The Savannah morning news., 1902-04-06

getic, II resultless, race every day for
three months, and that he was encour-
aged, if not abetted, by Mrs. O'Hearn
herself, was county gossip.
A year after Mrs. O'Hearn's huband
had been snatched from the field of
toll, she lost the companionship and
nourishing daily gift of her only COW.
That the double calamity distressed
her was not phenomenal, but the de-
parture of Michael O'Hearn was within
the number of things reconcilable
since the movements of Providence are
to be accepted without question and
are, indeed but instances of the oX-
pected. Mrs. O'Hearn, a faithfully and
VIGOROUSLY religious person, resigned
herself to the simple hope that Michael
was to be met in another country. The
taking off of the COW left no such SOL
ace, since its spiritual future did not
concern her.
From the day the engine of the sun
set Limited swept the animal in all
literalness from the face of the earth
1t had been rather foolishly investigat-
ing the nutritious qualities of cinders-
Mrs. O'Hearn faced a world that APP
peared to be singularly unsympathetic.
Where it had condoled with her in her
first bereavement, it merely smiled over
her second. Obviously in the eyes of
the community, the least fitting place
for a COW to browse was in the line
of a lightning express. The station
agent at Exeter intimated as much
when Mrs. O'Hearn called upon him
and depicted. with admirable detail.
the circumstances of her misfortune.
He would, he declared, lay the matter
before the proper officials, but this con-
cession came only after her angry in
sistence had shown him the folly of at
tempting to pass lightly over her loss
and after she had somewhat freely
given voice to her opinions of himself
and the company he so modestly rep
resented. When the conversation pro-
longed to the point of tedium to the
station agent, he closed the ticket VIM
dow and retreated to the baggage room,
she withdrew, reiterating her senti-
ments throughout the town.
A week later she came again. and
her visit left memories of life. color
and action. She demanded to know
whether the equivalent had been sent.
The equivalent, she had somewhat ex-
actly figured. was $S9 .15-this itemiza-
ton including $50 for COW and Is cents
for the purchase of milk thrice weekly
from a neighbor. Her following visit
disclosed fully as close calculation, for
the equivalent had mounted to $50 80
and it was plain to the agent that her
arithmetic carried with it rules of in
accepted by the company even if 1t
deigned to recognize her claim for the
COW itself. On this occasion, and on
many occasions thereafter, he, men
tally convinced that his prevarication
would not outlive his tenure of Office,
asserted that only the president of the
road had authority in the matter of
destroyed cows, and having made it
clear to her that her claim had been
duly forwarded. besought her to follow
methods less spectacular and to eX-
ercise some patience. At the same
time he expressed his grief that she
should select a mere minion of the
great corporation-who had in himself
no power of restitution-to make the
object Of her expressions of disap-
proval. For by this time the agent
was annoyed over sundry sallies Of
village wit that expended itself in
solicitous inquiries regarding the Wis
its Of Mrs. OHearn.
Having so frankly thrown himself
On her mercy, he made a personal