The times., 1894-02-09

or he could not advance the money, and he
also folded up the valentine and addressst
it to the lawyer. Everybody who met Un-,
Gle Abe that day remarked that they had
never seen him so good natured. He chucN
kled, grinned and laughed and he moved
about rubbing his hands together like I'd
man applauding himself for doing some
thing smart. He even went into the kitch-
en- after dinner and said TO his wife, who
was stringing apples to dry:
AUNT Bet, what's the very, very cheap
est you could git a woolen shawl furW
"Massy on me, Uncle Abe, but you take
my breath awayP' she exclaimed. Il saW
some down to Teachouts' the other day ss
So. so, but / guess we could beat him down
to even figgers. Whyp
Because feel so plaguey good over that
valentine that I'm almost mind to buy
you a shawl"
"Fve needed one for the last 10 years oil
course, and it would be awfully kind eeI
you, but don't do nuthin rash. The RASH
do not live out half thar days. you know"
"Wall, Pll buy you apair o. shillin nit
tins anyhow-that is, if | kin git 'em fur 2Ol
cents! Gosh all fishhooks but won't thatl
lawyer be hoppin when he gifts that valea-E
tine? | shouldn't bit wonder if we heard
he was so mad he busted his biler!"
did you git letter from the widdes.
Uncle Abe?"
''Yes, consarn her, and I've writ herr
back that she can't git a cent o. my money!
without security. jest think of her wanting
$50 without securityp'
''Its jest awfull Why, you wouldn't gixsl
one of your own children money withous
securityp'
For about week Uncle Abe cackled anIl
chuckled over that valentine. 1t was tool
good to keep, and he told about 20 0differentI
people what he had done. He even went tCl
town and had look at the lawyer to see'
how near deaths door he had been brought
by the reception of the missive. One dayl
he received two letters again-one from thel
lawyer and one from the widow. Whenl
Uncle Abe read them, he fell ON the hoorl
like a wagon load of brick, and it took Aunt
Bet full hour to restore him to that point
where he could read them again. In somel
way, which was not clear to him to his dy-I
ing day, he mailed the letter which should
have gone to the widow to the lawyer, audI
in place of mailing the valentine to ths
widow he inclosed her that $50 bill.
When he rushed to his money box, tho
valentine was there and he tainted again.
OF course he hitched up and drove over to,
see the widow as soon as he had figured it
out, but he was too late. The boy had fitted
himself out and gone to Texas, and the
mother stubbOrnly refused to give motto
or any other security for the payment OF
the money. 1t all got out of course, and
everybody was tickled to death, and every,
body had poke at Uncle Abe lie tried To
make light of it, but as u relative l know
that it hastened his death by several years.
Them $50, as he used To refer to the valen-
tine, grew OH him till they seemed to be so, :
600, and people soon began TO remark that
he was failing fast. One day he sent world
to the widow for about the thousaudthl
time that he would compromise for thel
sum of S49.95 if paid at once in cash, and
she returned the usual reply that he must
wait. Aunt Bet saw him shedding tears
as he sat on the back porch where he could
watch the hired man hoeing corn. Shel
meant to go right out and comfort him, buel
she had to mix her bread just then and itl
was an hour or more before she got arounI
| to go out and say:
Uncle Abe, we might make up fur it bXi
sellin all the top rails off the fences. and d
was jest thinkin that we could let ehst
horses go barefut next winter and me qI
you would live mostly on beans and drietN
punkin to save expense. L hain't muchorl
fggers, but | guess we could save them
$50, couldn't weg"
She waited for him to answer, but hey
made no reply. Uncle Abe was dead-pass-i
ing away ~ he sat and rocked and watched
and grieved. That $50 valentine had Yvrl
ried him into his grave.