The Washington herald., 1907-05-12

woman. acted like one and looked Ike
one. 1t amt time, honey, that makes
| people old: it's experience, Some folks
never git over bein' children, and some
never has any childhood, and pore little
/ Milly's was cut short by trouble, If she
/ felt ashamed OF herself or the child, no
/ body ever knew it. I never could tell
whether il was lack Of sense, OF whether
she Jest looked at things different from
the rest of as; but 10 see her walk in
church holding little Richard By the hand,
nobody ever would a thought but what
she was q lawful wife. No woman could
"a behaved better'n she did, I'm bound
/ TO say. She got better lookin' all the
time, but she was as steady and sober as
/ IL she'd been sixty years old. Parson
| Page said once that Milly Baker had more
/ dignity than any woman, young or old,
/ that he'd ever seen. It seems right queer
/ to talk about dignity In a pore gyirl
who'd made the misstep she'd made. but
/ I reckon il was jest that that made us
/ al come to treat her as IL she was as
good as anybody. People can set their
own price on 'emselves, I've noticed; and
/ IL they keep II set. fOlks'll come up 70
I 1t. Milly didn't seem 10 think that she
had done anything wrong; and when she
/ brought little Richard up for baptism
I u =
when she Joined The church herself there
wasn't anybody mean enough 10 say a
word against 1t, not even Silas Petty.
Squire Elrod give her the cottage rent
| free after her mother died. and betwixt
nursin' and doin' fine needlework she
made a good livin for herself and the
boy.
Little Richard was a child worth
wOrkin' for from the start. Tall and
straight as a saplin', and carried himself
Ike he owned the earth, even when he
was little feller It looked Ike all the
good blood on both sides had come out
in him, and there wasn't q smarter. hand
somer boy IN the county. The old squire
thought heap OF him. and nothin but
his pride kept him from ownin' the child
outright and treatin' him like he was his
own fiesh and blood Richard had an old
head on young shoulders, though ne was
as fun o life as auy boy, ara By the
( time he was grown the old squire trusted
him with everything on the place and
/ looked 10 him the same as il he'd been a
settled man. After Old Lady Elrod died,
he broke terrible fast. and folks used to
| say IL was a pitiful sight 20 see him
when he'd be watchin' Richard overseein'
the hands and ;endin to things about the
place. He'd lean on the fence. his hands
tremblin and his face Workin', thinkin'
about Dick and grievin' over him and
wishin'. / reckon, that Dick had been
such man as Miiiy's boy was
''Au these years nobody ever heard from
Dick. Once in a while somebody'd come
from town and say they'd seen somebody
that had seen somebody else, and that
somebody had seen Dick way out in Cal
ffornia OF Lord knows where. and that
was all the news that ever come back.
Wed all jest about made up our minds
that he was dead. when one mornln'
along in corn-pIantiu' time, the news was
brought and spread over the neighborhoOd
in no time that Dick Elrod had come
home and was lyin' at the Pint Of death
I remembered hearin' a hack 20 by on
the pike the night before. and wondered
to myself what W8s up. ! thought may
be, II was a runaway couple or some such
matter. but # was pore Dick comm back
70 his fathers house. like the Prodigal
Son. after twenty years. It takes some
folks d long time. child, 70 sit tired Of
the swine and the husks
Wen. OF course. Z made a big commo-
ton. and before we'd hardly taken it in.
we heard that he'd sent for NilIy. and
her ana Richard had gone together up to
the big house
Jane Ann Petty was keepin' house
for the old squire, and she told us after
wards how il all come about.
We had a young probationer preachin'
for us that summer, and as soon as he
heard about Dick he goes up TO the big
house without bein' sent for 70 talk 10
him about his soul. I reckon he thought
it'd be feather in his cap il be could
convert hardened sinner Ike Dick.
Jane Ann said they took him into
Dicks room, and he set down by the bed
and begun To lay OF the plan o. saliva
ton Jest like he was preachin' from the
pulpit and Dick listened and never took
his eyes off his face. When he got
through Dick says, says he.
Do you mean To say that all I've got
TO do % keep out OF hell and get into
heaven Is TO believe on the Lord Jesus
Christi and Brother Jonas. he SAYS:
Yes, my dear brother, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Carist- and thou shalt be
saved. The blood OF Jesus Christ. His
son, cleanseth us from all sim
And they said Dick jest laughed a
curious sort O. laugh. and says he.
It's "a pretty God thatll make such a
bargain as that" And says he. I was born
bad, I've lived bad, and I'm dyin' bad.
but l amt coward nor sneak and I'm
goin' to he'll for my sins Ike a man. Like
a man, do you hear me?'
Jane Ann said the lock In his eyes was
awful; and the preacher turned white as
a sheet Il was curious talk for death
bed: but when you come TO think about
II, it's reasonable enough. When a mans
got hell IN his heart what good is it
goin' 70 do him To git into heaven?"
What, indsed?" 7 echoed, thinking how
delightful it was that Aunt Jane ana
Omar khayyam should be of one mind on
this subject.
when Dick said this the young preach
er got up to go. but Dick called him
hack, and says he, I don't want any of
your preachin' or prayin but you stay
here; there's another sort Of a job for you
TO do. And then he turned around to
the old squire and says, send for Milly.
When we all heard that Milly'd been
sent for, the first thing we thought was.
How on earth is Milly goin' to tell
Richard all he's got to know? I never
used 70 think we was anything over and
above the ordinary out in our neighbor- !
hood but when ] ricOllect that Richard /
Elrod come up from a boy 10 a man
without KNOWN who his father was. il |
seems like we must a known how to /
hold our tongues anyhow. There wasn't /
man, woman or child that ever limited TO /
Milly Bakers boy that he wasn't like
other children. and so il was natural for
US to wonder how Mily was goin to tell /
him. Well, it wasn't any of our business.
and We never found out All we ever did /
know was that Milly and Richard walk /
ed over to the big house together. and
Richard held his head as high as ever.
They said that Dick give a start when |
Milly come into the room. I reckon he /
expected to see the same little girl he'd !
fooled tvautx- vears hack and v..bay, che
come waIkin' in it jest took him by sur
prise.
" Why, Mily. says he, IS this your
mAna be hnId out lis hana ~ IL