Show 41 t A 2 jonan was cooking n bit of bacon on the little stove whon when the door open ed cd and a rasping voice spoke famil lirly golu to sell out I 1 see oco jonas eh ch jonas looked up lu in evident displeasure no ile was a slender blender old man perhaps seventy years of ago age ills hair was thin and white and hla bli beard and moustache gre and str straggly Ugly showing the pink skin beneath for jonas was in prime health its as a result of his regular active farm life now ills his cheeks checks were pinker with irritation squire barlow was not a welcome visitor jonass glance encountered another old man na as advanced la years as himself but not as well wolf preserved ile he was short find and stout with black heady beady eyes deep set in D a yellowish leathery face lie ile looked tho the mean hard alsted ilsted man man ho he was known to be and as jonas was not pleased with the interruption ho he turned again to the stove giving curt assent to the squires inquiry ye see sec right guess yo know the of red flags flag s jes as aa well as I 1 do heeln as how gen raly ye happen to be aroun roun where theres bargains will ye shot shet th door squire I 1 aint got no plans for hentin all out doors anns spoke impatiently then as illic squire closed the door with an whipped the droual from under my feet with yoro yere cons arned pretty manners an yero yera trank bank account and took ann eliza out 0 my arms an married tier her damn yo yc bobbo yo dont heinem bor ber that yo yo whelp yo ye byln dirty lowdown low down 11 it was well for the squire that hla his breath fauch for jonas was waa up in an instant his eyes flashing hla his nostrils no strlla white and dilated with sudden virile anger iio he leaned with one hand on oil tho the table and in ills grasp was tile tho long bread knife ills ilia voice was ominously quiet steady squire I 1 dont allow no man to insult mo me in my own house nor anywhere else I 1 guess yovo yeve said bout enough yo might as aa well git out an stay tho the squire calmed down immediately lie ile picked up lip tits his hat buttoned up his coat over his still heaving breast and laid a heavy land hand on tho the doorknob then he turned and for full a minute tho the two men looked steadily tach each into the others eyes cyca like animals about to spring tho the squires lips were drawn in a sneer showing his yellow stubby teeth 1 I aint got no wee weeping pins he bo said finally opening tile the door but bobbe this time tomor to mor row ye wont be so BO quick to ask mo me to git out I 1 jest called to girt alvo yo to ellk M 3 0 4 ZD 1 I 10 7 A W un LAY tim PRECIOUS BUNDLE CLASPED IN INS HIS angry slam ha 1 a lifted the meat out of the pan with a fork and put it on a blue plate that rested warming on the edge dge c of the store ye dont donit seem very glad to see me jonas the quires voice was a cross between a whine and a snarl and his black eyes gleamed malignantly jonas continued his preparations for break breakfast fait lie ile gave a final stir to the coffee set tho the pot and the plate of meat on the table and cut a thick slice of bread then as lie he sat down to eat he looked up at the squire with cold hard bard eyes 1 I ask ye to come in squire an ill not ask ye to go long as ye behave herself yer self ile he spoke very quietly almost as though lie he were talking to himself anil and as the squires face reddened with suppressed auget for lie bad expected jonas 0 fo o erwingo be fore him jonas calmly stirred his coffee looking meditatively out of tile the window across the bleak frozen hillside jonass was afas for the squires temper ani and lie he lot let himself out with an oath all h li lie he snarled ye may well say ye ask me in jonn updyke but yo ye ask me why I 1 come for though weve lived here in this valley nigh seventy year hoys boys together and men together tilts this Is tile the fust filat time in forty year gone that ive cro crossed ased this here doorsill but it wont bo be the last jonas it wont bo be tho the last m me e hoy boy there was an sneer in his voice that grated A on every fibre fabre of jonas being there be no tearo shed abed squire if yo ye was wt to come back no more an as tor for crossin my step in ill forty year nobody knows bet battern tern yer self how flow that happens the squire opened his coat adjusted his collar and began impressively emphasizing tits his words by tapping on the tuble table with a fat forefinger jonas Up updike lyke let me ask aeu ye n for few quest question lon dont remember win how bow old yero yere dettla bobbe yeve forgotten ann ellza eliza wimble that lived in this town as it a girl somo forty year back ile he waited for reply jonas nodded his bend bead tho the best girt girl that over ever lived peace to hoc ber ashes esi he replied reverently and bobbe ye dont remember went on the squire in a louder voice thet for nigh he five year I 1 was a ann ellza eliza wimble every saturday night and taken tier lier to mee mertill till ever thursday evenin in good ler ter and goin darivin with 12 