North Carolina Newspapers

TOE VENDUE AT WRS.RICKETT'S. Secret of the Old Oak Chest Turned Misfortune Into Luck. By FRANK H. SWEET. n Copyright, 1909, by American Press Asso ciation. I never reckoned I'd live to see the day when my things would be sold at j trt 1 i u n T)iAi. u vhuuuu; buuueu puui vm. -una. jrxun.- 3tt as she sat in her big green rocking chair, holding a corner of her checked gingham apron to her streaming, eyes. in '11 have to goand I'll be turned out with nothin' but the clothes on my ,4ack." , A tall, slender girl about sixteen ears old "who had been kneeling by tier grandmother's chair vainly trying to comfort the old lady rose and said: will be as bad as that I will see to it that your old chair and grandpa's are siot sold. You can save out such things as you care for most, but you know that we shall not need half of the things in the two little rooms that we're going to live in at the village." "Two little rooms in the village!" cried out the old lady, throwing up both hands, with a fresh burst of tears. "And I've got to come down to two little rooms when I've been used all my life to plenty of room, with my big closets and but'ry and good dry cellar, and nice - garden, and all that! Oh, Dotty, what could your Grandpa, Pickett have been thinkin' of to be so keerless? Dear me, dear me!" "He didn't know, grandmother. None of us could know that he'd be taken away as he was," replied the girl, her -own eyes filling with tears. Grandfather Pickett had been killed instantly by a fall from his haymow two months before. He had been a feind and good man, but unwisely ec centric in some respects, since he had always made it a rule to tell no one, not even his wife, of his business af fairs. . "Women hain't no head for business. -Their capacity lays In other sp'eres," Jiad been one of Grandfather Pickett's sayings. So his wife had never been -taken into his confidence, and at the time of his death she knew almost nothing about his private affairs. , duiuc uuuia sue buuu uabuvclcu, w tier sorrow.. One of them came home to her with stunning and cruel force five days after the funeral, when Mr. Hiram Parks, a money lender living in the village, came to tell her, in his . . A A A -coxa, Dusinessiuce way, tnac roe mort gage he had held for ten years on the Pickett farm had never been paid and that a settlement must now be made. He had, besides, a note for $500 given Mm by Grandfather Pickett at the time the latter had built his new barn find added the last twenty acres to his "no, ma'am; nothing but the interest." farm. On this note , nothing but the interest had been paid. . ; Poor, dumfounded Mrs. Pickett had not. even known of the existence of the . notes. , . - ' "And my husband never paid you anything on the note nor the mort gage ?'V she asked Parks. . 1-. : "No. ma'am; nothing but the inter est That was paid up regular enough.: Heof ten said he could pay some, on jthem both if he'd a mind to, but he'd , xather : wait and pay; it all off in' a lump. I , supposed ' from that that he'd money in the bank or loaned out so It ras bringing in more interest than he - jvas paying meV , .r t But " a . careful search among Mr. Pickett's papers did not give evidence' ithat any, one owed him a dollar, and a 4- jvisit to the bank at the village proved thgtJiet had nQ mojaey. there. . , . .-''! : bank." said Mrs. Pickett. "That was - one of his odd idees, and . he'd never pay for anything in v payments. ; He al ways wanted to pay it all. In 'a lump. ' But I always thought that : mortgage ; must be 'bout all paid off, and it can't be that we've lived up all we've got it of the farm in all these years, with us sellin' three and four hundred dot-. J lars wuth of stock, at a time. If Irr had only told me nsore 'bout his af fairs! Now I've , got to meddle with- business, whether Tvs any head for It or not Dear me, dear me!" All her lamentations ended with that pathetic 'Dear me! and a sorrowful 6hake of her gray head. - Mrs. Pickett and her granddaughter, Dorothy, were left alone. Dorothy was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Pickett's only child, - who, with his; wife, had died when Dorothy was but five years old, and since that time she had been the light and joy of the fine old farm house. " ' -; - "And Pve taken such comfort ' In thinkin' that your 'gran'pa an' me would leave you so nicely provided for and in a home of your own when we were gone. Dear me, dear, mef , it doesn't matter