The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-10-24
EVENING STORY
Old Nick's Legacy.

Because he is a total failure and u
blot on the fair name of hard-work-
ing family, L give and bequeath my
great-nephew, Nicholas Wye, nothing
but the shop in the orchard and the
contents of the same.
Nicholas Wye, better known as Old
Nick, tho he was neither old nor ma
| licious sat on the orchard wall and
looked thoughtfully at the little
weather blackened building which was
] his sole share in the good1y estates be-
! longing to the Wye homestead on the
hill. Then he looked down at the
newspaper in his hand with its black
headline The editor of the Bowen
vile Herald had thought old man
Wye's will such a humorous docu-
ment that he had made front-page
story about Old Nick and his legacy.
| Nick crumpled the paper and tried
/ to cram it into his pocket as a light
step came down the road. He kne*
it was Floris Hanson coming home
from her laborS at the little old School
| house down the lane. Somehow NICK
always happened TO be around some
where when Floris came along, aItno
he seldom ventured to speak to her.
| The village teacher was a person so
much looked up to in Bonneville that
Niek's cousin, Abel Wye, heir to the
| homestead on the hill, had made bid
for her favor with a view to securing
a suitable mistress for his fine old
house.
To Nicks surprise, Floris stopped
today and spoke to him. She had a
copy of the Herald in her hand and
her eyes were sparkling Indignantly.
Its a shame, Mr.. Wye she de-
clared THAT editor ought to be
prosecuted and so had your uncle-oh,
no. 1 forgot he is dead. Well, any
way, I-we-a1 know you're not
blot and total failure"
/ well, you see that was Uncle Zeb's
way O. looking at it," explained NICK
4 good naturedly "All the Wyes had
worked like time and saved every cent
| till I came along. Used up all the
| family ginger so there didn't seem to
| be any left for me- I've had to hunt
and fish and loaf enough to make up
| for all they missed
When Floris had gone on her way,
he got off the wall and gravely in
! spected the shop, the only piece of
property he had ever owned 1t was
| a rough, solid little building, it's two
rooms well lighted by big windows,
for Uncle Zeb had used it for paint
shop. 1t was empty save for heap
| of rubbish in one corner.
''Now, if he'd left me little some
thing to begin the world on how'd he
know but I'd REFORM unused Mich
olas, pulling over the heap. Hello,
what's this?"
/ 1t was a substantial key of white
paint. with a smaller one of green
| resting atop of it. Old Nick was
| humorist in his way and his eyes be-
gan to twinkle as he examined this
| find.
Maybe Uncle Zeb did better by me
h than he thought" chuckled the new
| owner of the property. 81 might sell
this, but on the whole I believe I'll
make some use of it myself. Used to
like to paint-and, anyway, it'll be a
| job to work at while She's going by"
I The capitalized pronoun stood for the
mistress in his thoughts.
/ The next afternoon when Floris
! passed she stared in amaZement. In
| this shady orchard corner, the little
building, painted clean white with a
/ small stripe of dark green for finish,
looked like the fairy house she had
| sometimes seen in her dreams when
her boarding place in the village was
| worse than usual. Nick was inside
| painting the woodwork. With Wom-
| ans interest in beauty and cleanliness
Floris stepped along to the door and
| looked in.
''Oh, Mr.. Nicholas she exclaimed,
you're making it just lovely! Don't
have thing, will you, but the clean
white and green?"
" That's my idea, certainly" averred
Nick gravely. What color would Won
have the floors?"
Green, too" decided FIoris eagerly.
"Only not so dark; you'll know how
to tone it down. Why, you are an art
list. and you've never let us find it
outI"
1t was not long before the fairy
house in the orchard attracted the at
tention of others beside the school
mistress. The village thought that a
spasm of industry had seized Old Nick
at last, but he was only earning money
by odd jobs in order to beautify that
small building under the apple trees.
He built little piazza and tiny
paint shop out by the wall in which to
keep his pals and brushes and other
litter. For it was nlain nOyx- +baf tho
old shop was shop no longer. Thru
the clean front window curious pas
sersby could see a papered wall bios
soming with half-opened rosebuds in
a mist of green leaves. A local in The
/ Herald announced with newborn DO
| likeness that Mr.. Nicholas Wye was
making extensive repairs on his cot
| tage.
Every afternoon Nick was waiting to
ask the advice of the school mistress
about this or that. One day he took
her into his confidenc about his plans
| for the future-for it developed that
| Old Nick had plans for the future at
last. Whatever they were Floris en-
| tered into them with such enthusiasm
| that the very next morning the aston
ished town spied a green and white
board hanging outside the little new
shop over by the wall. 1t bore the leg
end:
NICHOLAS WYE. SIGN PAINT
Il 1NG anu OtHef + me Work- ana IN the
shop the artist had specimens of his
skill to show to inquirers. The result
was a rush of custom which promised
to last, for the town was convulsed by
a boom period and there was no other
painter as yet. Moreover other towns
in like condition were within easy
reach.
Made seven dollars TODAY" Old
Nick informed Floris ore afternoon
when she looked in at the cottage
on her way home. 'sTbereH be work
enough. and I've always been looking
for some job that wasn't too steady to
let me go fishing more or less