Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-08-10
THE GREEN BOX.

ants TO manage IT,
In her earnestness Abigail Simpson
stopped rocking and looked askance at the
subject under discussion.
1t was an ordinary, old fashioned,
round ch~eesebox, painted a pale green.
with a very shiny surface. On the cover,
rudely carved, evidently with a dull knife,
were the letters s. S.
THAT belonged to my great-grandfa.
ther," Abigail went on, hitching her
chair a little farther away, land it amt
never brought good luck to nobody, and
don't nobody have the least idea whats
in it, and they amt never likely to while
I'm a-living."
Her niece viewed the box with fresh in.
terest. What do you suppose is in it?'
she queried, with just q thrill of awe in
her voice. Maybe it's empty"
"No. Uncle Gershom shook it once and
there was things inside that ratified. HI
thought it might be money, and he 'mosI
opened it, but he didn't quite, you see
Nobody ever has"
But why notp" persisted che young
girl.
PUT it away, Abby, do. 1t can't dc
you no good, and I'll tell you why W,
don't never open it any of U.S."
The girl rose obediently and, taking
the box, returned it to the dark corner il
the attic where she had found it. Hel
aunt listened in a tremor as the young
feet echoed over the thin boards of thu
attic floor and came down the stairs.
Chn hrnafhnI n cinh of raIiof DC tha rin
entered the room. at gave me the SILVER!
to hear you up there and know you wa:
%a-thinking of the box" she confessed
You sounded SO much like Tryphen1
when she got took with the notion to SEE
the inside of that box.
"Poor Tryphena!" she sighed dismally
"She was the aunt whose lover was
drowned, wasn't she?' the girl asked
gently.
Her aunt nodded assent. II might as
well begin at the beginning" she said
land then you'll see why"
Observation-Disclosures had that box fol
something, but what he and the gray,
only knew. When he died, twas left W
in the attic, way under the caves, with
hair trunk and lots of old rubbish, an,
llODCuy OINI Y ulllIlA VI ulSGlIUllR IL vi
one day grandmother had a clearing III
fit. She was awful energetic, and she wa
bound to get that attic cleared out fo
once. 1t had a terrible lot of old stuff il
it, so she began real systematic and wa,
going through everything.
"She'd just got round to the hair trunk
and had been reading some of the letters
in it, and just took up the box to open it
when she heard al awful scleam and Went
rushing down stairs and found that grand
father had got hurt bad and they was
bringing him home.
"He was dreadful sick and didn't neve
rally, and grandmother never FINISHED
cleaning. But after he died she tried il
once, and when she came to the green DO,
it all come back to her so plain she JUS
couldn'tdo any more.
"Then one day Aunt lamar was rum
maging around, and she came across tn,
box and thought she'd like it to keep
hat in, and there came a dreadful big claI
Of thunder, and a bolt of lightning cam'
right down the chimney and numbed he
SO she didn't get over it for hours. Ant
If you'll believe me, that lightning Wen
across the attic, and when it got to wher'
the box was it turned right off straigh
and never touched it. We could tel.
cause it left a burned track, with a shar]
angle in 1t where the box was.
"How do you account for that?''
The girl shook her head.
sit just means folks nor powers no
nothing was to touch that box. That
what it meant.
well, your Uncle Gershom tried i
once, and he was taking it over to tn,
light, and he run into an old lantern tina
was hanging up, and it cut his forehead
dreadful, and he dropped it and ran of
for the doctor, and the next time we wen
up in the attic the box was back in it
place again"
She paused to give emphasis to tn
phenomenon.
And then Tryphcna took a notion t.
open it. And just then Silas came running
over to tell us how %Tryphena's beau ha,
got drowned. Mother went up and tol,
her, and she just put her head down OF
the box and didn't say anything for II Ion:
time. And when finally she did com,
down we was all here, and we could hea
her feet come cross the floor just as quie
and steady, and when she came in sh,
smiled at us. And-and the next morn
ing-the next morning Tryphena's hal
was snow white"
Abigail rocked in silence for a moment
"No one has tried to open it sine
then" she said, "and / don't think no
body will while l can help It,"
She arose suddenly and went out int
H. 1s%oI.,, ALI,, 1a,1,nJ ,f4,,. -. 49,.
there were tears in her young eyes.
"Say, was Great grandfat Ter Simpson
al awfully m%ethodical MANI" queriet
Walter at supper, pausing between
mullins.
very" replied his aunt "Why?"
"And his name wasn't Solomon O
Samuel Or anything that begins with 81
"No; it vas Zattu. You don't oftel
hear that now"
Well, then, it must be!' he said con
clusively.
"What?" queried Abby.
"Why, the box" he replied.
His aunt pushed back her chair.
II found one up in the attic" he ex
planned, land it had S. S. on top of it
and I thought 1t might mean a sign 70
uOllafS, SO 1 opened IL.
There was a sharp exclamation from
Abigail. She was very pale.
1.-THE cover stuck like fury" Waite
continued, land ! broke three blades o
my jackknife to get it open, but 1 wa
bound to do it, and I did,"
What his aunt attempted to say
while she looked b~eseeching.y at Abby.
''Oh, just an old almanac and som
dried squash seeds" Walter replied care
lessly. That's why he marked it S. S.
you see-squash seeds. I took the DO,
and dumped the seeds on tho floor"
There was a sudden crash outside ant
an Irish howl as Bridget tripped and sen
the boiling teapot flying.
81 never knew it to fall Abigail said
folding her thin hands rcsignedly. -Har
riet Caryl Cox in Chicago Inter Ocean.