Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-02-14
He MADE NO REPLY.

or he could not advance the money, and he
also folded up the valentine and addressed
it to the lawyer. Everybody who met Un-
Gle Abe that day remarked that they had
never seen him so good natured. He chuc
killed., grinned and laughed and he moved
about rubbing his hands together like a
man applauding himself for doing some
thing smart. He even went into the ktch-
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 wooden shawl fur?"
''Massy on me, Uncle Abe, but you take
my breath awayr' she exclaimed 81 saw
some down to Teachouts' the other day at
$3.50, but l guess we could beat him down
to even figgers. Why?"
Because feel so plaguey good over that
valentine that Pm almost mind to buy
you shawl"
''I've needed one for the last Is years of
course, and it would be awfully kind of
you, but don't do nuthin rash The rash
do not live out half thar days, you know"
"Wall, I'll buy you pair O. shillin nit
tins anyhow-that is, if kin git 'em fur 20
cents! Gosh all fishhooks, but won't that
lawyer be hoppin when he gifts that valen-
tine? shouldn't bit wonder if we heard
he was so mad he busted his biler!"
Ibid you git letter from the widder,
Uncle Abe?"
'Yes, consarn her, and I've writ her
back that she can't git cent o. my money
without security. Jest think other wantin
$50 without securityr'
''It's jest awful Why, you wouldn't give
one of your own children money without
security
For about week Uncle Abe cackled and
chuckled over that valentine 1t was too
good to keep, and he told about 90 different
people what he had DONE He even went to
town and had look at the lawyer to see
how near deaths door he had been brought
by the reception of the missive One day
he received two letters again-one from the
lawyer and one from the widow When
Uncle Abe read them, he fell on the floor
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 some
way, which was not clear to him to his dy-
ing day, he mailed the letter which should
have gone to the widow to the lawyer, and
in place of mailing the valentine to the
widow he inclosed her that $50 bill
When he rushed TO his money box the
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 a note
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 a poke at Uncle Abe He tried to
make light of it, but as a relative / know
that it FASTENED his death by several years.
''Them $50, as he used to refer to the valen-
tine, grew on him till they seemed to be $50
900, and people soon began to remark that
he was failing fast. One day he sent word
to the widow for about the thousandth
time that he would compromise for the
sum of S4995 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 She
meant to go right out and comfort him, but
she had to mix her bread just then, and it
was an hour or more before she got around
to go out and say:
Uncle Abe, we might make up fur it by
sellin all the top rails off the fences, and l
was jest thinkin that we could let the
horses go barefut next winter and me n
you would live mostly on beans and dried
punkin to save expense. hain't much on
fggers, but l guess we could save them
$50, couldn't we?"
She waited for him to answer, but he
made no reply. Uncle Abe was dead-pass-
ing away as he sat and rocked and watched
and grieyed. That $50 valentine had wor-
ried him into his grave
CRN