El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-23
PAGES 9 TO II.

es that they thought at first was out
of my mind. Father said afterward
that he never heard such a tumble of
popcorn balls and secret drawers and
Samuels. When father fairly under
stood what had happened, he lighted
the lantern and searched out in the
barn and the sheds to be sure that
Samuel was not lurking about the
ther said he knew the man; that he
belonged to a good family, but had
been sort Of shiftless and unlucky.
| When we were all settled down
again for the night and 1 felt so safe
and happy with father and mother at
home, I could not help feeling troubled
about poor Samuel out in the storm. I
hoped he would not die of cold and be
found dead when the snow melted in
the spring. There was quite a severe
| snowstorm. That was the reason why
father and mother had reached home
30 late. They had been obliged to drive
slowly on account of the gathering
snow.
We were just sitting down to our
Christmas dinner next day when we;
all stopped and listened. Then the
sound came again, and we were sure.
that somebody was out in the stormy
calling family for help.
cit is the manv' said mother. do go |
quick as you can" Mother had been3
worrying about Samuel all day. She
said she did not want him to perish If |
he had tried to wrong us, and father
had been all around the farm looking
for him. He thought, however, that he
had gone down to the village the night
before. !
We opened the door, and we could
hear the calls for help quite plainly
Father pulled on his big boots and
started out. The storm was very thick.
Soon we could not see father, but we;
could hear his shouts and the faint
cries in response, and then we saw ia,
Their coming back half carrying Samuel
J. Wetherhed.
Samuel was pretty well exhausted,
besides being frightened and ashamed
when he saw where he was, back in
the house Of the man he had tried to
rob. He tried to stop on the threshold
of the outer door, spent as he was. 81
guess you-don't-know," he began,
but father interrupted him. Come
along in!'' cried father in a hearty way
that he has. "You have been good to
my children, and as long as you didn't!
do what you set out to there's no use
talking about it,
Samuel was pretty well exhausted.
He had spent the night in an old barn
on the other side of the mountain and
had been hOundering about in circles,
all day, trying to find the road. How
ever, he was able to eat some Christ.
mas dinner with us, though he hesitat-;
ed about that, as he had done about en-
tering the door, and all of sudden he
dropped his knife and fork, bent his
head down over his plate, and we saw.
that he was crying, though we tried to
take no notice.
Samuel Staid with US that night and
was present at the Christmas tree
though he seemed very sober and dash
ed his hand across his eyes a good
many times when his name was called
put and he got his little presents.
The next day the storm had stopped,
and father put the horse in the sleigh
and took Samuel down to Lebanon to
lake the train. We never saw him;
again after he had shaken hands with
Us all and thanked mother in a voice
that trembled so that he could scarcely
speak and father had driven him off in
the sleigh.
That day we girls pulled the corn
balls to pieces and found the bills in
side, not sticky at all. The next day.
father took the money to the bank,
though he said he didn't know but corn
balls were safer, since robbers knew
hat money was in banks, but he didn't
.hink they had any suspicion Of it's be-
ng in corn balls.
We spent the next Christmas in our
I'D home in Wareville, for father and
Uncle William had made up and we
had gone back there to live. We had a
rec, and the day before Christmas a
great box came by express with a
handsome present for each of US. There;
vas no name sent with them, but we
always knew as well as we wanted to,
md father and mother thought so, too,
hat they had come from Samuel j.
who, we had heard, had
settled out west and was doing very
we'll.
SANTA FE SHOpMEN PLEASED.