Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-04-19
CHAPTER IX.
IE SEES i GHOST

Bonaparte stood on the ASH heap. lie
espled across the plain a moving speck,
and he chucked his coattails up and
down IN expectancy Of q scene.
The wagon came on slowly. Waldo
lay curled among the sacks at the back
Of the wagon, the hand in his breast
resting on the sheep shearlng machine.
It was finished now. The right thought
had struck him the day before as he
sat, half asleep, watching the water
90 over the mill wheel He muttercd
TO himself, with half closed eyes:
Tomorrow smooth the cogs, tighten
the screws a little, show 1t to them"
Then after 4 pause, "Over the whole
world. the whole world-mine, that |
have made" He pressed the little
wheels and pulleys In his pocket till
thev cracked Presently his mutterlng
became louder, And E50-a black hat
for my dadda, for Lyudall blue silk,
very light. and one purple, like the
earth bells. and white shoes" He NUT
tered on: a box full, full Of books.
They shall tell me all. all, all, . he add
ed. moving his fingers desiringly-
"vhy the crystals grow in such Deauti-
full shapes, why lightning runs to the
iron. why black people are black, why
the sunlight makes things warm.
shall read, read read, he muttcrcd
slowly. Then came over him suddenly
what he called the presence Of God
sense OF a good. strong something
folding him round he smiled through
his half shut eyes All, Father, my
own Father, il Is 80 sweet to feel you,
like the warm sunshine, The Bibles
and books cannot tell Of you and all
feel you. They are mixed with mems
words, but you
His Eluttcring sank into lnaudible
confusion till, opening his eyes wide,
II struck him that the brown plain he
looked at was the old home farm. For
half an hour they bad been riding In it.
and he had not known IT, He reused
the leader, who sat nodding Oh the
front Of the wagon in the early morn
ing sunlight. They were wlthiE half n
mile Of the homestead. II seemed to
him that lie had been gone from them
all year. lie fancied he could see
Lyudall standing on the brick wall to
watch for him. his father passing from
one house to the other, stopping to
look
He called aloud to the oxen. For
each one at home he had brought
something for his father piece of to-
bacco, bought at the shop by the mill;
for En- a thimble, for Lyndall n beau
tiful flower dug out by the roots at a
place where they had "outspanned,"
for TanC Sannie n handkerchief When
they drew near the house, he threw
the whip to the KafIir leader and
sprang from the side OF the wagon to
run on. Bonapartc stopped him as he
ran past the ash heap
"Good morning, my dear boy. Where
are you running to so fast with your
rosy cheeksT
The boy looked up at him. glad even
to see Bonapartc.
81 am going to the cabin" he said,
out Of breath
you won't find them In just now
not your good old father" said Bona
parte.
"Wherc Is hef" asked the lad.
"There, beyond the camps" said
Borapartc, waving his hand oratorical-
ly toward the stone walled ostrich
camps.
"What is he doing there?" asked the
boy.
Bonaparte patted him on the cheek
kindly.
1--WE could not keep him any more.
1t was too hot. We've buried him,
my boy" said Bonapartc touching
with his finger the boys check. I'VE
couldn't keep him any more. He, he,
he"' laughed BOnaparte as the boy fed
away along the low stone wall, almost
furtively, as one in fear
At 8 o'clock Bonaparte knelt before
box in the Germans room. He was
busily unpacking 1t.
II had been agreed upon between
Tant' Sannie and himself that now the
German was gone he OBonaparte) was
TO be no longer schoolmastcr, but over
seer Of the farm. In return for his
past scholastic labors he had express
ed himself willing to take possession
OF the dead mans goods and room.
Tnnt Sannie hardly liked the arrange
ment She had n great deal more re-
spect for the German dead than The |
German living and would rather his |
goods had been allowed TO descend |
peacefully TO his son, for she was
firm believer In the chinks In the world |
above, where not only ears but eyes |
might be applied to see how things |
went on In this world below. She new
or felt sure how far the spirit world
might overlap this world OF geuse and, :,
as n rule, prudently abstaincd from
doing anything which might offend un-
seen auditors. For this reason she alb |
stained from I'll using the dead Eng
llshman's daughter and niece, and for |
this reason she wO1ld rather the boy |
had had his fathers goods But It was |
hard 10 refuse Bonaparte anything |
when she and he sat so happily togeth- |
er I'm the evening drinking coffee, Bo- |
napartc telling her in the broken Dutch |
be was fast learning how he adorcd |
fat women and what splendid farmer |
he was
80 nj o'clock on this afternoon Bo-
napartc knclt IN the Germans room.
Somewhere here It ls," he said as
he packed the Old clothes carefully out |
OF the box and, finding nothing, packed
them IN again. Somewhere IN this
room It Is, and If It's here Bonapartc
finds It," lie repeated "You didn't |
stay here all these years without max
Ing little pile somewhere, my lamb
You weren't such fool as you look
ed. Oh, no" said Bonapartc.
lie now walked about the room, div.
Ing his fingers in everywhere, sticking
them into the great crcyiccs in the wall
ana frightening out the spiders, rap.
ping them against the old plaster TIL II
cracked and fell In pieces, pccrlng up
the chimney till the SCOT dropped on
his bald head and blackcncd It. He
felt In little blue bags; he tried 10
raise the hcarthstonc; he shook each
book till the old leaves fell down IN
showers on the floor
II was getting dark, and BOnapartc
stood with his finger on his nose re-
hcctIng. Finally he walked TO the
door behind which hung the trousers
ana waistcoat the dead man had last
worn. He had felt In them. but hur-
rlcdly just after the funeral the day
before He would examine them again.
his fingers into The waistcoat
pockets, be found I'm ono corner n hole.