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 1 IT ONLY NEEDS NEW PROPS." PAGE 75.
 
 OLD BENCHES WITH NEW PROPS. 
 
 BY 
 
 MARY DWINELL CHELLIS, 
 
 AUTHOR OP " THE ATTIC TENANT,'' " THE TURNING OP THE WHEEL," "WARD FIVE 
 
 AND WARD TEN," " THE WINNING SIDE," " MISS BELINDA'S FRIEND8," " PROFIT 
 
 AND LOSS," " SIX DOLLARS A WEEK," " BREAD AND BEER," "OUR HOMES," 
 
 " ALL FOR MONEY," " PROM FATHER TO SON," " THE BREWERT AT 
 
 TAYLORVILLE," "THE BREWER'S FORTUNE," "WEALTH AND 
 
 WINE," " AUNT DINAH'S PLEDGE," ' OLD TIMES," " OUT 
 
 OP THE FIRE," " THE OLD TAVERN," " THE WORK- 
 
 INGMAN'S LOAF," "THE TEMPERANCE 
 
 DOCTOB," ETC., ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 The National Temperance Society and Publication House, 
 No. 58 READE STREET. 
 
 1891.
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1891, BY 
 THE NATIONAL TEMPERANCE SOCIETY AND PUBLICATION HOUSE. 
 
 EDWARD o. JENKINS' SON, 
 
 Printer^ Stereotyfer, and Electrotyper, 
 
 20 North William St., New York.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEB 
 
 I. EAGLE POINT, ------ 5 
 
 II. THE BRENNER PLACE, 15 
 
 III. MRS. BYAM, 24 
 
 IV. Miss TAMSON AND ANN, - 32 
 V. NEW TENANTS, ------ 40 
 
 VI. THE MORTGAGE, 49 
 
 VII. THAD BYAM, 58 
 
 VIII. CLYDE STAFFORD, THE BREWER, 67 
 
 IX. EATING SALOON, - 77 
 
 X. SUNSET WOODS, 87 
 
 XI. AT THE OLD JOYCE HOUSE, - - - - 98 
 
 XII. How TO BE KICK, 108 
 
 XIII. TIM DURRELL, - - 117 
 
 XIV. WHO SENT THE TRACTS? 125 
 XV. STAFFORD, SENIOR, - - - - - 133 
 
 XVI. A STRANGE MEETING, - 142 
 
 XVII. UNDER THE LINDENS, - - - - 152 
 
 XVIII. GRACE HILLIARD, 161 
 
 XIX. Two DAYS, 171 
 
 XX. A TEMPERANCE MEETING, - 179 
 
 XXI. IN A LUMBER CAMP, - - - - 187 
 
 XXII. A PRIVATE INTERVIEW, - 196 
 
 XXIII. DR. LASH, - 206 
 
 XXIV. STARVING, 216 
 
 (8) 
 
 2061714
 
 Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 XXV. RIGHTING A WRONG, 
 
 XXVI. THE END, 
 
 XXVII. AT COLD SPRING, - 
 
 XXVIII. WARREN LYFORD SAVED, 
 
 XXIX. Two GOSPELS, 
 
 XXX. THE SALOON KEEPER, 
 
 XXXI. WARNED, 
 
 XXXII. WAS IT AN ACCIDENT? 
 
 XXXIII. A TOWN MEETING, 
 
 XXXIV. ROBERT TREVANION, 
 XXXV. TEN YEARS, - 
 
 PAGE 
 
 225 
 
 242 
 252 
 261 
 269 
 278 
 286 
 295 
 305 
 314
 
 OLD BENCHES WITH NEW PROPS, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EAGLE POINT. 
 
 TAMSON BRENNER stood in the observatory, 
 looking off upon a wintry landscape which 
 gleamed and glittered in the sunlight of a clear 
 March day. A week of mild weather had soft- 
 ened and packed the snow, which later had 
 frozen to a solid, unyielding mass, thus offering 
 to the pedestrian a delightful opportunity for 
 out-of-door enjoyment. 
 
 All this the observer noted, and then with a 
 lingering gaze at the distant mountains, de- 
 scended the stairs leading to her point of obser- 
 vation, and presently met her father in the 
 family sitting-room, when he asked anxiously : 
 
 " Have you told your mother ? " 
 
 "No, sir; I have not," she replied. "She is 
 complaining more than usual this morning ; and 
 besides, I do not feel quite equal to the occa- 
 sion. I want time to think the matter over. 
 If you can do without me here at home I will 
 
 (5)
 
 6 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 go up to Eagle Point and spend the day. The 
 long walk will do me good, and everything 
 always seems clearer after I have talked it over 
 with Cousin Prudence." 
 
 " Then go, child. I shall miss you, but in the 
 days to come we shall need all the strength 
 and wisdom you can gain. Your mother will 
 probably stay in her room, and Ann need not 
 mind about me. I shall not care for dinner." 
 
 " I have already given orders for your dinner, 
 and I shall not leave you unless you promise to 
 eat it. You must not give way so," exclaimed 
 the young girl, throwing her arms around her 
 father's neck. " If you will only help me, we 
 can go through and keep a home for ourselves ; 
 if not here, in some other place. It does not 
 require much to make a home, if only those we 
 love are with us." 
 
 " I shall always have a home, my child, so 
 long as you and your mother are with me ; but 
 it is hard for an old man to see the last of his 
 possessions in the hands of strangers." 
 
 " I am one of your possessions, father. Would 
 you not rather relinquish this place to Clyde 
 Stafford than give me away to him ? " 
 
 "A thousand times rather, Tamson. I could 
 not bear to see you his wife." 
 
 " Yet he may count his wealth by millions. 
 He says he is sure of it."
 
 Eagle Point. 7 
 
 "Ill-gotten gains, sure to bring a curse to all 
 who share in them. I do not envy him, let come 
 what will to me. If I was younger I should not 
 mind it so much; hut I am old and broken. I 
 have no courage to begin over again. When a 
 man has counted three-score years and ten, he is 
 ready to be laid on the shelf. I never thought 
 to come to this. If I had dreamed of such mis- 
 fortune, I would have lived alone to the day of 
 my death." 
 
 " Would you have been happier, father \ " 
 
 " No, my child ; but I should not have made 
 others unhappy. Your mother has found this 
 place dreary and lonely. What will she do 
 when we are forced to leave it for one less 
 desirable ? And you, Tamson ? I think of you." 
 
 "Never mind me, father. Give me time to 
 look the situation fairly in the face, and you 
 will have no reason to pity me. We shall do 
 very well. I am sure of that. We cannot ex- 
 pect mother to look at things as we do, but we 
 can make her comfortable ; and I have some- 
 times thought that a great emergency would 
 develop unlooked-for strength in her. 
 
 " In any event, Cousin Prudence will teach 
 me economy, and we have plenty for all present 
 needs. We can remain here a year longer, and 
 in that time something may transpire for our 
 advantage."
 
 8 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " We must give up the place, Tamson. There 
 is no other way; and if I must leave it, the 
 sooner I go the better. I would go to-morrow 
 if I could. This has been 'The Brenner Place ' 
 for more than a hundred years, and I hoped 
 it would be kept in the family for another 
 hundred, but everything has gone against 
 
 me." 
 
 " Not everything, father. You have not lost 
 faith in God ! " 
 
 rt Not for long at a time ; but this last blow 
 has nearly crushed me. The mortgage here has 
 always troubled me, although I hoped to clear 
 it. Now we have fallen into the toils of a man 
 who will show no mercy, but will take pleasure 
 in humiliating us. I would not have believed 
 Stafford to be so vindictive. His friends claim 
 that he is generous and kind-hearted, ready to 
 do his part in contributing to the best interests 
 of the town. He must be very angry. Did you 
 give him any reason for rejecting him ? " 
 
 " I told him I did not love him, and when he 
 asked me to take time for consideration, I told 
 him nothing could change my decision. It was 
 enough for me that my heart had rejected 
 him." 
 
 " Was anything said of his business ? " 
 
 " He spoke of it. He knows that you were 
 opposed to his coming here, and that you con-
 
 Eagle Point. 9 
 
 demri his business. He told me that, after he 
 knew my decision was final. But don't let us 
 talk of him, father. If I am going to Eagle 
 Point it is time for me to be on the way." 
 
 " Yes, child, it is. I wish I could go with 
 you, but I am not equal to so long a walk ; and, 
 besides, it would hardly be right for us both to 
 leave your mother. You will tell her in the 
 morning." 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I will. By that time I shall have 
 some plan to submit to you, and I am sure I 
 can make mother see what is best. Leave it all 
 to me, father, and don't be unhappy while I am 
 away." 
 
 Tamson Brenner spoke cheerfully, that she 
 might comfort her father, although she felt 
 sadly troubled. It was in search of comfort and 
 counsel that she started on the long walk which 
 was to bring her to the old couple who dwelt 
 alone on the sunny slope of the mountain. 
 
 Two miles as the crow flies, five miles by the 
 carriage road, and three miles by the summer 
 path through field and forest, every rod of 
 which had been familiar to her since she was a 
 " wee girlie." 
 
 On this morning she could choose her own 
 way, and when she had left her home behind 
 her the sense of freedom and the exhilaration of 
 the clear, bracing air inspired her with hope
 
 io Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 and courage. Whatever might come to her in 
 the future, there was, for this hour, a respite 
 from trouble. 
 
 She heard the chickadees singing their merry 
 song, and the blue-jays screaming in the depths 
 of the woods. Life was full and strong and 
 glad ; and by the time she reached her destina- 
 tion all things seemed possible to her. 
 
 Cousin Prudence was standing in the porch, 
 waiting to receive her and give her hearty 
 welcome. 
 
 "I expected you," said the good woman. 
 "I told Jacob when I first looked out this 
 morning that you would come up to-day. 
 Come in and sit down in the kitchen while I 
 do up my work." 
 
 " Let me stay in the kitchen all day," replied 
 the visitor. "No other place will suit me so 
 well. It is the pleasantest room in the house." 
 
 "That is what everybody says, and Jacob 
 and I are so used to staying here when we are 
 alone, that we feel more at home here. Are 
 you tired ? " 
 
 " 1 was very tired when I left home, but I am 
 rested now. It rested me just to think of com- 
 ing here and having a good, long talk with 
 you." 
 
 " Then we shall both have a resting day ; for 
 the sight of a bright, young face like yours,
 
 Eagle Point. 1 1 
 
 always rests me. How is the mother this 
 morning ? " 
 
 " Complaining a little more than usual." 
 "And the father?" 
 
 " Troubled and discouraged. Do you know ? " 
 " Yes ; we had company yesterday, and they 
 told us something we couldn't quite believe was 
 true. They said Clyde Stafford had bought 
 the mortgage on your father's place and would 
 push his claim as far as the law would allow. 
 They said, too, that he did it because you re- 
 fused to marry him, and I said that anything 
 .was better than your marrying such a man as 
 he is." 
 
 " I never had any idea of marrying him." 
 "I don't suppose you had, but everybody 
 thinks he wanted to marry you ; and if he can't 
 have his own way about things, he calculates 
 to punish the ones who oppose him. He has a 
 good many to punish, too, and the worst of it 
 is, there are some who will be willing to help 
 him. Jacob felt as though he must go right 
 down and talk with your father this morning. 
 He is taking care of the chickens, but he will 
 be in to see you before long." 
 
 " Chickens so early, Cousin Prudence ? " 
 " Oh, yes ; the earlier the better price they 
 bring ; and we depend a good deal on our eggs 
 and chickens. When Jacob gets to work on
 
 1 2 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 the land, I look after them, but now he can 
 do it. We try to make the most of what we 
 have." 
 
 " And you succeed admirably. Father says 
 you know how to turn everything to good 
 account, and that is jist what I wish to learn. 
 Our place, large as it is, has never given us half 
 so much as you get from yours. It has been 
 ornamental rather than useful. Now that I have 
 begun to think of it, it seems to me we ought 
 to have a good income from our orchards and 
 fields." 
 
 " Your place used to be called the most pro- 
 ductive farm anywhere about here. Your great- 
 grandfather made money on it, and so did your 
 grandfather. They were counted rich. It didn't 
 take as much then to make a man rich as it does 
 now, but they were independent and able to 
 live as well as they wanted to. It was thought 
 a great honor, all the country 'round, to be in- 
 vited to visit at the Brenner place. 
 
 "There was a harvest festival every fall after 
 the crops were gathered. The husking was done 
 then, and everybody was invited for the whole 
 day, with plenty to eat and drink." 
 
 " From what I have heard I think there must 
 have been more than a plenty to drink." 
 
 " I presume there was, Tamson ; but people 
 didn't understand about drinking liquor as they
 
 Eagle Point. 13 
 
 do now. If anybody got beyond what was 
 thought proper, he was put out of sight. What 
 folks called hard drinking never was allowed 
 there, and your grandfather was one of the first 
 to give up liquor altogether." 
 
 " How did he make money on his farm ? " 
 
 "In every way, I was going to say. He had 
 large herds of cattle, and large flocks of sheep, 
 and horses and colts. Then he always kept a 
 great many bees, and sold his honey at the high- 
 est market price. There was plenty of white 
 clover and bass-wood for the bees to feed on, 
 and he knew just how to manage them. There 
 were turkeys and chickens and ducks and geese, 
 all bringing in something every year. Then 
 there was the dairy, where the best of butter 
 and cheese was made." 
 
 " There must have been a great deal of hard 
 work done." 
 
 "There was, but there was plenty of help 
 to do it, so that nobody felt it to be a bur- 
 den." 
 
 " I wish father had stayed on the farm. It 
 would have been better for him." 
 
 " I don't know about that, Tarn son. Your 
 father didn't like farming. He thought the 
 city was the place for him, and he made money 
 there. I was sorry when he lost so much, but 
 it better be through somebody else's dishonesty
 
 14 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 than his own. I suppose that discouraged him ; 
 and Herbert's death coming so soon afterward 
 broke him down. But there, child; there's a 
 Providence in all these things, and the Lord 
 knows what is best for us, whether we can see 
 it or not."
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE BRENNER PLACE. 
 
 WHEN Jacob Hill came in from caring for his 
 chickens he was glad to see Tamson ; more glad, 
 perhaps, than he would have been to see her 
 father ; since, as he had said that very morning, 
 he should look to her to retrieve the family 
 fortunes. He had spent a large part of the 
 night in considering ways and means for their 
 present relief; and, although not sure of suc- 
 cess, he believed he could accomplish it. 
 
 " If Luke Brenner was like his father he 
 would go to work, old as he is, and teach Clyde 
 Stafford a lesson. Then, again, if he had a wife 
 like his mother, she would help him. As it is, 
 Tamson is their only dependence. She has 
 always had everything done for her, without 
 having to think where the money came from to 
 do it ; but if I ain't mistaken, she is made of 
 the right stuff." 
 
 With this expression of her husband's opin- 
 ion Cousin Prudence fully agreed ; and now 
 here was the girl before him eager for advice, 
 and ready to accept it gratefully. For a time, 
 
 (15)
 
 1 6 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 however, they talked of chickens and the ex- 
 pected profits. 
 
 " So far they are all doing well, and I don't 
 see why we can't do well with them," he re- 
 marked. " If I had as good a place for them 
 as you have, I'd go in for two or three hundred. 
 There is always call for more than can be sup- 
 plied, and, if you have good luck, they pay bet- 
 ter than anything else that needs no more capi- 
 tal. You and Ann might manage chickens." 
 
 " I don't know anything about managing 
 them," answered Tarn son. " Now I am obliged 
 to think of it, it seems to me I don't know how 
 to manage anything." 
 
 " You can learn," was replied. " How are 
 your strawberry beds ? " 
 
 " They ought to be in good condition. Father 
 had them reset last fall, and they have been 
 covered with snow all winter." 
 
 " Are the plum-trees all alive ? " 
 
 "They were last year/' 
 
 " And the pear-trees ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, but last year was not the year for 
 many pears. There must be a great many this 
 year. " 
 
 " I don't suppose your father ever sold a 
 bushel of pears in his life." 
 
 " I never heard of any being sold." 
 
 " And I don't suppose any apples have been
 
 The Brenner Place. 17 
 
 sold either, 'though you've got the best apple 
 orchard I know of Some folks, with your place, 
 would sell hundreds of dollars worth of fruit 
 every year, and have more left then than they'd 
 know what to do with. The money might come 
 in small sums, but it would count just the same 
 in the end." 
 
 " Why didn't you tell me about it before, 
 Cousin Jacob? I never thought of it, and now 
 we are going to leave, it is too late." 
 
 " You have a year longer to stay, anyway, 
 and a great deal can be done in a year." 
 
 " But father says he shall leave as soon as he 
 can find a house to live in." 
 
 " He must do no such thing. Stay where you 
 are as long as you can, and do the best you can. 
 Has your father any money on hand ? " 
 
 " I don't know. He never talks about his 
 money affairs any more than he is obliged to. 
 Mother does not know that the place is mort- 
 gaged." 
 
 " I don't see how your father can have much 
 money." 
 
 " I have not asked him for any this long time. 
 T have a few dollars he gave me at Christmas, 
 but I don't need to spend it on myself. We 
 have plenty of everything, too, in the house, so 
 we shall need very little money, unless we have 
 the expense of moving."
 
