The Afro-American advance., 1900-09-15

"WeI spend 1t all for gum II we want
to. Georgia; and we won't treat them,
either-see IL we do"
They didn't see her again for three
weeks, and then she came flying into
luncheon at Lilian's with look in her
eyes as If she'd just fallen heir to mil
lion in gold
i've had the loveliest experience in
the world!" she announced. "You re-
member that money found? Well, I
waited few days, as Uncle Mac said,
and no one advertised the loss; so put
one in myself. Told them to address Y,
the newspaper office, you know-the
way they do. Next morning l went
down to get the returns. There were
nine answers, and of all the pathetic
things! Not one of the people who
wrote had lost their money on the day
or at the place found mine, but they
were just as hopeful, fer all that. and
they actually made me feel responsible
for their losses.
First there was man who had
dropped small, fiat, black book. with
a pawn ticket, laundry bill and two
two-dollar bills in it. And distressed
over it! You'd think he'd lost a gold
mine. And he was so sure twas his
money I'd found-poor fellow! Then
woman poured out whole sheetful
of her heart. and drew picture of the
purse she'd lost, and tod me how the
money in it belonged to her sister,
who was in the hospital and who need
ed ii dreadfully, and how I'd be blessed
forever If l only restored it. Next
there was an old man who had dropped
two $50 bills, and he went on in a
shaky, feeble hand to explain that the
reason he was carrying it was because
he couldn't trust the banks; and then
another girl, who tod about an alli-
gator-skin pocketbook containing a
latchkey and a time pass over the Gin
cinnati, jackson g. Mackinac road.
When | showed that to Uncle Mac after
ward he said that road was a regular
joke, because it didn't run to any of the
places mentioned in its name, and he
just shouted over the pass, because
it had expired September 30, 1897, But
it wasn't funny to me. l thought the
girl must be in sad way to be hang
ing on to an expired pass over a road
like that for three whole years. Be
sides, she mentioned in a postscript
that there was a fve-dollar bill in her
purse.
Il got awfully worked up over those
letters. Then, suddenly, l had bril-
liant idea. just made up my mind to
wait a week and then, If no one claimed
that $50, to send for all those forlorn
people and pay them what they had lost
out of what had found. didn't dare
tell Uncle Mac the scheme until the
week had passed and had really writ
ten notifying them all to be at his of
fee at ten O'Clock this morning. Then
l just gave him the news all in one
piece. | don't believe in breaking
things, especially when you've set your
heart on doing them. Oh, he thought
l was crazy, of course, and wished he'd
answered my 'ad.' himself and claimed
the money. Said he could have done
1t through some one else so / would
never have suspected, and then could
have kept the money for me until this
fit of sentimental foolishness had
passed off-and all that sort of talk.
But the end Of 1t was that he took
a chair over by the window in his Of
fee and let me have things all my own
way with the people l had sent for.
They all came, mind you, and of all
the surprised-looking beingsl Each
one was expecting to find the identical
purse he had lost, and at first every
one looked suspicious of everyone else.
They couldn't seem to grasp the situa-
ton.
II had the money, all changed into
the right amounts and lying in tempt
ing little heaps on Uncle Macs desk.
First l made a little speech and then
/ served gold and silver Refreshments.
1t took every cent OF the money, and
| had to put in a dollar besides, so
there goes our gum, Georgia; but you
wouldn't grudge ii II you'd been there.
Such larks! i never felt so much like
benefcent fairy in my life. Oh, dear
fun! Vaudevilles are nowhere-and,
say, the man who lost the pawn ticket
will never get over his grudge against
me because l couldn't give that back.
He thinks I've lost him a fortune! But
the rest were more than sweet. Girls,
I've been blessed and hugged. and the
old man with the two $40 gold pieces
actually kissed my hand. Think of that
will you? And the woman with the
sister in the hospital was so happy!
And / cried. Ne crying-can YOU see
it? And Uncle Mac needn't pretend
he wasn't wiping his own eyes. either!
But when they were gone he squared
around at me, stern as stern, and said,
in a disgusted way:
well. Of all the gir:y-girly per-
formancesn
II looked straight back at him and
just said: How would you have a girl,
Uncle Mac, If not girly? Do you want
me manny?' And honest fact. be
didn't know a single thing what 10
say."-Chicago Daily Record.