The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-03-19

the very sidewalk we walk on win be
made OF gold. And the house-fronts
Will be of rubies and diamonds. 'Its
al there" he says. slapping the Good
Book.
lie was SO emphatic that we couldn't
argue with him any more, and reluct-
antly Henry agreed to accept the third
OF mis- capital. which came to seven
thousand dollars. He had drawn every
tning out of the bank and sold out his
noioings at q loss. and I tell you 1t
made me cape to see Henry coolly
pocketing seven thousand dollars in
bills. Cousin James and Cousin Jen-
ME had already had theirs.
The poor old fellow will have an
income Of just six dollars q week
when We hand this back to him." said
Henry to me. as We walked homeward.
We put the money in the stocking
In the chimney. and after that there
was nothing to do but wait. Three
weeks went by, and then we all got
invitations to be at Uncle Zeke's house
on Tuesday night at ten.
When we got there we found James
and Jenny waiting in q sort of grim
silence In the parlor, with Uncle Zeke
holding out to them about Revela-
lions.
I've made mistake, children" he
says to US. Il wasn't allowing for the
difference between American and orr
entail time. The millennium will be-
gin exactly at three minutes before
midnight tonight"
And he showed us a chart of the
sky with which he had figured out his
theory.
There was dollar and nine cents
on the table for the milkman, which
Uncle Zeke had set there because he
said that, though gold and silver
wouldn't be anything but dross. it was
a mans duty to pay his debts.
Suppose the millennium doesn't
Gomez" suggested Cousin James, about
eleven o'clock. His words relieved me,
because l had been getting a queer
sort of creepy feeling, sitting there
and waiting for the end of the world.
I thought Uncle Zeke would get mad,
but to my surprise he looked quite
mournful
Children" he says, Il don't mind
telling you now that I've had my
doubts all along. That was what made
me seem so sure. l wanted to show
my faith, but somehow I've mistrusted
whether it wouldn't be in nine hun
dred years more instead of tonight.
You see, there's a passage in Daniel
which seems open to two meanings.
But anyway" he says, it'll either be
tonight or in exactly nine hundred
years, If you add on another times"
tell you, when it was five minutes
the hand went round to the three.
IT'S coming now!" says Uncle Zeke.
But it didn't come, and when mid
night struck Uncle Zeke banged down
his hand on the table.
Gabriel can't be late" he says. like
a disillusioned man. 1T won't be for
nine hundred years to come, and-and
I'm a pauper."
mo you amt Uncle Zeke." yells
Henry, and shoves the seven thousand
dollars under his nose.
And. would you believe it?-what
did Cousin James and Cousin Jenny
do but pull out seven thousand apiece
and push it onto the table!
why, Jenny" I cried, II thought
you and James we're trying to work up
uncle into giving each Of you every
thing, and l wanted to save 1t from
YOU"
Same here!" says Cousin James,
staring at me.
But Jenny and I we're kissing each
other SO hard that | only saw out of
the tail of my eye how Uncle Zeke
grabbed the bills and slowed them
away.
Yes, human nature isn't 10 bad as
some folks claim.