 1 8 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 "You won't have that this year, mark my 
 words, Tamsoii, and be sure to talk your father 
 into more reason. Stafford has money, and we 
 can't hinder his having a brewery here, but he 
 can't control everybody. Your father can be 
 made to see how things really are. If you have 
 to leave the old Brenner place mind you, I don't 
 believe it will come to that get all you can off 
 from it while you stay. You ain't used to work, 
 but you can learn ; and I want you to show 
 Clyde Stafford what you can do. People won't 
 think any better of him for showing his spite 
 the way he has. There's a good deal of talk 
 about it, and all but his special friends are ready 
 to help you. If I had the money to take up the 
 mortgage your father should have it, and maybe 
 I can bring it 'round before the year is up. You 
 can trust Ann, can't you ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir; she can be trusted to the end of 
 the chapter. If it hadn't been for her, I don't 
 know what we should have done through 
 the winter. She is devoted to mother, and 
 mother depends upon her more than upon father 
 
 or me." 
 
 " Tell her just how you are situated, and see 
 if she does not prove herself equal to the emer- 
 gency. She seems to be both strong and will- 
 ing." 
 
 " She is. She is ready to do anything in the
 
 The Brenner Place. 19 
 
 house or out-of-doors. She would help me in 
 any way possible." 
 
 " You have a cow? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; we have two Jersey cows, so we 
 have plenty of milk." 
 
 " And butter too ? " 
 
 " I think father has bought our butter through 
 the winter." 
 
 " You ought to be selling butter instead of 
 buying. You and Ann must learn to make 
 butter." 
 
 Tamson Brenner was accustomed to Jacob 
 Hill's plain manner of speaking, so that she was 
 neither surprised nor annoyed at his abrupt 
 questions. She understood his purpose, and 
 said pleasantly : 
 
 " You are giving me some lessons in a way 
 I shall remember." 
 
 " I am trying to have you see for yourself 
 what might be done on the Brenner place to 
 earn money in small ways. Your father made 
 his money in what he would call large ways, 
 and it was all right, too, as long as it lasted. 
 It ain't to be expected he can change very much 
 at his time of life ; but if wife and I had the 
 management of the place, I believe we could 
 clear it in five years. 
 
 " You'll wonder likely by this time, if we can 
 plan so well for other folks, why we hain't got
 
 2O Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 more beforehand for ourselves. I dori't often 
 talk about it, but it won't hurt anybody now 
 for you to know there was a black sheep in 
 my father's flock. Before we came to Eagle 
 Point we paid up a heavier mortgage than there 
 is on the Brenner place ; paid it, too, because 
 we tried to help somebody who wouldn't try to 
 help himself. 
 
 " We run in debt for all but fifty dollars on 
 this place, and there's been a drain on us other 
 folks hain't seen ever since. We've cleared the 
 place, though, and now we are going to try and 
 lay up something against the time when we 
 can't work." 
 
 u Does father know about it ? " asked Tarn- 
 son. 
 
 " He knows something about it, but we never 
 talk about it. If my wife wasn't one of the very 
 best women in the world, she would have found 
 fault with the way things have gone, instead of 
 helping me and keeping me from being discour- 
 
 " Then there was danger of your being dis- 
 couraged, Cousin Jacob ? " 
 
 " There was, because I never knew what was 
 before me ; and, besides, I wasn't always sure 
 what was my duty. I wanted to do all I ought 
 to." 
 
 "And so you did more than you ought to."
 
 The Brenner Place. 21 
 
 " I don't know, Tamson. I've wondered about 
 it a good many times ; but you don't want to 
 hear about other folks' troubles, when you are 
 looking for help to carry your own." 
 
 " I think it will do me good to know that other 
 people have troubles they are bearing bravely. 
 You and Cousin Prudence always seem so happy, 
 I supposed everything went right with you." 
 
 " Complaining would only make the matter 
 worse, and no one could help us. We had to 
 bear it alone. It is different with you. You 
 can be helped. 
 
 "There's good timber on your father's place that 
 ought to be cut, and a market can be found for 
 it near home. It hurts me to think of the place 
 going out of the family. You must save it." 
 
 " I would try if anybody else held the mort- 
 gage, but I can never ask a favor of Clyde Staf- 
 ford." 
 
 " We won't ask any favors of him. If the 
 mortgage is paid, with all back interest, he will 
 be obliged to give up his claim. Anyway, you go 
 on just as though you expected to stay there a 
 hundred years, and see what comes. You've 
 got the best part of the town on your side. If 
 Myers had lived, Stafford never would have got 
 hold of that mortgage ; but the heirs wanted 
 their money, and so sold to the man who was 
 ready to pay it."
 
 22 Old Benches ivith New Props. 
 
 " Father says the place is worth a great deal 
 more than the mortgage," 
 
 " Certainly it is, and if well taken care of it 
 will gain in value every year. There is a market 
 now for everything that can be raised on a farm. 
 I will sell for you all the butter you can make, 
 and all the eggs and chickens you can raise. 
 Two Jersey cows, well managed, ought to bring 
 you in quite a nice little sum. 
 
 " You need a good family in the house by the 
 spring instead of Armstrong. He is a lazy, 
 shiftless fellow ; and if he don't steal everything 
 he can lay his hands on, it is because he is afraid 
 of the laWo I hear he is going to work in the 
 brewery, and that will finish him. I wish you 
 would persuade your father to send him adrift." 
 
 " If he goes, there must be some one to take 
 his place. Father depends on him to do the 
 work at the barn and prepare wood for the fires." 
 
 " Some one else can do that. I will find a 
 man you can depend on ; one that will have 
 some interest in the farm too." 
 
 " I wish you would talk with father, Cousin 
 Jacob ; I know he would be glad of your advice." 
 
 " He shall have it, if I think he will take it 
 right ; but advice is something most folks don't 
 want." 
 
 " It is what I want. I came up here for ad- 
 vice. I wish you to tell me what to do and how
 
 The Brenner Place. 23 
 
 to do it. If I could only have you and Cousin 
 Prudence with me for a week or two, it seems as 
 though Imight gain knowledge and courage too." 
 " Prudence might go down and stay with you 
 a week. I don't know anything to hinder ; and 
 in that time she could see how thiners ought to 
 
 o o 
 
 go, if there wouldn't anybody think she was 
 meddling." 
 
 " Everybody \vould be thankful to have her 
 there, and thankful for her meddling too. Ann 
 thinks Cousin Prudence is a wonderful woman, 
 and will be glad of any advice from her. Ann 
 was used to milking and helping about cheese- 
 making, before she came to this country. She 
 knew more about work out-of-doors than in the 
 house." 
 
 " So much the better for you, if you are ready 
 to undertake to make the farm pay. She will 
 be more willing to help you out-of-doors." 
 
 " I am willing to undertake anything that is 
 honest and will help my father and mother. It 
 will kill father if he has to leave the old place." 
 
 " He will not leave it. You are going to 
 keep it for him. The more I think of it, the 
 surer I am. But you must begin the work 
 right away. You must set your hens early." 
 
 As this was said, Tamson Brenner laughed 
 heartily, yet none the less did she take the les- 
 son to heart.
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 MKS. BYAM. 
 
 " COUSIN PRUDENCE, you are to have another 
 visitor," said Tamson Brenner, a little before 
 noon. " There is a woman coming by the big 
 pines." 
 
 " It is Mrs. Byam.," replied Cousin Prudence, 
 after looking for a moment at the slightly stoop- 
 ing figure of a woman making her way over the 
 snow. " It is Mrs. Byam, and if I was alone I 
 should be very glad to see her." 
 
 " Be glad now. I have made sure of the ad- 
 vice for which I came, and I will try not to 
 spoil either your visit or mine. I have heard 
 father speak of her as being a bright, intelligent 
 woman, who has had a hard time in life, and I 
 should like to be better acquainted with her 
 than I am." 
 
 "She is all your father says, and more too. 
 She is a good woman, and your father hasn't a 
 better friend in town than she is. He helped 
 her years ago, and she ain't one to forget a 
 favor. He helped her boy, as she always calls 
 (24)
 
 Mfs. J3yam. 2 5 
 
 Thaddeus Byam, her grandson, and she loves 
 that boy a good deal better than she loves her- 
 self." 
 
 " He has invented some machinery that prom- 
 ises to be very useful." 
 
 " Yes ; he is the one, and folks say he will 
 make his fortune out of the invention. I don't 
 see how he ever kept still long enough to invent 
 anything; but he is a smart man, and as good to 
 his grandmother as he can be. She don't want 
 for anything he can get for her. But there she 
 is," and Mrs. Hill hastened to welcome her old 
 friend. 
 
 " I declare I'm tired," said this friend, grasp- 
 ing cordially the hand extended to her. " It 
 must be I ain't quite so spry as I used to be ; 
 but I heard some news this morning, and I 
 couldn't rest till I'd been up here and talked it 
 over with you. They say Clyde Stafford has 
 bought the mortgage on the Brenner place and 
 foreclosed on it. Do you suppose that is really 
 so?" 
 
 " I suppose it is. Tamson is here, and she 
 says it is so." 
 
 " Well, now, I never. If she says so, there 
 can't be any mistake about it. I was in hopes 
 there was. If I'd known she was here I wouldn't 
 spoken out so loud. But it's my way to say 
 the first thing that comes into my mind, and be
 
 26 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 earnest about it too. I was in a hurry to get 
 here on that account." 
 
 Mrs. By am was ushered into the kitchen, 
 where she greeted Tamson Brenner cordially, 
 although it was easy to see that she was some- 
 what embarrassed at the meeting. 
 
 Mr. Hill came in soon after, when they be- 
 gan talking of ventures in farming and compar- 
 ing experiences, each being interested in what- 
 ever promised larger returns or increased profits. 
 
 " Our summer visitors leave a good deal of 
 money behind them, and if they were all of the 
 right sort we should be better off for their com- 
 ing. But there has been one family here I wish 
 had gone somewhere else. I wish that Stafford 
 set had never heard of our town, and if a good 
 many others that are all took up with them now 
 don't wish so before they are ten years older, I 
 am mistaken. 
 
 " Some of our farmers are so foolish they ex- 
 pect to make heaps of money raising barley ; 
 and it's likely there'll be plenty of barley-fields 
 and plenty of beer-drinkers too. They'll find 
 there are two sides to that story. 
 
 " It stirs me up so, I can't hardly keep still 
 about it, when I meet any of the men that 
 favored Stafford's coming here. Josiah Black 
 will live to rue the day when he sold land to 
 build a brewery on. He has got four boys, and
 
 Mrs. By am. 27 
 
 there's no danger but what they'll learn to drink 
 beer." 
 
 " There's no danger but things will be bad 
 enough," responded Jacob Hill. " I've said and 
 done all I could to prevent our town being so 
 cursed ; and now it's settled to come, I'm going 
 to fight it tooth and nail. 
 
 " Our folks don't know much about beer, and 
 Stafford has a smooth tongue. Then there are 
 a good many mortgaged farms in town, and 
 their owners are ready to jump at anything that 
 promises to bring in money." 
 
 " It's my opinion, Mr. Hill, that when Stafford 
 gets fairly settled here he'll calculate to rule the 
 town." 
 
 " No doubt of it, Mrs. Byam, and he'll have 
 a good deal of influence. He will employ a good 
 many hands, and they will all be expected to 
 work for his interests. Of course, Clyde Staf- 
 ford's father backs him up. That is understood ; 
 and if the son is as unprincipled as the father, 
 there's no telling the amount of mischief that 
 may be done." 
 
 Some further criticisms were made in regard 
 to this capitalist, and then other interests en- 
 grossed attention. 
 
 Mrs. Byam's grandson provided for her so 
 generously that she had no need to calculate or 
 economize ; yet, as she said, it was born in her
 
 28 Old Benches ^v^th New Props. 
 
 to make everything count for all it was worth. 
 So she had her bees and chickens, the care of 
 which gave her real pleasure, while the profits 
 gave her a feeling of independence. 
 
 She and Jacob Hill often consulted together 
 about their small industries, and on this occa- 
 sion some new plans were discussed ; to all of 
 which Tamson Brenner listened eagerly, asking 
 now and then a question that she might better 
 apply the knowledge thus gained. 
 
 It was still early when she left Eagle Point, 
 so there was ample time for Mrs. By am to 
 express the regret and indignation which 
 had been gathering force since she heard of 
 the new misfortune which had befallen Mr. 
 Brenner. 
 
 " I tell you, I heard the clock strike every 
 hour last night," she exclaimed, when Tamson 
 had gone. " I was planning how I could help 
 them folks, and I guess I can fetch it 'round. 
 There's Thad now expecting to make a good 
 deal of money right off, and when he comes 
 home I'm meaning to lay the case before him." 
 
 " Is he coming home this summer ? " 
 
 " That's what he wrote in his last letter. He 
 said he was coming to stay a month or two, and 
 be a boy again. I expect, maybe, he's tired of 
 so much iron work; planning all the time, and 
 maybe worrying over his new machine."
 
 Mrs. Byam. 29 
 
 "He has turned out well. You must feel 
 paid for all you ever did for him." 
 
 " I do ; but there was one spell when I didn't 
 know but what I was making trouble for my- 
 self; but the Lord interposed in my behalf. 
 He sent somebody to help me, and there ain't a 
 better boy anywhere than mine is, if I do say 
 it. He feels bad to have a brewery here. He 
 says it's the worst thing that ever happened to 
 the town." 
 
 " So Jacob says ; and he says it is just put- 
 ting a mortgage on all the boys and girls, be- 
 sides a good many grown folks." 
 
 "It is that, and the mortgages are going to 
 hold, too, for all eternity. Thad says the greatest 
 trouble with men he has worked with comes 
 from their drinking so much beer. 
 
 "It's a shame for Yankees to take up with 
 the stuff. I believe it's worse than the New 
 England rum everybody used to drink; that 
 kept half the men poor that drank it, and made 
 the men rich that sold it." 
 
 Mrs. Byam had seen much of this poverty. 
 She could talk by the hour of families she had 
 known in which fathers, husbands, and brothers 
 had fallen victims to the demon of alcohol. 
 There had been dark days when she waited in 
 her lonely home, shivering with cold and 
 hunger, while the money which should have
 
 30 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 purchased for her food and clothing went to 
 swell the rum-seller's gains. 
 
 As she talked she seemed to live over again 
 the days so fraught with anxious forebodings ; 
 yet over and above all was her sympathy and 
 anxiety for Luke Brenner. 
 
 Of his wife she knew little, except that every- 
 body wondered a bachelor of fifty should marry 
 a young girl of twenty. That he loved her, no 
 one who saw them together could for a moment 
 doubt. He denied her nothing it was in his 
 power to grant. So far as possible he had 
 shielded her from every care, and now that he 
 was a poor man, it was of his wife and daughter 
 he thought rather than of himself. 
 
 He might have depended upon his son had 
 the boy lived, but it was only within a few 
 days that the possibility of finding help in 
 Tamson had suggested itself to him. That she 
 was unlike her mother he had always known, 
 although there had been little in her life to de- 
 velop marked characteristics. 
 
 He was standing by a window looking 
 toward Eagle Point, when he saw her in the 
 distance, walking rapidly, as if in haste to reach 
 home. He met her at the door, when, after an 
 exchange of affectionate greetings, she asked : 
 
 " Do you know how to manage bees ? " 
 
 " I used to know," he replied. " When I was
 
 Mrs. By am. 31 
 
 a boy I could always do anything I pleased with 
 bees. They never stung ine. This was a good 
 place for bees, too, with so many linden trees." 
 
 "The lindens are here now, father." 
 
 " Yes ; and there are some hives of bees, but 
 I never heard of any honey being taken from 
 them last year." 
 
 "It may have been taken without your 
 knowledge." 
 
 This remark led to a long conversation, in 
 which Tarn son Brenner repeated the advice and 
 suggestions of her cousins. She succeeded also 
 in inspiring her father with something of her 
 own brave spirit. 
 
 " I feel as though I had lived ten years since 
 I went from home this morning, and if you will 
 stay here as long as you can, I will do every- 
 thing in my power to help redeem the place," 
 she said brightly. 
 
 " It shall be as you wish," answered her 
 father. " If your mother could be made happy, 
 I don't know but I could begin over again, old 
 as I am." 
 
 " Old, father ! You are not old to me. To- 
 morrow morning I will tell mother all about it, 
 and then we will set to work."
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MISS TAMSON AND ANN. 
 
 "Miss TAMSON, will you please come into 
 the kitchen when you can spare time," said 
 Ann, the one servant of the Brenner family. 
 " There's something wrong at the barn every 
 day, and I want a talk with you about it." 
 
 " I will go now," was replied, and the young 
 girl followed her companion into the kitchen, 
 where, after both were seated, she asked : 
 
 " What is wrong at the barn ? " 
 
 " Well, miss, there's been cackling, and I've 
 thought all along there must be eggs, but never 
 a one did I get till to-day. The Armstrong man 
 said the hens cackled for fun ; but to-day I kept 
 watch, and I've fifteen nice fresh eggs, and he'll 
 get never a one. He's a thief, Miss Tamson. 
 I've thought it a long time, and now I know. 
 He sold honey last fall, and where would he get 
 it but in the garden ? " 
 
 " Are you sure he sold honey ? " 
 
 " I am that, because Dolf Turner told me, and 
 
 he wouldn't tell a lie any sooner than the master 
 
 would. Poor as his mother is, he wouldn't take 
 
 a pin he hadn't a right to. If the master would 
 
 (32)
 
 Miss Tamson and Ann. 33 
 
 send that Armstrong man away from the house 
 by the spring, we'd have eggs and butter in 
 plenty. We get not enough milk from the cows. 
 Too much goes for the milking." 
 
 " But Mr. Armstrong has a right to part of 
 the milk." 
 
 " Has he a right to the biggest half, Miss 
 Tamson ? " 
 
 "I think not." 
 
