Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-09-18

the tender susceptibiIiiics of t.
vagrant; nevertheless the tn
It'd was at the bottom Of mo-
one reform that lie made l.,
days.
Meantime It'd was cultivatirs
der heart among other thirGs
when he had the misfortune
his foot unawares on toad 3nS
he was the more hurt Of the t";:
"rd no more scrunch the -
and it sitting by to do me gro,t
than you'd squeeze a tenant, -,
protested, rcmorscfully.
There are some tenants tbs a'sgd=
the thumbscrews put on then. -.
"Of course, just as there are -. J.-..sjJ-
bugs and cutworms and squash beetles
to clane out. It's fine thing to have
the head to pick and choose amongst
them as weed out the docks and lave
the cabbages, to hould the helpin@
hand to the wake and nadey. and tur::.
the cowld back on the undesarvin,
I'm feared III be long learnin' all tbs;
a.
from you. sir"
"Oh you aspire to a share 10
management of the tenants, too? -
quired Mr. Kane, with that sarc
accent which was quite thrown H..
upon It'd.
"I'm studying hard to be fit s
the Office come fall, when 20 +
be nading me in the garding, .ii-
ted It'd, modestly. "I'll be worth me
keep there outside Of me schoolin', l
will thai. yell see."
"Hum-um-m!" That It'd was acting
like prickly bur On his conscience,
the real estate man knew. and the far-
reaching consequences Of this pro-
POSED move rather alarmed him.
Hadn't he closed up the typhoid well
and drained Ague Alley and given 2
contract for rebuild ling Ramshackte
fRow-aI1 good-paying Investments to
be sure, and much-needed reforms
simply and solely through the quick
ened moral responsibility that the boy
had reused In him?
"If this thing goes on,". he said to
himself, "1'll be renewing the Taft
mortgage and letting the Hope farm
slip through my fingers. It's sheer i'm
becility on my part. Who wants an
inconveniently active conscience in
these days? I'll throw off the yoke be-
fore it fastens tighter. I'll discharge
It'd and send the Mulligans packing"
But to look into Tid's trustful eyes
and make this decision known was
more than Mr. Kane cared to do at
that moment. 1t might be better to
talk the matter out with Tid's mother,
he concluded. A little bribe. now, to
persuade her to move on, say, without
betraying his part in the transaction,
would make everything smooth and
easy.
Mr.. Kane had not seen Mrs. Multi
gan. It'd had caught his fancy, but he
bad felt sure that the mother would
be q bore, and had avoided the house.
Well, they had transformed the DESC
late shanty into rather a picturesque
spot by the vines they had trained
over It, and the woman displayed some
of Tid's own confidence In receiving
him.
"Sure, 1 felt yez comm, sir" she ex-
planned. "Be sated, PLACE. I'd pass
the chair If could step a foot under
me, but 1t was the Lords mercy that
l kept on me legs till we r'ached ye,
that it was, and I've some use of me
hands still, so that do dale wild
them, and I can hitch me chair about
while l do me chores quite nate and
convenient. 'Tis honored am to have
ye come sakin' me-regar lin Tid is
it, then? He's a credit to yez, that he
Is, sir. He couldn't take afther you
stronger If he wur your own blood
born"
1t struck coldly home to Mr.. Kane's
understanding that his task was none
the easier for coming here. This lit
tie helpless woman. with her useless
feet and crippled hands, all gnarled
and twisted with rheumatism, and her
wistful face beaming with tremulous
pride, was scarcely better subject
| for his retaliation than It'd himself
would have been.
Nettled and disconnected, but unwill-
ing to retreat, he demanded, sharply:
How did you come by that ridiculous
notion of training the boy after me?
Wasn't there any better model to be
found?"
"Sure, I'd want no betther If I'd a
hunder' to choose FROM" averred the
little woman, stoutly, "but I'd none
other fit to pattern him by but yersilf,
that's the truth. You see, it wor this
way. There wor me brothers and me
cousbins in the ould country did be
breaking their heads in their fights;
and there was Mulllgan got SO In the
way Of batting people when ne wor on
the police that he cudn't lave off the
thrick while he lived, and there was
you with coed worrud to the fore,
and a joke when a poor garrul blum.
dered, and gintleman's way, whether
1t was to the high or The low-and it's
the way that comes aisy to It'd, now
that he has We before the two eyes OF
him." said TIds mother, proudly,
while Mr.. Kane groaned in spirit.
How could he make these people un'
derstand that their attitude toward
him was both unwarranted and unwel
come? Why should he consent to sad
die himself with them? It was only
his foolish good nature that had got
him into this scrape. They had nc
real claim on him.