The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-08-29

/
else OF neat bit OF strategy. Ir,;rthcr.
more, 1t removed the most remote dan.
ger Of interruption.
| For some time the deacon sat i'm 81
lcncc, his cold eyes sharplv fixed uu,n
LIS protilcrs race. Then, when the
suspense had begun to grow painful
ne cleared his throat with evident cf
iort ana spoke, carefully weighing CIV.
cry word.
| "Jocl," he said. "I'vc come down here
10 talk to you man to man, an I'm in
earnest. It's hard. but it's got to be
done. It's been on my mind for n len.
| time.''
| Il nope there nin't any trouble, Viii
ham' The shadow Of an impending
calamity had gradually formed before
JoePs eyes. and his face wore Il pate
and anxious look.
| "lroublr! Yes. there Is trouble an
plenty Of It, The truth Is, Pvc been
| mother an Eve been watchn vOu
now this last SIX months. an what
you've been doin is as clear to us as an
open book"
Instantly II Shcrpish. self conscious
expression spread itself over Jocl's face.
| '>'>' ''"' s'' '''tt>iit 'iit tiOUl Ill
rnSSmrnt. The deacon noted the quick
change. and his last lingering doubt in
stantly vanished. His course was now
clearly defined.
"1eS. Jocl,' he continued, with great
| er cnrncStnrSS. "thrrr'S no use dcnyln
1t now. Mother IN me-
Il amt dcnyin nothin, William"
The deacon started suddenly and bit
his lips with anger. The last thing he
hau anticipated WAS Il frank acknowl.
edgmrnt Of guilt. 1t came so unry.
pcctcdly that he hardly knew how to 90
Oh, yet he realized that the best way to
| approach the crisis was by successive
steps. The culprIt exhibited no further
Willingness to speak In self defense, so
the deacon plunged In again.
"lcS.' he repeated; "wc'vc knowed
all about you right along. We suspi-
cicncd you when you took to high fan
gled notions about stand I'D collars an
gay nccktics. We was surcr Of It when
you got to sDendin your money on tail
coats an such. an thcn," dropping his
voice to an inSinunt!ng whisper and
punctuating each word with pause.
1--WE finally saw through the whole
thing when you took to goin out late
nights"
Before such nn accumulation Of evil
dencc Joel hung his head His cXprcs,
sion changed gradually from embar-
rassed confusion to guilty assurance,
While with thr heel Of his boot he un.
consciously drew parallel lines on the
dusty barn floor.
| "Well, what Of 1t, William?" he ask.
cd. with faint smile. What if you
have?'
What Of itW The deacon repeated
the words. with angry surprise.
eyes; what Of it? | don't see tho
good or maxim a fuss about II, anv-
way"
The deacon swallowed something
that seemed to rise IN his throat to
choke his words. "NNhat Of itY' he re-
peated again angrily. "Why, man, you
have gone clean mad. Can't you see
that If you keep on it's gor to make
your life regular hell on curth?"
Even the unpleasant prospect Of i'm
mediate earthly perdItion seemed to
have no effect upon the culprit His
confusion did not diminish, but his
smile broadened to a faint laugh. Then
he looked thoughtful and said:
Il shouldn't hardly think you'd like
to say that, William"
"Say 1t, man alive! Why. don't |
| know 1t? Do you think I've been livfn
| all these years for uothln? Amt it al
ways that wayY
The deacon spoke the words In an
angry treble. accompanied by an i'm
patient and deprecating gesture. can
besides, JOEL" he went on, his voice
rising to still higher key, "look Mt it
this way, II it Amt too late: You've
got little money put up In the saw
ms bank. How long do you suppose
it's goin to last If you keep on2"
10 financial consideration OF the
question Joel made no Immediate an
swer. lie seemed to bo actually reck
onlng up the costs. After mcditutina
quietly for n little while hc composed
ly replied:
"Well, suppose 1t does cost little
more? I guess It's worth the differ
encc."
The calm reduction Of moral deprav |
ity to a matter Of dollars and cent? |
brought the deacon to his feet with M
impatient start.
"An your friends, your now friends!
he exclaimed. "NVhat do you suppose
they'll do when your moneys gone
Are they g0in to stand by you thcn?"
"Comc, William, YOU talk as If wa.
gOin to commit crime instead Of iuSl
folloWin out Il mans natural way
There aln't much danger of starvir
anyhow" Jocrs impntiencc, too, was
beginning to show Itself. ar you're
goln to go back on me now, well,
suppose there's other places | can <,
to. | wasn't cXpcctin to stay in tn,
Old house much longer anyhow. But
didn't think this of you, William. II
ain't deserved for you to got mad"
"Tryin to play reproachful, eh? Jusl
look back over the last 80 years o,
more. Amt always been all Il broth
er could be? Amt Martha been morr'n
flesh m blood sister could be? An
how about your home? Amt it beer
all reasonable man could wantT