The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-01-14

T 80 o.tSf - he turned up his tJlidL
ana strOce of straight ahead TO be an
/ ili-used and homeless outeast for an
houF, or at any rate, for three-Guarters
Of an hour.
Another snowfall had begun. though
u was sparse and light, making Itself
ret now and again by a moist spot
upon the face The carolers had struck
up Noel some little distance away,
ana between their verses the chapel
party could be heard at the farther end
OF the town. Indeed. it was scarce the
best possible night for Hendy's petuiant
adventure. The snow declared itself in
the weak spots of his shoes ere he had
gone 200 yards and the wind was in
ms teeth, spiting his face. and coming
little short Of cutting Of his nose.
/ mus ne came 10 Cawthorns. where
lived Barring Spencer, Esq, that illus
trlous invisible; and the high privet
hedge, ike a massive black wall. was
SO good a wind screen that Hendy
turned up side lane and followed it,
walking close, with bowed head and
shoulder brushing the twigs. The hedge
TOOK a wide curve, and following this,
ne came plump against q small wooden
gate, which swung inward at the shock.
Al TINS ne stopped and looked about
MIN. Without a doubt this was the
Kitchen entrance. Here was a narrow
path. with a tai hedge at each side:
/ a snort path ending in a door with a
pent roof.
He took a step back, and another for
ward. The wind was as sharp as ever,
ana there was a wetneSs in the snow
! drops, now more frequent. that told Of
coming sleet. To follow the lane were
to emerge presently in open country
here was shelter under the lee Of a
fgo9d-slzed house, with a pent roof to
make it better. More, here was a sit
uatien. The homeless outcast, wrong
ed by all the world, would seek shelter
/ tfor half an hour at LEAST on the
/ doorstep Of the proud and naughty
| capitalist: who, if only he were awake
and aware OF the trespass. would
probably send his pampered miniOns
to drive him forth into the bitter might,
The fancy accorded with the outeast 5
mood and truly for one bent on wal
/ lowing deep in the pathos of his pre-
| dicament this was the most promising
spot thereabeut. and one not at ell ex-
| posed to the weather.
| he let the gate swing behind him,
ana walked quietly to the kitchen door.
All was silent; and as he stood under
| the pent roof he saw that the path he
| had come by went farther, ard Slxirted
all the back premises, dividing them
from the Kitchen garden. As he looked
a projecting frame caught his eye, like
that OF an open window, but nearer the
| ground than he would nave expected.
1t was but few yards away, and he
went idly toward it. 1t was a window.
no doubt left open by the carelessness
OF a servant. There was a stain on
/ the snow below it which BETRAYED the
occasion. Plainly the servant had flung
| out coffee grounds, or the like. and
taken no care to shut the easement.
me mouse was rather old, and for a
moment he wondered vaguely What
/ room 1t might be whose window was so
near the ground; and then the answer
came to his hungry senses from the
window itself, Clearly it was the
Iarder, and no empty laTder, either
/ Pickles could be smelled-pickles plain
! ~, and something else-something of
fufsome steaminess and sweet recOI-
/ lectlon-Christmas pudding
NO DOUBT 1t was large larder
though mere blackness to sight now.
no doubt crammed to the ceiling with q.
superfuity Of the Christmas fare that
Hendy saw no chance Of tasting. Was
IT really so large as he fancied? He felt
ms pocket and found a match box with
a few matches still remaining. At least
It was no sin to take a peep. Every
! BODY was in bed. He struck a match in
1 the shelter of the window frame and
held it within.
A larder it was. indeed, with both
! Wln0oW9-wire within and glass with
! OUTLET open; a long, briek-paved
/ plaee-the floor was a yard at least be-
low the path he stood on and fitted
round with shelves everywhere. And
on the shelves!
He Sazed till the match burned his
/ myers Blu; the picture remained vivid
IN his mind. Six plum buildings twas it
SIX or seVen?-at any rate. six in a.
row, IN china mOlds with cloths tied on
J TOP; cut ham on a dish and three
whole ones, hanging; two birds-geese
hanging also; a mass of cold SirlOin
half cut away; another mass Of sirlOin.
/ knocked; large dish of nince pies.
q tub Of water in dark corner. with
! oatmeal spilled about it-oysters, no
/ doubt; rows Of jam pots. butter cheese
everything. The agony of it,
Was 1t six puddings or seven? No
harm in counting, at any rate. He
/ struck. another match.
Six plum buildings. And what could
one mana bachelor-want with six
I plum puddingS2 To say nothing of all
the rest of this extravagant prOvisioni
/ Probably the housekeeperr-Or the cook
was swindling her master. and pre-
/ pairing all this to regale herself and her
I
( somebody were to walk off with one of
those buildings. and. say one ham: a
mere act of justice, indeed. Not that he
/ could do such a thing as that himself.
/ or course, though. indeed. it would be
rather lark-the sort of joke you
could tell your friends Of, years after:
how the rich company monger sup
J ported the drama after all, without
! knowing it.
1t would be the easiest thing in the
/ world to get in. too: as easy as going
/ downstairs. Nobody would know. of
! course, and it would really seem a
capital joke, afterward. And while this
would be a joke, going without a
( Christmas dinner would be a serious
matter. Were they oysters in that tub?
/ The split oatmeal would seem to iudi-
cate as much, though you couldn't tell
with certainty. at this distance And
/ then
Mr.. Barring Spencer sat late with a.
box or cigars and q decanter. He was
a florid, heavy-jowled man of 45 or
| thereabout, and it was probable that in
ms time he had emptied more decanters
than this one. A few draft prospec-
fuses and such papers lay about the
table, but they were done with hours
ago. He had discovered a very excel
lent port in the cellar, and now, the
deeanter being empty. Mr.. Barring
Spencer, after a look at his watch. de
cided that on the whole he would see
about another bottle. The rest Of the
household were in bed, 50 he took a
candle and went downstairs himself.
He was on the cellar steps when he
heard a slight noise in the direction of
the larder Perhaps a cat had got into
Joe Hendy had burned his last match
and, with pudding dangling by its
cloth from one hand, was feeling along
the shelf with the other, in pursuit Of
the cut ham, when the door flew open
behind him and his heart flew up into