 "Then he takes more than his right. Let 
 him go, and let me take care of the barn. I can 
 do it, and don't be offended, Miss Tamson. Dolf 
 says the master is in trouble, and must give up 
 this place to the beer man that's coming." 
 
 " The beer man has a claim on it, but he can- 
 not take it for a year, and in that time I hope 
 to earn so much money that we can manage to 
 keep it. Cousin Jacob thinks you and I to- 
 gether might raise some chickens for market." 
 
 " We can, Miss Tamson. I had chickens at 
 home, and some hens are ready now to set to 
 hatching." 
 
 " Do you know how to manage them ? " 
 
 "I do, but I can't manage with Mr. Arm- 
 strong governing the barn. I can milk and care 
 for the cows ; and if I need help, Dolf will help 
 me for anything you will give him to eat. 
 There's little enough goes into his mother's 
 poor rooms.
 
 34 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 "Oh, Miss Tamson, "let me help you in it all. 
 I've never a friend I love better than the master 
 and mistress, and your own self; and I'd be 
 gladder to help you than do anything else. 
 Give me no wages for a year, and take what 
 I've saved toward paying the debt." 
 
 " I don't think we shall be driven to that, 
 Ann, although I thank you a thousand times 
 for your kindness. But if we can plan and 
 work together, I believe we can accomplish 
 something in the way of earning money." 
 
 " We can ; I am sure of it," said the energetic 
 girl, whose ability and devotion Tamson Bren- 
 ner now appreciated as never before. 
 
 She was quick to comprehend the situation ; 
 suggesting one plan after another for making a 
 profit from the farm, and placing them in so 
 farvorable a light that they seemed not only wise 
 but feasible. 
 
 It was long past midnight when the two 
 separated, yet Tamson was in the kitchen early 
 the next morning. Early as it was, however, 
 Ann had milked the cows, and was then at 
 work in the hen-house, which lately had been 
 unoccupied, and was in no condition to be used. 
 
 " We'll be setting the hens now as fast as they 
 are ready; and when the snow is off the ground, 
 and we're sowing and planting, we'll have them 
 all in here, where they'll do no mischief," she
 
 Miss Tamson- and Ann. 35 
 
 exclaimed triumphantly. " Mr. Armstrong must 
 let me manage it all my own way or I can't do 
 anything," she added presently. 
 
 " I will attend to that," was replied. " Mr. 
 Armstrong shall not interfere." 
 
 As Mrs. Brenner did not appear at break- 
 fast her daughter went to her room, and with- 
 out any unnecessary words told her of the mort- 
 gage and its foreclosure. 
 
 " Father and I don't mind it so much, but we 
 are very sorry for you," said Tamson, holding the 
 small white hands, and pressing her lips to the 
 fair white forehead of her mother. " We will 
 do everything we can for you, and you shall 
 not miss a single comfort we can provide. You 
 will always be first with us." 
 
 " I knew there was something your father 
 was keeping from me," Mrs. Brenner answered. 
 " I knew we were no longer rich, and I have 
 thought it all over many times, but I never 
 thought we should be obliged to give up this 
 place. It is dreary and lonely here,but it would 
 about kill your father if he had to leave it, 'though 
 he never talks to me about his business." 
 
 " That is because he is so unwilling to trouble 
 you, mother. He says if he had known he 
 should ever be a poor man, he would have lived 
 alone to the end of his life rather than ask you 
 to share his poverty."
 
 36 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " And you, Tamson, how will you bear pov- 
 erty ? " 
 
 " I don't intend to bear poverty. Ann and 
 I intend to provide for the family so generously 
 that we shall forget we are poor." 
 
 " You and Ann provide for the family ! What 
 can you two do ? " 
 
 For answer Tamson told their plans, in which, 
 much to her surprise, her mother seemed inter- 
 ested. 
 
 " I thank you for telling me just how we are 
 situated," said Mrs. Brenner after a long silence. 
 " I am not used to work, but I shall try not to 
 be a burden. Ask your father to come to me." 
 
 What transpired during that interview was 
 not reported, but when, an hour later, Mr. Bren- 
 ner went into the kitchen where his daughter 
 was at work while Ann was busy elsewhere, he 
 no longer appeared like an old man. 
 
 " It is all right, and your mother is a most 
 noble woman," he said confidently. " I believe 
 we can do wonders with the old farm yet." 
 
 " Armstrong must go," responded Tamson. 
 
 " He shall. I ought to have seen that some- 
 thing was wrong, but I have been too discour- 
 aged to look after my affairs as I should. Now 
 I am myself again, and if we can do nothing 
 more, we can live comfortably on the old place 
 for another year."
 
 Miss Tamson and Ann. 37 
 
 " And for many years to come, father. Ann 
 and I expect to accomplish wonders. Cousin 
 Prudence is coming to teach us how to make but- 
 ter. Ann brought in twice as much milk this 
 morning as Armstrong brings, and she is out 
 now looking for eggs. We intend to make the 
 most of our resources, and, if possible, save this 
 dear old place from the clutches of a brewer." 
 
 " You did not tell your mother that Stafford 
 had asked you to be his wife ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; I have told only you of that, although 
 others seem to know it." 
 
 
 
 " I told your mother, and she spat-ted her lit- 
 tle hands, just as she always does when she is 
 very much pleased. She said she would rather 
 live on bread and water the rest of her life than 
 have you accept him." 
 
 " She will be spared the alternative." 
 
 " I think she will, my daughter. Ann is a 
 treasure in this exigency." 
 
 " She is. I knew she was devoted to us, but 
 after our talk last evening I shall never think 
 of her again as a servant. In future she is iny 
 friend." 
 
 At that moment Ann came in from the barn 
 displaying the eggs she had found, and report- 
 ing that Armstrong had " sneaked into the back 
 barn door, and then sneaked out again," as soon 
 as he saw her ; adding :
 
 38 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " He was there for no good." 
 
 Before night he was notified that his services 
 were no longer desired, and that he must vacate 
 the house by the spring, at the expiration of 
 the year for which it had been leased to him. 
 He asked no questions, and no reasons were 
 given for his dismissal. That a new order of 
 things had been inaugurated, he knew from the 
 fact that Ann was keeping watch and ward 
 over the barn, and judged it best to beat a hasty 
 retreat before any investigation was made. 
 
 " Do you suppose Mrs. Turner would like to 
 live there ? " asked Tamson Brenner, when told 
 by Ann that the windows were wide open and 
 the key left in the door. 
 
 " She'd think she was near Heaven to live in 
 such a grand place, but she never could pay the 
 rent except in work," was replied. " She and 
 Dolf could do almost everything for us ; and 
 there'll be plenty of work to be done, with the 
 strawberries and other berries, and the currants 
 and plums and pears. We must save every one, 
 and I'll find a way to sell them all. Dolf and 
 I will just take them 'round in baskets. 
 
 " Oh, Miss Tamson, I'll be so happy this year, 
 I can't tell. I'm sure we'll do what we plan. 
 I'll have two hens on eggs in the hen-house to- 
 night, and two more to-morrow. We'll have fine 
 chickens in season for the hotel."
 
 Miss Tamson and Ann. 39 
 
 Later this was repeated to Mrs. Brenner, who 
 asked various questions ; and while smiling at 
 the enthusiasm pervading the household, said 
 she must really find some way to aid in the 
 good work. 
 
 Her husband regarded her with fond admira- 
 tion ; her daughter petted and encouraged her, 
 telling her there would be some dainty work, 
 which no one else could do so well as she. 
 
 When Cousin Prudence came down from Eagle 
 Point to lend the promised assistance, she found 
 everything so well planned that she had only 
 to assent to what others had proposed. 
 
 " The credit is all yours," said Tamson, in 
 reply to some praise bestowed upon herself. 
 " I never should have thought it possible even to 
 plan so much, if you and Cousin Jacob had not 
 suggested it. If I was a man, I think I could 
 go on and pay the mortgage. I believe I can 
 see how it might be done."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 NEW TENANTS. 
 
 MRS. TURNER and Dolf who, if he ever had 
 any claim to a more extended name had long 
 since forgotten it moved into the cottage by 
 the spring; too much surprised at their good 
 fortune to express half the gratitude they felt. 
 
 They were to pay the rent in work ; and be- 
 fore a week had passed Dolf proved himself 
 fully capable of doing all that would be re- 
 quired of him, while his mother was ready to 
 give assistance wherever it was desired. 
 
 Jacob Hill came down from Eagle Point, 
 when his cousin made a full statement of all 
 indebtedness and embarrassments, adding : 
 
 " If I had time, I really believe I could clear 
 up the whole thing, 'old as I am. My failure in 
 business was so unexpected that it quite para- 
 lyzed me ; but Tamson's bravery makes me 
 ashamed to remain idle and leave the work for 
 her. You see, Jacob, I am seventy years old, 
 and I always counted on having enough at that 
 age to live on the income of my property."
 
 New Tenants. 4 1 
 
 " The Lord had other plans for you, Luke, 
 and you must make up your mind for ten years 
 more of work. The work will do you good too. 
 I don't know exactly how your place is to be 
 taken out of Stafford's hands, but I believe it 
 will be done. I only wish I was as sure of get- 
 ting the town out of his clutches. I suppose he 
 must have his run, and may the Lord forgive 
 me, if it is wrong to wish that he may lose every 
 dollar he invests here. The prospect is that we 
 shall have an early spring, so his workmen will 
 soon be here." 
 
 " Where are they all to be fed and lodged ? " 
 
 " Somewhere in the village, 1 suppose. Staf- 
 ford is to build a row of houses on South Street 
 for the men who are to work in his brewery. 
 Then he plans to build a large block for stores 
 and groggeries. I added the groggeries, but 
 you may be sure there will be at least one 
 saloon." 
 
 " I presume he calculates on having this place 
 for his home." 
 
 " I presume he does, Luke, but I think he will 
 find himself greatly mistaken. He is not the 
 only man who can make a change in his pros- 
 pects during the year. Some who favored his 
 coming are sorry for it already, and it wouldn't 
 be strange if, when we have our next town 
 meeting, there should be some stringent meas-
 
 42 Old Benches ivith New Props. 
 
 ures urged to prevent the sale of liquor among 
 
 us." 
 
 "We shall have a good many new voters 
 among us by that time, Jacob." 
 
 " I know it ; and if they work for Stafford 
 they will be pretty sure to vote for his interest ; 
 but I hope our own townspeople will vote 
 against him." 
 
 " You may trust him for knowing how to in- 
 crease the number of votes necessary for the 
 protection of his business. The liquor league 
 counts all its members brothers, and if one gives 
 the signal of distress, there is a rush to his as- 
 sistance. It is an object to establish_the nefari- 
 ous business in new places, and, once establish- 
 ed, it is likely to remain. 
 
 " If I was ready to make money, regardless 
 of every other consideration, I would go into 
 the liquor business. It always yields a large 
 return for the investment, and the profits can be 
 indefinitely increased by processes every liquor- 
 dealer understands. Of course I would starve 
 rather than sell liquor ; but in the present rush 
 for wealth, it does not seem strange to me that 
 many men, without either religious or moral 
 principle, should engage in the business." 
 
 " What do you think of a man who professes 
 to be a Christian, and still claims that there is 
 no wrong in the use of liquor ? "
 
 New Tenants. 43 
 
 " Well, Cousin Jacob, it is not for me to say 
 that man is not a Christian, but I will say that 
 either his judgment is warped by self-interest, 
 or his knowledge of what constitutes a Chris- 
 tian's duty is very limited. 
 
 " I knew a man in the city, a member of our 
 church, who always spoke of a drunkard as de- 
 serving the utmost scorn, because so deficient in 
 self-control; and yet, whenever the subject of 
 temperance was under discussion, he insisted 
 that the moderate use of alcoholic stimulants is 
 often conducive to both health and happiness." 
 
 " I suppose he was a moderate drinker him- 
 self." 
 
 " A very moderate drinker. So moderate 
 that he seldom drinks so much as a glass of 
 wine. But he was interested in three large 
 Western distilleries. He furnished capital, while 
 others did the work and were responsible to the 
 public." 
 
 " Was this known to the church, and is he 
 still allowed to retain his standing ? " 
 
 " It was not known for several years, and 
 might never have been known if we had not 
 changed pastors. Our new pastor was a thor- 
 oughgoing, outspoken temperance man ; and as 
 he was going the rounds of the parish he found 
 that one man in his congregation was a liquor- 
 seller. The man was not a member of the
 
 44 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 church, but Mr. Wain took the liberty to remon- 
 strate with him ; when he retorted by saying 
 he thought it no worse to sell liquor than to 
 manufacture it ; in which Mr. Wain agreed with 
 him. 
 
 " Then came his time to denounce a church 
 member who was a distiller ; and, of course, Mr. 
 Wain agreed with him in that. The result was, 
 that the distiller received a visit from his pastor, 
 and was obliged to listen to some very plain 
 statements, which so offended him that he 
 wished to enter into other church relations. 
 There were several meetings to consider his case, 
 and after much discussion in regard to it, a letter 
 of recommendation was denied him. This made 
 little difference, however, as he was received to 
 the church of his choice without a letter, and 
 where he is in no danger of being censured." 
 
 " You would not consider him a Christian, 
 Luke ? " 
 
 " Perhaps I ought not to say it is impossible 
 that he should be a Christian ; but if all profess- 
 ing Christians were like him there would be no 
 hope for our nation." 
 
 " Has he children ? " 
 
 " He has two sons and one daughter." 
 
 "Then he is sure of his punishment, unless 
 they have been better taught than he would 
 teach them."
 
 New Tenants. 45- 
 
 " They were beautiful children. His daughter 
 is of nearly the same age as Tamson, and the 
 boys are older. It is too soon to judge what 
 the daughter's life will be, but the sons belong 
 to the fastest set in the college where they are. 
 It is said they have always drank liquor since 
 they were fifteen years old, and now nothing 
 but the grace of God will save them. 
 
 " Their father has never denied them any- 
 thing it was in his power to grant ; and as his 
 wealth is counted by millions, there is no lack 
 of money. At one time our families were inti- 
 mate, but when I refused to endorse him as an 
 exemplary Christian, the intercourse between 
 us ceased." 
 
 " Such men are poor friends. They distrust 
 themselves, and so need to be told they are good 
 in order to keep their courage up. In the bot- 
 tom of that man's heart, he knows he has no 
 right to be called a Christian. 
 
 " Time was when even a deacon might own 
 and run a distillery, and perhaps not know he 
 was doing the devil's work ; but that time has 
 gone by. Now, these breweries have started 
 up with this cursed German stuff, all in the in- 
 terest of temperance, as some say, and we are 
 going to have a chance to prove if what they 
 say is true. If we don't have more drunkards 
 in this town, ten years from now, than we ever
 
 46 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 had before, I'll own that I've lost some of my 
 powers of calculation. Armstrong is going to 
 work for Stafford, and I am glad he has left 
 your premises. I never had any faith in his 
 honesty. He is just the one to go into a brew- 
 ery." 
 
 " I think he is, and I have better tenants in 
 his place. Dolf Turner is a bright, intelligent 
 boy, ready for any kind of work." 
 
 His father was a bright man; quick and 
 handy about everything he undertook to do. 
 But there was bad blood behind him, and when 
 he began drinking an occasional glass of beer 
 it was all up with him. Before long he took 
 something stronger than beer, and actually 
 drank himself to death in three years. 
 
 " He didn't begin to drink at all until after 
 Dolf was born; so it may be the boy will 
 escape the curse. Mrs. Turner has done and 
 said everything she could to impress him with 
 a hatred for liquor. Mrs. By am told me about 
 it, and she says Dolf would be killed before he 
 would break his pledge. 
 
 " Mrs. Turner beggared herself to take care 
 of her husband and pay the expenses of his 
 sickness and burial. She ruined her health so 
 that she could do but little work for a long 
 time. She sold every article of furniture she 
 could possibly spare that would bring her in a
 
 New Tenants. 47 
 
 dollar, and I am afraid she lias sometimes been 
 both cold and hungry." 
 
 " She will be neither cold nor hungry while 
 she lives near me." 
 
 " Dolf is old enough now to provide against 
 that. He is a strong, healthy boy, and I be- 
 lieve he can be trusted. But he will have to 
 stand trial. There will be no stone unturned 
 to make beer-drinkers of our boys, and there 
 will be a strong rowdy element in our village 
 before summer is out." 
 
 " It shall not intrude upon my premises or 
 my tenants, so long as I retain possession of 
 this place. I don't know why it is, but some- 
 times 1 have faith to believe that I shall be 
 allowed to spend the remainder of my life here. 
 
 " I think I have friends who would help me 
 if I only had courage to apply to them ; but so 
 long as I was utterly hopeless, I could think 
 only of the misery I had brought upon my 
 family." 
 
 " Stop brooding over that, Cousin Luke. The 
 misery as you call it may turn out to be 
 something entirely different. Think of what 
 may be done with the old farm, and what you 
 can do to counteract the evil influences that are 
 coming in upon us like a flood. 
 
 "Don't shut yourself up away from your 
 neighbors. Go to church, and help sustain the
 
 48 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 prayer-meetings. You can do that, Luke; and 
 you owe it to yourself as a Christian to show 
 more fortitude and courage. You have not 
 been through what I have." 
 
 " True, Jacob, I have not ; I would have given 
 all I possessed to save the life of my boy. 
 Money seemed to me then of little value, yet 
 the loss of it quite unmanned me. I kept say- 
 ing to myself, ' If I was twenty years younger 
 I might begin over again '; but I thought I was 
 too old for any new enterprise." 
 
