to deny you little in
diligence now and then"
So the teakwood cabinet was set up in
Mrs. Fields humble little parlor,
where it became the delight of Bees
heart.
81 could fancy all sorts of delightful
mysteries out of the Arabian Nights
ci
corners and odd, twisted doors" said
she. ''rm sure there's a secret drawer
in it somewhere, although / never
our household idol, mamma, and I'm
lutte. quite sure that it will bring US
good luck"
that" said poor little Mrs. Field, sigh
ing.
And, although the remark sounded
extreme, yet there had been a concat-
enation of circumstances in Mrs Fields
life to justify it. When Beatrice was
yet an infant, her husband, a sea cap
tain, sailing between the ports of Bonn
bay and New York, by way of the Lon
don docks, was lost at sea- The guar
dian of her little fortune proved un-
worthy of the trust. and decamped,
leaving her penniless; and since then
existence had been one of continual
struggle. until Beatrice. growing up.
had developed an unusual taste for the
fine artistic needlework which was just
then coming into fashion, and had vir-
tually taken the support of the family
into her own hands.
And in her delight at this new acquis-
- 60 II
Captain Burton, a sick ledger on the
boor above, to whom she sometimes car
ried iced coffee, white grapes, little
odds and ends of luxury.
For he is SO poor" reasoned gener-
GUS little Bee. .'And he has no friendsr'
One day, however, when Bee tripped
lightly up with a plate of cream puffs
which she herself had manufactured.
she saw a brown-skinned, wrinkled
little old man sitting at Captain Bur-
tons bedside
.sEh?" said he. '.Ah. So you are the
little guardian angel, are your
ST am Beatrice Field" said our hero
inc. coIoring up. "And did not know
that Captain Burton had company, or"
s'Oh! I'm not company" chuckied the
little brown man. '.Pm only Zadoc
u johnson. N Den DurCOn SecOHu
cousin, and Eve been looking for him
these six month Nom, by the merest
chance in the world, I've found him.
And have to thank you. Miss Beatrice,
for all the dislnterested kindness you
Jamestown him"
sit wasn't l." said Bee AT least, it
wasn't al me-mamma0"
Take me down to your mamma at
once,n said Mr.. johnson. 'sPve a heavy
debt of gratitude to pay her. I've only
one cousin. Ben Burton. and he
might have died if it hadn't been for
you two kind ladies'"
He pulled out his purse on the way
downstairs
s1f there's any of this debt that money
can pay he said; but Beatrice made
deprecatory movement
ssPlease don't talk ofmoney,' said she.
There IL nothing we have done which
Captain Burton would not have done for