The Opelousas courier., 1892-11-05

/ was quite young,
and after leaving school my time used to
be divided between Uncle TOMS house
in the city and Aunt Lizzie's in the
country. I was always with Aunt
Lizziei in the summer, and it was while
on a visit to her that it happened.
She lived quite in the mountains, on a
large farm two miles from the railway
station, and at least twenty from town.
The country was thinly settled, the farms
all being large, with few exceptions, and
we had no near neighbors besides the
tenants on the place. My aunt, an
elderly woman in delicate health, made
no attempt to keep up anything except
the garden and the grounds around the
house; she kept only two regular SER
wants, a girl, the daughter of one of the
colored tenants, who went home every
night, and a half-grown boy who slept
in an clubhouse.
The house was an old fashioned brick
II with a basement, and consisted Of a
hall, entered from a small front porch, a
room on either side, and an ell with two
rooms running back from it and opening
upon a large back porch. Upstairs the
same arrangement wa repeated; nv
room was the front room upstairs over
the parlor. while my aunt's wal down.
stairs in the ell, with a small, enclosed
stairway running from it into the room
above, in which her SON, nv coush
james, generally slept. But at the time
of which l speak James had been away
for a week, and was not expected back
for several days, so that at night there
was no ne in the house but my aunt and
myself. Neither Of us was timid, and
such a thing as robbery was so unheard
of that very frequently the back doors
were not even fastened by night, and nc
one ever thought OF putting away the
silver spoons and forks, nor the old sill
yer teapot when night came. Coming
from the city. as I did, it seemed to me
rather careless, for | knew how careful
Uncle Toms wife was about her silver
in town; but Aunt Lizzie would laugh
and say:
"Oh, child, there is no dangerl" And
as nothing ever seemed to happen ! be.
gan to think she was right, although my
door was always bolted at night and
saw that the trout door was fastened.
Uncle had sent me a check several
days before the day Of which | am going
to tell you, and although not for a very
large amount, it was larger than usual,
for / was going to pay a visit to some
friends in L. before going back home.
On that never-to-b be. forgotten day
rode over to che station to get my check
cashed, for needed some ready money
before going away. The postmaster and
ticket agent was a sort of general
factotum, and kept a store of general
merchandise, as we'll as attending to his
other business. He always cashed my
checks for me, and did so on that day Is
usual. As he counted out the money or
the counter, a most ill.favored mar
walked into the store, and I noticed his
eyes dwell particularly on the money.
and on the diamond rings which sparkled
on the fingers of my ungloved hand, my
glove having been drawn off to indorst
the check. The rings were my mothers.
! have always worn them, and still do
so.
put the money carefully inside m,
habit, and mounting my horse, rode Of
without thinking again of the man, and
probably would never have given him
another thought If, just as we rose from
the dinner table, a tramp had not walked
in at the front gate and that tramp
proved to be the man I had seen at thu
station. ! wondered how it had hap.
pened that he had taken to the highway
instead of the railway track, but saio
nothing as I obcyed a~untie's injunction
to give him son1e dinner. Aunt had !
profound sympathy for any one who
might be hungry and had had too little
experience with tramps to be anything
but benign and charitable where they
we're concerned.
had an uneasy consciousness thai
the man had seen my money, and wished
il had been otherwise, but he proved
quite inoHensive, Notwithstanding his
looks, and after thanking me politely
enough for his dinner, walked of up Tile
read. Consequently BY night I had for,
gotten all about the matter, though I did
take care TO see that the back door was
fastened IS we'll a. the front, which hall
the time was forgotten.
fon must remember that fastenins
that back door shut me OF entirely from
me rest of the house, as auntie's room
sFas p the sll opening On The porch