The Miller sun. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 190?-19??, 1905-07-19
BY SIR WALTER BESANT

money was nearly all gone. Then 1
must either ~starve, or / must become a
laborer where / had been a master, or |
must go away and find work somewhere
else. / had but thirty pounds left in
the world, and / made up my mind to
go away. 1t was a day in October of
the year 1880. / went to see my uncle
and begged him to lend me thirty pounds
more TO start me in Canada. Said my
uncle-I shall not forget his words
Nephew David he said, ~grinning,
you've been a fool and lost your money.
I've been a wise man and kept mine
Do you think / am going to give you
more money to fool awayT' | wonder |
did not kill him then and there. He sat
in his room at Gratnor, his account books
before him, and he looked up and laugh
ed at me while he said it, j~ingl:ng the
money that was in his pocket. And l
was his nephew, and by his arts and
practices he'd j0ckeyed me out of a farm
of three hundred acres, most of it good
land, with the brook running through it
and a mill upon it.
III remember very well what | said to
him-never mind what it was-but /
warrant he laughed no longer, though
he kept up his bullying to the end, and
told me to go to destruction my own
way, and the further from my native
parish the better.
80 / left him and walked away
through Watercourt to John Exon's Inn,
where / sat all that day drinking. /
told nobody what had happened, but they
guessed very well that I'd had a quarrel
with my uncle, and all the world knew
by that time how he'd got my land into
his own possession.
About 9 o'clock in the evening Harry
R~abjahns, the blacksmith, came to the
inn, and Grandfather Derges with him,
and they had a mug of cider apiece. And
then | began to talk to them about my
own affairs. l said / should go away
that very evening. / should walk to
Bovey Tracey, | said; / should take the
train TO Newton-Abbot, and so to Bris-
tol, where I should find a ship bound for
foreign parts. That was what | said,
and perhaps it was lucky | said so much.
But | don't know, because the verdict Of
the jury l never heard.
"We shook hands and l came away.
Twas then about eight, and there was
a half-moon. AS / crossed the green the
thought came into my head that l was a
fool TO go to Bristol when Plymouth and
Falmouth were nearer and would suit
my purpose better. / could walk to Ply
mouth easy, and so save the railway
money. Therefore / revolved to change
my plan, and instead of turning to the
left / turned to the right and walked
across the church yard, and took the
road which goes to Widdicombe.
1T was only a chance, mark you, that
I took that road. / did not know, and
| did not suspect, that my uncle had
ridden over to Ashburton after 1 left
him. All a chance it was. l never
thought to meet him; and he might have
been living till now if 1t hadn't been for
that chance"
The man who was listening groaned
aloud at this point.
"The first two miles of the road is a
narrow lane between high hedges. Pres
emily | passed through Heytree Gate.
and so out where the road runs over the
open down, and here | began to think
what | would do if ] had my uncle be-
fore me: and the blood came into my
eyes, and / clutched the cudgel hard.
Who do you think put that thought into
my head? The evil one. Why did he
put that thought into my head? Because
the very man was riding along the road
on his way home, and because l was go
ing to meet him in about ten minutes.