The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-02-01
Restitution.
Do you want to buy any pumpkins;

said young voice at the window.
1t was on exceedingly business like
voice, and accompanied by such q
very sober little face that Mrs. Grey
had TO look twice before she could be-
lieve it was Ted Nelson's
"Why, Teddy, is that you? and are
those your pumpkins? thought you
were saving every one Of those for a
Jack-o'lantern procession when your
cousin Ralph comes.n
"Yes'm,' answered Ted slowly,
"but that was before---before we had
the cup-hop, and Ned and me learned
about res-ti-tu-tion," bringing the
long word out carefully. Say. did
you know all those verses about pay.
ing double and making restitution,
if a man destroys what belongs to
somebody else, were in the Bible?"
Mrs. Grey admitted her knowledge
of the passages mentioned but she
could not see what connection they
had with Teddy as peddler of pump
kins.
They've got good deal to do with
it," said Ted ruefully. "We've got to
do it, Ned and me, and we meyer knew
about 'em till grandma showed as.
Being sorry amt enough, you've got
10 make res-ti-ti-tu-tion."
"But your grandma didn't have
any pumpkins? And If she did, how
could you have spoiled lhem" ques-
toned Mrs. Grey in bewilderment.
Nom; it was Dishes" explained
Teddy, reluctantly at first, and then
apparently determining to tell the
whole story. ''It was the sleight-of
hand man who began it. Did you 60
and see him? Well, maybe ladies
don't care about such thinas, !but boys
do, and we went. You wouldn't have
believed all the queer things he did
swallowing knives and cooking eggs in
his hat, and everything. Of course,
we knew we couldn't do such things,
but it did almost seem as if we might
dance over the plates and cups and
toss them up the way he did. Ned
thought about it. He was lying on
the lounge one evening and watching
Lima set the table for tea.
"'You couldn't dance in and out
over the dishes like the professor did,
and TOSS up the cups without breaking
'em,' said Ned.
sc l could if had 'em on the floor,
told him. -..-
"'Let's see you said he. 60.
ut didn't take long TO put some Of
'em down, and I was hopping in and
out among 'em, and tossing cups to
toss back to me, whelN Lima came in
again.
Tied Nelson! said she, and she
said it so like forty exclamation points
that slipped and came down crash
on two saucers, and Ned missed the
cup I'd tossed to him, too; it struck
him plump on the nose, and then
smashed on the floor. or. course, he
howled, and then grandma came
in.n
Teddy paused as if the rest of the
story were not easily told. "Well, 1t
was that evening, after. Ned had his
nose done up in court plaster, she told
US how being sorry wasn't enough,
and showed US the verses. The worst,
though, about cups and saucers-
grandma's kinds that you can't get
one or two. You have to buy whole
set." Ted sighed and then returned
to business. "Want to buy any pump
kins?"
AS soon as change could be made,
and great yellow ball deposited on
Mrs. Grey's table, then the small red
wagon passed on up the street, aud
the young vendors voice was heard
shouting:
"Pumpkins! pumpkins"
A few days later Ted met his old
friend again, with a bright face.
"Yes'm, we sold 'em for enough to
by a new set, and an all alone china
cup besides, that has all pretty flowers
and gold on it, and grandma says we
can call it reminder cup"
"Reminder of what?" asked Mrs.
Grey with smile.
"That one don't beforehand, is
better than q dozen 'wish-I-hadn'ts,
afterwards" answered Ted promptly.