The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-18

the car and I'm sure don't know what
Summit people were doing that they did
not notice the million dollars going over
the bridge and up the hill into the woods,
but they didn't, and in mid-afternoon John
arrived without accident at his miserable
shanty. Oh, | forgot to say that when
he went to get the horse which had been
hitched to the trunk he found Ii had eaten
the whole top off of that receptacle, much
to the disgust of a woman who wanted to
take the next train, but who had to go
into town and buy new trunk and pack
it on the station platform with the wind
blowing her belongings all along the Del
aware, Lackawanna road, 1t never enter
ed Johns selfish head to pay her for the
damage the horse done. His mind was
| too engrossed with his suddenly acquired
wealth.
His mother came out to meet the cara
van, and she nearly went crazy at the
sight of the money Imagine twelve coal
carts loaded to Overlooking with bright,
cleaning dollars Why, it would have at
tracted attention even in Wall street,
where every man is mi}lionare-or
wishes he was.
Bury it back of the house, John dear.
The earth Is softer there. and 1t will be
easier for the men to dig
So said his mother but John replied: 81
| don't know as I care how hard it is for
them to dig, mother. They've been paid.
80 what's the odds?"
Well now you know there was a good
| deal of odds. There's no use in pilng
work on man or a woman just because
| you're paying him. All people have feel
| 1ngS, even men with shOVelS or hoes.
| And the first digger took a dislike to
| John right away and determined to come
| some dark night and carry off some of
| the money and give it to his children
| to play store with You see none of them
| could believe it was real money.
| But John suspected him of having such
thoughts and said forgetting the warning
| of the stranger, II guess I'd rather have
1t where I can have my eyes on it day
| and night. Just put it up in the attic"
| OF course he was boss and the men had
| to obey him so the first cart was backed
| up in front of the attic window-which
| was not more than ten feet from the
| ground and the men began to shovel the
| money into the house. At the first shovel
| full about half fell through the chinks in
| the floor to the room below and the rats
| deserted the house. But disregardng this
| warning he babe the men go ahead and
shovel it all in. Well I'll leave you to fig
ure how packed that attic became. One
, million silver dollars take up a good deal
| of room and weigh good deal, as the old
house evidently thought.
For, just as the last shovelful of dol
| lars was pitched in, the miserable build
ing tottered and fell and Mrs. Allen just
| escaped being buried under 1t.
But the worst of it was that as John
| had disobeyed the injunction of the great
millionaire, the money began to roll and
roll through the woods and far away
| Some Of 1t went into the brooks, some of
| it went into woodchuck and snake holes,
| some of it rolled mile before it stopped
| but like snow in a hot sun it all disap-
peared and half hour later John and his
mother were just as poor as before
| wish that I could say that John had
| learned a lesson and ceased to be suspic-
ious but he didn't. To this day he haunts
! the spring, leaving his mother to do all
| the work
But the stranger rides no more.