 " Farming will not be a new enterprise. You 
 knew something about it when you were a boy ; 
 and, besides, the most you have to do is to take 
 what is already furnished to your hand. 
 
 " I don't want to find fault with you, Luke, 
 but it seems to me cowardly to sit down and do 
 nothing because you are no longer young. Some 
 men have done their best work in the world 
 after they were of your age. The experience 
 you have had ought to count for a great deal."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE MORTGAGE. 
 
 "WELL, now, this is what I call a regular 
 waking up of the old town," remarked one 
 farmer to another, as they met in the village 
 street. " Spring is early this year, and every- 
 body seems ready to improve it. Things are 
 lively. Work for all, and good wages, paid 
 every Saturday night. 
 
 " Couldn't make the croakers believe Stafford's 
 coming would help us any, but there's more 
 money stirring than there ever was 'round here 
 before, and he's only just begun. I tell you, 
 when he gets his brewery started, things will 
 look different 'round here from what they have 
 the last twenty years. 
 
 " We needed stirring up. Summer boarders 
 helped us, but they don't stay long enough. 
 Stafford has come to stay. You voted for the 
 brewery, didn't you ? " continued the speaker, 
 as he began to realize his companion's silence. 
 
 " I did, and I am ashamed of it already," was 
 replied. " I looked on only one side of the 
 question, and forgot there might be another." 
 
 "I heard your wife was opposed to it." 
 
 (49)
 
 50 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 "She is, and so are my daughters. They 
 were opposed to it from the beginning. More 
 shame to me, that I was influenced by outsiders 
 rather than by my own family. I thought I 
 saw a way to clear off the mortgage from my 
 farm, and that made me blind to everything else." 
 
 " You are going to sow barley on the land 
 you broke up last fall, ain't you ? " 
 
 " I don't think I shall. I calculated to, but 
 I've had some new light on the subject, and I 
 hope for a good crop of oats." 
 
 "You'd get more money for barley." 
 
 "There is something in the world of more 
 value than money. I did wrong when I voted 
 for the brewery ; now I am going to do all I can 
 to show my repentance." 
 
 " "Well, I don't suppose I can say anything to 
 change your mind. I knew how your girls felt 
 about it ; but I believe in men managing their 
 own business ; and as long as I'm 'round, I cal- 
 culate to manage mine. Your girls talk to my 
 boys every chance they can get; and they seem 
 to think Stafford is going to ruin the town un- 
 less everybody goes to work to prevent it." 
 
 "I have made up my mind to that; and the 
 more I think of it the more I believe it." 
 
 " I don't see any ruin about it. I think Staf- 
 ford is a whole-souled, generous fellow. He 
 looks out for number one, of course ; but he says
 
 The Mortgage. 51 
 
 he wants to help other folks while he is helping 
 himself." 
 
 " And you believe him ? " 
 
 " Why, yes ; I am bound to believe what a 
 man says till I catch him in a lie." 
 
 "You can't think he is trying to help Luke 
 Brenner." 
 
 "Well, I did think that looked rather hard; 
 but after all, he paid out his money, and I sup- 
 pose he has a right to get it back. I don't 
 know as there's any reason why Luke Brenner 
 shouldn't be expected to pay his debts the same 
 as the rest of us. He has held his head pretty 
 high, and his lady wife hasn't wanted anything 
 to do with common folks. It must be a good 
 deal of a come-down for them to find them- 
 selves no better off than their neighbors. As 
 for Tamson, she is handsome enough." 
 
 " And as good as she is handsome. Herbert 
 was a fine boy." 
 
 " Yes, he was ; I never'll go back on that. 
 You know he saved my Bennie's life. My boy 
 would have drowned if it hadn't been for him ; 
 and when he died we felt as though we had 
 lost a friend. If he had lived his father wouldn't 
 broke down as he has. Herbert would have 
 found some way to put things in better shape 
 than they are. To my mind, he was an uncom- 
 monly smart boy."
 
 52 Old Benches ivith New Props. 
 
 " To my mind, Tamson is an uncommonly 
 smart girl. There has been a change in the 
 order of things on the Brenner place, and Tam- 
 son is the moving spirit. It would be a shame 
 for that place to go on the mortgage. There's 
 enough on it that can be spared as well as 
 not to clear it, and I shouldn't be surprised, 
 any day, to know that Stafford had been paid 
 every dollar his due, principal and interest. 
 I, for one, don't want to see the Brenner place 
 go out of the family." 
 
 " Nor I, either ; but we can't expect Stafford 
 to feel about it as we do. It is a matter of 
 business with him. Friendship has nothing to 
 do with it." 
 
 " There is more spite than friendship ; poor 
 spite too. Because he fancied Tamson Bren- 
 ner, and she didn't fancy him, he probably 
 thought he would punish her for not accepting 
 him as her husband." 
 
 u I heard something about that. Men don't 
 like to get the mitten, arid I suppose Stafford 
 thought his good looks and his prospect for 
 getting rich ought to make him sure of most 
 any girl. It wouldn't be strange if Tamson 
 Brenner never gets a chance to do any better." 
 
 <; She is taking a better chance. Money made 
 in the way Clyde Stafford proposes to make it 
 will bring a curse with it. To think we should
 
 The Mortgage. 53 
 
 have a brewery here in our midst, and I con- 
 senting to it ! I wish I had the means to clear 
 Luke Brenner's place. I'd take it out of Staf- 
 ford's hands before to-morrow morning." 
 
 " If Tamson would marry Stafford, it would 
 be all right about the place, anyway. It may 
 not be too late for her to save it now." 
 
 " She is doing her part towards it. She and 
 the hired-girl are busy from morning till night 
 with all kinds of work that will bring in a cent. 
 They say, too, that Luke Brenner is going over 
 his farm this spring dressed no better than the 
 rest of us." 
 
 " That is the best thing I ever heard of him. 
 It won't hurt him to go to work." 
 
 Jacob Hill had made the same remark, although 
 in a very different tone. He knew that work 
 was just what the man needed to give him both 
 mental and physical strength. Brooding over 
 trouble never lightens it ; but when once the 
 thoughts and hands are occupied with imme- 
 diate necessities, a way of escape seems open. 
 
 Luke Brenner proved the truth of this, as 
 day after day he found himself growing more 
 hopeful. His wife, too, seemed almost trans- 
 formed, refusing longer to be considered an in- 
 valid. She went with her husband in his walks 
 through the garden and orchard, often giving 
 him assistance in pruning or training some
 
 54 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 straggling vine, and always so bright and cheer- 
 ful, that it was impossible for him to be de- 
 spondent. 
 
 She was interested in his plans. She made 
 important suggestions which commended them- 
 selves to his judgment, but of which he had 
 never thought. She was wholly absorbed in 
 the family fortunes ; not for herself alone, but 
 for those dear to her. 
 
 " Clyde Stafford shall never have this place," 
 she said one day, looking off to the mountains, 
 which kept watch and ward, like sentinels, over 
 the pleasant country town. " I used to think 
 it was lonely and dreary here, but it is the dear- 
 est place in the world to me now. I could not 
 bear to leave it." 
 
 "You shall not leave it," replied her husband, 
 raising her hand to his lips with old-time gal- 
 lantry. 
 
 Tamson Brenner was jubilant over the change 
 in her mother, who counted the crocks of butter 
 already stored for a future market ; computing 
 their price and the amount which could be 
 spared toward reducing the debt. The baskets 
 of fresh-laid eggs were her especial care; con- 
 signed each week to Jacob Hill, who brought 
 her the proceeds of their sale. 
 
 The warm, sunny days of an early spring had 
 developed the blossoms of the linden trees, so
 
 The Mortgage. 55 
 
 that the bees came laden to their hives, which 
 soon became so crowded that a part of the occu- 
 pants sought other quarters, which were quickly 
 provided. There was promise of abundance of 
 fruit, to be gathered in its season ; one variety 
 succeeding another, until the frosts of autumn 
 should seal the harvest. 
 
 " Nothing will be allowed to go to waste on 
 the Brenner place this year," remarked Mrs. 
 Hill, after spending a day with her cousins. 
 " Luke's wife will make the most of everything 
 in the way of dress, and have it all look nice, 
 too. We got to talking, and I told her about my 
 black silk that has been out of fashion these ten 
 years. She wants I should carry it down and 
 let her see it. She said she knew she could 
 make a good dress of it." 
 
 u You and Luke's wife must have got better 
 acquainted than you ever were before, or you 
 never would have told about that black silk. 
 As folks say, you and she never took to each 
 other." 
 
 " I know it ; but I shouldn't wonder now if 
 we get to be very good friends. She has a kind 
 heart, but she says she has always been selfish 
 with her husband, 'though she loves him as well 
 as any woman ought to love a husband. 
 
 " Tamson says her mother is doing everything 
 now to make her father look on the bright side
 
 56 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 of things ; and they are all so busy they don't 
 have time to worry. Luke and his wife seeni 
 almost like children together, and I never saw 
 him. when he appeared as happy as he does now. 
 Tamson watches them, and is so happy herself, 
 she don't know when she is tired. As for Ann, 
 she wishes the days were longer, so she could do 
 more work. 
 
 "Ann is a treasure, and the way she and 
 Dolf Turner are running the barn and hen- 
 house, is enough to astonish everybody who 
 knows about it. At the rate things are man- 
 aged there now, the farm will pay a good in- 
 come this year. Luke says if they can meet 
 their expenses the first six months, he shall 
 have a face to ask assistance from some of his 
 friends." 
 
 "They will more than meet their expenses, 
 wife. Tamson told me they were living almost 
 entirely on home products, and she saves 
 something from every dollar that is brought 
 into the house. She talked with her father and 
 he agreed to it. 
 
 " They will have bushels of strawberries, and 
 what are not sold they will can, so there will 
 be no loss. The bees must be doing well. The 
 last time I was down there the linden trees 
 were fairly humming. It sounded like old 
 times, and Luke said the bees were swarming
 
 The Mortgage, 57 
 
 wonderfully. He can sell every pound of 
 honey for a good price. 
 
 " It is my opinion that Armstrong knows a 
 great deal more about what the bees have been 
 doing the last few years than Luke does. Arm- 
 strong sold more honey than he ever had a right 
 to. Now he can steal from Stafford ; and as far 
 as Stafford is concerned, I am willing he should." 
 
 " I always pitied Mrs. Armstrong. She looks 
 like a heart-broken woman ; and any one who 
 saw her with her husband would know she was 
 afraid of him." 
 
 " That is enough to know of any man. When 
 a woman is afraid of her husband, you may be 
 sure he is not fit to be trusted by anybody." 
 
 " I believe you are right there, Jacob. But 
 to come back to Cousin Luke. Have you any 
 idea where he could get money to pay up the 
 mortgage and clear himself from Stafford ! " 
 
 " I have several ideas, Prudence ; but as I am 
 not sure of anything, I would rather not com- 
 mit myself even to you. But I have no doubt 
 that before the year is out, the mortgage will 
 be paid."
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THAD BYAM. 
 
 MRS. BYAM had calculated that her grandson 
 would remain in bed at least until she had 
 milked her cow and prepared breakfast; but 
 he was up before her, and brought the milk 
 into the pantry, just as he had done when he 
 was a boy. 
 
 "I am afraid you didn't sleep well," she said, 
 after he had kissed her "good-morning." 
 
 " I slept like a top," he answered ; adding : 
 " I never could forget your night and morning 
 kiss. That, and some other things, have kept 
 me from going to the bad." 
 
 "I am glad of it. I began that way when 
 you were a little fellow, and you never seemed 
 to think you had outgrown it," was replied ; 
 while the happiness the speaker could not half 
 express quite illumined her face. " You thought 
 you couldn't sleep without grandma's kiss." 
 
 " I remember all about it ; and I remember, 
 too, that it was hard work to get the kiss when 
 I had been naughtier than usual. I have given 
 you lots of trouble, grandmother, but now I am 
 going to try and make up to you for part of it." 
 (58)
 
 Thad By am. 59 
 
 "There is nothing to make up for, Thad. 
 You had a boy's ways, and likely I didn't 
 always do the best thing by you, 'though I tried 
 to. I hope now we are both of us all right, 
 and I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am 
 for somebody to care for me in my old age. I 
 don't know how I could borne to have you go 
 wrong." 
 
 "I came near it, grandmother nearer than 
 you know ; but a new influence came to me and 
 held me back." 
 
 " We'll talk about that when we have more 
 time : when you can tell me all about it." 
 
 "That will be best, for we may have a good 
 deal to say. When I was milking I wondered 
 if I could catch some trout for breakfast. Do 
 you suppose anybody has found my pool under 
 the rock by the big elm ? " 
 
 " I don't know ; I have never heard anything 
 about it, 'though the city folks that come here 
 in summer have fished up and down the brook, 
 till I shouldn't think they had missed a foot of 
 it." 
 
 " I guess I'll try my luck. There ought to be 
 some pretty big fish under the rock, and there 
 won't be anybody out at this time of day to see 
 where I go." 
 
 Fishing-tackle was where it had been left 
 two years before, while plenty of bait was
 
 60 Old Benches ivith New Props. 
 
 quickly found. The fish were just waiting to 
 be caught, as Thad told his grandmother when 
 he displayed the result of his angling. 
 
 No one sat down that morning to a more ap- 
 petizing breakfast than did these two. The 
 table was covered with a snowy cloth of home- 
 made linen, and the "best dishes" had been 
 brought from the little buffet in the corner of 
 the "front room." There was real country 
 cream in the cream- jug, while upon a rare old 
 platter were the mountain trout, fried crisp and 
 brown, and garnished with watercress, gathered 
 by the tiny rivulet which helped to swell the 
 larger brook. 
 
 " It is worth five years of hard work just to 
 come back and find everything so good," said 
 the young man, after listening reverently to the 
 short prayer offered by his grandmother. 
 
 " I was afraid the old house would seem so 
 small you wouldn't be willing to stay in it; 
 and I didn't know as you could sleep in the lit- 
 tle room under the eaves ; 'though since I had 
 the windows thrown out it is larger than it used 
 to be," was replied. 
 
 "It is a delightful room, grandmother; a 
 great deal better than the one I have slept in 
 the last two years. When a poor fellow goes 
 to experimenting with inventions, he has to 
 come right down to hard-pan in the way of liv-
 
 Thad By am. 61 
 
 ing. I worked days to earn money to spend 
 nights. I hired a garret and bought a stove, a 
 table, two chairs, and what answered for a bed ; 
 and you may be sure I didn't spend any more 
 for what I ate than was absolutely necessary. 
 Sometimes I forgot about my supper, so I didn't 
 have any." 
 
 " Why, Thaddeus, I should have worried 
 about you if I had known you was living like 
 that. And all the time you were sending me 
 money you needed for yourself." 
 
 " It was nothing to worry about, grandmother. 
 I didn't go hungry; or, if I did, I didn't know 
 it. I always had one good, square meal in the 
 week. That was Sunday morning, when I 
 bought beans and brown bread, and had coffee 
 with milk and sugar in it." 
 
 "I hope you didn't work Sundays?" 
 " No, grandmother, I didn't do that. There 
 was a good deal of the time when I didn't have 
 clothes fit to wear to meeting in daylight, but 
 I didn't work. I used to manage to get 'round 
 where there was preaching and praying in the 
 evening, and that helped me." 
 
 " Did you earn all the money you have spent ? " 
 
 " Every dollar, till it came to the last pull. 
 
 Then I borrowed a thousand dollars to finish 
 
 up with, and gave security on my invention. 
 
 The money is to be paid back in two years, or
 
 62 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 the man who lent it to me will get all the bene- 
 fit of my work." 
 
 " Can you pay it ? " 
 
 "I have no doubt that I can. The money 
 will be ready for him in less than a year. I am 
 going slow and sure. I don't expect to get rich 
 the first thing, but I shall have enough to pay 
 my debt and keep things moving." 
 
 "When did you first begin to think about 
 your invention, as you call it ? " 
 
 " I have thought of it so long I hardly know 
 when I begun, but I never should have done it 
 if it hadn't been for Mr. Brenner. He always 
 used to speak to me when he saw me, and gener- 
 ally stop and ask me how I was getting along. 
 Once when there was a chance for us to talk 
 together a few minutes, I told him what I had 
 been thinking about, and he encouraged me to 
 try and see what I could do. 
 
 " Next to you, Mr. Brenner has been the best 
 friend I ever had, and I never was so sorry for 
 anybody as I was for him when he failed. If I 
 had had money to give him he shouldn't have 
 thrown up his business. It was such a pity for 
 him to sacrifice so much." 
 
 " It will be more of a pity if he loses the old 
 place, and they say there is danger of it." 
 
 " I heard something about that, grandmother, 
 and I wish you would tell me just how it is."
 
 Tkad Byam. 63 
 
 So far as Mrs. Byam knew, the story was 
 told ; with many an interruption on the part of 
 the listener, who asked a succession of ques- 
 tions, many of which she was unable to answer. 
 
 " Grandmother, I might have been a drunkard 
 if Mr. Brenner had not given me some good ad- 
 vice one evening, after he had seen me in company 
 with some boys who had started on the wrong 
 track, and who thought it the very height of man- 
 liness to smoke and drink liquor," said Thaddeus 
 Byam. " I was coming home the nearest way, 
 through the lindens, and Mr. Brenner was there. 
 
 "He didn't talk hard to me, but he made me 
 feel that there was something better for me than 
 wasting time and money on tobacco and liquor. 
 He stirred all the good there was in me, and if 
 I live I will make him some return for it. 
 