a oout me, grana-j ma," Dorothy said. "I am sorry only on ydur account. I can teach or sew or work in a store or do something else, and we can be very cozy and comfortable in our two snug little rooms. There will be some money left for you after the note and the mort gage are paid." It was decided that there should be a public sale or vendue of the ef fects not needed for the new home to which they were to go. A "vandod" was usually attended by everybody in the neighborhood, and the occasion was a semlholiday. So there was gen eral Interest when the posters appear "He never would put money in the , ed announcing that Mahala J. Pickett, ering gloom a woman kneeling by her executrix of the estate of Ira W. Pick- grandmother's chair, while Mrs. Pick ett would on Oct. 10 offer for sale ett was shaking her head In a. dazed such and such carefully described kind of way and sayings- articles. , i "I don't understand It Rachel.' It -Mrs. Pickett had a sorrowful duty seems to me I must be dreamin' arid in indicating the things she consented that I'll wake up pretty soon and .find to sell. , : it ain't so !" ., "They shan't have my mahony1 "But you ain't dreaming, Mahala," chist of drawers, nor my haircloth" Dorothy heard Mrs. Day say, with s sofy, nor my flowered carpet nor my two big rockin cheers that my father nd mother begun housekeepin' with. And they shan't have oh, dear, dear! There's nothin I do want 'em to have!" Poor old lady! She4 found that even the simplest and most ordinary of her belongings were dear to her. "There's that green cupboard with the glass door, Dotty," she said. T s' pose it'll have to go. "We've got the red one, and . I s'pose we shan't want two. And there's that old oak chist up in the attic it might as well go, and I reckon Rachel Day '11 bid it in. She wanted to buy it of me once, thirty years ago. I can't bear to think of her havin' any of my things, and 111 warrant she'll come and bid in the very ones I hate to part with most" "Perhaps she won't come to the sale at all, grandma," said Dorothy. "Yes, she will!'' replied Mrs. Pickett positively. "I know Rachel Day. She'l. be here to glory over my trouble. It'll be twenty years' this fall since she and I spoke. and she never come to your grandpa's ; funeral, and I know from that that we shall never speak. agin. I'd an idee she'd come then. Such good friends as wevused to be-r girls together und so intimate that we had our dresses and. bpnnets just alike! And for twenty years we. ain't spoke,- though we've met hundreds of times. Sweet of f ice and gentle of manner as Mrs. Picket jwipus she was a woman of strong pre judices' and great firm ness. She neyerisoughta quarrel and never continued pqe ion& if forced" In-1 to it Shsteipljland ifoi all the time i dismissed tier enemies from her -friend ship and affection, irw" "When I'm done with anybody," she 8ald;'."mdonG,wlt;,enl, . Actmg on thi& unkindly. Jind un-Chris-ttanjrlpleV shehad;wdopped,' a rnena. pt: ner girinopo; ana eany wo-manhoodiitwenty-years before the deatti of her husband. . - Her son had Quarreled with the only son of her dearest friend, Mrs. Rachel Day. The mothers had unwisely , taken up the matter, and not even the com mon sorrow that came upon them in the deaths, of. tne sons in after years had served to bring them together. ; Each had waited for the other.to speak, and both had kent silence. - 1 " Mrs. Day j came to - the vendue, as Mrs. Pickett had predicted. ' Mrs. Pickett sat in the big ' rocking chair on the little, porch and watched the progress of i the sale through ? a mist of tear. -" - Other friends came and spoke words of cheer - ad sympathy, but Rachel Day, prosperous and happy, kept aloof. Occasionally she glanced toward her old friend as; she sat on the porch, a pathetic figure ! in her widow's weeds, her gray head bowed and her handker chief , often at her t. eyes; buf If "Mrs. Day felt sorry for MrsTPickett she did not say so. '-" - t -..V ' ; "Going,igoing going, gentlemen and ladies! Four and a halt has been of fered for -this solid oak chest as good as it! was the day it was made. Four and a half I'm offered. Wtio'll make it five? re? Five,: five, five-who tsays it? reojj. all djjfie, . ladies .and gentle- Are" menr. Tnirri ana last -can auu-su u for four ara a nan iu uic iouj the brown silk dress ; and black lace shawl!" , . , S - . " - - -The lady with the bf own silk dress' and black lace shawl was Rachel Pay. Mrs. Pickett fancied she