Los Angeles herald., 1892-06-19
A GENTLEMAN OF HIS WORD.
Twelve Year. Not Too Long for On. Ma


Twelve Years Not Too Long for One Man
TO Remember . Promise.
"What makes some men the soul Of
honor?" asked the story teller. every
one Of Us has had some experience in
life to prove to us that there are men Of
unimpeachable honor. think the
most honorable gentleman whom / ever
met was man of absolutely internal
luck. ! first saw him in q frontier town.
He had been a COWBOY, but he had got
caught in terrible winter back on the
plains, and at the time first saw him
he was only wreck Of a man, with legs
misshapen and weak and eyes that were
nearly blind. He seemed to be Just
clinging to life in that little Colorado
town, doing what little he could in bar
rooms or going slow errands, until fate
should be kind enough to take him
away from his misery.
HE stopped me in the street one night.
"Will you lend me ten dollarsY he
said roughly. I am in bad way and !
need IT,
snow ten dollars was q good deal of
money to me at that minute, for in my
western experience l had my ups and
downs, and at that time was having my
downs
"Wouldn adollar do your asked for
the fellow looked so bad that wanted
to do something for him, but knew
that should never see my money again.
No. he said doggedly, it won't. !
want to go to Denver. am about crazy
with pain and / want to get there and
see If / can't find some relief. haven't
a cent in the world (There were good
many men in that little town who were
in thessame predicament.)
"sBut cant spare ten dollars an
swered. Ineed it.
"sYou don't need it SO much as Ido,'
he said fercely. Lend it to me. TN
pay it back TO you. Give me your name
and address. I'll find you-if live
"Well, / gave him the ten dollars. Z
told him that he need not worry about
paying it back. expected to getout of
my troubles some day and then should
not feefthe need of it.
"'No,' he said. i won't touch it on
any other condition. / want to pay
It back with interest-12 per cent. q
year Money was worth something
out tfere.)
giving him as my permanent address the
homo of my family in the east. The
next day he went to Denver. Shortly
afterward climbed into saddle ana
rode away to punch cows punched
them with varying success ala over tire
Colorado grazing fields for nine years.
Having had enough of cattle raising by
that time and my ide&sof great fortunes
having been considerably modified, II
sold out my cattle and came back.
"Of course, after the first few months
following my loan of ten dollars to the
cripple, he never came into my thoughts,
though there were times when that ten
dollars would have beena good friend,
but completely forgot about it. had
been east for three years, had married
and was the proud father of the two
handsomestc children in New York, when
a letter was forwarded to me from my
fathers home in Massachusetts. It was
from the cripple. In dtswas postofice
order for my ten dollars and interest on
it for twelve years, at per cent. a month.
There was no word IN the letter except
thanks for my kindness and the assur-
ance that he WAS now doing pretty well
for him.
81 call that man a gentleman and
told him SO when d,wrote him, and !
also told him something in the letter
which hoped would please hiin--that
ON that day 1 had made the first bank
deposit for my baby son, and that the
amount was $24.40, his loan aud the in
terest, and that though the interest for
the boy would not be anything like IL
per cent, the deposit ought to bring him
good luck. That's alls there is to this
STORY. New York Tribune.