The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1912-02-01
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perfect speeinea there was no use
Of experimenting further
have called Uncle Abnsr mean
anA peculiar. but that description il
insipid. II 70 about - adequate as
describing Satan - not being pleas
ant psrsoo. OF all the cold -blooded
men ever met. Abnsr Halliday had
the most fros-like temperature. l once
had . dream which will illustrate my
life long impression of him. It hap
pensd when ! was spending Q year at
. technical school learning practical
mechanics prior to entering college.
and It was brought about by . partic-
ularly hsartsss and thoroughly un-
called for letter which he had written
me. I dreamed that I had seen him
disssctsd at . clinic and that his
veins were filled with liquid air In
stead Of warm red corpusclss. And
when 1t came to the region Of his
heart they found its place occupied
by . toadstool. He was long, lean.
miserly and rich. As to tho amount
of his wealth, l had little knowledge
except from a boast he once made to
me and which I was inclined to be-
lieve at the time.
happened incidentally to remark
that he must be 4 pretty wealthy man.
and he turned to me with that cum
ming leer of his-a leer that had the
cunning of fox and tho relentless
ness of wolf. Il suppose you know
how far 1t Is from here to the heart
of the city," he grinned. told him
that 1t was eight miles a. the crow
i flies.
And about so rods. Now. you listen
to me, young gadabout. II 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 q 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 Office Of the assessor,
and they'd reach to the heart Of any
public oficial l wanted, then to
which Is the reason desire them.
Understand. now, young jackanapes!"
YES" I returned wearily, disgusted
by his contempt for all human hon.
esty. Then l went away and left hir'.
feeling more resentful than ever that
l must toll day in and out a. the
cashier Of soulless corporation for
$4,000 . year, and then out Of 1t pay
my uncle pretty near nrst-class hotel
rates for my board and lodgings. At
times his browbeating and insults fair
ly sickened me Of life; yet l swallowed
them with the resignation Of school
boy who takes quinine as a 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 few words about the house
we lived in.
1t was rookery. Large and ram
bling. 1t had degenerated from a hand
some, well-groomed suburban home TO
hulking. tatterdemalion outcast
amidst respectability. 1t was bruised
and battered. The spine of its roof
already had curvature; the paint
hung from it In shreds. and ragweeds
surrounded 1t. Internally 1t was
nearly hollow. Year by year Uncle
Abner. clutching his dollars, sat by
and watched it run down as steadily
as a clock that is never rewound;
prideless Of himself and of all be-
longing to him save his money. And
whenever he did spend few dollars
upon repairs his cheerfulness was
that of one who gives a surgeon his
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.
never opened the heavy door that
led from the group Of magnificent CEN
tury old oaks, the branch ends of
which stroked the gray house like ca
ressing hands, without feeling OF
disgust and hot shame. The lower
floors were unfinished save for the
kitchen, the dining room and the
room for the housekeeper Barring
those portions 1t was as barren as
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 premises. The upstairs
portion Of the house was also bare
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