her tol to say eay ot bryin her gum drops an cologne an sich deb 11 again he be paused drued ond and again jonas nodded loorine out of the window badly for ann ellza eliza had bad been hla his wife for forty years yeara and less legs than two years before he be had bad burled buried her in tho the little village churchyard the squires voice rose in passionate climax ills hla gestures gestured turea became emphatic debbo yo ye ric collect then jonas that bout that time yo notice jonas ivo ive bought up tip yero yere notes an tomorrow to morrow when the sale bale comes coic off knock tho the old place down to me at my own figg to morrow morrial yell cook yoro yero last breakfast in this house jonas mind ye that ive been awalda awalt lit this mo 1 ment anent for thirty year ever since ye laid on the fust mortgage its the sweetest cst day I 1 ever barawed breath pack up yere duds ye white headed pup its my turn now iio he dodged the lica heavy vy too toe of jonass boot and hastened hast dined down the graced w walk aik to tits his buggy at the gate I 1 jonas went back to the kitchen and cleared up the breakfast dishes then lie he sat own owa with tits hla pipe to thirds think it over the squires words were no surprise lie ile know knew that barlow had bad bought up tip we the notes ho he know knew that there was no hope for him after tomorrow ile iio had already packed lis his few clothes in a grip and was ready tomorrow to morrow before the salo sale could begin he would walk out and leave the old place with all its memories to its new owner jonas nature was self contained and lie ho did not show ula his emotions yet as lie ho wandered about the bouse thinking of E ellza liza ho he came very near to tears arara it was waa all so BO lonesome and forlorn the dust lay thick on the parlor table something he bo had bad never known in the old days ills ilia mind went back as aa it had bad dono done a hundred times during tho the week to sonny hla his son ball billand and a great sob welled up lip in his throat threat if billy were only there but he bo put the thought resolutely away billy wms was not ilot there billy was but a memory and ami ann anil eliza was waa dead and homo home was home hoine no longer jonas was up long before lawn dawn tile next ni morning orning As AB squire barlow had bad predicted he be cooked his last breakfast aud and by sunup bunup sun bun up ho he was ready to depart ile stopped out of tile the yard without a look back the air was sharp with november frost but he bo swung away gown down the road at a gait that set ills hla heart pounding joyously over his bla shoulder on a heavy cane ho he his bis carpet gripsack grip sack in his poel et was money not so BO much to be sure bure but enough to kov kaip him for a month and why worry beyond that evea at seventy years of age it you had asked jonas whither bo was waa bound lio lie could not bayo told you but lie bo felt in hla his heart that ho he could make tits bis way to ono one of tho the largo large cities and find work for tits ills spirit was yet young it was waa hla his boast admitted by ills big neighbors that ho be had not aged a day la in look 1001 or manner in the past tea years so le hi strode ou oa with a light step and tor for a week covered about twenty miles a day putting up at country hotels the fresh air was like wine the varying lana landscape scalO was waa a deight lie ile lived again the lays days of sixty three when bo be tramped up and down tho the state of tennessee fighting and being fought day after day through that terrible cam campaign have you over ever thought young man what it means to bo be dubbed old and no good I 1 slave have you tin nn idea of tho th hopelessness of ago age when the only outlook la Is continued need and reduced earning capacity tho the truth came homo home strongly to jonas when ho he began to seek bock work cherewan The there rewan was no work for or him they wanted young voting men no waa t too old d he 0 stand tho the racket and some wore were less gentle with the rebut rebuff gradually hta his little fund dwindled and at last ho III hla way by bogging begging ot at farm houses along tho the road lie ile found shelter lu in hayricks hawricks hay ricks and barns sneaking in aft after r dark and leaving before lawn dawn lack or of food began to tell tile tho wrinkles winkles deepened in hla his face hla his oyes eyes took ou on a hopeless hop clesa expression his bis gait was slower blower hla his back began to bend in a few weeks jonas was an old old man and with weakness came the feeling of dependence ills his pride melted lie ile wanted a strong arm about him dut but there wag nims only one in all t the ile world on an whom bo be might caU Sonny and where was waa sonny now there was ample time for fon jonas to regret the past As lie ho plodded along the frozen road lie recalled the occurrences of ten tea years before when sonny had passed out of ills his life on the boys shoulders had fallen the burden buril of the farm with its mortgage together they