The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1900-07-19
WAS OUT OF BALANCE
ny w. r. burrows.
UNu! I thought could find that


no thought that once more he had vindcated
himself and his boast that no discrepancy
IN accounts could fool him.
Mr.. Bronson was fairly prosperous man,
,,,nnine his own business, which brought
him in a nice little income. lie had been a
hookkeeper in earlier years, hut when his
sotber. a wel-to-do coal merchant, died, he
isft his business to his only son Fred,
business worth very much more than it was
nopularly supposed to be.
lie kept his own books after going into
brsiness for himself, and it was a hobby
,y;th him to take off his trial balance every
month. lust as he had done in the old days,
and then to file it away just as carefully as
4 he had been working for the most exacting
employer in this respect.
The first of the month had come and gone.
snd he was having some trouble in balancing
Gis cash book. There was hundred dol
lars somewhere that would keep out of his
,each He footed this and he footed that;
be checked and rechecked; he cudgeled his
broins for any payment that might have es-
caped entry and then he footed all over
sgair. Nine. ten, eleven o'clock came, and
he was still at it, when as he was adding for,
Il seemed to him, the twentieth time. he dis
ments difference of one in the hundreds
column between the amount of the total he
now obtained and his previous figures, the
difference being due to badly made3.
81 say, Fred come here and see what |
have fallen heir to-" This was the first
thing that greeted his ears on the morn
ing after the fight with the cash balance, and
as he followed his wife into the parlor of
l., Al.
parlor floor a beautiful rug that had not
been there the day before.
"Why, where did you get this, my dear?'
he asked.
That, sir, is for me to know and you to
find out" she answered, with a mischievous
twinkle of her eyes.
"Well, where did you get it? Surely,
surely" he gasped, Aunt Margaret didn't
send it to you?
"No, indeed, sir Aunt Margaret has
something else to do with her money than
to keep spendthrift family like this in
rugs. Guess again.
Uncle Joe, them
Uncle Joe, indeed! ! should say not.
When we get a rug from Uncle Joe / shall
give banquet to all my friends in COM
memoration of the event. But maybe this
will help you in your guessing" and she
threw open the door of the library, showing
comfortable leather chair which spoke
for the luxury to be found in its depths.
"Why, Lou, am daft, or is this some OPP
ticsl delusion?"
Whether you are daft or not, is not for
me to say. would not presume to pass judg-
ment on such a matter, as it might be a re-
feetion on my good taste in marrying a
man given to such capers, but whether the
chair is real or not, sit in it and see'
We'll, Lou, you certainly must have some
good fairy to look after you"
"Yes, the fairies are good to me once in
awhile, not often, though" she added, re-
fectively; mot often as good as this, but
then, You know, Fred, you are after all the
very best fairy, even if you don't mean to
be, and on the whole you are a pretty good
fellow, even if do say that you are little
stingy sometimes"
Me? What have l got to do with it?"
he demanded
"Oh, my, but you're slow. | suppose,
though, | must help you out of this fog, as
dutiful wife should Well, it was this
way and she perched herself on the arm
of the chair by his side. "You told me the
other day that | might as well give away
that old black vest of yours, and as Mrs.
Robinson was here day before yesterday, !
gave her the vest for her boy, but before
giving it to her went through the pockets
Ia wltely prerogative) to see if there was
anything worth having in them, and, sure
enough, stumbled across 800 bill"
Here Fred turned red, then white, but
his wife went on: 81 thought, now is my
chance to get that rug and chair I've been
wanting, as | concluded that what you had
gwen TO me to give away | had perfect
right to keep for myself if | wanted to, so I
Sid both; gave away the vest and kept the
Dill. Now, you see"
Great Scott" broke in her husband, who
mad been getting more uneasy as the mar
raeve proceeded, you don't mean to say
you spent that hundred dollars without say
ing word to me about it?'
The evidence is before you, my dear"
she replied, calmly, Wasn't that all right?
Dldn't you give the vest to me to do as ]
pleased WITH"
Yes, but never suspected there was any
thing in the pockets" :
, Neither did |, but | took the precaution
to look just the same.'
Well, | think YOU might have told me
ABOUT it." he growled II remember, now,
TOOK that bill out of the cash box the other
day to pay Brooks with, and forgot to do it,
10 suppose | left it in the pocket of that
Can't help that, Fred; the only difference
mat, instead of your paying Brooks with
II; paid the furniture people with it for
wAat you have long promised me, but have
never bought
but, Lou, what senseless trick it was
spend money in that reckless fashion,"
>, no more senseess or reckless, my dear,
'uah Tor You to leave it in an old vest pocket,
Snu then tell me to give the vest away"
put to spend so much money at one time
lor furniture, when | need all the money /
eSn get in my business
see here, Fred suppose had given that
s1 away to ragman without going
through w the pockets, should we be as well
on as we are now? Thank you, like my
rug and chair better than that
Now, Fred was, as his wife said, good
teno"' though little stingy in money mat
~ and his good fellowship soon got the
seier OF his bad humor, so that he came
70 T look upon the whole thing as hundred
uoHar Joke on himself, and before breakfast
"a, mas over he was chatting with his wife as
gHyy as ever.
Dnl,r II. I