 " The man who lent me money is a friend of 
 Mr. Brenner's, and if I can't do anything my- 
 self I can appeal to him. My invention can 
 stand another mortgage, and I can work it out. 
 I know I can." 
 
 "If you only could, Thad, I should be so 
 thankful; and a good many others would be 
 thankful, too." 
 
 " I can do it ; I know I can. I wish I was as 
 sure of upsetting that brewery arrangement. 
 What were the men thinking of to vote that 
 curse into the town ? "
 
 64 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " Thinking of a market for their barley, and 
 the money that will be stirring." 
 
 " Money will be stirring. There is no doubt 
 of that; but in the end it will stir back into 
 Stafford's pocket. Brewers and distillers are 
 making enormous profits, and these profits are 
 largely paid by men whose families are often 
 half starved." 
 
 " They say Stafford calls his beer a good tem- 
 perance drink ; good for keeping folks well, and 
 curing them when they are sick." 
 
 " He knows that is not true. Beer is the curse 
 of the mechanics in our cities. I have worked 
 with young men who spent so much for beer 
 and tobacco they had hardly enough left from 
 their wages to pay for board and clothing. A 
 company of them would get together in what 
 they call a beer-garden, and drink glass after 
 glass of beer through the whole evening." 
 
 " Did you ever go with them ? " asked Mrs. 
 Byam, looking at her grandson sharply. 
 
 "I went once to a beer-garden, but I did not 
 drink a drop of beer. I wanted to see what 
 was done there ; and as there was a policeman 
 at the door, I was pretty sure no one could force 
 me to drink. I had to stand a good deal of 
 chaffing and some threatening, but I turned it 
 off as well as I could, and managed to keep 
 them all good-natured."
 
 Thad By am. 65 
 
 " Do you know how the beer tastes ? " 
 
 "Yes ; I drank one glass that was ordered by 
 a physician. I wasn't feeling very well, and he 
 advised me to take a glass every day with my 
 dinner, but one was enough for me. It was dis- 
 agreeable to me, but I presume I could have 
 learned to like it, and perhaps crave it, as so 
 many others do." 
 
 "What would have happened then, Thad? 
 I can't bear to think of it." 
 
 " There is no need that you should think of 
 it, grandmother. I think of it only to be thank- 
 ful that I am a teetotaler. I have kept some of 
 my shopmates from drinking beer, and so saved 
 them. One poor fellow who needed every cent 
 he earned to keep a home for his invalid mother 
 was in great danger, because there was another 
 workman determined to get him in with the 
 beer-drinkers, and it was hard for him to 
 say no. 
 
 " One evening, when I knew there was to be 
 a grand push for him, I invited him to my gar- 
 ret and gave him a little treat. It cost me some- 
 thing, but it saved the boy. Before he went 
 home I got him to sign my pledge ; and after 
 that all the world couldn't make him break it." 
 
 " What is his name ? " 
 
 " Roth well Skies, but everybody shortens the 
 first name to Roth. He is a bright, active fel-
 
 66 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 low, just doing his level best ; and when I start 
 out for myself I shall take him with me." 
 
 " Does his mother know what you have done 
 for him ? " 
 
 " Yes, and repaid me for it She has invited 
 me to tea with her and Roth every Sunday for 
 the last year. I always take something along 
 with me, so as not to make them any expense, and 
 they live in close quarters, but it is a great deal 
 to me to sit down at the table with them, after 
 eating alone all through the week. Then, after 
 tea, we have a nice talk together, and that is 
 best of all. Mrs. Skies is a good woman, who 
 has seen lots of trouble." 
 
 " There are a great many such women in the 
 world." 
 
 " I begin to think so ; and the wonder to me 
 is that they are so patient and cheerful. 1 
 wonder how you ever had patience with me, and 
 I may try your patience again ; for now I am 
 home. I feel very much like the boy who tracked 
 your clean floor, and whistled when he ought to 
 have kept still."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CLYDE STAFFORD, THE BREWER. 
 
 WHISTLING down the street, keeping step 
 to his own music. Ten years before he had 
 been only Widow Byam's grandson ; bright and 
 smart, as everybody said, yet as likely to go 
 wrong as right. He could do "a big day's 
 work," but he wished for a different kind of 
 work every day. 
 
 Old people talked wisely of the rolling stone 
 which gathers no moss; although there were 
 some who, knowing his kind heart, were always 
 ready to speak a good word for him. 
 
 Now he was " a really promising young 
 man "; the inventor of machinery which would 
 revolutionize an important industry. In arrang- 
 ing to bring this invention before the public he 
 had shown a business ability which was the 
 more remarkable because of his inexperience. 
 
 His fortune was already assured. His towns- 
 men were proud that one of their number should 
 have achieved such success ; a little curious, too, 
 to know how he would carry his new honors. 
 
 There he was, whistling down the street, 
 
 (67)
 
 68 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 stopping occasionally to speak to some old 
 acquaintance, and then resuming his walk, until 
 he stood before a saloon which had been re- 
 cently opened. Just then two young men came 
 out of the saloon, of whom he asked the ques- 
 tion : 
 
 " Is it for eating, or drinking ? " 
 
 "For both, 'though there's more drinking 
 than eating," was replied. " If you want a glass 
 of good beer, there's the place to get it." 
 
 " Good beer," repeated Thad Byam contempt- 
 uously. " There is no such thing as good beer. 
 It is all bad." 
 
 "That is your opinion." 
 
 " It is ; and I am ready to back it up." 
 
 " Maybe you are, but when the new brewery 
 gets to running, you better not tell Stafford his 
 beer is bad." 
 
 "He will know it without being told, and 
 you will all find it out before you die." 
 
 Some men at work not far away heard this 
 colloquy, and as they turned to see the speakers, 
 one of them exclaimed : 
 
 " Thad Byam, as I live." 
 
 " You are right about that, Tim," was the 
 quick response. " We have both of us changed, 
 but there is enough of the old stock left to show 
 where we came from. No matter about that, 
 though. The question nowadays is, ' Where
 
 Clyde Stafford, the Brewer. 69 
 
 are you going 2 7 Shake hands, and tell me how 
 you have prospered." 
 
 " My hands are not fit to touch yours. I have 
 been working in the dirt, and the dirt sticks." 
 
 "I'm used to dirt that sticks, and there is no 
 reason to be ashamed of good, honest dirt. 
 Where are Dick and Luf? You three were 
 generally pretty near together when you were 
 younger." 
 
 " They ain't a great ways off. We scattered 
 'round for a while, but this spring we thought 
 we could do as well here as anywhere. We 
 ain't of the kind to get rich in a minute, as you 
 have. No such luck for us." 
 
 " I am not rich ; and as for luck, 1 have had 
 the luck to work hard, and fare hard too some- 
 times." 
 
 " But we heard up here 
 
 " You didn't hear how I lived in a garret and 
 cooked my own food, did you ? " said Thad- 
 deus Byam, interrupting the story of what had 
 been heard. 
 
 " I didn't suppose you did that," was replied 
 hesitatingly. 
 
 " I did, and thought myself lucky when I 
 could afford a pint of milk to wash down my 
 supper of dry bread. When you come to that, 
 you will know something about such luck as I 
 have had."
 
 70 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 While the speaker was thus giving his old- 
 time acquaintance a glimpse of his life, he was 
 scanning closely the face before him, upon which 
 dissipation and ungoverned passions had already 
 left their marks. 
 
 The three, usually found together, were the 
 three against whose influence Mr. Brenner had 
 warned Widow Byam's grandson, and who had 
 ever afterward regarded him with positive dis- 
 like. 
 
 " We heard you were getting rich, and we've 
 been looking for you to come back in grand 
 style," remarked Tim, with a sorry attempt to 
 be facetious. " Didn't know but you'd stop at 
 the hotel with the rest of the big-bugs. Didn't 
 know as the little brown house would be large 
 enough for you." 
 
 " The little brown house will be large enough 
 for me as long as ray grandmother lives. I 
 wouldn't miss this vacation on the old place for 
 half a year's work. But say, Tim, how has the 
 world used you, or you used the world, since I 
 saw you last ? " 
 
 " Bad enough. Poor folks can't expect much 
 of the world. It's a grind from beginning to 
 end. Couldn't stand it anyway if I didn't stop 
 once in a while and have a let-up, 'though I 
 haye to make up for it afterwards. How long 
 are you going to stay 'round here ? "
 
 Clyde Stafford, the Brewer. 71 
 
 " One month. I should like to stay all sum- 
 mer, but I can't afford it." 
 
 " Come into the saloon and have a glass of 
 beer with me for old times' sake ; or have you 
 got above beer ? " 
 
 "Thank you, Tim, but I never drink beer. 
 I am a teetotal temperance man." 
 
 " But this is real temperance beer ; such as 
 Stafford is going to make when he gets his 
 brewery started. He says he shall be doing 
 more for temperance than any other man in 
 town." 
 
 " He knows that he lies every time he says 
 that. Every man who drinks beer is in a fair 
 way to be a drunkard, and every brewer knows 
 it. Drinking beer is a waste of time and money. 
 While the drinker gets poorer the brewer gets 
 richer, and every brewer knows it." 
 
 " Didn't suppose you'd be down on beer at 
 that rate. It ain't the way folks look at it' 
 'round here. They thought it would be a good 
 thing for the town to have Stafford come here 
 and start up business." 
 
 " You don't mean that the voters of this town 
 thought it would be a good thing to have a 
 brewery here ? " 
 
 " Well no not all of them. There were 
 some that opposed it ; but they can't help see- 
 ing that there's more money coming into town."
 
 72 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " They can't help seeing that in the end most 
 of the money will go into one pocket. Mark 
 my words, Tim, the brewery will be a curse to 
 the town. It is a curse already." 
 
 " You wouldn't want to say that to Stafford ; 
 nor the farmers either, who are raising big crops 
 of barley he'll pay them a good price for." 
 
 " I have no quarrel with Stafford or the farm- 
 ers, but if occasion required, I should express 
 my mind as plainly to them as. I have to 
 you." 
 
 " It wouldn't have any effect if you did," 
 said Tim sharply. " The brewery is going up 
 in spite of you and old Brenner. He has got 
 to come down on a level with the rest of us, 
 and I am glad of it. His lady wife may have 
 to wear something besides silks and satins. 
 
 " They say Tamson Brenner thought she was 
 too good to marry Stafford, but she may see the 
 day when she'll be glad of such a home as he 
 would give her. He holds the mortgage on 
 the old place, and has foreclosed too, without 
 a chance of its being redeemed, unless some- 
 body outside of the family comes forward with 
 the money. There ain't much likelihood of that, 
 since so many lost by the old man's failure." 
 
 "Nobody lost by Mr. Brenner's failure ex- 
 cept himself and his family. He was honest 
 and honorable to the last degree. He might
 
 Clyde Stafford, the Brewer. 73 
 
 have kept something for his wife and daughter, 
 but he didn't do it." 
 
 "Well, I don't know about that, 'though 
 folks say he'd do 'most anything for them. 
 Some folks think Tamson is handsome, and 
 they say she is smart too. I suppose you are 
 well acquainted with her." 
 
 " I never spoke to her but once in my life, 
 and that was when she was a little girl. I 
 thought then she was wonderfully pretty, but 
 we have all changed since then ; you and I, as 
 well as the rest. Remember me to Dick and 
 Luf. I hope I shall see them while I am at 
 home, and see you again too." 
 
 " You'll find me 'round here for the next six 
 months. I've got a steady job, and I'm going 
 to stick to it. Don't suppose you'd take a cigar, 
 any more than you would a glass of beer ? " 
 
 " No, I wouldn't. I smoked my first and 
 last cigar with you, and I never wanted another. 
 There's altogether too much money spent for 
 liquor and tobacco in this country. I've seen 
 men waste money that way, and leave their 
 wives and children hungry." 
 
 "Well, I hain't got any wife, and .it's no- 
 body's business how I spend my money. I 
 earn it and spend it, and that's the end of it, 
 and " 
 
 Thaddeus Byarn walked away, leaving his
 
 74 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 whilom companion to complete the declaration 
 of independence, which had in it more of bra- 
 vado than actual feeling. 
 
 "Just as I expected," soliloquized the young 
 man who found himself alone. " Can't come 
 anywhere near him, he's so awful good. Wish 
 we could catch him napping, but it's no use 
 trying. He's too wide awake for that. I shall 
 have something to tell Dick and Luf. Wonder 
 if all three of us could talk him down on the 
 beer question. What good would it do if we 
 could ? He's at the top and we're at the bot- 
 tom. I never come so close in the way of liv- 
 ing as he told about, but he's got through with 
 that. Luck is all on his side." 
 
 Meanwhile Thaddeus Byain had met others 
 who gave him hearty congratulations upon his 
 success. Afterward, he recalled the fact that 
 nearly every one who addressed him spoke of 
 the brewery and the foreclosure of the Brenner 
 mortgage. 
 
 " Seems as though Stafford was bound to put 
 down everybody that opposes him," said an old 
 man who didn't believe in new-fangled drinks 
 that " cost so much money and never satisfied 
 anybody." 
 
 Thaddeus Byam had seen and heard enough 
 to make him more thankful than ever before for 
 the word spoken in season which had so influ-
 
 Clyde Stafford, the Brewer. 75 
 
 enced his life. Almost involuntarily he took 
 the path leading through the lindens to his 
 home, and there he met Mr. Brenner, who 
 greeted him with the utmost cordiality. There 
 was the rustic bench on which the two had sat 
 while the man clasped the boy's hands fast in 
 his own and told of the possibilities waiting for 
 every true, earnest worker. 
 
 "The bench has grown old, and its days of 
 usefulness are over, but it has served its pur- 
 pose for many a year," said he who had placed 
 the bench in its present position. 
 
 " It only needs new props to make it service- 
 able for many a year to come," was replied. 
 "The bench itself is all right. The trouble is 
 with the props, and with your permission I will 
 make them all right while I am at home. I have 
 thought of this grove many a time when I was 
 almost panting for breath in my close garret." 
 
 " I am afraid your close garret witnessed 
 some dark days." 
 
 "Not so dark but there was light ahead. I 
 was always looking forward to something bet- 
 ter, and as long as a man can do that, he has 
 courage to work." 
 
 "That is true. It is when a man has lost 
 hope that he becomes disheartened and discour- 
 aged ; feeling that there is nothing more left 
 for him."
 
 76 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 "Mr. Brenner, you are far wiser than I am, 
 but it seems to me no man ought to feel like 
 that as long as he is in this world ; and when it 
 comes to another, there is the infinite blessed- 
 ness ; is there not ? I think discouraged people 
 are something like this bench. They are all 
 right if they can only be propped up. 
 
 "The plank here is firm and strong; the 
 shade as dense as ever, and the prospect as 
 beautiful. The trouble is that the props are a 
 little shaky. When you come here again I 
 think you will find the bench as serviceable as 
 
 ever." 
 
 " The boy has taught me a lesson I shall not 
 soon forget," said Mr. Brenner half aloud, after 
 bidding Thaddeus Byam " Good-morning."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 EATING-SALOON. 
 
 " I THINK I will go up to Eagle Point to-day," 
 said Thaddeus Byam to his grandmother, as 
 they sat at breakfast. " I want to see Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hill. Next to Mr. Brenner, they were the 
 best friends I had when I was a boy. I sup- 
 pose it would be too much for you to walk up 
 there with ine." 
 
 " I walked up there when snow was on the 
 ground. The snow was frozen hard, so it was 
 like walking on a floor ; but if I take my time 
 for it I think I can go through the woods with- 
 out getting too tired. I want to go too. I want 
 to know how things are going at the Brenner 
 place, and Prudence and Jacob can tell me all 
 about it." 
 
 "That is what I want to know. I came 
 through the Brenner woods yesterday, and I 
 never knew before how much fine timber there 
 is on the place. There are some splendid oaks 
 that would sell for a big price." 
 
 " Talk with Jacob about it." 
 
 (7?)
 
 78 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " I will ; and we may as well start for Eagle 
 Point as soon as we can." 
 
 Mrs. Byam was as eager to be on the way as 
 was her grandson, so that it was early when 
 they reached their destination. 
 
 " We were talking about you not an hour 
 ago, and wishing you would come," said Mrs. 
 Hill, extending a hand to each of her visitors. 
 " Jacob said he wanted to hear Thaddeus tell 
 his own story. You know he was always inter- 
 ested in you," she added, looking at the young 
 man standing before her, who replied : 
 
 " He was interested in Thad Byam. I am 
 pretty sure that he never called me Thaddeus 
 in all my life, and I don't want him to begin 
 now. I am just Thad, as I used to be ; only 
 with a few years over my head, and, I hope, a 
 little more sense in it. I came home to be a boy 
 again." 
 
 " All right, Thad," answered Mrs. Hill, and 
 thus all formality was at an end. 
 
 The day was long, but not too long for all 
 that was to be said, and the plans that were to 
 be considered. 
 
 " People say Stafford hadn't a doubt but what 
 the Brenner place would come into his hands," 
 remarked Jacob Hill, as they were talking of 
 the mortgage held by the brewer. 
 
 " Cousin Luke was so discouraged he didn't
 
 Eating-Saloon. 79 
 
 think of trying to pay the debt. But every- 
 thing has changed ; arid now, if anybody would 
 advance the money, it could be repaid in less 
 than five years. I am sure of that. Of course, 
 ^Stafford would never consent to a transfer of 
 the mortgage. Nothing less than money in 
 hand would compel him to give up his claim. 
 He wants to see Tamson living in poverty ; but 
 I have too much faith in God's justice to be- 
 lieve that will ever be." 
 