had bad worked bill doing the lions share to raise the encumbrance and when tho the money was nl ill most in hand jonas had loaned it against billys earnest protest to a 0 friend on an unsecured note at heavy interest and when the friend failed dilly billy saw the fruits of oc his labor swept away in a night was it any wonder then that ho he proposed giving up lh tle farm and moving to tho the city wore were they to continue there with noses to tuc the eternal grindstone merely eking out a living the mother agreed faith in her son being deep and andablo a id ins ing but jonas said no and when after months of argument billy announced lis his intention of going alone jonan rose in wrath and showed hinal the door bidding him with a curse to to go and stay and never show your face again now in his bitterness weak and weary jonas sat down by tho the side bide of the road and wept quietly tho the first time in yo ye oh it if lie ho could only find sonny sonny would forgive him ills heart went brick to tile tho old home to the sorrowing uj mother other who had bad pined away gri grieving crIng for tier her son lie ile did riot not know that on oil the day dan of ill departure billy prosperous and ana generous having heard beard of the ap air pro preaching aching sale had appeared upp oared eared before tho the astonished squire barlow and up net met that individuals prophecy by sat satisfying all demands and rendering the t e sa sale to unnecessary nor that for we weeks billy had been advertising nil all over tho a east for his father to come home it was new years eve jonas had been on the road over a month without NJ ItIl knowing how or indeed why ho lad had proceeded steadily north through ho mountains isains and now as the bleak winter day y drew to a close he was approaching pro ro the great city of pittsburg prom from afar ho he had seen scon tile heavy smoke lying low on oil tho the horizon TIM tho road was lined cited with beautiful residences and as dusk came on lights appeared in the windows there was warmth and cheer slight not food and shelter be there to for an old ola man ile ho could not mot keep up much longer ills HIS shoes were worn wom through lie ile was sick with hunger in 11 desperation he followed the driveway of 0 a palatial lal residence lind made hla his way back to tho the stable the hostler came at liliu him savagely git out ol 01 0 here lie ho growled this aint no place pace for li oboes 11 jonas turned and went out again would not bog beg from a common stable hand haild lie would push on to the city As he passed the side of the house he glanced up at the roof and stopped suda suddenly there was a glow in tho the attle attic window the glass shivered and a gush of smoke and name flame told toia him instantly that tho the douso was on fire with quick stops steps ho he ran raa to the front and up on the broad porch tho the door was locked but ho he pounded on it with hla his fists rille he shouted and again FIRE Thedoor opened suddenly showing tho white seared scared faco face of a woman firel your house Is on illel ho he cried as he be pushed past tier her women screamed and children chil drou ran hither and thither hardly knowing why jonas hurried up the broad stairs turned tile tho upper hall ball a cloud of smoke enveloped him lie ile on en the first room and ran to tile the window opening it be shouted into tile tho still night air fired lie ile hoard heard mens voices but as la in a dream for the smoke was waa stifling him no he must got get back or die like a rat in a hole bole As lie he groped his way lie ho fell against ti a bed A IL tiny voice startled him it was a baby choking in the dense smoke ho reached out blindly tits his handa bands caine tho the child struggling beneath beavy beary coverings lie ile grabbed it up drugging ragging it off the blankets and wrapping them around the little ones licad head and body somehow ho be readied reached tho the door staggered into the ball and wily way Ss a ho he started down bo tripped over the end of a blanket and rolled down down over and over nig bond bead struck a sharp corner at tho the foot of the steps and he lay still the precious bundle clasped in his bis arms an immeasurable space of time passed then fien jonas awne a slowly ric he knew kiew he was waa warm and that he lay on a boft bed but his bla eyes were heavy una and he bo could not lift the lids thou then a sounded la ill his bis pars cars father Fat ber father it said surely that was voice and lie ho was back lu in the old home and it was timo to get up and milk the cows ile he struggled gica against the henvy oleo sleep P illy ills eyes opened and looked up lip into billys face sonny Is it you he asked weakly where am 1 I bonny yes father its me nilly billy came tho thi strong familiar voice dont you 1 know me father ive been hunting you everywhere youre right here bore a home my homo 0 o slowly the truth dawned upon hi him ml lie ile closed his bla eyes again trying ti t remember 6 fi sonny onny there was a firc and aa a a baby |