Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1897-04-28
An Unusual Burglary.
BY NARY R. P. HATCH.

By MARY R. P. HATCH.
ESA EOPLE are decry.
ing the sophisti
Gated state of the
- country, and by
E4& people 1 mean writ.
MsH9M ers in particular.
S1s.. - HWi They say that there
xs is little pictur-
%ST esqueness except in
--~ the backwoo6s and
in diBtricts far removed from the en-.
: vironments of railroads and electricity,
and that dialect peculiar to each To-.
cality is being hattened into monotone
by the omnipresent schoolmaster, who,
they complain, has his way far too
much in this proudly new world of
ours. But il this be true, as whole,
there are delightful exceptions. A
carriage drive OF few hours, or the
whirl of ones bicycle an hour, brings
one to the home of folk lore and pro.
vincialism capable OF causing ecstatic
thrills in the heart of the dialect.mon.
4. ger.
Such were my thoughts as alighted
from my wheel at nightfall, one cold
autumnal day, and raped there was
no belly at the door of low. browed
cottage, behind which clumps OF
bushes shut off the horizon and seemed
to narrow the world down to the little
house, the yard, and myself, with a
heavy heart.standine before it. steady
ing my wAeel, ior i was tired
Presently aa oid la1y cane 20 the
door. Hel ecntorsahi. rotla,. or,
and NIL bGe ay7 but aar .a chin
impresse nc sta as,sr. -a.f eet.
while t jsaa1 ;sa ybcoa g ~
nature W. teace1 ~ t.r ecutseoa1
sSIJo' stIj1,, ssa eve.- -bee,, trevstats aTe1
nicf S?': lap3rs6 after p deceot iBs,--
1--WE do and we don't, she repi,S.!
!s'but you can st, y in welcome. st
up and eat with me if you hain't had
no supper" =.
"I haven't" was my reply; and
presently the old lady and l were dis
cussing her homeIy but toothsome
supper, and doing it ample justice in
the way of testing its qualities; at
least / did.
''My husband has gone to town, re-
marked my hostess, sand if you hadn't
come should ben here all alone to.
night.
"Would you have been afraid to
spend the night alone?"
"Oh, mol But tonight / feel diff
'runt, for, you see, at last we're ready
to lift the mortgage. It's two hun
dred and thirty-tbree dollars an one
cent. That last cent got by selling
an aig," she said with happy laugh,
''and now it's altogether 'twi1t the
straw bed and feather bed in my room;
and husband, he's gonter pay it off to,
morrer-if he lives" she added, with
the reverence felt by the old who have
seen SO many hopes fade and friends
die that they meyer dare to speak even
of almost certainties without an ''lf."
"But are you not unwise to speak of
your money to stranger?" asked as
warning.
ooh, no ~ she said. laughing pleas.
antly, 81 know an honest man when
see him, and was glad the minute ]
see your face and knowed that you
wanted to stay all night. 'Taint likely
anybuddy would steal from me but
stragglers. One has been seen round.
and feel little mite uneasy"
MY hostess and spent pleasant
evening together. She showed me
many an heirloom which had been
handed through five generations from
an ancestor who had been great man
in colonial lays. There was silver
punch bowl and gold snuff box,
either worth more than the sum treas
ured SO carefully in the owners bed;
but suspect she would have parted
with her life as quickly as with either
Of them.
..They are Jameses," she said, ''or
will be when husband and I are done
with them. James is.my nephew, and
he's out to Chiny now. He's had lots
of pullbacks, James has, or he'd helped
us. But you look tired, Mr."
Bradley"
"Mr. Bradley, you look zif you
doughter be 10 bed. I'll light you up.
Ascending the short flight of stairs.
I learned that my room was exactly
over the old lady's ''settin'" room, as
she called it. There was sort of reg
lister oyerit, through which the warmth
struggled sgreeahly enough. How.
ever, I should have closed it had not
a sense of the old lady's unprotected
situation impressed me, and 30 l re.
tired to bed and dreamland, where
wandered lazily until awakened by
voices beneath.
Evidently the first word had reused
me, for as / sat up in bed, wide awake
in an instant, I heard the old lady say
in matter-of fact tone
"Good-evenin'. Set up to the stove
and warm ye."
Peeping through the register, saw
a ragged. unkempt man creep toward
the stove. blinking uneasily. He hat
come up the cellar stairs, not through
the outside door, which sufficient.
evidenced his predatory intentions.
However, had the old lady's visitor
siways made their entrances through
the cellar she could not have been NOR
at ease than she appeared now as sh
hustled about, setting him chair
putting wood into the stove. and other
wise mystlfyin her midnight eslles b,
her careless, friendly manner,