Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-02-27

just CHt LUSH was OAAAAe
Uncle Jefferson" said Valiant abb
ruptly. have you a family"
mo, sub. Jes' me en- nah OF
'ooman."
Can she cook?p
Cook" The genial litter again
captured his dusky escort. when
she got de fixens, All reck'n she de
beaten'es cook in his heah county"
How would you both like to live
here with me for a while? She could
cook and you could take care of me"
Uncle Jefferson's yes seemed to
turn inward with mingled surprise and
introspection. He shifted from one
foot to the other, swallowed difiicultly
several times, and said, "Ah ain neb-
bah seed yo' befo', subj"
We'll. l haven't seen you either.
have II"
Oats de trufe, sub, deed ct is!
Hyuh, hyuh! Whut All means ter
say is dat de oil 'ooman kahn cook
no fancy didoes like what dey eats up
Norf. She kin jes' cook de Ferginey
STYLE"
THAT sounds good to me-" quoth
Valiant. "Pn risk it. Now as to
wages"
"Ah ain specticulous as ter de
wages said Uncle Jefferson. "Ah
knows er gemman when All sees one.'
"Then it's a bargain" responded Va
liant with alacrity. Can you come at
once?"
"Yas, sub, me en- Daph gwineter
come ovah fus' thing in de mawnin'.
Whut yo'-all gwineter do TO yo' sup
pah?"
I'll get along" Valiant assured him
cheerfully. Here is five dollars. You
can buy some food and things to
cook with, and bring them with you.
Do you think there's a stove in the
kitchen?"
"Ah reck'n," replied Uncle Jefferson.
EN- eff dar ain Daph kin cook er
Chris mus dinnah wild TO stones en- er
tin skillet. Vas, subj"
He trudged away into the shadows,
but presently as the new master of
Damory Court stood in the gloomy
hall, he heard the shambling step
again behind him. "Ah done neglect
uated ter ak yo' name, sub. All did,
TO- er fac"
my name is Valiant. John Va
liant"
Uncle Jefferson's eyes turned up
ward and rolled out of orbit. Nah
Lawdl" he calculated soundlessly.
And with his wide lips still framed
about thu loo4 urarI h0 honEnH ont
of the doorway and disappeared.
Alone in the ebbing twilight, John
Valiant found his hamper, spread q
napkin on the broad stone steps and
took out a glass, a spoon and part of
a loaf of bread. The thermos flask
was filled with milk. 1t was not a
splendid banquet, yet he ate 1t with
a great content as the bulldog at his
feet gnawed his share of the crust.
He broke his bread into the milk as
he had not done since he was a child,
and ate the luscious pulp with a keen
relish bred of the long outdoor day.
1t was almost dark when the meal
was done and, depleted hamper in
hand, he reentered the empty echoing
AOuHC. 11O WCAJ 1AtO LILO library,
lighted the great brass lamp from the
motor and began to rummage. The
drawers of the dining-room ~sideboard
yielded nothing; on a shelf of the but
ler's pantry, however, was a tin box
which proved to be half full of wax
candles, perfectly preserved.
1.-THE very thingl" he said triumph
antly. Carrying them back, he fixed
several in the glass-candlesticks and
set them, lighted, all about the somber
till the soft glow flooded it's
every corner. There he said,
that is as it should be. No big bla.
tant search-light here! And no glare
of modern electricity would suit that
old ~wainscoting, either"
He dragged the leather settee to the
porch and by the light of the motor
lamp busted it thoroughly, and wheel
ing 1t back, set it under the portrait
which had SO attracted him. He
washed the glass from which he had
dined and filled it at the cup of the
garden fountain, put into 1t the rose
from his hat and set 1t on the read
ing-stand. The small china dog
caught his eye and he picked it up
casually. The head came off in his
hands. 1t had been a bon-bon box and
was empty save for a narrow strip OF
yellowed paper, on which were writ
ten some meaningless figures: 1928
$40. He pondered this a moment,
then thrust it into one of the empty
~pigeonholes of the desk. On the at
ter stood an old-fashioned ~leaf-calen-
dar; the date it exposed was May
14th. C~uriously enough the same date
would recur tomorrow. The page bore
a quotation: Every man carries his
fate on a riband about his neck"
The line had been quoted In his
fathers letter. May 14th-how much
that date and that motto may have
meant for him!
NJ t~1ea - nx.rd 4Ao eh,kkow xr4do~