Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-12-23

And to think" he continued, whim-
sically releasing him, that might
have gone on, one OF the little-neck.
clam crowd I've always trained with,
at the same old pace, till the Yer
mouth Palm Beach career got
a double Nelson on me and the umpire
counted me out. And I'd have ended
by Laying along through my forties
with a bay-window and bunch OF
boudoir keys! Now I can kiss my
hand to it all. At this moment I
wouldn't swap this old house and land,
and the sunshine and that 'gyarden>
and Unc' Jefferson and Aunt Daph and
the chickens and the birds and all the
rest OF it, for a mile Of Millionaires
Row."
He drew from his jacket pocket a
somewhat worn note and unfolded the
dainty paper with its characteristic
twirly handwriting. The scarlet
geraniums trimming the porch" he
muttered, "the coral honeysuckle on
the old dead tulip-tree, and the
fuchsias and verbenas by the straight
walk. How right she is! They're all
growing, too. l haven't lost a single
slip" He caught himself up short.
strobe to the nearest porch.pillar and
raped on it smartly with his
knuckles.
81 must knock on wood" he said,
cor I'll lose my luck" He laughed a
little. I'm certainly catching Uncle
Jefferson's superstitions. Perhaps
that's in the soil. tool
He went into the house and to the
Ii, rary. The breeze through the wire
flung bow-window was fluttering the
papers on the desk and the map on
the wall was tapping sidewise. He
went to straighten it, and then saw
what he had not noticed before-that
II covered something that had been
let into the plaster. He swung 1t
aside and made an exclamation.
He was looking at square, uncOm-
promising wall-safe, with round fig
ured disk of white metal on its face.
He knelt before it and tried its knob.
After a moment it turned easily. But
the resolute steel door would not open,
though he tried every combination
that came into his mind. mo use"
he said disgustedly. Zone must have
the right numbers" - -
| Then he lifted mis- fretted frame and
smote his grimly hands together.
'Confound it," he said with a short
laugh. Here I am bankrupt, with
all this outfit--clear to the very finger
|bowls-handed to me on silver tray,
and I'm mad as scat because I can't
open the first locked thing !. ,fnd!"
He ran upstairs and donned a rough
corduroy jacket and high leather leg
gins. "We're going to climb the hill
TODAY, Chum," he announced, land no
more moccasins need apply"
In the lower hall, however. he sud
denly stopped stock-still. "The slip of
paper that was in the china dog!" he
exclaimed. "What a chump l am not
to have thought of it," He found it
in it's pigeonhole and. kneeling down
before the safe, tried the numbers
carefully, first right, then left: IT..
2S-94-. The heavy door opened.
81 was right!", he exulted. cts the
plate,' He drew it out, piece by
piece. Each was bagged in dark-red
Canton flannel. He broke the tape of
one bag and exposed great silver
pitcher, furnished purple-blue like a
ravens wing-then a tea-service. Each
niece large and small, was marked
motto. "And to think" he said, that
my Observation-Disclosures buried you
with his own hands under the stables
when Tarleton's raiders swept the
valley before the surrender at York
town! Only wait till Aunt Daphne
gets you polished up, and on the side
board! You're the one thing the place
has needed"
With the dog for comrade he traver-
sed the garden and plunged across the
valley below, humming as he went one
of the songs with which Uncle Jeffer-
son was wont to regale his labors:
"My gran'mothah lived on yondah III
green,
Fines OIL lady evan wuz seen.
Tummy-eye, tummy-oh, tummy-umpy-
tumpy-tee.
Fines OF lady evan yo' see!"
The ridiculous refrain rang out
through the bewildering vistas Of the
wooded slope as he swung on, up the
hill, through the underbrush.
The place was pathless and over.
grown with pawpaw bushes and sasa-
fras. Great trees stood so thickly in
places DIS 10 i1tlhS d twilight dhu IIC
SUMMER spots were masses of pink
laurel, poison-ivy, flaming purple
rhododendron and wine-red tendrils Of
interbraided briers. This was the
forest land Of whose possibilities he
had thought. In the heart of the woods
he came upon a great limb that had
been wrenched Off by storm. The
broken wood was Of a deep rich brown,
shading to black. He broke off his
song, snapped twig and smelled 1t.
It's sharp acrid odor was unmistakable.
He suddenly remembered the walnut
tree at Rosewood and what Shirley
had said: II know a girl who had two
in her yard, and she went to Europe
on them"
He looked about him; as far as he
could see the trees reared, hardy and
perfect, untouched for generation.
He selected one Of medium size and
pulling creeper, measured it's circum-
ference and gaging this measure with
his eye, made penciled calculation on
the back Of an envelope. Great
Scott" he said jubilantly to the dog;
that would cut enough to wainscot
the Damory Court library and build