Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-04-14
FIRED AT RANDOM.

the real estate agent into whose hands
he had intrusted the care Of the proper
ty he had received from his fathers es-
tate. Estate is big and general word
and many people use it in a grandilo-
quent manner in speaking of a corner
lot in marshy suburb. In Hardesty's
case it meant little better than that,
but it was no vast Anneke JAMS tract by
any means.
He had not been in that little town
for II years--indeed since the days Of
his school attendance. He recalled how
on one summer afternoon he had vault
ed out Of window just ahead of the
schoolmaster's hickory, how when wal
Hoped for it at home he had left the
house in anger, and how that night he
had boarded freight train bound Gin
cinnatiward-and had never gone back.
Often he had thought Of the old place
and when the days of his middle age
came they found him wondering and
wondering and dreaming at odd times
about Milt Woodlands cooper shop and
the other things-but he did not go
back.
After the death of his father and
when he had come into the old family
residence he seemed to wonder and
dream all the more Once he had met
the father of Doras Alderman at a quad
rennial session of the Methodist confer
ence and had talked to him of Doras,
who had been schoolmate, but in gem
eral he had had little communication
other than that witnessed i'll the letters
which passed between himself and the
real estate agent Now, on this even
ing, II years afterward, he trundled
into town in sleeper and thought
smilingly of the day when he had rolled
out on a box car. The agent had writ
ten him to the effect that somebody had
offered famous sum for the old Har-
desty homestead, purposing to cut it uT
into all addition to the city. The agent,
boyhood friend, had suggested that
Hardesty come down from Chicago tt
| give personal attention to the matter,
for by so doing he believed that few
thousand dollars more could be realized
Dreaming of the old days, Hardesty
left the train at the depot. 1t was s
stone and brick depot, he noticed, ant
not the little frame structure in which
he and Tom Coyne had loafed in the
summer Of old days. He remembered
Tom Coyne very readily, and though
with especial amusement and interes
upon the episode Of the bumblebees
Before reaching the town he had decides
that the very first thing he would d
would be to 60 into the little old wood
en- station and examine the walls to Sc
if the initials sd. H." for Davi'
Hardesty, were still there where he hat
cut them on the wainscoting, to the fur.
of Johnny Clark, the station agent. H
had counted a great deal on the pleasur
Of this investigation and it annoye'
him somewhat to step off the car AM
into spick and trig depot of masonr..
construction.
After the affront Of this evidence Q
progress and prosperity had somewha
worn away he started to walk dow
the road to the residence of the agent
his old friend. He knew the location G
the house, for as boy he had been abb
to draw map Of the town, showing ev
cry residence, clubhouse, chicken COO
and fence. Somehow, however, he foun
the quest q bit difficult. New streets az
peared, inviting him to walk down int
what had been green fields, but whic
were now additions and "places, - a
built up with trinity painted fran
houses.
He found the object Of his search
last and was admitted. His friend, tn
agent, who had only partially expecte
him, did not know him at first, and il
deed Hardesty would have passed tt
. other thousand times before recogni
ing in his brown mustache and gloss
collar any semblance to the patched an
freckled boy who had helped him to re
Frank Stones historic melon patel
The agent introduced his wife and sal
Hardesty would remember her, b.
Hardesty would have done nothing
the sort, except for the fact that he hi
learned from correspondence that b
J. friend had married little Eda Ston
daughter Of the sovereign Of the melt
patch.
They talked, after dinner, abo
, business and about the improvement
the city-it had been village in t
old days--and about the advisability
Hardesty selling his property.
Really" said Hardesty, II dor
know that care to sell. You see, t
old homestead has been in the fami
for generations, and it seems almost
sacrilege to dispose Of it. Why, / v
n born in that house. I used to look oy
the fence there at the gooseberry busE
q in Gallagher's place and wond-by
n way, are the Gallaghers living thu
n n yeti"
n ooh, mol They moved away long az
N and fine, big, stone public school !
m been built there. \
n "a stone public school? Why, Hem
d when we were boys, one room fra
~ house did us pretty we'll. Do you relnel
! Der how we used to revile the boys "
attended the academy and call thu
On academy rats, because the acadei
had two rooms, and consequently t
,el stoves?"
he eyes, and they called as 'distr
it,