Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1902-02-28
WHY WILKINS
Erred NAN RAN AWAY
BY JoHlE H. RAFrERY.

kins. In defiance of the social ethics
Of Lake uln. put on his overalla, and.
rake 10 hand. attacked the carpet Of
dead leaves that covered his lawn He
knew that his wife would make a
scene u she caught him. and he knew
that his Sabbath breaking would fur
nlsh another argument ngalnst subur-
han life. and he anticipated cousIdern-
bio guying from his male uplghb0rs.
aud yet, In spite OF all these misgiv-
Ings. he rakcl the leaves into rustliDg
piles aud watched with logged salts
faction the columns OF blue smoke
that rose among the oaks from bis
unholy fires.
wilkins had employed seven different
''hlred mrn" since spring. None had
stayed more than a month and none
had carried away either the esteem or
good wilt NJ Mrs. wilkins. Most OF
them were worthless. some dishonest,
some lazy aud some lacked that regard
Tor tile propricr.cs which the woman Of
the house Insisted upon. So u came to
pass that wilkins had n hard time
getting. to shy nothing Of keeping. a
servirrable hired man. and when the
leaves began TO fall his lawns. gardens,
vines and orchard were In sad case. his
chicken house needed repairs. his coal
cellar was empty. his winter klndling
was unchoppcd and his loyalty to sub
urban life was lettering. Therefore
be had defied all precedent and on
Sunday morning attacked the work
with his own hands.
While he was bending over a russell
mound Of leaves he heard a voice:
mister. III clean up that lawn for a
meal"
II was a low. strong voice. musical
of tone and 50 Opportunc that wilkins
let his rake fall and looked about. The
stranger was a tall. lean young man.
dusty from a long walk. but clean and
trim as to clothes and person.
"I1l just 90 You" said wilkins. open
ing The gate. Tho hig fellow walked
In. dropped his coat on tue ground and
fell to work without n word. After
getting back into his Sunday garments
the maj Of the house watched his req
cuer. The lnttrr had laid aside his
round felt hat. disclosing n bullet head
closely shaved. Tho workers. clothes,
new. cheap and coarse. ~ III the wear
or. and as wilkins watched him swift
~ and silently clearing away the dead
grass. weeds and leaves his heart mis-
gave him. and be- murmured to bin
self:
AN ~ex-convict. I'll hot"
Mrs. wilkins soon came homo with
Tommy and eyed tho stranger askance.
When she had noticed him eating
heartily. hut dpcnrOusly. and had oh
served that he knew the purposes Of
knife. fork and spoon. she darkly hint
ed to her husband that there was
''something mysterious" RhOut the
newcomer. Whrn wilkins felt surc
thar his wife hadn't guessed the prob.
able truth. he resolved TO offer the man
a job. and as the latter passed out tho
walk toward the road the suburbanitC
stopped him with:
"My friend. I like the way you work,
and | like your looks. and II you'l stay
III give you - a week and your hoard
Just to keep up the place, tend the
chickens rnd the furnace"
Thank you. sir. I'll try H." was
the answer. you don't keep a horse.
and / won't have TO 90 TO town.
NO Just stay here On the place and
do whatever you see necessary" ex-
planned wilkins. fully understanding
the mans dislike to going into town.
"All right. sir. My name is James
Green
wilkins showed the tall. gaunt fel-
low over TIL place and pointed out the
room over the carriage house where no
was to sleep Tommy. who was ten
years old. trottpd after them. deeply In
tPrpsipd in the stranger.
or course Mrs wilkins didn't APP
prove Of her husbands choice. She
felt sure that there was something
wrong about Grppn. aud as the days
went by and he proved a splendid
gardener and a most useful person In
divers unexpected ways she was gricv'
ougly disappointed. What enraged heI
most was tirpen's taclturnlty. Every
effort OF the cook and the house girl
prompted and encouraged by Mrs VIII
k ms. failed 10 elicit a hint about him
self Al meals be- was AS silent as the
tomb. During the day he kept busy
az the back Of the two acre lot: al
night he sat 10 the barn doorway tell
Ing stories & Tommy and smoking BIZ
pipe.
Between him aud the boy Their
spfang up an extraordinary cOmpan
lpnshlp. The man. silent With al
others. bpgnn TO tell his little comrad'
the rarpsi aud most extraordinary sto
rics " shlpwreck. OF battle. Of wilC
brnsts. birds and adventures OF al
kinds lie knew the habits OF bird
and INSERTS. Of reptiles aud fishes. ant
these he explained 10 Tommy with In
fnlte rare until the hoy anne to dol
Lis footsteps and sit beside him at al
hours.
The caFyed wooden toys. plaite'
whips Of hOrsehair aud leather AM
dpftly fashioned bows aud arrows tina
Green made for Tommy were the won
dsr and envy Of the boys Of he neigh
borh0Od. hut they convinced Wlikin
that bis model hired mnn had spep
much tlme IN some penlsrntl9ry. Mean
while. as dny by dny she failed {