The Springfield herald., 1912-02-02
perfect specimen there was no USE
Of exnerimanfinR furfhar

| "a experimenting luTlueT.
have called Uncle Abner mean
and peculiar, but that description Is
insipid. 1t is about as adequate as
describing Satan as not being pleas
ant person. OF all the cold blooded
men l ever met, Abner Halliday had
the most frog-like temperature. l once
had dream which will illustrate my
lifelong impression of him. 1t hap
pened when was spending a year at
a technical school learning practical
mechanics prior to entering college,
and 1t was brought about by partic-
ularly heartless and thoroughly un-
called for letter which he had written
me. l dreamed that had seen him
dissected at clinic and that his
veins were filled with liquid air in
stead of warm red corpuscles. And
when 1t came to the region Of his
heart they found its place occupied
by a toadstool. He was long. lean.
misery and rich. AS to the amount
of his wealth, I had little knowledge
except from a boast he once made to
me and which l was inclined to be-
lieve at the time.
| l happened incidentally to remark
that he must be pretty wealthy man.
and he turned to me with that cum
ming leer OF his-a leer that had the
cunning Of fox and the relentless.
ness of wolf II suppose you know
how far 1t is from here to the heart
Of the CITY," he grinned. told him
that it was eight miles as the crow
/ fies.
And about 80 rods. Now. you listen
to me. young gadabout. II l should
turn all my money into American dol
lars and put them side by side. edges
touching. remember, they'd reach from
here to the city hall"
(which is long ways" I assented
meekly. He grinned again.
And I'll tell you where else they
would reach. They'd reach to the
chambers Of the judges; they'd reach
to the private ONCE Of the assessor.
and they'd reach to the heart of any
public oficial wanted. then to
which is the reason desire them.
Understand. now, young jackanapes?"
Yes" returned YEARLY. Disguised
by his contempt for all human hon.
esty. Then went away and left him,
feeling more resentful than ever that
1 must toll day in and out as the
cashier Of a soulless corporation for
$4,000 a year. and then out of it pay
my uncle pretty near first-class hotel
rates for my board and lodgings. At
times his browbeating and insults fair
ly sickened me Of life; yet swallowed
them with the resignation of a school
boy who takes Quinine as condition
to his being allowed to go fishing. Oh.
dead mems shoes! How we will dance
until we fall for the prospect Of wear
ing them.
Now a few words about the house
we lived in.
| 1t was rookery. Large and ram
bling. 1t had degenerated from hand
some. well-groomed suburban home to
a hulking. tatterdemalion outcast
amidst responsibility. 1t was bruised
and battered. The spine Of Its roof
already had a curvature; the paint
hung from 1t in shreds, and ragweeds
surrounded 1t. Internally 1t was
nearly hollow. Year by year Uncle
Abner, clutching his dollars. sat by
and watched 1t run down as steadily
| as a clock that is never rewound;
priceless of himself and of all be-
longing to him save his money. And
whenever he did spend a few dollars
| upon repairs his cheerfulness was
that of one who gives surgeon his
fee for extracting his vermiform ap-
pendix. Necessity. so grinding and
imperative that further neglect would
prove fatal. was the only condition
that could loosen the Gordian knot
which bound his money bags.
I never opened the heavy door that
led from the group of magnificent CEN
fury old oaks. the branch ends of
which stroked the gray house like ca
ressing hands, without a feeling Of
disgust and hot shame. The lower
floors were unfurnished save for the
kitchen, the dining room and the
room for the housekeeper. Barring
those portions 1t was as barren as a
ships empty hold. For years Mrs.
Tebbets had been the housekeeper of
the place. doing all the household
work and never to our knowledge re-
ceiving company. and almost never
leaving the promises. The upstairs
pOI liOu Vi IAo AOubO was aAbO pal
Of furniture save for my uncle's and
my apartments. His quarters con-
sisted of large, sparsely furnished
room running the length OF the front
Of the house, with an alcove in con-
nection, my own sleeping room and
den being adjacent thereto. That
Uncle Abner continued to live amidst
this shameful waste OF handsomely
designed rooms and broad natural
grounds. was about the only piece of
extravaganza l ever knew him to in
dulge himself IN. However, l could
partially account for 1t in two ways.
In the first place he had come into
possession of the premises through
some sort of a hocus-pocus swap; had
secured them for a song. won the re-
sulting lawsuit, and then left the
former owner to whistle for the song;
and in the second he had real and
abiding fondness for trees and grass.
Trees and grass. however. do not re-
quire repairs.
Now as to his associates. There
were only three people in the world
whom he did not seem to have
natural aversion for. These were