The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1913-07-31
AMiser st 1oard
BY NJ. QUAD
Copyright, 1913, by Associated Lit
erary Press.
BY NJ. QUAD

GVtf llIS years oiu When ~ ~
in the village of NoblestoWn ana
brought his reputation as miser with
him. He bought an old shack OF a
house and paid spot cash for it and
then opened business.
Once a week Moses bought about
30 cents worth Of meat and groceries.
He was surly and had little to say to
men.
BY and by Moses Taylor became a
fixture and belonged to the town. No
one cared whether he lived or died,
and it was generally believed that ne
had no relatives. The speculation
about him and his hoard never died
out. His wealth had been placed at
Sg0. 600 in gold when he first came. II
&c ever showed signs Of reduction q
wire fence man would come along and
say:
Gentlemen, don't you fool your
selves. Moses Taylor has at least
hundred thousand in bright yellow
boys planted in his cellar
Then there would be a higher respect
Tor Moses. and the wire fence man
would be looked upon as q sort OF
hero
The !niser's shack was in suburb.
The nearest house was forty rods
away. While its inmates did not
naighbor with the old man, they got
into the habit Of keeping track Of him.
They locked for the smoke of his CHM
ray III the morning and for the dis
appearance OF his lean candle at an
early hour in the evening. 1t was
sort. of guard ianship without meaning
TO be. 1t had gone on for years and
wears, when one November morning
there was no chimney smoke. Moses
had been seen the afternoon Of the
day previous, and it was noticed that
lie was very feeble.
After n wait Of several hours men
went over to the shack and pushed
open the door and found the old man
dead in his chair. As If he had plan
ned the thing to be bit Grammatical,
his stiff fingers held q two dollar bill.
The proper authorities were notified
and took charge. At the coroner's in
quest the doctors gave it as their opin-
ion that the old man had died from
the want Of proper food and care.
# Fourth Of July and circus and
q presidential election had hit Mobiles
town on the same day there would
have been no more excitement than
over the taking off of the old Iniser.
ESclamations and suggestions and
comments few fast.
HE must have made WILL" OBJ
served Rev. Barnes, "and l have hopes
that he left a legacy to my church tc
pay off the mortgage"
Tie Rev. Barnes had collected sew.
eral hundred dollars for the heather
but had never carried old Moses sc
much as q cracker.
4 schoo!master expected at least
$500 because he had once bowed to the
old man.
A certain widow expected that much
or more because she had looked over
her gate at him as she passed.
One Of the merchants had sold Moses
s. pair Of shoes at cost upon an occa
sion. and he moved about whispering:
''Those old misers never forget one
. i
can count ca at least $40o-I think
cam
It had geen taken for a certainty
that Moses had no relatives; but, lane
| alive, how they came tumbling over
each other as soon as the newspapers
got to work.
1t took the full force Of the sheriff
~ 20 70 no 10 "a
while the proper officials searched thu
old shack
A three room shack, almost withou
| furniture, is soon searched. Of course
the first tainG was to find the will
| No wiil-not even an old letter. no
even memorandum. If VIII there wa
| Or had been one of the two lawyers i,
town must have drawn it. as old Moses
t had never left the town after his ar
! rival.
Neither Of the lawyers had drawn
| WILL
| There was more talk about graft. an,
| one or two We're bold enough to sa,
! that the seaTchers had found the will
and pOckoted it.
| Il
ed by the villagers at $4,000 and b.
the relatives at S25O.0OO. Six or sever
fisticuff fights took place before tn
crowd compromised Oh $2O0,C0O
No gold. No greenbachs!
''But there must be-" yelled the on,
siders.
| I'VE have made a careful search an,
| found only the So he had in his han,
| when he died"
1T must be hidden in the walls"
Then come and find it."
Not a man got into that house with
out being thumped. and not man 20
out until thumped some more. Th
searchers were searched, and then tn
shack was torn limb from limb, so t
say. Not Il dollar-not a shilling-no
even copper penny!
"But where has it gone?' was de
manded.
The answer didn't come then, but
year later, when a stranger visited NJ
blestown who had known Moses Taylo
for years and years. Moses had abou
$500 cash after buying the shack II
had lived on the sum all the long year:
and the 81 was the last of it.
was likely that he hadn't had a decor
meal i'll all that time. When the e,
PLANTATION was made everybody said:
"Ch, that was the way of it, eh
Well, he ought to have been kicked fe
playing us dirty trick!''
And that's poor human nature!