Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-02-02
BAY me The SALARY agreed Of, or reissse

pay NE tue eelutS dSISSu un Ut releA19
M and let me 90 elsewhere"
Eye see, pastor" said one Of the dea.
cons, 1--WE thought ye'd ha' gathered
in some O the worldly minded people
around, but We don't seem to take. l
see the young men come along and lis
ten for a minute at the church door
and then go. Now if ye'd had a rous-
in way with We and made things hot
they'd ha' come right in and might ha'
bin converted"
Il am quite aware Of my 1mperfec-
tions," MI. Sopor said, land am ready
to remove them and myself out Of your
sight and hearing, but | want 1t under
stood that you have covenanted with
me to pay me so much a month and
you haven't done 1t, and l must either
live on credit or starve."
"1've lived on credit and traded on
credit" said Deacon Sitter, "and no.
body thinks the worse Of me, but then
l never was a confessed pauper."
you are at liberty to live on credit
again." Mr.. Sopor said, "but as a Chris
tian you are not at liberty to force your
pastor to do 10. 1t would be a disgrace
to the Christian name"
The meeting grew stormy and ad-
journed without any attempt to pay
the pastors salary. The very next day,
however, something happened to rem
der the pastor less anxious about his
salary. He received a letter, informing
him that an uncle had died, leaving
him an estate Of owe 100000. Just as
1t was growing dark he started for
the deacon's store, intending to smooth
things over about the salary. The dea-
con, however, had gone home to sup
per and Mr.. Sopor directed his steps
toward his dwelling. He found the
door ajar and was about to knock with
his knuckles on the panel when the
door opened and a small parcel was
thrust into his hand, and he heard the
stern voice of the deacon's wife:
"There! Take that and be off with
you. And don't you come loafng
around here again."
The door was banged in his face.
He stood dumfounded. Then he turn
ed away with a sigh and went toward
his boarding house, still holding the
parcel. When he reached his apart
ments, he struck a match and lighted
his lamp. Then he looked down at
the parcel which he had laid on the
table. 1t was covered with a piece of
brown paper. He took it up, felt the
weight Of it and wondered what 1t
could be. He had once lent a lamp to
Rachel for her bicycle, but it didn't
feel like that. So he slowly removed
the wrapper and found within-two
slices of stale bread with a slice of
cold meat between them!
His heart sank. This was indeed a
wicked act, a most %unprovoked insult.
1t was throwing the dog a bone and
then kicking him out.
Next Sunday after the preaching MI.
Sopor told the congregation that he
was going to leave.
"You owe me four or five months
salary, but I'll make a present of it to
the church." he said. Il am sorry I've
had to complain Of poverty because
Of your failure to pay me what you
covenanted.s Still l am grateful that
at least one among you showed a dis
position to help me. l went to the
door of one of the members the other
night, and the lady Of the house kindly
thrust this parcel into my hand"
He held up the parcel, opened it and
exhibited the two slices Of bread and
the slice of meat. There was consterna-
ton all around, but most of all in
Deacon Sifter's pew, as the pastor held
up the sandwich and turned it in diff
ferent directions so that all might see
it. Then he pronounced the benedic-
ton.
I am not Informed what the congre-
cation said or thought. l only know
that while the people in the village
were at dinner Deacon Sitter went
round to the pastor and carried him
away to the Sitter dwelling. Mrs.
Sitter had recovered sufficiently from
Mysteries to talk between sobs and
spasms. This was the explanation she
gave:
Just at dusk a tramp came to the
house and asked for something to eat.
Mrs. Sitter put up a big, substantial
sandwich and handed it out at the door
to the tramp, as she supposed, for it
was pretty dark, and she saw only the
outline Of a man. She accompanied
the gift with the admonitions already
recorded. Afterward she was sorry
she had given the rogue anything, for
she found that her husbands overcoat
was gone and was sure that while she
was getting the sandwich the tramp
had entered through the Enclosed door
and stolen the garment.
So it turned out that just after the
tramp had absconded with the coat the
pastor come up to the door, and hence
this story.
MI. Sopor didn't leave the church,
and he did marry Rachel, and l am
going down next week, If all be well,