Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1893-06-02

W. hIOuIu tODhiuR hthH tlOUu IntTb,
his gauht flg0re showing black
against the moonlight.
For Gods sake hide me here for
q few minutes, be pleaded hoarsely,
"till the police have gone by. Lot
the In, or, by heaven, ! may W. well
throw up the gafner
Miss Mary's heart thumped loudly
The police For all her charitable
ness she had drawn the line hitherto
OF thieves. But the mans face was
white, and she heard Gathering of
feet down the road-probably the po.
lice. Betsy, the guardian angel, was
out of the way-humanity, as usual,
won over prudence Miss Mary open
cd the door.
you may lie on these rugs In the
Kitchen" she said TO him kindly,
"and tomorrow / will bring you some
breakfast II you will go away early
before my servant gets up"
The man murmured incoberent
thanks. Miss Mary, being nervous,
forbore to look at him and retired
to her own apartment, not without
some qualms of conscience. Betsy,
who came in later with the latch key
from chapel, suspected nothing, but
Miss Mary's evil fate willed that to-
ward the small hours of the morn
ing she should wake up hungry. Be-
ing a frail, timid old lady, she slept
lightly, and now, remembering that
the biscuits were down stairs on the
dining room sideboard, she wandered
down stairs In search of them.
She had forgotten for the moment
all about her last nights visitor and
slipped down as noiselessly as
mouse. But what was her horror to
see by the faint morning light at the
half open dining room door a figure
movinga Miss Mary, as she stifled a
shrek, recognized the man she had
befriended. He was holding her sill
yer teapot up to the light and in
specting it carefully-the same silver
teapot bought by its owner during
her brief period of happiness 40 years
ago. She had invested her savings
in it prior to her expected marriage
What, would you rob met"
thought Miss Mary. and her heart
waxed fierce.
Rob her, who had 30 long befriend-
ed the needy and the destitutel But,
like Bishop Myriel with his silver
candlesticks, her anger was of short
duration. She would let the man go.
Probably he needed the silver more
than she, and 80 strange are the work
ings of the human mind that she re-
membered, even in that moment of
fear, how her mother had always
said that brown fourpenny teapots
made the best tea.
She was still standing spellbound,
afraid to move. when the man hap
pened to turn his head, and the light
fell full on to his face It was only
an old mans face, worn, gaunt, sur
rounded by grizzled hair and beard
and marked by sin and crime with
something perhaps, as many Grim
inals' faces have, that seemed to re-
call better days
In the morning light his face for moment
Seemed to assume once more the forms Of its
earlier manhood.
Miss Mary looked, looked again,
and like Phineus of old with the Me-
dusa's head she seemed to turn to
stone. Then her legs tottered under
her, the dawn became black before
her eyes, and she fell down on the
rickety stairs in a dead faint.
Betsy, coming cautiously down
stairs few hours later and prepar-
ing to scold her mistress for forget
ting to fasten the shutters, nearly
tripped over a little fragile, shriv-
eled heap, cold and unconscious,
wrapped in its well known darned
dressing gown.
Miss Mary recovered with Betsy's
loving care Her visitor Of last night
had made himself scarce, and wheth-
or startled by the noise Of Miss Mary's
fall or by few rays Of lingering
grace in his own conscience had left
the precious silver teapot. So be-
yond saying that she had fright last
night and being reprimanded for not
putting the teapot away nothing fur
ther, to all appearance at least, re-
suited to Miss Mary.
But the bright old lady faded and
became older from that day. Her
step sounded less alert, her voice less
brisk. The children in the streets
scarcely recognized their benefac-
tress; she seemed to have lost the
10y of life. Betsy was in despair.
She alternately coaxed and scolded
her darling.
"Do you want to die" she com
planned, IAN leave yer poor old
Betsyi You can ave the kitchen
brimful O. tramps, my sweet, il you'll
only git well an laugh again"
Miss Mary looked at her sadly.
"No," she said, Betsy don't want
me to live. I'm sorry to leave you,
dear, but it seems as il something
had gone here, pointing to her heart
with q pathetic gesture Some