Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-01-28

tenfodds affair which weighed upon MN
was too evident
Finally the place was empty, save for
my presence, and Uncle Reuben camo
over to me and sat him wearily down.
His eyes were shining with the resolve
of some great purpose, but he approach
ed it cautiously.
81 reckon yuh member, sub, bout
Majah Baxtah comm to New Yawk tub
live?''
/ nodded assent remembered well
the night when he and Uncle Reuben
met for the first time since Reuben had
gone into the war Us a body servant,
and 1 remembered how Uncle Reuben
had fed his impoverished old master
through the courses of the best dinner
his place could lay without ever giving
the master an idea that he was receiv-
ing charity. had never forgotten the
tenderness Of Reuben's attentions to the
man who had once owned him, body
and soul.
"Yuh member him. an I wan tub
ak yuh advice bout nh mattah consarnin
i'm. It's this way, sub. Yuh see, Majah
Baxtah, he's uh gemman. He ain nevah
use tub wuk NV no kin, an he FIN it
mighty hahd tub git long hyah in New
Yawk whah evabody wuk faw what he
git. Co'se down home he dom bothah
bout nothin. He des set ON he front
po'ch wiv he frien's an drink julips.
He look out ovah thu big fiel, an he say:
"Thah' S ma niggah, an thah s ma HOSES,
an thah's ma lan's. Gemman, thu craps
is gwine tub be pow'ful fine. Take uh
drink An they take uh drink, and this
majah is happy. That's all he know
bout maxim uh livin. He des go tub
town an sign thu papers an git thu
money fun thu crap Co'se he don't
know nothin bout how thu crap come
tub be made He aim raised that way.
"Yuh member / tole yuh bout how
he get broke up at home an come tub
New Yawk tub staht all ovah ag'in. l
reckin he thought he'd fin uh cotton
crap ON evah street in New Yawk, kase
he aim wor'yin much bout nothin tell
he ain got no money tall. Then's wen
I see i'm fust, yuh member.
"He knows some gemmen hyah, an
NV co'se they do whut they kin tub give
i'm uh staht, but thu majah he dom
know bout how tub take chances in
business an SO reckon he ain doin des
ez well ez he ought, least I hearn tell
he aim, an des want AK yuh bout it.
I want yuh tub look at this faw me. "
Uncle Reuben went down into some
mysterious recess behind his apron and
drew out small book carefully wrap
ped about with long string. Taking a
precautionary look about the room, he
laid it down in front Of me. 1t was a
handbook, and it showed balance in
favor of Reuben Baxter of Tennessee Of
a fraction over So, 900.
"That's whut I save outen thu bust
ness hyah, yuh know. Thu gemmen
whut does me thu honah Nv comm hyah
faw uh canvasback pays me putty well,
an Use been layin way some nv it all
thu time, thinlin some day I might be
needin sumpin eff wan tub go home.
Putty nigh 'nough thah tub buy uh
plantation, aim they?"
"You might get a fairly good place
with that, Uncle Reuben.
"An eff I had twic't ez much could
git twic't ez good uh place, couldn't I?'
eyes, perhaps more than twice as
good"
"Yuh knows anythin bout these
stocks they sell down Wall street way?
Gemmen talk lot bout 'em one day, an
mex day sell 'em faw twic't ez much?"
"They are dangerous things to med
die with, Uncle Reuben. Sometimes
you pay price for them one day and
the next they are worth nothing at all. "
"Yessuh, reckon so but eff bought
tha' much wo'th one day and they
want wuth nothin thu next, nobody
would know nothin bout it 'cept you
an me, would they?"
"No."
"Then mus tell yuh. Yuh know ]
kahn nevah go back home tub thu Bax-
tah's tell I've fixed it bout tha' time
TUX Mistah Tom Baxtah's hoss in thu
wah all got him killed Itole you bout
that. Well, I wuz thinkin tha' eff had
twic't tha' much money I might &C
| back home wiv my head up.
I tried persuasion with Uncle Reu-
ben, telling him of all the certain dan
gers of stock gambling, but nothing
would move him from his purpose. He
was steadfast in llis determination tC
put that S.. 600 in ssome sort of specula
ton in Wall street in an effort to dou-
BILE it. As I was his only friend who
had III the past kept his condolences
sacred he appealed to me. 1t hurt him
when refused to handle his money il
the street.
I knew of particularly good thing
in Cordage just then, and, having much
confidence in it, / finally consented tt
act as Reuben's agent in the matter
and did. His bank roll went into Cord
hge. Fortune does sometimes favor ;
good cause, and Cordage was the only
thing in the street which showed activi
ty. 1t went up and up. Within weel
sold Reuben's stock at rough prof
of SO, 900 and dined that night on sue
culent bird out of season.
Uncle Reuben was radiant and flew
about his place like boy. waited TO
him, and he hung over the table witt
an attention that was almost devotion
When we had chance to talk, he in
quired all about how it had been done
and had to so into all the details OF
Wall street deal There was none Of tn
passion of gain or Of the gambler in hi
eager attention, just the passion Of a
accomplished purpose. 1t was good t
see him.
Weeks after, when the winter snow
had come and Uncle Reuben's was
refuge from the storm at the Dime
hour, I sat silently over a "madeery.
TIe eonlr ouiet1v into n chair OpDOsit