Middletown transcript., 1909-07-03
y silas Mace left the store at

1ef0ck ne Salu w
mad he wished he might never
ses the inside Of the place again. ;
n had all been 50 different from
what be had expected. He had
entered the employ Of Freeman
& Co., wholesale merchants and
importers, with strong hopes OF
rapid advancement; for in his
preparation for busine7s he had
had advantages that do not often
come in the way Of 2 country
boy.
. He had, Of course, learned all
that was to be learned in Ehe vii
lage school, but besides that, Mr..
Graham, q neighbor who had re-
tired to a farm from business
life in the city, had taught him
bookkeeping; and the minister,
who was a man Of quite remark
able learning, had given hun
lessons in French and German,
and even in Spanish.
It was on the strength OF these
attainmeuts, presumably, that
Mr.. Graham had secured for
Silas the place in the city with
Freeman & Co., and Mr.. Eccles,
the minister, had written of them
- length in his letter of recon-
mendation. But now, after the
lapse Of three long months, ne
could not see that he was any
thing more than a mere Office boy
about the establishment, and he
was still drawing his original
salary Of FIVE dollars week.
Mr.. Freeman, the head of the
firm, had apparently never MOTTO
ed him until that morning, and
then only to send him out on an
errand and upbraid him sharply
Tor being 50 long about it. Evi-
IDENTIFY there was no future for
him with Freeman & Co.
But that was not all. This city
life did not agree with him. He
could not eat the meals that were
set before him and he did not
sleep any too we'll; and then he
kept having those strange sink
. ing sensations, especially when
he thought of home-which was
pretty often.
The street was full of people,
chatting. and laughing on their
homeward way; but Silas, wrap.
ped in his unhappy thoughts,
walked along scarcely conscious
of the sights and sounds about
him. Suddenly an odor, waited
To him on the evening breeze,
did, attract his attention, but
only to fill him with great long
ing. II was the smell OF frying
doughnnts from a near by eating
house.
It was not that Silas desired
those particular doughnuts, nor
was it merely those that his
mother used to make, that now
brought the tears to his eyes.
But a picture had risen before
him Of q low-posted kitchen in an
old farm house, with his mother
at the breadboard, rolling and
cutting the sWeetened dough,
and his father sitting on the
wood. box, and the boy stand.
ing by, watching with fond an.
ticipation the twisted cakes
browning and sizzling in the ket-
tie on the stove. A man carry
ing q Yalise brushed past him,
hurrying toward the railroad
station.
He's going to take the six-tif.
teen train east, thought Silas.
All at once his head seemed to be
swimming and his knees trem.
bled. Now / know I'm going to
be sick, he thought, and the best
thing for me is to start for home.
Acting on this decision, he
quickly overlook and passed the
: man with the valise; and when,
FIVE minutes later, the east bound
train pulled out from the station,
Silas was on board, with ticket
for Woodville in his hand.
His ticket had cost him nearly
half of his available funds, but
his board bill was paid a week in
advance, in accordance with the
rules of the house. He would
write to his roommate to send his
trunk by express to Woodville.
He would also write to Freeman
& Co., explaining his absence.
There was, of course, a half.
weeks salary due him, but
never mind that. He was sure
of one thing-he would never go
back.
His health seemed to improve
and his spirits rose as the train
sped along, but when he finally
reached Woodville he made his
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