saw a gleam of triumph in the eyes of the; new owner of the chest. . ; Mrs. Dor bought several of the things offered, ana Mrs. ricKeu. uuueu to her sorrow a sting of resentment and injured pride with each purchase "l A .A. 1 A 1 ' n ft She does it only to aggravate me," i Mrs. Pickett thought But. let her go on if It does her any good. I kin hold spite long as anybody, but I wouldn't show It in such a way as this, if I wa3 Rachel Day." The vendue came to a close early in the afternoon, and the people departed, taking their new possessions with them. Mrs. Day was the last to go, and " when she drove out of the f arm 1 yard her wagon was Well1 laden with j the things she had purchased. Mrs. Pickett brok down entirely I when she and Dorothy were left alone in the almost empty bouse. Mr. Parks ! UuU iilrcu llicui uutu ucai. , nvvii w V rt A rt-rsn 1-tv nnfil Trv ' Trmcil complete thoir arrangements for leav- lng. Then he proposed to take pos session of the house and farm. . Dorothy found much to do during the rest-of the day. The one cow her grandmother had kept had strayed away, and when milking time came Dorothy went in search of her. It was nearly dark when she re turned, driving the cow through the grass of the meadow lot. She had left her grandmother alone and was sur prised to hear voices In the kitchen when she returned to the house with her milking pail. Looking at an open window, she was still more surprised to see in the gqth- "I COULDN'T BELTfiVB UT SSNSZS hysterical and tearful little : laugh. "If s, all true as,, gospel, j Here I am, kneeling right byyou; and there's the money right In your lap." r "And you found It in that old oak chist that I thought had been empty for twenty years? -"Yesi in that secret place" in the HdV Dont you remember it? r"l do now that yon speak of It, BacheL But rd forgotten all about lt before. It's bea co many, years sines the chist was used. , ; "Well, 1 1 remembered lt soon as I saw the chest, replied Mrs. Day, "and when I got home with the things I'd bought today and they'd been car ried Into the house and I found' time t to look them over I put my finger right f on n the spot where the spring was in the chest lid. The, little door dropped, and a; roll of bills came tum bling down Into the chest "I was 1 so upset at first,' Mahala, that I couldn't believe my; senses, and wiSSit rd ptoehedand shaken1 myself tc prove that 4 1 was awake I found it was true and that the -cavity t in the lid - was . full - of v biUsmore- Htoar enough to pay off i the mortgage and' almost enough to pay off the note. "And you brought it ; right" over to me! Oh, Rachel!" , "Of course I did, Mahala. Whatever my other: failings are, . hateful v! and holding spite for years, and all -that Im honest, "Mahala, nd I ' wouldn't touch a pin Pd no right to.'; ' :. : 'I-know you wouldn't Rachel, and I didn't mean to hint" that you would.! But; I'm so glad you brought the mon ey; yourself," ' h ' ;r; r : T- did think bf sending it, said Mrs; bay, "but as I sat thinking it all trA nA iiivw clad vou'dibe to'cet It heale r - - - - - .. .'. '. 'J... T- if 2f - Xl .3 " ' i i it -" j e I Yds,. , 1 to fee?; sorry for you,. Mahala, arioT"the sorrier T got the more ashamed I was of . myself, and the i chest and every thing together galled back old times until I just laid my head on the chest and had a good long cry-, I got up feeling v kinder: and tenderer toward you than I've felt for. twenty c years, though there's been times , when I've wanted to make, up bad enough, , but I was afraid you wouldn't",' " . ' 'Td been glad to, Rachel." i ; For a long , time therold ladles sat. forgetting and forgiving the past; and renewing a friendship not' to be bro ken in the future. . ; ' . , 4 ' -With the money Grandfather Pickett had secreted so carefully ; in the old chest and the proceeds of the "sale Mrs." Pickett easily -made up enough to pay . off her husband's Indebtedness, v Mrs. Day returned the ; articles she had bought , at the sale, and' Mrs.: Pickett: gradually regained possession of her most cherished household treasures. "I never couldt bear the' thought of havin' a vandoo "made? of my things,' said Mrs. Pickett afterward during one of 'her weekly visits to her old friend Rachel, "but if I hadn't made a vandoo of 'em it ain't at all likely ; that money 'd ever been found in my day and you and I never would have. made; up. So there are 'gains for aU our lossesand balms f of all our pains,' as the poetry