The Ontario Argus. (Ontario, Or.) 1???-1947, 1913-07-31
AMiser' 'sHoard
By M. QUAD
Copyright, 1918, by Associated Lit
erary Press.

then opened business.
Once 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 Il was generally believed that he
had no relatives. The speculation
about him and his hoard never died
put. His wealth had been placed at
800 900 In gold when he first came. IL
IL ever showed signs OF reduction O
wire fence man would come along and
say:
Gentlemen. don't you fool your
selves. Moses Taylor has at least n
hundred thousand In bright yellow
boys planted In his cellar"
Then there would be higher respect
for Moses, and the wire fence man
would be looked upon as a sort OF
hero.
The miser's shack was In a suburb.
The nearest house was forty rods
away. While It's inmates did not
neighbor with the old man, they got
into the habit of keeping track OF him.
They looked for the smoke of his chin
ney I'm the morning and for the dis
appearance. of his lean candle ut an
early hour I'm the evening. II was n
sort of guardianship without meaning
TO be. II had gone on for years and
years. when one November morning
there was no chimney smoke. Moses
had been seen the afternoon OF the
day previous, and II was noticed that
he was very feeble.
After wait Of several hours men
went over 10 the shack and pushed
open the door and found the old man
dead In his chair As II he had plan
ned the thing 10 be bit dramaticnl.
his stlff fingers held two dollar bill.
The proper authorities were notified
aud took charge. AZ the coroncr's In.
quest the doctors gave II ns their opin.
lon that the old man had died from
the want OF proper food and care.
lf n Fourth OF July ana circus and
a presidential election had hit Mobiles.
town on the same day there would
have been no more excitement than
over the taking of OF the old miser.
Exclnmatlons and suggestions and
comments hcw fast.
"Ie must have made WILL" oh.
served Rev. Barnes. "and have hopes
that he left n Legacy 10 my church To
pay on the mortgage"
The Rev Barnes had collected sew
eral hundred dollars for the heather.
but had never carried old Moses so
much ms n cracker,
A schoomaster expected at least
$500 because he had once bowed 10 the
old man.
A certain widow expected that much
or more because she had looked over
her gate at him rs she passed,
One OF the merchants had sold Moses
n pair Of shoes at cost upon an occa-
sion, ana he moved about whispering:
"fhose old misers never forget one
who has befriended them. think
can count on at least Si0O-I think !
can"
IL had gcen taken tor certainty
that Moses had no relatives; but, land
alive. how they came tumbling over
each other as soon as the newspapers
got to work.
II took the full force OF the sheriff
OF the county To hold the people on
while the proper officials searched the
old shack.
A three room shack. almost without
furniture Is soon searched. or course
the first thing was To ilnd the will
No will-not even an old letter. not
even II memorandum. IL will there was
or had been one of the two lawyers In
town must have drawn il. as old Moses
had never left the town after his ar
rival,
Neither OF the lawyers had drawn
will.
There was more talk about graft, and
one or two We're bold enough TO say
that the searchers had found the will
and pocketed IL.
Now for the hoard. IL was estimat-
ell by the villagers at sl50,O00 and by
the relatives at S250,O00 Six or seven
fisticuff fights took place before the
crowd compromised on 100000.
No gold, No greenbacks.
But there must be-" yelled the out
siders.
We have made IA careful search ana
found only the 50 ne had In his hand
when he died"
lit must be hidden in the walls"
Then come and find it,"
Not man got into that house with
out being thumped, ana not man got
out until thumped some more The
searchers We're searched. ana then the
shack was torn limb from limb, So 20
say. Not n dollar-not a Shilling-not
even copper penny,
"Rut where has it gomez" was de
manded,
The answer didn't come then, but a
year later when stranger visited No
hlestown who had known Moses Taylor
Tor years and years Moses had about
$500 cash after buying the snack. He
had lived ON the sum all the long Years.