The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-08-23

| II trying to connect the present with
the past, said, "Oh-I forgot Well,
I stayed all night, and the next morn
ing, after breakfast, the man told me
that I had better be moving. 1t
seemed hard to me, but children are
fatalists Cor maybe Christians) natur-
ally They just accept the inevita-
Bile. He wasn't hard and rough
about it. He said they were poor
people and couldn't afford to feed
me; that I wasn't big enough to work
on farm, and so on. The woman
cried. They're different, women are.
Shed have kept me Well, didn't
have any trunk to pack, and SO |
just packed myself, and when I shook
hands with the girl 1 choked up a
little. But I got out in the best
shape I could and pushed on, my
heart feeling like lump of lead. I
s'pose I'd gone about a hundred rods
when heard a sound behind me and
turned around. And what do you
think? That little girl was coming
down the road with a bundle, her
bare feet pattering in the hot sand
and sounding like music.
"'I thought you might get hum
gry,' she said, handing it to me.
Maybe 1 would, says I.
Goodbye 7 says she, stretching
out her hand.
Goodbye = says I, taking it and
holding it minute. I wanted to
kiss her again, but somehow didn't
dare. When did it before, I didn't
stop to think. This time was scared
and trembled all over. I always
thought she felt disappointed; her
lips kind of pouted out like rosebud,
and when I dropped her hand, the
corners of them sunk down little
and the tears stood in her eyes. After
she turned around and walked home,
could have killed myself for cow
ard, and feel the same way now.
But-well-I'm spinning this yarn
out pretty fine! I reckon you've
heard enough"
"Not if there is MORE" I said.
"Oh, yes, there's more" he con-
tinued. ''I struck Chicago at last
and hustled. I had a notion that I'd
get rich and go back and marry that
little girl. But it takes time for
poor little chap like I was to get rich +!
I did it, though But long fore I
was rich q think it was when I was
about twenty, I'd saved up thou
sand dollars and l went back on my
trail to find her."
He knocked the ashes from his
cigar.
"Well?" said I.
"She was gone" he said, and
then, after waiting a moment, con-
tinued: "Her father had died, and
her mother and she had left the coun-
try. I hunted for them high and
low, far and wide, but they hadn't
left any more trace of themselves
than two birds flying through the
air. 1t nearly killed me but I got
over the worst Of it in time and met
another girl and fell in love and mar
ried her and raised family and got
richer and richer and lived happy
and all that but 1 never could get
reconciled to the idea that while I
was living in luxury that little girl
might be poor and maybe suffering"
At this point he once more went
through that pantomime which had
first attracted my attention.
"I'm coming to the point now,"
hesaid, taking a couple of long whiffs.
"This morning I was walking around
Indianapolis to see what kind of
town it was, and strayed out into the
edge of the city. Suddenly I came
on an old woman sitting on a door
step, crying. What's up?' says to
myself-and then I saw an auction
flag hanging out of a window. There
was always something about an auc-
ton flag that hurt me. You know
how red rag affects bull ? Well,
l don't get mad, but I feel sad. Bad
luck, you know-trouble, failure.
Gracious l can't stand it Well,
just stopped and leaned over the gate,
and says I, Excuse me, madam, can
I help you?' She looked up, and
saw that she was old and poor, but
ecent-looking-might have been
handsome when she was young,
thought (Pm partial to good looks,
and it didn't hurt her case any,
mo, thank YOU, says she.
Being sold out?' I asked-(Pm
blunt.)
"'Yes, sir. I've had trouble she
said.
What's the matter ?
My husband was an invalid for
FIVE years, and when he died the other
day I had to give up the place for the
mortgage, and must sell the goods to
pay for his funeral
"How long have you lived here?'
says I.
Twenty years, says she.
Where did you come from?'
Indiana
'Indiana?' What part?' saysI
pricking up my ears.
'Doddsville.
"'Was that where you were born?'
"'No, I was born near Ferguson
"'On farm?'
"'Yes.
con the paddock road?'
eyes
"'Was your name Beardsley?'
1t was, she answered, surprised
like.
stranger, Pm seventy.two; but
1 jumped the fence !" he said, rub
bing his hands.
''Was it that little girl?" I asked,
leaning forward eagerly.
"That's whatit was p' he replied,
rubbing his knee.
"Well, we'll? What did you do ?"