 "It never shall be, Mr. Hill. I don't know 
 the amount of the mortgage, but there is timber 
 enough in the Brenner woods to pay a heavy 
 debt." 
 
 " That is true, Thad, but it cannot be touched 
 so long as Stafford holds the mortgage. Once 
 get the place out of his clutches, and it could 
 soon be cleared of all incumbrance. Things 
 are working well, and it won't hurt Cousin 
 Luke to feel that a good deal is depending 
 upon him ; 'though, to tell the truth, Tamson 
 and Ann and Dolf Turner are at the forefront 
 of the management. Cousin Luke's wife, too, 
 is ready to do her part, and is as busy as any 
 of them." 
 
 u So grandmother told me. I remember Mrs. 
 Brenner when I was a boy. I thought it almost 
 presumption for me even to look at her, she 
 seemed so far above me."
 
 8o Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " She is only a mortal woman, Thad." 
 
 " I know that, but she was rich and stylish, 
 and I was only a poor, barefooted boy." 
 
 " A pretty wide awake boy." 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I think I was all that, and alto- 
 gether too full of mischief for my grandmoth- 
 er's comfort. I must have been a trial to her." 
 
 " I don't know about that. You kept things 
 a good deal stirred up some of the time, but 
 she was happier than she would have been 
 alone. We all need to feel that our lives are 
 of consequence to somebody besides ourselves." 
 
 " I believe that, Mr. Hill. The thought of 
 grandmother in her little cottage praying for 
 me, as I knew she did, gave me courage to per- 
 severe in what has at last proved a success. 
 I felt that she depended upon me, and I would 
 not disappoint her. Now, in some way, I must 
 help Mr. Brenner. I never can repay him for 
 his kindness, but I can at least prove my grati- 
 tude. 
 
 " I could realize on my invention at once by 
 selling it outright, but that would be the same 
 as allowing another to reap the largest part of 
 the harvest where I had sowed the seed. I 
 chose to retain it in my own hands and wait for 
 results. If anything could tempt me to accept 
 an offer I have received, it would be that I 
 might advance the money for Mr. Brenner."
 
 Ea ting- Saloon. 8 1 
 
 " Don't do that, Thad. I think we can man- 
 age it. They have eight months longer to live 
 on the place, anyway, and they will learn a 
 great deal in that time. Cousin Luke's wife is 
 just finding out there is something for her to 
 do in the world besides looking pretty and 
 being waited on. I don't know as I ought to 
 say that, but she said it herself the last time 
 I saw her. Cousin Luke has taken a new lease 
 of life, and as for Tamson, she is busy as a bee 
 all day long." 
 
 " I thought when I came through the lindens 
 that the bees were pretty busy." 
 
 " They are, and that means a good deal of 
 honey to be sold. Then there are the small 
 fruits. The bushes are simply loaded." 
 
 " He told me his strawberries are beginning 
 to ripen." 
 
 " They are, and they will sell for a good price 
 as fast as they are ready for market. He will 
 have an immense crop. Then there will be 
 apples, pears, and plums. If well managed 
 as I think it will be the place will give a good 
 income this year. I hear Stafford planned how 
 he would improve it, 'though it is my opinion 
 he don't say much about it now." 
 
 " He never shall have the Brenner place. I 
 wish I was as sure that he never should have 
 any of the boys around here for drunkards, but
 
 82 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 he will if they begin drinking his beer. How 
 could the people vote to exempt his business 
 from taxation for ten years, when they knew 
 he intended to build a brewery ? " 
 
 " There was strong opposition to it, but he 
 made a good many believe that his coming here 
 would be a great benefit to the town. We 
 never had a liquor-saloon in the town till he 
 came here. The old tavern sold liquor, and I 
 suppose anybody that wanted it could get it 
 at the new hotel ; but the saloon is for liquor 
 and nothing else." 
 
 " The sign reads, ' Eating-Saloon.' r 
 
 " I know it does, and I suppose they have 
 crackers and something of that sort to eat ; 
 but it is my opinion that drinking is the prin- 
 cipal thing done there." 
 
 " I think you are right there, Mr. Hill. One 
 of the patrons of the saloon told me so, 
 and there is stronger liquor than beer sold 
 there." 
 
 " Beer is the bait thrown out to catch the 
 boys. Black, who sold Stafford land, has four 
 boys, and he is half crazy for fear they will 
 go to the saloon. His wife was opposed to his 
 selling the land, but he never would hear to 
 her, anyway. She says it will be a just pun- 
 ishment for him if his boys turn drunkards ; 
 but the punishment would be hard to bear."
 
 Eating-Saloon. 83 
 
 " It would be no harder for them than for 
 others." 
 
 " True, but we have no boys to spare as a 
 sacrifice to Stafford's greed for money. It is 
 money he is after." 
 
 " And money he will have, if he carries out 
 his plans for building a brewery. Brewers 
 make enormous profits on their beer. Stafford 
 is evidently working now to create a home de- 
 mand for his beer before he has any to sell." 
 
 " Have you seen him ? " 
 
 " I have not. I have no desire to see him, 
 'though some have told me that he is hand- 
 some and agreeable." 
 
 " Some people call him handsome, and there 
 is no doubt that he tries to make himself 
 agreeable ; but he has what I call a bad face. 
 There is a half-hidden look that shows what 
 the man is. When he is off his guard that 
 look is plain to be seen. Pie is determined to 
 have his own way. Anybody with half an eye 
 can see that, and he calculates to punish any- 
 body who opposes him. 
 
 " I presume he never thought it possible that 
 Tamson Brenner would refuse to marry him, 
 until the refusal came. Then he was so angry 
 he as good as told people he had got the mit- 
 ten ; and every move he has made since shows 
 that he intends to be revenged upon her. She
 
 84 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 never would have told any one outside of her 
 family that he asked her to marry him, and now 
 she doesn't talk about it." 
 
 " She is a thousand times too good for him, 
 I know that, 'though I never spoke to her but 
 once in my life, and that was when she was a 
 little girl." 
 
 " You have seen her since you came home ? " 
 
 "I saw a young lady at church with Mr. 
 Brenner. Rather, there were two young ladies." 
 
 " One was Ann, the house girl, as they call 
 her now. She is a Swede, and came from the 
 city with them. They used to think of her only 
 as a servant; but now Tamson and she are 
 always together, and she is developing into a 
 splendid woman. She has managed indoors 
 and out in a way that has made the family re- 
 gard her as a dear friend. I don't know what 
 they would have done without her." 
 
 " I think I saw her with Dolf Turner." 
 
 " I presume you did. She is training him to 
 make himself generally useful; and he would 
 go through fire and water to serve her or any 
 member of the family. There is nothing want- 
 ing to save that place but a few thousand dol- 
 lars to put in Clyde Stafford's hands, and in less 
 than five years Luke Brenner will owe no man 
 anything." 
 
 " I can manage it, Mr. Hill ; I know T can.
 
 Eating-Saloon. 85 
 
 When I get back to the city I am going to an 
 old friend of Mr. Brenner's and tell him all 
 about it. I am going to look out, too, for a 
 market for some of those old oaks." 
 
 " So do, Thad. They can't be touched till the 
 mortgage is cleared off ; but as soon as that is 
 paid there will be a chance for some fine lum- 
 bering." 
 
 In thus planning for the relief of a friend the 
 time passed so quickly that Jacob Hill and his 
 guest were greatly surprised when told that din- 
 ner waited for them in the pleasant kitchen. 
 There the conversation became more general; 
 drifting at last to Thad Byam's personal inter- 
 ests. In response to the questions of his friends, 
 he told of the labors and self-denials with which 
 his success had been purchased. 
 
 " I hope you didn't ever go really hungry ? " 
 said kind-hearted Mrs. Hill. 
 
 " I think I never did," he replied. " For one 
 thing, 1 was so absorbed in my work I didn't 
 care much for anything else. I often ate coarse 
 bread with nothing but water for sauce, and I 
 could take a bite of that as I worked. 
 
 "When I got so sleepy my eyes wouldn't 
 keep open any longer, I went to bed. If it was 
 warm weather I threw myself on the bed with- 
 out undressing. That is not a good way to do, 
 but it saved time and trouble."
 
 86 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " I hope you don't do that now you are at 
 home ? " said his grandmother. 
 
 "No, indeed," he responded. " I am a gentle- 
 man of leisure for this month, and can afford to 
 make myself comfortable. I should not care to 
 live over my garret life, but I never saw a sick 
 day through it all. 
 
 " A young man who makes the most of his 
 strength, letting tobacco and liquor alone, ought 
 to be able to do a great amount of hard work 
 without injury to himself. I am none the worse 
 for what I have done. I am sound in wind and 
 limb ; ready for any job grandmother needs to 
 have done." 
 
 " Thad is just like the boy he always was, 
 only I don't worry about him now," remarked 
 the old lady, looking upon him with pardonable 
 pride ; adding quickly : " I haven't worried 
 about him since he signed the pledge never to 
 taste of liquor or tobacco. I knew he wouldn't 
 break his pledge."
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SUNSET WOODS. 
 
 To Sunset Woods to visit Richard Anslow 
 and his sister, Miss Rebecca. 
 
 " Now that I have seen Mr. and Mrs. Hill, I 
 must see my friends in the old stone house," 
 said Thad Byam. 
 
 "Certainly you must," replied his grand- 
 mother. "The last time Mr. Anslow called 
 here he asked a good many more questions 
 about you than I could answer; and he wanted 
 you to be sure and make them a visit when you 
 came home. 
 
 "I won't go with you there. Some way I 
 never could feel at home with Miss Rebecca, 
 'though she's a nice woman. There's something 
 about her I don't understand. You will get 
 along better without me." 
 
 " Perhaps so, grandmother. There is a mys- 
 tery about those people, and I always wished I 
 could know more about them, but I like them. 
 I learned a good deal in Mr. Anslow's workshop 
 that has been of use to me." 
 
 (87)
 
 88 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " He will be glad to hear that. You always 
 seemed to get nearer to them than anybody else 
 I know of." 
 
 " That was because they thought I had done 
 them a great favor by telling them about the 
 cold spring. They said they might never have 
 found it." 
 
 " That spring has grown famous. Mr. Anslow 
 could get a big price if he would sell it with the 
 right of way to it through the woods, or with a 
 few acres of land around it. A company 
 wanted to buy it." 
 
 " Was Stafford one of the company ? " 
 
 " I don't know. I only heard what I told you. 
 But Mr. Anslow says he never will sell a foot of 
 land as long as he lives. Are you going to walk 
 over there ? " 
 
 " Of course 1 am. It is a real treat to me to 
 put my feet on the ground after tramping on 
 pavements so long. I know the shortest way, 
 and it will be strange if I don't see enough as I 
 go through the woods to make me forget how 
 far it is." 
 
 "There never was another such a boy for 
 seeing things," said Mrs. Byam to herself, as he 
 started off at a swinging gait. 
 
 However strange and unsocial others might 
 think the inmates of the old stone house, Thad 
 Byam was always sure of a warm welcome, and
 
 Simset Woods. 89 
 
 doubly so now when he had so much to tell that 
 they wished to hear. Little changed were their 
 surroundings, except that the trees had grown 
 larger, and there were more flowers in the little 
 garden than he had ever seen there before. 
 
 " I thought it was about time for you to 
 come," said Mr. Anslow after the first greetings. 
 " I didn't suppose you had forgotten us." 
 
 "No, sir; I shall never forget you or Miss 
 Rebecca," was responded heartily. "I should 
 miss something from coming home if I could not 
 come here." 
 
 " I am glad of that. Rebecca is busy in the 
 dairy, but she will be ready to leave her work 
 the minute she knows you are here. People 
 say you are going to be a rich man." 
 
 u I am not sure of that, 'though I think there 
 is a fair prospect that I may have a comfortable 
 fortune before I am a very old man." 
 
 " I never saw you when you seemed uncom- 
 fortable. I have wished a great many times 
 that I could feel, for a single day, as well as you 
 seemed to." 
 
 " You must have felt something like it when 
 you were a boy." 
 
 " Boys are not all alike ; but anyway I am 
 right glad to see you "; and then there came 
 over the man's face the same expression at which 
 his companion had often wondered.
 
 90 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 At that moment Miss Rebecca came in smil- 
 ing brightly. She was a tall, graceful woman, 
 with quite the manners of a lady, impressing her 
 visitor with the feeling that she had dropped out 
 of the place to which she rightfully belonged. 
 
 " I shall not be the first to congratulate you 
 upon your success, but you will receive no con- 
 gratulations more sincere than mine," she said, 
 as she held the young man's hand in her own. 
 " I am thankful we are not disappointed in you. 
 We have been eager to hear everything we could 
 about you." 
 
 " And here I am to tell you all you wish to 
 know." 
 
 It was the same old story, but the friendly 
 interest of the listeners made the oft-told tale 
 less wearisome to the narrator. At last he 
 said : 
 
 " Mr. Anslow, in one way I am indebted to 
 you for much of my success." 
 
 " How can that be ? " was asked quickly. 
 
 " Don't you remember that you used to talk 
 to me about your work, telling me what you 
 wished to make, and explaining how force could 
 be applied to produce certain results? You set 
 me to thinking. My visits to your workshop 
 were more to me than any school I ever at- 
 tended." 
 
 " It does me good to hear you say that. I
 
 Sunset Woods. 9 1 
 
 have always had plenty of ideas, but I could 
 not carry them out to the end. It seems to me 
 I have never really finished anything." 
 
 At this Miss Rebecca shook her head, saying : 
 
 " You have finished a great many things, 
 Richard. Your life has not been so useless as 
 you would have people think. Now, while I 
 am attending to the dairy and preparing din- 
 ner, you and Thaddeus can go to the workshop." 
 
 " I should be glad to see the inside of that 
 shop again," responded the young man, whose 
 name had always been given its full measure 
 in this house. " I have wished many and many 
 a time, when I was working in my garret, that 
 I could lease your shop with the tools in it." 
 
 " You could have had the use of it all and 
 welcome," was replied. " I cannot imagine how 
 you could accomplish so much with so little." 
 
 " I did it because I felt that I must. I seemed 
 to have no choice in the matter." 
 
 There was the shop, looking much as it did 
 ten years before, with unfinished pieces of work 
 heaped upon the bench which occupied a large 
 part of the room. 
 
 " Here is the very thing which set me to 
 thinking," exclaimed Thad Byam, pointing to 
 a simple cog- wheel with lever attached. 
 
 " Your invention cannot be anything like 
 that \ "
 
 92 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " No, Mr. An slow, it is not ; but all the same, 
 that gave me the idea which kept running in 
 my head until it brought other ideas with it. 
 I can describe it in no other way. I worked 
 from the light I had, and so more light was 
 given. Of course I experimented, and my ex- 
 periments were often failures ; but I learned 
 something from every failure, and I never made 
 the same mistake twice." 
 
 " You are a brave man. But what if after 
 all you had failed in the end ? " 
 
 " I should have started over again on a new 
 track. But it could not be an entire failure, 
 because I had gained so much experience as a 
 worker, that I could command higher wages 
 than before. Not the least, too, of what I gained 
 was the steady application and perseverance 
 that will make me a better man as long as I 
 live." 
 
 " That must be so, my young friend. I told 
 you my whole life had been like these pieces 
 of work. I could begin well, but I lacked the 
 application and perseverance necessary to com- 
 plete my work. It does me good to see and 
 talk with one who has accomplished so much. 
 I expected a good deal of you. When you 
 signed a pledge of total abstinence from liquor 
 and tobacco, you laid a foundation, broad and 
 deep, for the best of which you were capable."
 
 Sunset Woods. 93 
 
 u That pledge was my salvation, Mr. Anslow. 
 Without it I should not have been so strong to 
 resist temptation ; and if I had once acquired 
 the habit of spending my evenings in beer gar- 
 dens or saloons, I could never have turned away 
 from them to work hour after hour in my lonely 
 garret." 
 
 " You would not have had the strength to 
 do it." 
 
 " I should have had neither strength nor in- 
 clination to do it. I should have just drifted 
 through one evening after another; spending 
 my wages as fast, as I earned them, and grow- 
 ing more restless and reckless every day. There 
 are thousands and thousands of young men 
 doing just that." 
 
 " Yes, and at the same time complaining of 
 bad luck and an unequal distribution of this 
 world's goods. They are discouraged before 
 they know what they might do, and old before 
 they realize what a fortune they have in the 
 strength and vigor of youth. Beer, too, is in 
 the end worse for them than whiskey." 
 
 " It leads to whiskey." 
 
 " I know it does, but it often poisons a man's 
 blood before he takes to whiskey ; and just be- 
 cause he can drink so much of it without be- 
 coming absolutely intoxicated, I count it the 
 worst of all drinks. I count the young man
 
 94 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 doomed who begins with beer. A beer drunk- 
 ard is the most disgusting drunkard of all." 
 
 " I agree with you in that, Mr. Anslow. Yet 
 some people talk about drinking beer to keep 
 a man from intemperance." 
 
 " 1 know they do, but they who talk in that 
 way are either fools or liars. Think of a brew- 
 ery in your town among these grand old hills ! 
 It is a desecration. It seems as though the 
 voters of the town must have been crazy to 
 allow Stafford to come there and exempt him 
 from taxation. He will bring money into the 
 town, but with it he will bring a class of work- 
 men different from any about here now." 
 
 "And with them drunkenness, Sabbath- 
 breaking, and profanity. I don't suppose I 
 should have had any influence; but if I had 
 been at home I would have lifted up my voice 
 against it." 
 
