The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-02-06
WHEN NOBODY WAS LOOKING

"Well." said Sophia, with a pout of
sham reluctance. Leave it here. then
And Sam left the valentine, and
penny for postage, with the envelope
which he had selected, and hastily went
his way Sophia took up the envelope
to addres it, and then sleigh stopped
at the door, and a young man from the
east village came in and asked her to
go a little way for drive. Sophia
called her grandfather in to mind the
. store, got herself ready, jumped into
the sleigh with the young man and was
| away. And that was the last she
| thought of Sam Wells and Serena AIMS
valentine. Her grandfather shook the
envelope when he came in, discovered
the valentine in it. took it out and re-
turned it to its old place.
| 1t was not sold again until after
school that night, and then Johnny
Starr was the purchaser. He had
shaken the iron savings bank, in which
| he had deposited his money earned by
! selling berries the summer before, un-
| til he got fifty-tWo cents, all in pennies.
! He gave them to Solomon Badger for
the valentine and an envelope, and
| watched anXiously while the old man
| counted them-it took him a long while
| Then he trudged off with his purchase.
| There was no question of posting it in
Johnny STAIRS MIND, because he had
not shaken enough pennies to buy a
| stamp.
He gave it to Serena Ann the next
| morning before school, slipping it into
her hands when nobody was looking
Serena Ann looked at it, colored high
| then turned white. She was almost
ready to cry. To think she had a val
entineL and such a valentine! She
showed it one, then another; by moor
everybody in school had seen that val.
entine, teacher an all Johnny CAV,
it to me- she admitted, innocently
with a grateful glance at Johnny.
who did you say gave it to you
Serena Ann?" asked Sam Wells, witt
an aStonished air.
Johnny Starr" Sam Wells whistled
At noon Miss Little called her up to tht
desk and questioned her. Then sh,
called up Johnny starr, and askoC
where he got the valentine AT Mr.
Solomon Badgers" replied Johnny
stoutly. Serena Ann did not know
what it all meant. She was bewildereC
when Miranda Sail and Lottie Goodwin
and the other big girls came to her a
the afternoon recess and told her tina
Miranda gave her the valentine. an,
not Johnny. She was more bewldere,
when she got home and found that he
Grandfather Judd had given it to her
1t began to seem to poor little Seren;
Ann as if everything was out of proper
tion. and topsy-turVy, aud people wer
7 behaving like fairy stories. However
Serena Ann was not the only person
who was beWildered. Her elders Wer
as much nonoused as she. For sew
eral days the whole village was in a tur
| moll over Serena AIMS valentine
= Everybody questioned wildly, who hat
or had not bought it. johnny Starr wa
5 accused Of stealing it, Sam Wells 70
finding it and keeping it unlawfully
' and both We're acquitted. SAM becaus
. he did not seem to have kept it, afte
a all, and Johnny because of the testi
a mony of his parents and Solomo
c Badger. LonZo Badger was discoVere
= to be guilty of petty dishonesty, an
, whipped with birch stick, but that di
: not so far toward the solution of In
2 whole mystery. Some of it was al
- ways dark in the minds of tn
/ village. 1t seemed unquestionabl
I. that one valentine had been sol
: several times, and Solomon Badger OF
n fered to refund the money. But it wa
r difficult to ascertain to whom it wa
a due, and he was poor, so all concerne
= refused any restitution.
/. At all events Serena Ann had her val
II entine, her first one. And she never ha
= any doubt as to who had given it to he
g 1t was Johnny Starrand he had bougt
D it with his huckleberry money which h
It had shaken out of his iron bank.
It The end