book says." ; "That's so, Mahala," said Mrs. Day ; All That He Knew About. - He had called upon his son at college. "Did John show you everything of -interest there ?" his" wife inquired when he returned. y : n "He said he did." "What did he show you?' "The gymnasium, the football field, the baseball diamond, the boathouses and the training quarters for th crew." He Was on to Them. Magistrate r What brought you here? Prisoner Two policemen, your hon or. .. ' -r;::0';-w;' 'r r - Magistrate Drunk again, I suppose? Prisoner Yes. sir, both of : them. Kansas City Journal. A Chance For Authors. Though bald, still any rich man might Be crowned all hunkydory If he'd employ some one to write A good hair raising story. Nixon Waterman in New f York Trib-' ' une.' .:----;""':.F;"v-' Essence of Spbrt. How does your husband manage in the winter; when the automobile sea son Is over?" "Fine. He takes up bowling and tries to kill the pin boys. "Puck, Among the Last. The hardworking editor On, thankless trade! ' ' A preferred Creditor Is seldom made; 'Kansas City Journal. Of Course. why sparrows Wonder chatter so much?? ' ' z "Maybe because talk's cheep. Kan sas City Times. --. Making Friends. The truly courteous man doth win Esteem. He says, with joyous shouts (To, heavyweights, You're growling thta, . A TA A .Via thin HTmi'M mnnrtx. y Minneapolis Journal. RIGHT AT OUR FIN GERTIPS. , we have, all that is good in ,: ", FURNITURE. is very fortunate lor ; you for it saves you much time wKen making a purchase in our. line' The designs are very heautiful, ani all oiir furniture;; the low priced as well as the higher priced, is well made H and well finished.-: ' - j , N We invite inspection. . PASS & MOORE. Furniture. . - . New Jfth Si These here flvin' come handy on the farm some of tw days. rx " , uiese , Hi How is that? .Si-Oh, Jest see how easy lt wonld be fer the wlmmin folks ... .. BU.11 around an scare the crows. Chicago! Baseball Language. This baseball lan&uagre h izzles me. ' I cannot make it out. '" - When is a hit a "bingle." and When is a hit a ? Detroit 'Free Press. v ' Another question w.e woulI ask, "Why must a man have skill .To saunter out upon the mound And there 'project the pilir " ' Chicago Record-Herald. - His bbject. j . "The .trouble with you is that you! have no object in life." "Yes, I have.' j "What is it?" . - , : "To be . able to attend my wealthy father-in-law's funeral." Pittsburgh Post. Ingenious. ! A sweet little boy who went to school j " Was up to all sorts of tricks. I He discovered that 9 when upside down j "Would pass for the figure 6. j So when asked his age by a stranger once' The cute little youngster said, ' 'Tm 9 when I stand on my feet like this But 6 when I stand on my head." New Orleans Times-Democrat v Down on the Farm. Cholly City bred (to farmer pruningr apple tree) What are you doing, my good man, may ,1 ask? Farmer I'm pruning. Cholly City bred But isn't it rather early for prunes? Kansas City Jour- What the Little Bird Said. He led the. girl of his heart away to a nook in the woodlands deep. "Engagement rings," said this stingy youth, "in price are very steep. I'll get one for two ninety-eight, my dear. and I think that is paying a heap." The girl . said : naught. - but a little bird " came and piped out. "Cheep, cheep, , cheep!"- -, Chicago News. His Job. Pa, what does the umpire have toi do?" . r f-'y - "The umpire, my boy. is the man who has to take the blame for all the bad playing when the home team loses." Detroit Free Press. 1 T;NS Negotiable. Wifief has 'eyes like diamonds, K - Her teeth resemble pearls. Her, lips look like rubles red. '- And golden are her curls. But these visionary riches. It Is quite plata to me, v' Will not pay the butcher or Put sugar In -our tea. .,.. -.Denver News fencouragement. . The Hobo Madam, I ain't had notln in'.to" eat fer three days. v The Lady You're doing fine. I read in the' paper of a man that fasted for thirty days. Are you trying for hid record ? Cleveland Leader. s ..A Juvenile Investigation. The small boy listened to the bee And wondered , what it hummed with glee. The cry: which from: his lips was wrung Showed - that the bee was murmuring. rstungr :' Washington Star. Fousliee Will sell you (groceries, Shoes ,i 'i ,-:h --Wi .--y :v. : , and Furniture --"w -' " - : ' ' -'i i-j "J V. ' V- .. j."'. f V..' i-:..': -i. . at the same j, . ' . f. - - - - ; -' " low flsures. ;Vv;;In- : a. k. pousheb's Old Stand. Nbticel I, w,