Motion Picture Story Magazine (Aug 1912-Jan 1913)

THE UNWELCOME GUEST 79 sitting down, and then the news of the sale for taxes had to be broken, within plain sound of the voices of bargaining men. ''Then we've got nothin' left a-tall," said pa, his voice quivering. ' ' But dont yeh be scared, Jessie, dear ; Obed an' me 're goin' ter look out fer yeh, aint we, Obed?" "You bet we be," said Obed, looking into the blue eyes again. "I want ter go an' see th' old place jest once more, 'fore it's got a new owner," quavered pa; "Jessie, jest hand me a clean handkerchief. There's some in thet grip." "I dont find any," Jessie said, rummaging. ' ' Here, I '11 empty everything out — it needs to be packed better, anyhow; I jammed things in every way — I was in such a hurry. ' ' As she dumped the contents of the old valise upon the ground, pa bent over and lifted one of the garments. "Well, I never! — if here aint my weddin' vest!" he said, in a pleased tone. "Where 'd yeh get this, Jessie? I never could find it before. ' ' "It was in that false bottom of the trunk," said Jessie; "remember I told you, when I was hiding it ? " "No; I didn't take no notice what yeh said. Thet's queer, but I'm glad t ' find it ; I 've got th ' hull suit now. ' ' "Let me see it," demanded Obed, suddenly. There was a queer, tense excitement in his manner, as he almost snatched the vest from Pa Flint. "Why, what's th' matter, Obed?" pa queried in surprise, as Obed began rummaging thru the pockets. ' ' Nothin ', ' ' said Obed, dropping the garment, disappointedly; "I thought mebbe — but there 's nothin ' in it. ' ' Jessie gave Obed a quick look — her womanly sense had divined his thought. She picked up the vest and turned it, scanning the lining. There was a tiny rip, near the bottom, and she poked in an inquiring finger, hesitated, ripped a little farther down the seam, her eyes shining ' with excitement. Suddenly she tore the lining wide open with a quick jerk. "There," she cried, thrusting the vest into pa 's hands, ' ' look ! ' ' There it was — layer upon layer of yellow notes, covering every inch of space between the front and its lining. "Hooray!" yelled Obed, jumping to his feet, and pulling wildly at the half-dazed man. "Come on, quick, an' save th' old place 'fore it's sold — quick — come on, quick ! ' ' All this happened half a dozen years ago. If you should drive today along one of the dusty, clover-edged roads that lead away from Bennington, you would come to the little home of Pa Flint, set well back from the road, surrounded by beds of nodding, old-fashioned flowers. I called there, the other day, for a drink from the spring and a chat with Pa Flint. 1 ' Ever hear from Bob ? " I inquired finally, with privileged familiarity. The old man smiled, half sadly. "Jest once, since I run away from him, ' ' he said ; ' ' they heard about me fin din' th' money, of course, an' they both come hurryin' over ter see me right away. It seems it hadn't occurred to 'um till jest then, thet they wuz awful lonesome without me, an' they said th' children missed me so, an' they wuz worried about me livin' here alone. It wuz surprisin' how tickled they wuz ter see me, an' how many good reasons there wuz fer my goin' back ter live with 'um. I stood it fer a few minutes — I alius wuz slow ter get mad — but I riz right up fin 'lly, an ' told 'um ter get out of th' house. I'm 'fraid I spoke pretty plain — they hustled out pretty smart ; an' jest at th' gate Obed met 'um, an' he sailed in an' finished th' job — he said he wuz so mad he jest had ter tell 'um what he thought of sech folks. ' ' "Obed lives with you yet?" I asked, and, as if in answer, Obed appeared in the low doorway, with Jessie hanging to his arm. "Yes; I've got both my children yet, ' ' the old man was saying. ' ' They say blood's thicker 'n water, but I dont know — it 'd be hard ter find blood relations any nigher to me then they seem ter be. It's surprisin' how well things turn out. It's a good ole world, after all."