Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-04-01
A DEED OF MERCY.
BY HARRIET F. c.aocKER.

When Miss Penelope Owens made up
her mind to do a thing it was as good
as done. Few things were surer of be-
ing done, and well done, than those to
which she applied her resolution, and
SO it happened that because she was si4-
ting ON the front porch of her pretty,
rose-coyered cottage one hot summer
day, leisurely rocking, and reading from
time to time bits from a current maga-
zine, and because, so sitting, she Iipked
up the street and saw advancing toward
her a great, solid band of sheep, a plan
came into her head which proved am i'm
porta1t factor in her life.
The mass of woolly, bleating things
came sweeping onward, past the pretty
cottage, sending clouds of California
dust over the cypress hedge upon the
beds of scarlet verbenas, and into Miss
Penelope's very face, but Miss Penelope
never moved. Her soft eyes, full of COM
passion, gazed out upon that patient,
plodding throng of creatures, and
look of pain swept across her face as
the poor things tried eagerly to catch
a mouthful Of the fresh, green grass
which formed Miss Penelope's well-kept
border just outside the path, The
horseback rider urged them on, and on
they hurried, huddling their feecy,
dust-brown backs together till it seemed
as though one might walk across that
living flood. Behind the great flock
came the usual accompaniment-th
wagon in which the lame and exhausted
sheep were carried by the herders-
and as Miss Penelope looked, one fall
tered and fell, rose feebly and was
picked up and placed in the wagon with
the others.
When the last cloud of dust had set
tied, Miss Penelope smiled to herself.
an odd little smile. "It's queer thing
to dc, maybe, but it's no ones business
but my own. and if choose to do mis-
sionary work in front of my own house
instead of away off in heathen lands,
I'm going to do it."
Miss Penelope took the five o'clock
car into the city and visited a certain
place of business ON bustling street,
held half hours conference with the
proprietor, looked over numerous cata-
logues. talked prices and then took her
departure. Not for home, however. To
an uptown Office in great block she
next made her way, then, as the sum
lner twilight was gathering, sought her
corner and waited for her car.
Miss Penelope's life was lonely. Some
thing seemed always lacking to make it
quite complete. She would not admit
it, even to herself, for the owner of that
resolute mouth and chin, and that firm,
independent way, could never confess
that aught was lacking to make her
comfort complete. She was not rich
only Comfortably fixed,' as the
neighbors said. Her father, dying
few years before, had left her the neat
little cottage and the Fruit orchard be-
hind it, which suppaied not only her but
many Of the neighbors with choice fruit,
For Miss Penelope was nothing If not
neighborly, although there was always
a certain dignity and reserve about her
that forbade the approach of the too
familiar. People wondered why this
sresh-faced woman of 40 was still an
old maid She must have had "disap-
peintment," they said, though Miss PEN
elope looked least likely of women to
have had a romance,
One morning a great dray, drawn by
four horses, toiled along the dusty road
and pulled up at the little white gate
under Miss Penelope's cypyess arch.
Neighbors began to wonder ndconjec-
ture and to neglect the cooking Of their
MONDAY meals, when Miss Penelope's
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