The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-01-02

H
law that oblecges Il man to set still
N be ran on N crowd over, s 1 know
of. M'lindy, Pm goin' home. You
can come with nae, or stay n take u
hand in abusin' me, jest as you think
best"
And the angry deacon strobe out
of the room, banging the door behind
him. Mr.. Williams followed him
into the hall and tried to prevent
him from going, but he was obdu-
rate. Go he would, and 90 he did,
leaving poor Mrs. Jones to follow at
her leisure.
81 knew how It would be-" she
said, as she wiped her eyes as she
bade Mrs. Williams good-by. "I
amt mite s'priscd ut the way it's
turned out. i sh'd ha' been dretful
disappointed eff It hadn't happened" !"
just as she reached the gate of
her home, Il neighbor drove up and
called out that he had letter for her.
"From Henry, l reckon" he said.
"1t's from Dakoty, anyway"
Mrs. Jones took the long lookcd-for
letter and ran into the house with
eager impaticnce to find out what
her boy had to write. The deacon
was building a fire, but his face
looked as if a fire was quite unncc-
cssary. He looked hot and he felt so.
Ills wife sat down without remoy-
ing her things, and tore open The
letter. Before she had read far she
began to cry. The deacon was fright
encd.
"lIc amt sick or nothin', is he %
he asked. But Mrs. Jones didn't
answer. She kept on reading and
crying. When she had finished the
letter, she turned to the deacon and
looked him straight in the face.
Lem wei Jones, do you know
what's happened to that poor boy Of
our'n? III tell yc: EIc had to
mortgage everything he had last
year, but he wouldn't let us know it
fer fear we'd worry, m he hoped
he'd have good luck ~ fetch things
out all right this year. But luck
was ag'nst him, 'n' he'd have lost
every blessed thing ef it hadn't been
fer friend that found ont the trou-
bic he was in m helped him out O
the difficulty N set him right on
his feet, SO that he's likely to do
bcttcr'n ever, he says. Now, who do
70 s'posc that friend was, Lem wei
Jones ,"
"l'm sure hain't no idce," said
thc deacon.
"Wcll, Pll tell yc,' said his wife.
"'Iwas the man you've been quar-
relm' with to-day. You've had
words with MIR. Snyder, but he was
the very man that behaved like Il
Father to our poor boy, M Henry
writes that he said he did it because
he hadn't no grudgc ag'inst him, N >
he used to think you one O his best
friends, N he was willin' to do it
fer The sake of old times. don t
know but MIR. Snydcr's to blame for
the trouble between you Jest as much
t us you be, but I'm goin' right back
+ to Mis- Williams's to thank him fei
t hclpin' my boy, m tell him that
t shan't never forgit it. TO think OF
what would have happened to Hcnr,
/ cf t hadn't ha' been fer him dom
see how you can feel hard to r,s hin
, after you read that letter. AM tt
t think that he never let on that he
. done anything! I'll warrant you >,
t ha' twitted him about it if YOU {
been in his place N he in yolrn,
and Mrs. Jones wiped her eyes again
. and took her departure.
Deacon Jones took up the letter
; and sat down by the fire to read it.
AS he did SO, and the knowledge OF
his old cncmy's kindness to the boy
SO far away from home and in such
sore trouble became clear to him,
bitter and angry thoughts began to
die away. For the sake Of old times
How he remembered the davs when
he and John Snyder had been the
: best of friends! The memory of
them seemed to burst the ilood-9atcs
, of resentment and sweep down upon
him in a mighty torrent that over
whclmed him. Could he have don,
what his enemy had ?
> lie sat there and thought it al
over; and us he did 81, ii seemed IL
. if the spirit of the Christmas seaso,
, came into his ielrt and took posses
sion of it, and drove out the old
bitter thoughts. Deacon Jones lovct
the boy who had been bcfrendcd as
he loved no one else on earth, AN,
the kindness done him by the mar
, with whom he had SO long been at
enmity, broke down the fences OF
hatred that had kept them apart.
"I'vc been an old fool - he said
"What If we didn't sec alike! Tha,
was no reason why We should hat,
each other. I've been ashamed of il