The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-27

Johnny knew that his fa%ther-whose teams
had Increased to live wagons, and whose route
week, and that the catastrophe was yet remote,
His present punishment he had expected. lie
went into the adjoining bedroom. which he oc-
cnpied with his sister, and began to undress
He, fingered for some time over one stocking
and finally cautiously removed from II a small
piece of fake gold which he had kept concealed
all day under his big toe to the great discomfort
OF that member. But this was only q small, ordi;;
n boyish hieroglyphic on tho metal, and
when his mothers back was turned scraped a
In 1t, and covered It up with a plaster made of
the moistened debris. II, was safc-so was his
secretion 1t need not, perhaps, be stated here
that Johnny had told the truth and had honestly
found the goldl But where yes, that was his
own secretl And now, Johnny. with tho In
subject from his mind, and reclining comforta-
bly, upon his arm, fell into an interesting study
crack of the adobe wall, and with the aid of n
burnt match succeeded in divcrting for the rest
OF the afternoon the attention of awholo lahori-
The next morning. however, brought trouble
to him In the curiosity of his sisters, heightened
by their belief that he could at any moment be
taken off to, p~rison.which was. their under
standing of their mothers story, ] Rrieve TO say
that to them this invested him with u certain ro-
mantle heroism. from the qualification of which
the hero himself was not exempt. Neverthe-
and on broader impersonal grounds. As girls.
II was none Of their business! He wasn't a.goin'
to tell them his, %secretsl And what did they
it from BRASIL The attitude Of his mother was,
however, still perplexinE. She was no longer
a mysterious reserve that was the more appall-
ing, The fact was that, she no longer believed
In his theft-indeed, she had never seriously ac-
cepted it-but his strange reticence and score
tiyeness piiqued her curiosity, and even made
keeping a secret she believed was maniike. and
reminded her-for no reason in the world-of
3l@ iM 81. ! Waal her ls husband ,Ssm o Eh9m N o she bs tsSrsd;
them, More than that, she was finally Obliged
to sins her acb besssye tn in s ,nn hSnas a him hi in the
sent on an errand to the country store ut the
crossroads. But he first extracted his gold
flake from the wall and put 1t in his pocket.
On arriving at the store, it was plain even to
his boyish. perceptions that the minister had
circulated his miserable story. Two or three Of
and looked at him. More than that, when he
began his homeward journey he saw that two of
Half In timidity and half in boytsh mischief he
once or twice strayed from the direct road, and
divsfFenc q f ss he p 1ey in Mr. GsS sfHpIss Faf Sau s9qhS e
saw that reverend gentleman sneak out Of his
back gate itte, and, without seeing the two
But the events of the past day had had their
9uickening effect upon Johnny's intellect. A
was passing a perfectly bare spot on the road
he managed. without being. noticed, to cast his
the other side Of the road. where the minister's
path would lie. Then, at a point where the road
Rev. Mr.. Staples hurried forward "a he lost
sight OF the boy in the sweep OF the road, but
m hal5sa suId ddseG aro oohsp Sin h s,o51r lssp ped cd The me
the piece of gold, thrust. 1t hurriedly in his
Taistcoat pocket. and continued his way. When
it he awaited himself OF his solitude to pause
and again examine the treasure. and again re-
he here turned back, walked quickly to the spot
where he had found 1t. carefully, examined the
with his feet ,e = until iH had apparently
satisfied himself that there was no more. and
no gold bearing indications in the soil. Atthis
moment. however, the two other tnouisitors
came in sight. and Mr.: Staples turned quickly
and hurried on; Before he had passed the
They both spoke Of Johnny" and his crime, Of
having followed him with a view OF finding out
where he went to procure his gold, and OF his
having again evaded them. Mr.. Staples agreed
with their purpose. but. to Johnny's intense AS
constituent. said nothing about his own find!
When they had passed on the boy slipped from
distance until his own house came in view
Here the two men diverGed, but the minister
continued on toward the other store" and
He would have told his mother what he had
seen and his surprise that the, minister had not
he was checked-frst, by his mothers attitude
toward him. which was clearly the same as tho
she would have condemned his dropping the
gold in the ministers path, though he knew not
equally sure he could not formulate. though he
also knew not why. But that evening. as he
was was returning ,Sd r ii from tho sae spring ,h vito water he T.
had been Il day of surprises apd revelations to
Johnny. but the climax seemed to be reached as
he entered the room, and he now stood trans
fixed as he heard Mr.. Staples say:
It's all very well, Sister Medliker, to comfort
your heart with vain hopes and delusions. A
mothers leanin's Is the souls deceivin's. ana
yer leanin' on a broken reed. 1t the boy truly
found that gold he'd have come to ye and said:
ways and byways-rejoice and be exceedin'
glad and hev poured it inter yer lap, Yes"
as he saw him stagger back with his pail in
hand, yes, sir, that would 70, have been the course
For a moment johnny felt the blood boiling in
his ears. ana u thnusand words seemed ~crCwdtng
il! !!T his t h pa 5er nThS g,inf he Sps sPsdp and w GhNk ,%s
sutfocation of Indignation.
But Mr.; staples saw in his agitation only an
awakened conscience, and. mud ging Mrs. Med
liker, leaned eagerly forward for a reply.
Then" he repeated With suaye encourage
Then said johnny, in a high. shrill falsetto
tnat startled them. then what for did you pick
We? We did; l seed yer! And ye didn't say
noshin' OF Of Il Il n TO a tey MSy. ana Aad y ye' e'n got sf L IN
Gimme it,"
and empurpled Staples's face. IT. was his turn
to gasp; for breath. Yet, in the same moment,
Medliker interfered. This was an entirely new
feature in the case. Great Is the power Of gold;
a Single glance NJ the minister > CONFUSION nll
convinced her that .Iohnny's accusation was
true, and 1t was Johnny's money-construct-
lively hers that the minister was concealing.
His mere possession of that gold had more effect
in strengthening out her loose logic than any
sense of his hypocrisy.
You leave the boy be. Brother StapIes,'
said Mrs. Medliker. sharply. " reckon wot's his
is hisn: spite of whar he got it,"
Mr.. Staples saw his mistake and smiled pain
fully as he fumblcd in his waistcoat pocket. II
believe / did pick up something" he said, that
may or may not have been gold, but | have
dropped it again or thrown 1t away. and really
it is of little concern in our moral lesson. For
we have only his word that 1t was really his!
How do we know it?'
Cos it has my marks on it," said Johnny
quickly; lit had q crlss.cross | scratched on it.
/ kin tell it good enuf."
Mr.. Staples turned suddenly pale and rose
"Of COURSE no said to Mrs. Medliker with
painful dignity. IF you set so much value upon
n mere worldly rriilo | will endeavor to find 1t.
1t may be III my other pocket" He backed out
of the door in his usual fashion. but instantly
went over to the Post once. where. as he after
ward alleged. he had changed the ore for coin in
a moment ufinad yertence. But Johnny's HERO
Elyphics were found on 1t, and in some ,mys-
terious way the story got about. 1t had two
effects that Johnny aid not dream OF. 1t had
1----I IL ts- 80 q 44l- ~ --.-- t.