The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1894-11-30
THAT TRAMP,
A Thanksgiving Story.

tr ;. topping fences, weary gates, weed.
tal'sied walks and messy front 'dOorstels.
S'n all sides could be seen other hurryine
ngures armed with lanterns that recalled
fa 'L, stories of will-o-the-wisp. Here
anu there tall unsightly poles supported
on their long arms aeolian harps of teie~
graph wires that gave out weird sounds
like laughs and sobs and strains Of elfn
music. Although the telegraph lines in
tnelr straight cut across country found
Dracut tour-corners and passed It by with
cut leaving even test Wire to compensate
lage had been consequential enough in
Staslng days bfore the RAILROADS. that fol-
lowed the murky valleys left it to one
side.
"A tramp? No, You don't mean it..
Il was most likely a telegraph lneman-
1 1ls eau EN-: '["Hs didn't have no hooks
' nor spurs on his heels nor nothing: l
don't say 50! WHAT BECAME l' Of him ?"
HE went in ut Miss Cuy's, the front
way, straight up the new gravel walks
seen the hall lamp shine out when the
4o sl was opened. l see him 90 il and
l haven't seen him come out" ''For the
she'll keep him all night. SHE Wouldn't
turn any one away, specially ut Thanks
swing time, 9nd she amt afraid of moth
ing. No. she amt afraid. and she amt
alone. How did he look:'' "He had
on sort of blue clothes and walked slow,
rs If he was tired Did he call at your
house.? mo. was out stopping up the
c c Wlnder Poor pa, when he was
allSe. always stopped UP the cellar wiilder
before Thanksgiving. and could not
tell but what It might rain tomorrow.
| see him coming before l went out, and
l had Il good chance to look at him. He
was young and sort Of handsome and had
a white face: !! watched until he went
in at Miss Coy's and then he was off
my conscience, if he was sick"
ITO be sure. Blue clothes? Like as
not he was sailor, but if he had ty-
plus or ship fever or the smallpox or the
plague. | suppose she would take him
in all the same and be thankful for the
opportunity. and feel like sure
enough good Samaritan IF he's got
any . them things ,piped q shrill voice
at Miss Emeline's elbow. burnt feath-
nm.'' my goodness!' s shrIekei 1e1 Enc
line, '.Who knew you was there? I heard
4 whizzin' and BLOWN, but nowadays
l lay everything Of that sort to the tele-
graph. You scarf me jest about inter
hts He, he" laughed someone on
the other side I'VE followed your LIANT
ern. Judy Stiles and me did. hope 1
shan't set you quite into a fit, for han't
got tissick. Fin deaf though, and the
leaves rustic like all possessed, but
heard some one say burnt feathers, and
l smelled 'em too, up ut Miss Coy's jest
now. The house was so chuck full of
the smoke [ couldn't hardly ketch my
breath. They amt any of them comm
ter meetin' ter night. I guess we shall
miss Miss Coy's speakin' and singin'."
They did miss the young sister. whose
nphn fnIs f1,n H.: A. L
haven. did everything in her power by
personal effort and by example to
kipdle and keep atiame an interest in all
branches of the dear Lords work. She
took an active part in the social meet
lngs. She taught the primary depart
ment in the Sunday school. She organ
lied mission. circles and mission bands,
and an, helped and encouraged people to give.
She was president of the sewing so
clety.. and had "A literary club at her
own house every Monday evening. THE
people here are bright enough" she said,
but they have stood still since they were
left one side-they need to be helped
back into the march of progress, that is
ALL So She fixed up the old church
family. and lived in one of her houses and
assist her in her labor of love-There
was goodly attendance at that Tues
the pastor said: II am requested to
announce that there will be Il highly in
teresting service in this house OH Thurs
day ut II o'clock, ut which everyone in
the village is particularly requested to
he present II should think be was pref
ty bold spoken to advertise his own meet
ing as interesting: said Mrs. Nye. and
Mrs. Welsh added that the conceit of
some people knew no bounds The moon
was UP now and the village folk, COM
placent in having fulfilled their duty by
going to meeting, strolled leisurely to
their homes through the lace work of
shadows made by the bare branches of
the old trees. Or stood chatting in
groups in the mo"nlight-on the open
square made by the crossroads. No
one failed to observe that Miss Coy's
house was lighted more brilliantly, even.
than usual, and when it was mentioned
they all-affirmed that there was a scent
Of burned feathers in the air. Nothing
strange for Thanksgiving week. said
was bad sign to burn Thanksgiving
feathers. It's a sign that you'll have to
sleep OH straw al! the days of your life"
piped Betse; Kendall, the deaf woman.
Next day everybody had a multitude
Of errands at the village store and the
conversation was all On one line; Queer
ABOUT tnat tramp! vail, 1 should say
IS p DE- fever seS ca nfs got xHso f Ss
hm wa per 5ne o? Miss Sa GOV ~ may sa st
enough of charity. and the Golden Rule
and all them things before she gifts
through with this" "Seems us if the road
past her house ought to be fenced up"
'"Ehat's So. and red flags hung out" The
excitement amounted almost to a panic.
t,vpvy, mir ps>1
cake than were ever known before in that
village, and one woman baked her turkey
without dressing and put the sage in her
rice pudding.
For time they we're undecided whether
to so to church or not on Thanksgiving
morning, but at length settled down upon
the dse 5e1ss t to 60 and if Miss Mis- G
course she don't believe in being afraid
of anything. She's always saying that
Christians should comfort themselves with
the Dist Psalm. That may all be, its
good advice, but folks carry contagion in
their clothes, and its our duty to be on
fully s decorated with autumn ieave ne' and
with potted plants from the parsonage,
and with more cut flowers than the Dracut
four-cor1lers had ever seen before. While
they were wondering where they came
from, and what it was all about, the
pastors wife began playing a voluntary
on the organ, and Miss COy's face ,ap-
peared at the door leading into the con-
ference room. How it happened that she
came in by, that entrance or who was
with her they did not stop to see; they
simultaneously arose as they had agreed
to do and filed out, humming their indig-
nation like u swarm of bees as they reached
the mellow autumn sunshine. Bring it
in her clothes; of course she could" "A
pretty how-dye-do, 'twould have been ter
had us all caught it., and had it a runnin'
rampant through the place the whole win
ter, and nQ: doctor" '':Why! who is this ?"
and a gentleman" It was that tramp!''
gasped Julia Martin. Is IS :s5 49, sss5..s.s:
The lady bowed and smiled and waved