Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-12-04

l2:3O,
She said the senior had gone away
| in the early afternoon, bidding them
all goodbye, and saying that it was
perhaps, forever.
We shouted in the woods, we called
across the washouts, we rode about o
long while. All the light we had was
the lightning. The thunder rolled
and the rain poured. We had to go
home at last and tell the senor's wife
that he couldn't be found.
But no doubt, I said, he has gone
In somewhere, and is quite safe and
will be home all right.
She thanked us ever and over again
for what we had done. z5A
But she said, Il shall never see
him again, dear friends. The only
being who ever loved me is dead. l
know ltl'
The house was full of ladies next
day before sunrise, aud we men were
searching for the senior.
We did not find him. though. There
was not place we did not look into.
The cone in the west wood, the 'hole'
under the hill. We dragged the river
and looked into hollow trees, but we
never found him; and pretty soon
Maum Carline told us something that
set us all thinking.
From the day her mistress had put
her money into the paper the senior
had carried it with him in belt he
always wore, He was terribly suspic-
ious of the negroes, and said it was
not safe to have so much in the house.
| Nobody knew what he had done
but his wife and Maum Carline until
she told it, but then we felC sure we
knew the truth.
The senior was not dead. He had
run away with the fortune of the ugly
woman he had married, and he had
married ae- for nothing else, as we'd
been afraid he had.
| Of course the poor woman never
heard the talk.
The years passed and the poor soul
lived alone with old Maum Carline.
She got out her mothers black
clothes that she wore as widow and
put them on; she had no money to
buy new ones.
| All that had gone with the senior.
And the black veil got rusty and al
most red at last, and she who wore it
grew thinner and thinner. We only
saw her at church, when she sat with
her veil over her face. And they said
she earned her bread by taking in
sewing. Ladies used to carry it to her
themselves after dark, and fetch it,
and never tell their best friends about
1t, for they felt for lady who had
suffered so much, and when southern
folks do feel friendship they show it.
| So it went on for 10 years-lO long
years-until one day neighbor, who
wanted more land, went over to the
widow to ask her if she could spare
some of hers.
| She didn't work it, and the smoke
house lay in heap just as it had
tumbled down years before
He talked good while before he
could get her to do 1t but at last she
agreed.
4 am poor now,' she said, and
am getting on now and have no chill
dren.'
| And he named a price that was
liberal, am bound to say, and put it
in an envelope and laid it at her elbow
and she did not count it until he was
gone, if even she counted it at ALL
| You see, he was gentleman and
she was a lady and both felt conf
dence in each other, and the next day
when he sent men to carry off the old
smoke house, he told them to do it
as quietly as they could and have no
shouting and laughing.
The lady | bought it of might be
reminded of what was going on if
there was too much noise made, boys,
he said.
Folks respect each other in Virgin
ia.
Well, the boys did as he said. They
carried away the roof and the old
posts, and the window sashes, and
they were lifting off the boards when
they all stopped. saw them from my
porch. Their master saw them; every
body saw them.
They stopped and stood still. There
was not sound. And then they
turned and came marching softly up
to their masters house, hats off.
We call all black men boys down
there. Some of these men had gray
heads, not one Of them but could re-
member 10 years back-the night of
the great storm Pve told you of-the
great-when the senior appeared.
One or two of them used to belong
to Colonel Garden in slavery days.
and the Oldest of these--it was old
Pete-stepped forward with his hat
in his hand and said:
Mars Brown, what we gwine to do?
We've found Miss Abbie's husband
| ont dar'