The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1892-12-21


ing. snd two faithful little hearts woul6
be broken on account Of IT,
The tears STRAINED down her cheek
in the dark at the thought. Hsr hear
went out most Of all TO little Joepoo
little Joe, TO whom life had brough
nothing but poverty and sickness. Bu
at last. out Of her great troable. plan oc
cured to her, and she went to sleep qaiei
radiant with expectation.
A mile away, down in the bottom
was pecan grove. where the public
where allowed free access. Afraid as SD,
was Of boys and negroes and tranps ant
even Of bears, for her timid imagination
filed the grove with savage animals
unaccustomed as she was 70 climbing
she yet Went every day and managed Il
Chamber axkwarily into trees AMI cra~
out upon limbs and beat down the nut
ripenei by the recent frost
She had a hard time. A slip and a
fAll one day lamed her little. and came
near proving far more serious Besides
the nuts on all the lower limbs had beer
pretty we'll shaken down, and she dared
not climb very high. Bat she worked
all the harder There were two little
stockings that mus. be filed for Christ
mas, and who else Ezs there TO eli them ,
Maggie set her teeth and beat away Il
the limbs as though her life depended
on it. At the end Of week she took her
stock Of nuts up to one Of the grocery
stores. and trembling saw them poured
into the scale and weighed. Seven
pounds-thirty-Eve cents.
She cIulched the money and went ay-
ing home as though her feet had wings
This was a famous beginning indeed
There were several more weeks 70 90 on
yet. Oh, the stockings should be filed
and perhaps she might get some
thing nice for little Joe, maybe, and can
dy for the baby. She wrapped the pre-
eious coins in bit Of cloth and bid them
in an old cigar box, away up on a high
shelf.
AL that day she went on tiptoe, and
her eyes shone Ike staTs- A hundred
times she caught Joe and Susie up in her
arms, hugging them tight and laughing
for joy, though there were tears in her
eyes. 1t was so delightful to picture
Joe's face, when he should wake and see
the little stocking stuffed full She had
made up her mind that whatever she
brought, it must be something that would
81 the stockings very full, indeed. At
odd moments, when she could hide her
self from the children, she busted herself
mending the worn old stockings so that
they would hold what vas put into
them.
And how she worked The next
week was cold and stormy, but that
didn't matter. She couldn't afford 10
lose any time. 4 wind-storm one night
blew down q great many nuts, and as she
was there first the next morning she
reaped quite harvest But then an evil
fortune overlook her, for J0e's cough
was worse, and she was forced to spend
part Of her money for medicine, and be
fore the week was out she found It neces-
sary 10 replenish their store Of meat.
These Teverses left her on Saturday
night sith only fifty cents IN her little
hoard as the result Of tao weeks faith
ful work.
But Maggie was not discouraged. One
more week respained. A Wild anxiety
tOok possession Of her to get al the mon
ey possible aud to bring such Christ
mas into that little cabin as had never
been dreamed Of Ifshe could only get
a dollar-a whole dollar
She stole up to town once or twice and
peeped in at the alluring windows where
holiday goods we're displayed and tried
70 pick out the things that she intended
To buy. Five more days yet before
Christmas. Three days, two days. The
last nuts were taken in and sold, the
money was put into the cigar box, and
she was almost perfectly happy. She
had eighty-ive cents
Her father came IN late, sud was sober
and sure y. be complained bitterly Of
having come to country that intended
TO starYe him and his family, and 50
complaining he went to his rest, and
there Vas silence in the little cabin.
Maggie thought that she would never
get the work done the next morning aud
it seemed 10 her that her mother maize
excuses to keep her sweeping and scrub
bing and bringing wood and water until
II was nearly noon. But it was all done
at last. In the fnliness Of her joy she got
Joe and Susie both up and danced about
the room with them few times, and
then, having made some excuse to get
them out Of the house, she ciined upon
a chair and took down the box that con-
tained her treasure.
She noticed as soon as she touched It
that it felt strangely light, but it did not
occur 10 her, even then, that anything
was wrong. But when she stepped down
TO the floor and opened the box and it
utterly empty, look Of horror and
alarm flashed into her face
Mother" she cried piseousIy, "moth-
er. my moneys gOnel Did you moveit
mother?7
" 'TAin't no use a-cryin' for it Maggie, .
said her mother, in that old dresry tone.
g Your pa took in. be seen ye pustin'
some up thar last week, an when things
got 50 bad with i'm this mornin', he Jest
took it. 1 tried to git i'm not to, but
'twain't no use s-talkin' to in"
Maggie had stood listening as th5agh
she only half eomprehended what had
befallen Der. Her face was deathIy pale
and she was trembling.
Mother" she said, hoarsely, after q
little, father didn'. take my money, did
he?-the money I've worked 30 hard
or?-an' now is TO late too make any
more, an nothin' 70 pot in poor Joe's
stockin', after all ?"
-He took it, Maggie; an reckon he's
drunk enough on It by this time" re-
piled her mother, bitterly.
Maggie pat the box away and sat down
The hardest heart that ever beat might
have melted at the sight Of the poor for