154 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



May 



Then ho came iu. He kne",v me in a 

 moment. He stuck out his hand and 

 grasped mine firmly, and said sternly, 

 ''Well, young man, do you propose to 

 behave yourself now?" . 



He tried to put on a brave front, but 

 he broke down. There we sat like whip- 

 ped school Ciiildren, all whimpering. 

 At last supper time came and mother 

 went out to prepare it. I went into the 

 kitchen with her. 



"Where do you live, Jimmy?" she 

 asked. 



' 'In New York, ' ' I replied. 



"What are you working at now, 

 Jimmy?" 



"I au.\ v.'orking in a dry goods store." 



"Thea I suppose you don't live very 

 high, for I hear tell o' them city clerks 

 what don't get enough money to keep 

 body and soul together. So I'll just tell 

 you, Jimmy, we've got nothing but 

 roasted spareribs for supper. We ain't 

 got auy money now, Jimmy. We're 

 poorer nor Job's turkey." 



I told her I would be delighted with 

 the spareribs, and to tell the truth, 

 John, I have not eaten a meal in New 

 York that tasted as good as those crisp 

 roasted spareribs did. I spent the even- 

 ing playing checkers with father, while 

 mother sat hy telling me all about 

 their misfortunes, from old white Moo- 

 ley getting drowued in the pond to fa- 

 ther's signing a note for a friend and 

 having to mortgage bis place to pay it. 

 The mortgage was due inside of a week 

 and not a cent to meet it with — just 

 $800. She supposed they would be turn- 

 ed out ci house and home, but in my 

 mind I sapposed they wouldn't. At 

 last 9 o'clock came and father said: 



"Jim, go out to the barn and sci if is^ii, 

 is all right Bring in an arn.ful oi rd 

 shingjes tlir.t are just inside .''■ (.(;rr 

 and fill up thewaterpail. Theuv^eli go 

 off to bed and get up early and go 

 a-fishing. " 



I didn't say a word, but I went out 

 to the barn, bedded down the horse, 

 broke up an armful of shingles, pumped 

 up a prdlful of Vv'r.ter, filled the wood 

 box and t]:( u v>"e ail went to bed. 



Father called me at half past 4 in the 

 morning, and vrhile he was getting 

 breakfast I skipped over to the depot, 

 cross lots, and got my best bass rod. Fa- 

 ther took nothing but a trolling line 



and a spoon hook. He rowed the boat, 

 with the trolling line in his mouth, 

 while I stood in the stern with a silver 

 rigged shiner on. Now, John, I never 

 saw a man catch fish as he did. 



At noon we went ashore and father 

 went home, while I went to the post- 

 office. I got a letter from Chicago, with 

 a check for .|1,000 in it. With some 

 trouble I got it cashed, getting paid in 

 •iJo and |10 bills, making quite a roll. I 

 then got a roast joint of beef, with a 

 lot of delicacies, and had them sent 

 iiome. After that I went visiting among 

 my old schoolmates for two hours and 

 went home. Mother had put on her only 

 silk dress and father had donned his 

 Sunday go to meeting clothes, none too 

 good either. This is where I played a 

 joke on the old folks. Mother was in 

 the kitchen watching the roast. Father 

 was out to the barn, and I had a clear 

 coast. I dumped the siigar out of the 

 old blue bowl, put the $1,000 in it and 

 placed the cover on again. At last sup- 

 per was ready. Father asked a blessing 

 over it. and he actually trembled when 

 he stuck his knife into the roast. 



"W'e haven't had a piece of meat like 

 that in five years, Jim," he said, and 

 mother put in with, "And we haven't 

 had any coffee in a year, only when we 

 went visiting. " 



Then she poured out the coffee and 

 lifted the cover of the sugar bowl, ask- 

 ing as she did so, "How many spoon- 

 fuls, Jinnny?" 



Then she struck something that was 

 not sugar. She picked up the bowl and 

 peered into it. "Aha, Master Jimmy, 

 playing your old tricks on your mam- 

 my, eh? Well, boys will be boys." 



Then she gasped for breath. She saw 

 it was money. She looked at me and 

 then at father; then with trembling 

 fingers drew out the great roll of bills. 



Ha, ha, ha! I can see father now, as 

 he stood there on tiptoe, with his knife 

 in one hand, his fork in the other, and 

 his eyes fairly bulging out of his head. 

 But it was too much for mother. She 

 raised her eyes slowly to heaven and 

 said, "Put yoTiv trust in the Lord, for 

 he will provide. " 



Then .she -fainted away. Well, John, 

 there is not much more to tell. We 

 threv*- water in her face and brought her 

 to. Then we demolished that dinner, 

 mother all the time saying: "My boy 