 " If I had lived in your town I would have 
 made some plain statements of facts that I can 
 substantiate by the highest medical authority, 
 although I presume Dr. Lash would have dis- 
 puted me. He recommends beer to his patients 
 as the best tonic they can take." 
 
 "So grandmother told me; and if he uses 
 stimulants as people say he does, his judgment 
 is not to be trusted in anything. Jacob Hill 
 says he has no doubt that Stafford paid him
 
 Sunset Woods. 95 
 
 a large fee for praising beer as a healthful 
 drink." 
 
 " I presume he did. I have heard there was 
 a good deal of money distributed around where 
 it would buy votes and influence." 
 
 " No doubt of it, Mr. Anslow. Jacob Hill told 
 me there were more bottles of liquor carried to 
 town meeting when the vote was taken to ex- 
 empt Stafford's business from taxation, than 
 was ever seen at such a meeting before. Every- 
 body who would could take a drink. It was 
 just handed 'round, free to all. Of course Staf- 
 ford paid for it and found it a good investment." 
 
 " He knew how to manage that. He would 
 stop at nothing, if he could carry his point. 
 He will be a curse to the town, the county, and 
 the State. I hear, too, that he is determined to 
 ruin Mr. Brenner because Miss Brenner refused 
 to be his wife." 
 
 "In that he will find himself checkmated. 
 Mr. Brenner has friends who will come to the 
 
 rescue." 
 
 " I think he has. Miss Brenner called here 
 last summer, and Rebecca was delighted with 
 her. She came with a party to visit the spring, 
 but was alone when she called here." 
 
 " You will not sell the spring, Mr. Anslow ? " 
 " Never. Neither will my sister. After we 
 are both gone it will not matter to us."
 
 96 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 This last remark introduced a new topic of 
 conversation, which at last drifted back to the 
 workshop, and was continued until Miss Re- 
 becca appeared to summon them to dinner. 
 
 They had not been long at the table when a 
 bareheaded, barefooted boy appeared outside 
 the door and called Mr. Anslow. 
 
 "What is the matter?" asked the gentleman 
 kindly ; going to the boy, and with his hand 
 smoothing the tangled curls which were evi- 
 dently quite unused to being smoothed. 
 
 "Father is bad to-day, just like he used to be, 
 and I was afraid he would hurt Lessie," replied 
 the boy, striving to repress his sobs. 
 
 " Where is Lessie ? " 
 
 " Behind the shed. I thought perhaps you 
 would let her stay here till father gets better." 
 
 "What will you do?" 
 
 " Go back and take care of father. I don't mind 
 his hurting me, but I can't let him hurt Lessie." 
 
 " Wait till we have had our dinner and I will 
 go home with you." 
 
 "Don't let father know I told you he was 
 bad. He would most kill me if you did. He 
 won't mind Lessie's being gone, because she stays 
 away from him mostly. I'm sorry, but her dress 
 is awful torn. I can't get used to sewing, and 
 she runs in the woods with me so much she tears 
 her dress awful."
 
 Sunset Woods. 97 
 
 " Never mind about that, John. Bring her 
 here, and we will take care of her. Have you 
 had your dinner?" 
 
 "No, sir; there wasn't any dinner; but I 
 don't care for any, if you will only be good 
 enough to give Lessie a piece of bread." 
 
 " You shall both of you have dinner when we 
 are through." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Anslow ; you are so good. Father 
 has been good, too, till he went off yesterday 
 and came back with a bottle full of something 
 awful for him to drink, instead of something 
 for us to eat. Lessie and I were so afraid we 
 crept up-stairs and hid under the eaves. Now 
 I don't know what will become of us." 
 
 "Don't be discouraged, my lad. You and 
 Lessie shall have a good dinner, and I will go 
 over and see your father."
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 AT THE OLD JOYCE HOUSE. 
 
 " HAVEE is a new neighbor, living in the 
 Joyce house," said Mr. Anslow, as he resumed 
 his seat at the table. " While the children are 
 eating their dinner I will go over and see what 
 condition he is in." 
 
 " I would like to go with you," responded 
 Thad Byam. " It is a long time since I have 
 been that way, but when I was a boy I used to 
 go to the house with my grandmother. She and 
 old Mrs. Joyce were good friends, and always 
 exchanged visits two or three times a year. 
 They walked the distance, too ; so a visit was 
 quite an event with them. 
 
 "I used to wonder what they could find to 
 talk about so long and so fast. They were both 
 poor, and working hard to earn a living, 'though 
 Mrs. Joyce was worse off than grandmother; 
 because she had a drunken son and his family 
 hanging on her. When she died the family was 
 broken up, and I never knew what became of 
 them." 
 
 "They were gone before I came, and the 
 (98)
 
 At the Old Joyce House. 99 
 
 house has been empty most of the time. Haver 
 went in there because he was tired of tramping 
 and must have a shelter of some kind for him- 
 self and his children." 
 
 During the walk to the Joyce house more 
 was told of the wretched man who had brought 
 his entire worldly possessions in a pack which 
 he said he had carried for more than a hundred 
 miles. He had obtained some work among the 
 farmers, who had paid him in food and pieces 
 of old furniture, which had helped to make his 
 poor home more comfortable. 
 
 The owner of the house of which he had 
 taken possession lived in a distant town, so that 
 he was not likely to be troubled in regard to 
 rent ; the less so, as it was considered of little 
 value. Summer rains and winter snows found 
 their way through the fast decaying roof, while 
 doors sagged upon their hinges and windows 
 admitted every passing breeze. 
 
 As Mr. Anslow and his companion came near 
 the house they heard angry shouts and threats 
 of vengeance upon the children, whose names 
 were mingled with terrible oaths. Then fol- 
 lowed crash upon crash, after which the raving 
 man appeared for a moment at an open window, 
 brandishing his arms as if menacing some in- 
 visible foe. 
 
 "He is stark mad," exclaimed Thad Byam.
 
 ioo Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " He will destroy everything he can lay his 
 hands on. He needs a cold-water douche, and 
 with your permission I will undertake to ad- 
 minister it. That will bring him to his senses 
 sooner than anything else. He is like a wild 
 beast." 
 
 "He must have brought liquor home with 
 him last evening, and he will probably keep on 
 drinking until that is gone. He told me once 
 that as soon as he got a taste of liquor he cared 
 for nothing else. I think he killed his wife. I 
 don't know as he shot her or beat her to death, 
 yet I am sure he considers himself her murderer. 
 But we must hurry or he will smash everything 
 in the house to splinters." 
 
 For the next five minutes there was a fierce 
 struggle, in which, at last, Mr. Haver was over- 
 powered ; to find himself deluged with cold 
 water until he begged for mercy. Then he was 
 assisted to his feet and ordered to " walk lively," 
 which order he obeyed as well as his condition 
 would allow. 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. Anslow found a flask partly 
 filled with liquor, which he emptied, thus call- 
 ing forth a yell of rage from its owner. Pres- 
 ently, however, he became more quiet, although 
 still compelled to remain upon his feet. 
 
 " I can manage him now, and my sister would 
 be sorry to miss the opportunity for a friendly
 
 At the Old Joyce House. 101 
 
 talk with you," said the elder man after a short 
 time. " She is getting to be an old woman ; 
 but her heart will never grow old, and she 
 counts you as one of her friends. She certainly 
 is a friend to you." 
 
 " I am honored by her friendship, Mr. Anslow. 
 I had many friends when I was a boy, and I re- 
 ceived a great deal of good advice, but Miss 
 Rebecca talked to me differently from any other 
 one. I thought she was the grandest lady in 
 the world." 
 
 "She might have lived like a grand lady, 
 with servants at her call, if she had loved her 
 brother less. I can never half repay her for her 
 kindness and devotion. She ought to be in a 
 different home, and I know she misses many 
 things to which she was once accustomed, but 
 she never complains." 
 
 " Your pardon, Mr. Anslow ; but I have won- 
 dered why you came to live in such a lonely 
 place." 
 
 " It is not strange that you should wonder. 
 Sometime I may tell you all about it. It was 
 not because we were too poor to live elsewhere." 
 
 "I never thought that, Mr. Anslow. When 
 I was a boy I thought you must be very rich, 
 you had so many books and papers, and a great 
 many things, such as I didn't see in other 
 houses. Once or twice I had a peep into your
 
 IO2 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 china closet, and I was sure no one could have 
 what I called such pretty dishes unless they 
 were very rich." 
 
 " We are not very rich, but we have enough 
 to keep us in comfort, so we need not worry 
 about the future." 
 
 This was more than Thad Byam had before 
 known of these friends, although as he said, 
 when he was a boy he had thought them rich. 
 They did not mingle much with their neigh- 
 bors, except when they could render some kind 
 service. 
 
 The hours spent with them had been much 
 to the poor lad whom so many regarded simply 
 as one to be tolerated for a longer or shorter 
 time, as circumstances might determine. 
 
 Miss Rebecca was expecting him. John and 
 Lessie Haver were eating their dinner, which 
 they would enjoy all the more if left to them- 
 selves. 
 
 "Their father is a wretch," said the young 
 man. " He ought to be shut up where it would 
 be impossible for him to get a drop of liquor." 
 
 "Somebody sold him the liquor, Thaddeus. 
 It is not likely any one gave it to him. The 
 liquor-seller should bear his full share of pun- 
 ishment. In this case I believe some one ejse 
 deserves quite as much blame as Mr. Haver. I 
 don't hear much of what is done in the village,
 
 At the Old Joyce House. 103 
 
 but I have been told that there are men there 
 determined to drag every other man down to 
 their own level. They drink liquor, and they 
 are angry if any one objects to it." 
 
 "I suppose the new saloon furnishes the 
 liquor." 
 
 " That is what I have been told, and I pre- 
 sume, if the truth could be known, Mr. Haver 
 was persuaded to go into the saloon and take a 
 drink. He couldn't have had much money, but 
 John says he had enough to buy a big bag of 
 flour. He told me, himself, that in his father's 
 house everybody drank beer, and thought it as 
 harmless as water." 
 
 " If he was like most other beer-drinkers, he 
 wanted something stronger after a while." 
 
 " Yes, he did ; but now, Thaddeus, tell me 
 more of yourself." 
 
 Listening then to a more detailed account of 
 his manner of living, as he planned and experi- 
 mented, she said earnestly : 
 
 " How happy I should have been to give you 
 the best dinner I could prepare. Bread and 
 water is prisoners' diet." 
 
 "But I was not a prisoner, Miss Rebecca. I 
 had the largest liberty, because I had the power 
 of choice." 
 
 " I should have pitied you had I known how 
 you were living."
 
 IO4 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " I never pitied myself. I was only sacrific- 
 ing a lesser good for a greater. My grand- 
 mother used to tell me over and over again that 
 nothing great or good was ever accomplished 
 without some sacrifice. It was hard to make 
 me believe it, but when I was once convinced I 
 determined to make the sacrifice, whatever it 
 might be. 
 
 " I don't know yet what will be required of 
 me. As I look back it does not seem much for 
 me to have lived and dressed plainly. Instead 
 of pitying me, Miss Rebecca, you would have 
 been amused if you had seen me counting my 
 money and calculating to a penny how much I 
 could afford to spend on myself and still have 
 enough left to pay for the material necessary for 
 my work. It was close counting." 
 
 "And I make no doubt you got the most 
 your money would pay for." 
 
 " I think I did. In a good many ways I was 
 like a boy, as I am now. I was just as eager 
 for my Sunday morning breakfast as I ever was 
 for the turnovers grandmother used to make for 
 me. As you have seen, I still have a boy's ap- 
 petite." 
 
 " That is an especial blessing. Thaddeus, you 
 have a great deal for which to be thankful. You 
 have good health, good habits, and good pros- 
 pects for the future. If you should become rich
 
 At the Old Joyce House. 105 
 
 you will know how to make the most and best 
 of what you have. It is the dram-selling and 
 dram-drinking that makes a large part of the 
 poverty and suffering in the world. You must 
 have learned that." 
 
 " Indeed I have, Miss Rebecca.'.' 
 
 "Not as I have learned it, Thaddeus. Oh! 
 I thought I would never say another word about 
 it ; but the fire burns, and sometimes the flames 
 will burst forth." 
 
 This exclamation was followed by a somewhat 
 prolonged silence, broken at length by John 
 Haver, who came to the door of the sitting- 
 room to thank Miss Rebecca for such a good 
 dinner, and apologize for having eaten so much. 
 
 " I didn't mean to," he said shyly. 
 
 " Go back and eat more," answered Miss Re- 
 becca with a smile. " I wish you and Lessie to 
 eat all you can. I should be glad to have you 
 clear the table." 
 
 " I guess Lessie will, because she didn't want 
 so much as I did. I gave her most all there 
 was yesterday, and saved a crust for her this 
 morning." 
 
 "Why, child, didn't you have anything to 
 eat yesterday ? " 
 
 " No, ma'am, not after breakfast, and I only 
 had just a little then, because, you know, I 
 couldn't let Lessie be hungry. Mother told me
 
 io6 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 not to ; and she said if father was very bad, I 
 must take Lessie away where he couldn't find 
 her. 
 
 " I don't know but I'll have to take her away 
 now, 'though I'll be awful sorry to; we've had 
 such a beautiful time ever since we came to the 
 house where we've been staying. Lessie hasn't 
 been real hungry once till this time, and I 
 haven't been hungry much." 
 
 " Well, now, John, just go back to the table 
 and finish your dinner, and by and by we will 
 talk about what you better do." 
 
 When Mr. Anslow returned he reported his 
 neighbor as sleeping soundly. 
 
 " I gave him a vigorous rubbing and got him 
 into dry clothing, and by that time he began to 
 appreciate the situation. The first thing, he 
 asked me where his children were ; and when I 
 told him they were safe he was evidently much 
 relieved. 
 
 " In reply to my questions he acknowledged 
 that he went into the saloon and drank there, 
 and afterward bought a flask of liquor to bring 
 home with him. He said he had no idea of do- 
 ing it, but some young men halt' pushed him in 
 and put a glass of liquor to his lips. 
 
 " He said he started for home with a full flask, 
 and didn't taste of liquor on the way, but drank 
 last night and again this morning. He will
 
 At the Old Joyce House. 107 
 
 sleep now for a few hours. What he will do 
 when he wakes no one can tell. 1 presume he 
 did not tell me the exact truth, but I think that 
 in the main his story was correct. 
 
 " If this is the beginning of the better times 
 Stafford claims to have in store for your town, 
 God only knows what will be the ending."
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HOW TO BE HIGH. 
 
 THADDEUS BYAM went down the village 
 street; not whistling as was his wont, but 
 striding along without uttering a sound, look- 
 ing neither to the right hand nor the left until 
 he came to where several men were busily at 
 work with pickaxe and spade. 
 
 " So you are all here," he said, addressing a 
 group of three, at a little distance from others. 
 
 "Yes, we are here," was replied a little 
 gruffly. " Where else should we be ? We are 
 not so rich that we can afford to take a vaca- 
 tion and go into the country to enjoy ourselves." 
 
 " I can tell you how to do it," responded the 
 newcomer. 
 
 " How to be rich ? " 
 
 " Yes ; it is easy enough." 
 
 " Then tell away. We want to know." 
 
 " Spend less than you earn. Stop drinking 
 liquor of every kind and throw away your pipes 
 and tobacco. Keep right on at work, and when 
 the year comes 'round you will begin to be rich." 
 
 (108)
 
 How to be Rich. 109 
 
 "Just what I expected. But you will have 
 to preach somewhere else before you get any 
 converts. That kind of nonsense won't go down 
 here. If luck is against us we can't turn it that 
 way, and you know it. Because you are better 
 off than we are, it's no reason you should stand 
 there and tell us what to do." 
 
 " That may be, but there is a good reason 
 why I should tell you what not to do." 
 
 " What is it ? " asked Tim Durrell. 
 
 " I want to ask you a question before I answer 
 yours, and I shall believe whatever you say. 
 You always used to tell the truth, no matter 
 where it hit, and I expect you will now." 
 
 " Go ahead with your question. I don't know 
 as IVe any occasion for telling you a lie." 
 
 " No more have you, Tim. Do you know a 
 man by the name of Haver who lives in the old 
 Joyce house ? " 
 
 "I have seen him," was replied, after some 
 hesitation. 
 
 " Did you see him day before yesterday ? " 
 
 Again Tim Durrell hesitated, but at length 
 came the reply : 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Do you know who asked him to go into the 
 saloon, and when he refused, pushed him in and 
 put a glass of liquor to his lips ? " 
 
 "It's none of your business, Thad Byam,
 
 1 1 o Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 You can't rule all creation. What is Haver to 
 you, anyway? You needn't come 'round here 
 showing off and expecting us to knuckle to you, 
 for we sha'n't do it." 
 
 This was said by Dick Wilson and empha- 
 sized with an oath, but neither Thad Byarn nor 
 Tim Durrell gave him any heed. 
 
 " I suppose I know all about it," said the lat- 
 ter. " I was in the scrape. I didn't think we 
 were doing any hurt. I didn't suppose he would 
 drink so much." 
 
 " You didn't suppose, either, that he had a 
 boy and girl at home waiting for him to bring 
 them something to eat. You didn't suppose he 
 would get so crazy drunk tliat they would be in 
 danger of being killed by him. 
 
