The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-10-07

said /.
"He drew out the trunk an showed
me the money. stacks OF IL. dirty an
striking O damp mold.
There ii is said he. every dollar
stole is there. I brought it with me an
over these hundreds o. miles 1 could
hear the tongue o. gossip. Every night
as l lay down | could hear the whis-
pering Of all the people l ever knew.
/ could see them shake their heads.
Then came this locl1et o gold
~ beautiful. shiny thing 1t was. an
he took out of 1t little strand o. white
hair an read these words cut in the
cleaning case:
Here are silver and geld.
The one for a day q remembrance be-
tween thee an dishonor.
The other for a day o plenty between thee
an want.
1T was an odd thought an worth
keeping, an often have repeated the
words Tho silvered hair, that was for
remembrance. an the gold he might
sell an turn it into a day o plenty.
/" In the loe!set was i letter said the
poor man. Here il is an he held IL in
the light o. the candle. See. it is sign
ed Mother
"An' he read from the letter words o.
sorrow an bitter shame an firm con-
fidence in his honor
1t ground me to the very dust he
went on. put the money in that
bundle, every dollar. / could not re-
turn it an so confirm the Disgrace o.
her an all the rest I could not use il,
for if / lived in comfort they would
ask-all % them-whence came his
money? For their sake I must walk
in poverty all me days. An went to
work at heavy toll. sor. as became n
poor man. AS Gods me judge, felt
a pride in rags an the horny hand"
The tinker paused a moment. In
which all the penduiums seemed to
quicken pace. tick tapping upon tick.
as IL trying TO get ahead of each other.
Think OF it, boy" Darrell continued.
"a pride IN rags an poverty. Bring
that into thy book an let thy best
thinking bear upon il. Show us how
patch an latter were for the poor man
as badges of honor an success.
81 thought to burn the money mo
have robbed me o. one great possibili-
~
when they We're dead. maybe. an
could suffer alone. or when some lucky
might come to me, would re-
store the money. but could not find
the owners of 1t. Day an night these
slow an heavy years il has been here.
cursing an accusing me.
~ lie here o. nights thinking. In
that heap o money l seem to hear the
signs an sobs o. the poor people that
tolled to earn 1t. feel their sweat up
on me, an. God. this heart o mine is
crowded to bursting with the despair
o. hundreds, An, betimes / hear tho
cry o. murder in the cursed heap as IL
there were some had blood upon 1t.
An then l dream it has caught fire be-
meath me. an am burning raw in the
dame
The tinker paused again. crossing the
room and watching the swing of pen
1uum.
boy. boy" said he. returning to his
chair. think o. that complaining, I'm
heap lying there like the blood
Of murder An thy reader must
feel the toll an sweat an misery am
despair that is In a great sum. an how,
It all presses on the heart o. him that
gets it wrongfuliy.
".Well. sor.' the poor fellow contin,
led. now an then l met those had
known me, an reports o me poverty
went home An those dear to me sent
the sight o. which filed me
with mighty sickness. an l sent it
back TO them. 3 Long ago. thank God.
hey ceased to think me a thief. but
,nly crazy. Tell me. man. what shall
do with the money? : There be those
living / have to consider, an those dead
IN those unborn.
"'Hide it, said I. AN. go to thy work.
in God give thee. counsel"
Man and boy rose from the table and
rev up to the little stove.
Now, boy said II the clock tinker.
Gaming toward 'hirnswlth knitted brows.
consider thisspeorsthiefiw who suffered
70 for his friends Think o. these good
words, Greater love hath no man than
his. that he lay down ,his,life for his
riends' II thou sshoufdst ever write
# it. thy problem.wtil' besto reckon the
rood an evll5 ab'FgNe seach careful
an him hissproper rank"
What a sad, stgleg,sssaid the boy
ITS ,ferfiblepto think he
nay be my fathers Please tell me when
vas the boy. takens,,Fs
Time or namesoriplace cannot tell
hee lestsIl hetraEahl M, saids the old
nan. Neither lis NECESSARY to thy
ale Keep.itswithsthee awhile. Thou
rt young yet an close inshore. Wait
Until yezsound the)farfher deep. Then
or, write. If Gods givesthee power, an
link chiefly % tliemAn peril an about
, dash their feet upon the. stones"
For a4moneat the clocks ticking
-as like the voice soff many ripples
-ashing the shore sof the infinite. A
ew life had fbegnn.sfor Trove. and
ley were cuttingsit sinto seconds. He
,oked up at them sand rose quickly
nd stood q moment.sh his thumb on the
COR latch Outside they could hear
le rush and scatter of the snow.
Poor YOUTH said the old man.
Thou hast no coat-take mine. Take
!, | say It will give thee comfort an
re happiness"
He would hear no refusal, and again
10 coat changed owners, giving hap
mess to the old and comfort to the