Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1897-12-03
houses in the town were under mort.

Il
gage to Gershom Flint-woe betide
them!-and a sharper man could not
easily have been found to carry 30
many OF other peoples burdens.
That was what people said. II old
Mary Jessup, who had kept Gershom
Flints house for him for 20 years,
thought different, no one knew it. III
she could have told of many quiet
good deeds done duringa all these years,
she never did tell. Her face,as grave
and stern as her masters, was Us in
scrutable. They lived their lonely,
uneventful lives in apparent indiiler-
ence to people andpeople's tongues.
AT his breakfast one day Mary in
terrupted him in an unusual way. She
was smiling, and her master felt
sudden wonder that he had never seen
before how really good looking Mary
was.
There's some young ones to see
you, sir, Mary said. ''They come to
the front door, an they're waitin'.
There's little gal an baby"
"Children-to see meW Gershom
Flint's voice had establishment in it.
1t was such an unusual occurrence
children! When had any children ever
been 10 see him before?
He got up and pushed away his
chair.
where did you leave them, Mary?"
he asked, with affected Indifference.
81 asked 'em in, but the little gal
said she'd stay TO the door. She's got
the baby tied to her"
''She's got what2"
''The baby, sir-tied to her with
string. She said she had to or he'd
run away"
"Ohl Well, go and fetch 'em in
here. Tell 'em I've only got min
ute to spare. Hurry 'em up"
Confound it! What could any chill
dren want Of him, Gershom Flint! He
wasn't really on visiting terms with
any of their kind; must be little beg
gars, confound 'em!
He took out his watch and held il in
his hand as lilly and Roddy Doc came
in. Roddy Doc was tugging back on
his leash stoutly. His small, round
face was very shiny with recent soap
suds and puckered with grieved re-
volt.
lilly put both hands on his tiny
shoulders and pushed him toward Ger
shom Flint Her face was full of
eager purpose.
81 came --Roddy Doc, make bow
--quick-to the man--to get you to
mortgage the baby" she said. "If
you please, she added, in polite after
thought
Mr.. Flint stared astonished.
"Hey?"
"To mortgage the baby-him, you
know" prodding Roddy Docs fat
cheek with her finger. 81 want him
mortgaged right Off you\ please.
It's the way they do when WHEN they
f3se;at ~ aaafe p,0nax left iapt it2. o..
she asked, eagerly. She had gone up
quite close TO him and was peering
wistfully into his stern face. Roder-
lex Dhu, on tiptoe, reached up and
cluched his dangling watch chain with
murmur Of approval. The little
moist, volvety hand touched his for
an instant on its way.
The girls anxious face close to his
face, the baby's touch unfamiliarly,
oddly pleasant, and, above all, the ex-
traordinary proposal, combined to-
getner to produce strange effect upon
Gershom Flints senses. IL he had
ever cried or laughed in his life he
would have better understood the con-
fusion of sensations. As it was he
merely waited for further develop
ments. What would come next?
won't you do it?" asked Tilly a
little note of apprehension in her
voice. Hes beautiful baby to
mortgage. wisht you would"
"You wish 1 would, hey? Mort
gage the baby, hey? Come here, little
chap"
Gershom Flint actually lifted the
child to his knee in an awkward, I'M
accustomed way. Little amused
wrinkles were beginning to radiate
from the corners of his eyes--stifily,
AZ il the skin were unused altogether
to the process. A warm spot some
where in Gershom Flint's heart was
manifesting itself insistently. He
ran his fingers lightly over the wrig-
Cling baby body as if testing it's sound
ness.
What do you value him at?" he
asked, gravely,
"W-what?" quavered lilly, look
ing blank.
I'm not accustomed to mortgage
for more than two-thirds the value.
SO must know what price you set on
the youngster-how much you think
he's worth, that is"
| "Ohr breathed TilIy. Her brows