Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1903-01-10
CAUGHT
RED HANDED.
BY JOHN n. RAFTERY.
~ HE degree of reverentlal de.
corum which Mrs. Chlorinda
TimmOns maintained In the

would probably have dispensed with
much Of the formal ceremony il his
wishes had been consulted, for, for all
his aSccllrism, almost naughty reserve
and solemn habits. he was IL clergyman
of much good sense and even had 4
moderate fund OF lumOr. But Mrs.
Timmons had IN exaggerated sense Of
the san"tilied atmosphere of the clerl-
cal presence. took both pains and de-
Eight in fostering the awesomc regard
in which she held her nephew, and so
enforced the lofty code which she had
herself established in the rcctory that
ii was difficult matter to keep SER
wants who appreciated or enjoyed the
Limitations upon their liberties and ami.
NAL spirits.
Laughter, even in the kitchen, yard
or outhouses, was, fpr instance. cause
for dismissal. The presence of male
visitor, whether brother, cousin, parcel
boy or policeman, was sufficient to in
woke utter Punishment of cook or house
girl who so snned against the pro-
prieties. The grocer's boy must de-
liver his goods and get his orders mt
long range no man except Rev. Mr..
Arbuthnot himself must pass the
threshold Of the back and side en-
trance. Mrs. Timmons permitted no
hands but her own to fold and arrange
the garments of her nephew. With
hcsitatn.. almost trembling hands she
made up his room, busted his study
and arranged his personal belongings.
1t was well understood that none OF
the servants should even enter these
sanctfled precincts.
Linda SvcndScn. Il matronly Swcdc,
Of marvellous taciturnity, was now the
only retainer who had managed to sur
vive for Il considerable time so many
rules and regulations. She was Il
model hOusckccper. and seemed to de-
light in work. since she was doing the
tasks of two for the pay Of one. Mrs.
Timmons regarded her rs a treasure,
and the absui bed pastor, If he noticed
her at all. must have approved Of her
retiring ways. her ccasclcss industry
and her solitary habits.
"Aunt Timmons." said the grave
young clergyman one morning as he
watched his aunt pour his coffee. "for
some time I hive been annoyed in a
very singular way
"Annoyed. Mr.. Arbuthnot" she eX-
claimed. letting a lump of sugar splash,
into the coffee annoyed? Is it some
thing about the house? l had hoped
that This was Il good week, The mend.
ing has beech
NO. TO. aunt it isn't anything like
that. The fact is. nj least | feel CON
WINGED not that ii matters seriously
but I'm almost sure thai somebody has
been lingering my pockets"
The gasp of dSmay. horror. almost
hys,rIrAl. which flew to Aunt Tim
mons lips was sufficient evidence Of
the monslrous nature Of the offense
hihted
Nc" she whispered. forgetting the
coffee till he reached out his thin. dry
hand TO take it, mo! 1t is almost
impossible. Sh" has been such II per-
feet scrvant-oh. Can it be that Linda
would dare
Knowing. my dear aunt, that YOU
could not be guilty of such an iIds-
"lctiOn--"
"A crime. should say" wheeZed
Aunt Chlorinda.
"lm afraid it must have been, CT
what's that her name is:''
Anil fn,t Ia wild, I'm, lnI wi
sdrratc tones. the shocked and sean
daliZed old lady and calm. patient but
most dignilied nephew outlined a sys.
tenn of espionage that must either de-
tcct or prevent any undue investiga.
ton of the pastors pockets He began
TO make Il practice of leaving small
coins in seldom used garments. because
he had noticed that the contents of his
everyday clothes were never touched.
One by one the bats disappeared. but
neither Aunt Timmons nor her nephew
were any the wiser. Watch as they
might they could not detect Linda in
any irregularities. and the only result
was Mr.. Arbuthnot's conscientious
worry at what he termed tempting
the weakly" and Aunt Timmons' nat
ural but unjustificd realization that II
Linda was not the culprit she herself
might be open to suspicion. She dis
cussed this hateful phase Of the mat
ter, and was rewarded ana delighted
at finding that no such unworthy
thought had ever entered his judicious
and generous mind.
Meanwhile. however. he had entered
into Il pastorly and very confidential
correspondence with one of the most
estimablc young women of his flock,
and, fearing that his servant might
pry into the necessarily sacred con-
tents of these letters. he went secretly
to the policeman who walked about the
neighborhood and sought his advice.
TRY bit o. dyc-stuff. SIR" advised
the policeman. Put a dash in your
pocketbook or wherever else you think
there's prying."
And going to drug store the an
noycd clergyman bought few pinches
of carminc dye, which he took home
and carefully distributed in sundry
self addressed envelopes already in his
pockets.
The next mo::i.Ac. sitting opposite
his aunt ut the breakfast table. he was
almost ashamed to tell what he had
done. He knew that his pockets had
been ransackcd during the night,
though nothing was missing. But
rather unusually personal letter from
the fair correspondent he found
smcarcd with tho tclltalr dye. There
fore it was with an anxious eye that
Rev. Sylvester Arbuthnot watched for
LiLda's entrance. AS she passed n
platter of hot biscuits toward the cen
tire of the table he saw it. Her finger
tips were stained with red. But he
permitted her to go out before he said:
Aunt. did you notice Linda's fin
gcrs;"
Finger tips? did not, Mr., Arbuth-
not. Are they dirty"
''With IT