Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1902-04-25

L
was q strong strain Of sentiment ir
her nature, and she loved especially
this old library where her uncle had
speEt his last days.
Nevertheless that night she indited
a letter to q noted collector In Boston
and two days later received note stat
ing that Mr.. Henry Leyden's library
was famous enough to warrant his
sending a representative to Leyden
Vile. His buyer would arrive the fol
lowing morning.
And that night came the deluge
Lucy was sitting up" with Mrs. Hen
derson's little boy, who had typhoid
fever. John was to call for her at -
when another nelghbor would take up
the task.
At 10 the fire bell rang. Something
told Lucy 1t was her home. and she
gprang to her feet. 1t was half mile
run, and when she reached there
breathless, the bucket brigade. enforc'
ed by the one engine the town could
boast, had done its worst. The parlor
was blackened and water soaked, the
dining room was charred. and the
hbraryl Lucy pushed past sympathetic
neighbors and stared wildly into the
room. The shelves were bare!
The world seemed to spin around her,
and out of the mist came Johns voice.
Better come over to Dobson's, Lucy.
Your mothers just come out Of q
faint"
Mechanically she walked with him
down the narrow path, away from the
ruin that had wrung her heart. Finally
she could stand 1t no longer. She burst
into sobs.
John, John, the books are gone
toow
John put his arm about her.
mo, they're not, little girl. They're
In Dobson's hearse."
Lucy broke off In the midst Of a sob
and stared ut him In the moonlight.
Its a fact, dear. When the fire got
beyond your mother and me, the books
were the first thing we thought Of saw
ing. Dobsons hcarse was standing In
his barn, and we ran 1t right through
the fence, up against the library win
dow, and your mother showed the
books into the hearse as fast as piled
them out to her. Jimmy Dobson help
ed too
Lucy burst into laughter. The ab-
surdity OF the situation reused her
from her misery. The Dobson under.
taking establishment was next door to
their home, and the hearse, the only
one In town, was the glory Of Its
owner.
Il hope you didn't hurt it," she MUIR
INJURED.
That's not what's worrying me. It's
how much insurance your uncle car
ried on the house and whether we
books. Some of them got wet"
Lucy and her mother remained that
night with the hospitable DObsons and
the next morning, with John. went out
to look at the books and ascertain the
damage before the buyer appeared on
the scene. They made an odd picture,
the anxious group pulling the old vol
umes through the end doors Of the
gloomy hearse. Suddenly Jimmy Dob
son, who by reason Of his brave con-
duct of the night before was privileg-
ed to join the party, gave long, low
whistle.
Gee, look at the money"
In one hand he held a worn leather
bound volume, In the other a hundred
dollar bill.
Mrs. Leyden clutched her daughters
arm and stared at the wonderful green
back.
EMMY, there's thousands in It.
thousands Those were his very
words. And he didn't mean books. He
meant money. real money. 1t was one
of his queer ideas to hide It there"
When the book buyer arrived. he was
graciously received by Lucy in the
Dobson parlor. There was suspicion
of happy tears in her eyes when she
told him the offer was withdrawn.
She would reimburse him for his rail-
road fare and asked him to accept any
volume he might choose In return for
the trouble she had caused him, where
upon that gentleman selected one Of
the rarest books I'm the collection and
departed with the mental comment
that women were certainly most
changeable creatures.
For how could he know that be-
tween the leaves OF that collection
four excited people had found that old
Henry Leyden was no false prophet!
There were thousands In II. Neither
did the good people Of Leydenville
know Just how many bills had been
on that eventful morning.
but this did not prevent their rejoicing
greatly over the turn In events or their
attending In a body the wedding Of
John and Lucy, which six months
later was duly solemnized In the First
church, the largest edifice in Leyden-
Vile.
Civilization by Chemistry.
II might be said that the civilization
Of a country is measured by its con-