The commonwealth., 1916-12-12

No sooner had they reached roo,.
road, where the route began tbas
Deacon realized the inexperienoo ~
the new man. Why he was actuaur
going to drive right past the Powers,
place, and the Powers almost a]wor.
had mail of some kind. even if -
: wasn't more than a poultry magazine
or seed catalogue After one =.
two such mistakes Deacon took char,o
of things himself. From house 20
house he went, stopping wherever ho
had been in the habit of calling, wait
ing until the new carrier found wbo
lived there and had looked through la,
! ters and parcels to see if he had anv.
! thing for them.
All the forenoon and all the after.
noon this went on, but when the rcd
sun went down in the frosty west there
still remained half a hupdress letters
and more than a peck of packages to
! be delivered. The new man was hnn.
CRY and tired, but he was no gutter
So he begged some hay and oats for
Deacon, borrowed a lantern, and 70.
! gether they started to finish the route
AS for Deacon, his old knees We're
sitter than ever, his shoulder muscles
ached, his f1anks heayed like pair Of
blacksmith's bellows, but he plunged
on, never skipping a single house.
never hesitating at a roundabout half
mile, doing his whole duty quite as
thoroughly as if there had been some
one behind to urge him on instead of
|
longer even touched the reins. At last
only one letter was left thick, bulky
one in blue waterproof envelope
bearing a foreign post1nark Josiah
Braisted, Esq.," was the address.
"Braisted, eh?'' muttered the clerk.
"Wonder if the old horse knows where
he lives?'
Evidently Deacon did, for he was
plowing through a big drift, heading
straight out on the Boston road into
the darkness. Far ahead on the top
Of long hill, the clerk could see the
lights of a big house. There were no
other lights between. Miles behind he
could make out the glow of the city.
: The clerk wished he could be back
there, where one could be warm again
!, and get something hot to eat. With
numb fingers he pulled out his watch.
Half-past nine! Why, it would take
them a good two hours to drive back
now! Braisted be hanged! He could
get his letter after Christmas.
i So he grabbed the reins and indi-
z Gated to Deacon a desire to turn
around. But Deacon would not turn.
Pull on the rein as he might, Deacon
would only swing his head about,
keeping his legs moving straight
ahead. BY much shouting and saving
on The reins Deacon was stopped.
Then the new driver waded out to his
| head, took him by the bits and tried to
point the horse the other way. Dea-
con refused to bulge. Those lights on
: the top Of the long hill marked the end
Of the route, and Deacon knew it. And
to those lights they went Josiah
! Braisted?' asked the driver curtly OF
the young woman who answered his
ring.
ooh, it's come, it's come" she
l shouted to someone within, as she held
/, out her hand eagerly for the letter.
Never before had he seen SO much
excitement caused by the delivery OF
:, letter. In moment there were three
:. . or four persons in the front hail. all
!. !. talking at once.
do you think it will save him, doc
, , tor?" asked the anxious-faced ole
= lady who had followed the girl to The
door.
1T will if anything will, 1 guess,
- answered stout, bearded man. Anf
y ne mounted the stairs to see the pa
tient in the upper room.
Then they insisted that the half
frozen clerk come inside and have
something to eat. Deacon? Oh, the.
> would take care of Deacon. They dl'
s. all this and more. It seemed that tm
& letter had been long expected and Wa
y sadly needed, for it came from PROD
Il igal son to a very sick father. It hat
e it's effect, too.
OF course the clerk told them Q
DeacOn'S heroic stubbornnesS, of hoy
t. the old horse had insisted on gon
:. to the very end Of the route Whel
s he had tried to turn him back. Josa
- A'A d1SlcO, GSQ., uCi1O l1lC StO1 uuh'-
e his cOnvaleScence.
y Il must tell my son about that Whe
IS he comes home,'' he would repeat q
o they told him Of the part DeacQ
played in the story. 1--WE ought to Q
e something for that old horse" he SAT-
e They did, too. The office clerk, Wh
st will first show you a handsome goi
d watch, tells the story best, always enc
e ing with, "And old Deacon, why, o
e lives out there on the Braisted Flac
a like thoroughbred. He's in Glove
he isl
y "WeI," Dan Sweeney will add, II
n no hlore'n he deserves. Old Deaco
W was u mighty good horse in his Cd.
Il and mighty knowin'."-St. Louis GloO'
Democrat.