The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-07-31
.AMiser Hoard
By M. QUAD
By M. QUAD
Copyright, 1913, by Associated Lit
erary Press.

ullu ne boNShb III Di' S'"NN - -
house and paid spot cash for it and
then opened business.
Once week Moses bought about
80 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 lie
had no relatives. The speculation
out. His wealth had been placed at
$4,000 in gold when he first came. Ii
it ever showed signs of reduction
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
for Moses, and the wire fesce mar
would be looked upon as sort of
hero.
The misers shack was in suburb.
The nearest house was forty rods
away. While its 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 in the morning and for the dis
appearance of his lean candle at an
early hour in the evening. 1t was
sort of guardianship without meaning
to be. 1t 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 it was noticed that
he was very feeble.
After 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 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.
If a Fourth of July and circus and
a 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 miser.
Explanations and suggestions and
comments flew fast.
"He must have made a will" OBJ.
served Rev. Barnes. land l have hopes
that he left legacy to my church to
pay of the mortgage"
The Rev. Barnes had collected sew
eral hundred dollars for the heather.
but had never carried old Moses so
much as cracker.
A schoolmaster 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
a pair of shoes at cost upon an occa.
sion, and he moved about whispering:
"Those old misers never forget one
who has befriended them. think
can"
1t had geen taken for certainty
that Moses had no relatives: but, land
alive, how they came tumbling over
each other as soon as the newspapers
got to work.
1t took the full force of the sheriff
Of the county to hold the people off
while the proper officials searched the
old shack.
A three room shack. almost without
furniture is soon searched OF course
the first thing was to find the VIII
No will-not even an ole letter. n5.t
even a 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 telk about grafr. ans
me or Cwo were bold enough TO saS
hat the searchers had found the viii
IND pocketed il.
Now for the head. Il was estifeat
d by the villagers at S150.O0G and by
he relatives at $4,000 Six or sever
isticuff fights loGk place before TIE
,rowd compromised on 100000
No gold. No greeDbatks.
But there must bel" yelled the cut
iders.
I'VE have mG6e n careful search anG
ound only the 81 be had IN bis hant
when he died"
ut must be hidden III the walls
Then come and ind it,
Not a man got into that house with
ut being thumped. and not a man GOT
ut until thumred some more. Tbs
earchers were searched. ard then Tie
hack was torn limb from limb $50 to
ay. Not dollar-not a shilling uot
ven n copper penny.
But where has II gomez" vas de
handed.
The answer didn't come then. bu.
ear later, when q stranger visited No
lestown who had known Moses TaylU;
or years ard years. Moses had about
SEQ cash after hayiug the shack. rs
sd lived C- the SUM iii the .on,: years
nd the g was the last o. it, Il
yas likely that be- hadn't had decent
leai in all that time. When the OK.
was made everybody said:
"Oh. that was the way OF Il. chi
Yell. he ought 70 have been kicked :ct