 "I saw them yesterday, half starved. The 
 girl's name is Lessie, and she looks as your 
 sister Lizzie did the summer before she died. I 
 thought of Lizzie the minute I set eyes on her. 
 The poor child was nearly starved, and would 
 have been worse off if her brother hadn't gone 
 without food himself so that she could have more. 
 It is a hard thing to see such children hungry. If 
 Lizzie had lived, you wouldn't let her go hungry." 
 
 " That I wouldn't," was responded in a husky 
 voice. 
 
 " Would you give up liquor and tobacco for 
 her, Tim?"
 
 How to be Rich. 1 1 1 
 
 "I would give up anything for her. You 
 know I would." 
 
 " I hope you would, Tim. But why couldn't 
 you let Haver alone ? What harm had he ever 
 done you ? " 
 
 " Not any ; and I didn't mean to do him any 
 harm." 
 
 " Here, Tim, let me talk a while," exclaimed 
 Dick Wilson. "We thought Haver wanted 
 some liquor, and might as well have it as to go 
 without. There were half a dozen or more of 
 us in the scrape, and it's none of your business 
 about it. It makes me mad to see folks setting 
 themselves up to be so awful good. I was mad 
 when you signed the pledge I've heard so much 
 about. That was when you begun, and now it 
 seems as though you thought you owned the 
 town. Better buy the Brenner place and set 
 up for a country gentleman." 
 
 " I wish I did own the town, Dick. If I did 
 there never would be a brewery here. That 
 saloon would be closed in five minutes, and the 
 liquor cleared out of the old tavern. There 
 wouldn't be a drop of the stuff to be bought or 
 sold, if I could have my way. Does Stafford 
 own the saloon \ " 
 
 " You might ask him. He knows all about 
 it, and he is coming this way." 
 
 Thad By am turned to look at Clyde Stafford,
 
 112 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 and was surprised to see so young a man. He 
 came nearer, stopping to speak with the work- 
 men, for each of whom he had a pleasant word. 
 
 " Have I the pleasure of meeting Mr. Byam ? " 
 he asked directly after. 
 
 " My name is Byam," was replied somewhat 
 coldly. 
 
 " A name to which you have done honor. 
 Your towns-people are justly proud of you, and 
 you in turn have reason to be proud of your 
 town. It only needs more business to bring in 
 more money, and it will soon be one of the first 
 towns in the State. Business will be lively here 
 this summer. With a good home market, as 
 they are likely to have, the farmers will realize 
 better profits from their land. I am very glad 
 to have met you, Mr. Byam. One is naturally 
 curious to see a young man who has accom- 
 plished what you have, and whose praises are 
 in every mouth." 
 
 All this was said in the most cordial manner, 
 yet he to whom it was addressed made no re- 
 sponse. At last the speaker added, with some 
 confusion : 
 
 " I don't know but I have interrupted a con- 
 fidential interview between old friends. If so, 
 I beg your pardon." 
 
 "It ain't nothing confidential," said Lufkin 
 Brown, who prided himself upon not being
 
 How to be Rich. 113 
 
 afraid to speak his mind before anybody. 
 "Thad is one of the cold-water men, and he's 
 got a gift for preaching. He's just down on 
 liquor and tobacco ; and as for the brewery, it 
 will ruin all the men and boys within twenty 
 miles. That's what's the matter with him." 
 
 "I shall hope to prove that he is mistaken 
 about the brewery," answered Clyde Stafford. 
 " As for the rest, I am willing every man should 
 judge for himself." 
 
 " So am I, under certain conditions," re- 
 sponded Thaddeus Byam. " But when a man 
 is struggling to gain a foothold where he can 
 stand firmly, I don't believe in pushing him 
 down into the bottomless pit." 
 
 " No more do I, Mr. Byam. I believe in help- 
 ing everybody. I have taken a fancy to this 
 town, and I intend to make my home here. Of 
 course I wish to help develop its resources and 
 improve things all around." 
 
 "Not much help, Mr. Stafford, in taking a 
 man's money for what he doesn't need and what 
 he is better off without. To my mind, that is 
 what every brewer and seller of beer is doing." 
 
 "You have a right to your opinion, Mr. 
 Byam, but it is well for my enterprise that the 
 majority of your towns-people thought differ- 
 ently. I propose to bring money into the town 
 instead of taking it away."
 
 1 1 4 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " What else will you bring, Mr. Stafford ? 
 You will bring temptation to evil habits, and 
 for every dollar you leave here you will take 
 five from the pockets of your patrons. I did 
 not seek this interview, and I suppose it would 
 hardly be called polite for me to condemn your 
 business at our first meeting ; but I do condemn 
 it wholly and entirely." 
 
 "You have the characteristic of frankness, 
 Mr. Byam ; but in this matter I have the inside 
 track and propose to keep it. You will find it 
 hard to make people believe that cold water is 
 the only drink fit for a civilized man. Some- 
 thing more is wanted to stimulate the brain and 
 quicken the blood ; and in providing for this 
 want, I claim that brewers are benefiting the 
 country. 
 
 u A rnan can't do the best work of which he 
 is capable on such meagre diet as temperance 
 fanatics describe. Excuse me. I wish to ex- 
 plain. I am a temperance man, but such intem- 
 perate denunciation of some of the good things 
 the Lord has given us, seems to me absolute 
 fanaticism, if nothing worse." 
 
 " I never heard that the Lord gave us beer." 
 
 " He has given us the material for making it, 
 as He has given us the material for making 
 bread. The same principle of fermentation is 
 applied in one case as in the other."
 
 How to be Rich. 115 
 
 " That may be, but woe be to the man who 
 takes what should be made into bread for the 
 hungry and worse than wastes it by transform- 
 ing it into beer." 
 
 " Did you ever drink a glass of beer, Mr. 
 Byam ? Do you know what it is ? " 
 
 " It is enough for me to know what it does. 
 In all my life I have drank one glass, and only 
 
 one." 
 
 " If you had drank more you would be better 
 able to judge of its effects ; and, I venture to 
 say, you would be in better health." 
 
 " Better health ! I am perfectly well. I don't 
 remember that I was ever sick in my life, except 
 when I tried to learn to use tobacco ; and I 
 have sometimes worked twenty hours out of 
 twenty-four. My stomach is all right, my head 
 never aches, and I am good for a ten-mile tramp 
 any time. Can you beat that record, Mr. Staf- 
 ford?" 
 
 " I don't know that I can, Mr. Byam, but you 
 must acknowledge that not many can do what 
 you claim for yourself." 
 
 " More could do it if they would let tobacco 
 and all alcoholic drinks alone. They are what 
 take the strength and poison the blood of so 
 many young men. They take the money too. 
 I know men who spend half their wages for 
 beer and tobacco, and no one can make me be-
 
 1 1 6 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 lieve they are better otf for wasting their money 
 on the vile stuff." 
 
 That Stafford was getting the worst of the 
 argument was quite apparent to the listeners, 
 who were now as ready to applaud their old 
 companion as they had been to condemn him a 
 few minutes before. They approved of the 
 brewery. They had been paid liberally for their 
 votes; nevertheless, they enjoyed the discom- 
 fiture of one who could ride while they walk- 
 ed, and stand idle while they worked. Equal, 
 however, to the occasion was the man who said 
 courteously : 
 
 " I trust, Mr. By am, you will some day change 
 your opinion of me. I cannot confess to being 
 a thief and a robber, although I claim the privi- 
 lege of supplying the demand for a healthy 
 drink, such as your good physician here recom- 
 mends to his patients. I wish you success in 
 your business venture, and I intend to succeed 
 in mine. Good-morning."
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 TIM DURRELL. 
 
 " GOOD for you, Thad," exclaimed Tim Dur- 
 rell. "You told Stafford the truth, and he 
 knows it. He is after the money. That is all 
 he cares for, and it's no use pretending anything 
 else. As for old Dr. Lash, he'll swear to any- 
 thing when he's well primed with brandy and 
 opium ; especially if there's a good fee in pros- 
 pect. Say, Thad, don't the brewers make the 
 biggest kind of profits ? " 
 
 " They do, and of course the more beer they 
 can sell the more money they can make. There 
 isn't a better paying business in the country, 
 and that is what makes the brewers so deter- 
 mined to keep it up." 
 
 " Well, you see I never thought much about 
 it. Stafford has a smooth tongue, and he talked 
 so well he made a good many believe that his 
 starting a brewery here would be a benefit to 
 the town. But yesterday most every voter had 
 a pamphlet come through the post-office, telling 
 all about beer and what the brewers are trying 
 to do. Have you seen one of them ? " 
 
 (117)
 
 1 1 8 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 "No; this is the first I have heard of them." 
 
 " Then you didn't send them. I thought per- 
 haps you did. But I tell you what it is, it 
 opened my eyes pretty wide ; and if half I read 
 is true, making beer is awful mean business; 
 and drinking it is just poisoning your blood 
 and bringing all manner of diseases with it. 
 Dick and Luf had a pamphlet, but they wouldn't 
 read theirs." 
 
 "I wasn't going to waste my time over any 
 such nonsense," said Dick. "I had something 
 better to do." 
 
 " So had I," chimed in Luf. " 1 took mine to 
 light my pipe." 
 
 " I read every word of mine, twice through, 
 and then I dreamed about it. I only wish I 
 had known, six months ago, what I do now. I 
 wish I knew who sent the pamphlets." 
 
 " I wish I could see one," said Thad Byam. 
 
 " Here is mine," responded Tim Durrell. " I 
 put mine in my pocket when I had done with 
 it last night." 
 
 Thad Byam took the paper extended to him, 
 and seating himself upon a pile of lumber, read 
 every word of it from beginning to end, return- 
 ing it to the owner with the comment, "That 
 is a hard story, Tim." 
 
 " Is it harder than the truth ? " 
 
 "No."
 
 Tim Durrell. 119 
 
 "Then you believe it?" 
 
 " I believe that, and more too." 
 
 "Then " Here the speaker paused, and 
 
 coming nearer to his old friend, said half under 
 his breath, "I wish I had signed the pledge 
 when you did. I couldn't be as smart as you 
 are, but I should be different from what I am 
 now. I was mad when I knew how much bet- 
 ter off you are than the rest of us, but you de- 
 serve it. You started right and we started 
 wrong." 
 
 " We started pretty near together, Tim." 
 
 " You switched off before we got under much 
 headway, and since then you've been going right 
 away from us. I don't suppose anybody thinks 
 I ever feel bad, but I tell you, Thad, I haven't 
 forgot Lizzie. She wanted me to be good." 
 
 " It isn't too late now. Sign my pledge and 
 go with me. I will help you and promise you 
 the good luck you talk so much about." 
 
 "I wish I could. I'm sorry about Haver. 
 We only meant to have some fun with the old 
 fellow." 
 
 " He is not very old, Tim, and you wouldn't 
 have thought there was much fun if you had 
 seen him and bis children, as I did." 
 
 " Don't say any more about it, Thad, but let 
 me come and see you this evening, will you ? " 
 
 "Let you come? I shall be glad to have
 
 I2O Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 you. Come over this afternoon, so we can have 
 plenty of time for a long talk. Do you think 
 Dick and Luf would like to come ? " 
 
 "I don't know. I want to see you alone. 
 They don't feel about some things as I do. 
 They didn't read their pamphlets." 
 
 " All right. Come by yourself." 
 
 " I will. I must go to work now." 
 
 " And I must go home. I have a little job I 
 want to do before you come." 
 
 So saying, Thad Byam went his way ; having 
 seen and heard enough to convince him that no 
 means would be left untried to bring customers 
 to the new saloon. Whether Stafford was 
 pecuniarily interested in this saloon he did not 
 know ; yet it was certain that the saloon-keeper 
 and the brewer would make common cause 
 against every influence tending to restrict the 
 liquor traffic. 
 
 Home through the lindens, where bees were 
 still gathering stores of sweets; resting for a 
 little on the bench which now stood steady and 
 strong, supported by substantial props. Then 
 hurrying on, Thad Byam informed his grand- 
 mother that a guest might be expected. 
 
 "I have hope of Tim, and I want to give him 
 a first-rate supper," said the young man. " Sup- 
 pose we have some fried trout for supper. I 
 can catch some, and you can cook them better
 
 Tim DurrelL 121 
 
 than anybody else. Tim used to think there 
 was nothing quite so good, and I don't believe 
 he gets many dainties at home." 
 
 " There is no chance for dainties there. Every- 
 thing is dreadfully shiftless. His stepmother 
 is a poor housekeeper, and she always speaks of 
 Tim as being a terrible trial. I don't so much 
 wonder that he stays away from home as he 
 does. Everybody says he is a good fellow to 
 work if he would only let liquor alone." 
 
 " I know he is, grandmother, and I am going 
 to see what I can do for him. He is worth 
 saving." 
 
 Could Tim Durrell have listened to the kind 
 words then said of him, and realized how truly 
 his presence was desired in the little cottage, he 
 would have looked forward to the proposed 
 visit with more of pleasure. He had made an 
 effort to appear at his best, and yet he so felt 
 his un worthiness he was tempted to turn back 
 and go on in his reckless career. 
 
 On his way he stopped more than once to 
 think it all over ; deciding finally to redeem his 
 promise at any cost. When he reached his 
 destination he received so cordial a welcome 
 that he soon forgot his misgivings, and felt him- 
 self quite at home with Mrs. Byam, who talked 
 to him. of the mother and sister he had loved 
 and lost.
 
 122 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 He was ready to sign the pledge presented 
 for his signature, and asked for the prayers of 
 his friends, that he might have strength to keep 
 it. 
 
 " I must keep it," he said. " It is my only 
 hope. I feel as though I had come to where 
 two roads meet and I must make a choice for 
 life between the two. There were two roads 
 when Thad took one and I took the other ; but 
 he thinks there's another chance for me, and I'm 
 going to try it. It will be a hard case for me, 
 but I must try." 
 
 " You can do it, Tim, if it is hard, and you'll 
 have reason to be thankful for it every hour of 
 your life. I only wish we could save all the 
 boys and young men in town." 
 
 " So do I, Thad, but it won't do for me to say 
 anything about that till I've done something 
 toward saving myself." 
 
 " You must depend on the Lord to save you," 
 said Mrs. Byam. 
 
 " Yes, ma'am ; I know that," was replied. " I 
 will try not to forget it, but I must do my part." 
 
 " Certainly you must, and you must help 
 others too. Now the enemy is coming in upon 
 us like a flood, we have need to be up and 
 doing." 
 
 "It is strange that I didn't realize what a 
 curse a brewery would be to the town. I heard
 
 Tim DurrelL 123 
 
 a good deal of talk about it, but it didn't seem 
 to take hold of me. There's nothing like money 
 and liquor for keeping folks from good, hard, 
 honest thinking ; and they were both distributed 
 'round pretty free at town-meeting time. 
 
 "Stafford talks about wanting to help the 
 town. All he cares for is to make money, and 
 that he is bound to do at any cost to others." 
 
 " We shouldn't have had that saloon if it 
 hadn't been for him." 
 
 " You are right there, Mrs. Byam, and it's a 
 bad place. A good many boys and young men 
 have drank their first glass of liquor there. I 
 don't care what they pretend ; there don't many 
 go in there without taking something to drink. 
 Other customers ain't wanted. I know, for I've 
 been inside the ring ; and {hat's going to make 
 it hard for me. I sha'n't say any more about it 
 than I'm obliged to, but I shall have to fight my 
 way. I've had a glimpse of what I might be if 
 I'd let liquor and tobacco alone, and God help- 
 ing me, I'll do the best I can." 
 
 He made an effort to tell Mrs. Byam what 
 this visit had been to him, but only succeeded 
 in thanking her for her kindness. It had been 
 many a day since he had eaten such a supper or 
 shared in so genial a conversation. Before leav- 
 ing these friends his plans were well matured. 
 He was to return to the city with Thad Byam,
 
 1 24 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 but until then he must work in order to pay 
 some debts foolishly incurred. 
 
 Tim Durrell's "conversion" could not long 
 remain a secret. The change in his habits was 
 soon the subject of general comment. Some 
 who had watched him from his boyhood con- 
 gratulated and encouraged him. Thad Byam 
 was his constant counsellor and support ; man- 
 aging to see him every day, and always giving 
 him some word of cheer which helped him to 
 bear the sneers and taunts of those who would 
 have dragged him back to the depths from 
 which he was struggling to rise.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WHO SENT THE TRACTS? 
 
 To say that Clyde Stafford was indignant 
 would give but a faint conception of his feel- 
 ings, wh'en for the second time there was a dis- 
 tribution of temperance literature from the 
 post-office. 
 
 "Incendiary documents" he called them, 
 when in fact they were only two-page tracts, 
 containing quotations from internal revenue re- 
 ports, medical reviews, and scientific papers; 
 with an estimate of the amount paid for liquor 
 by a moderate drinker. This estimate had 
 especial reference to the consumption of beer, 
 and was therefore especially obnoxious to the 
 young man who claimed for himself such gener- 
 ous motives in the establishment of a brewery. 
 
 " It is a clear case of persecution," he said to 
 one who professed to be in sympathy with him. 
 " If I knew who sent the falsehoods here I would 
 bring a suit against him or her, whichever the 
 sender may be." 
 
 " Could you prove that the statements made 
 are falsehoods ? " was asked in reply to this out- 
 burst. 
 
 (125)
 
 126 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " Of course they are false. Any unprejudiced 
 person would see that at once. Do you sup- 
 pose a business would be tolerated which wasted 
 the resources of the country and rained the 
 health of the people in the manner described in 
 these last tracts or leaflets? The idea is ab- 
 surd. It carries a lie upon the very face of it. 
 I am wondering what the fanatics will do next. 
 I hope you don't believe the stuff." 
 
 " I know the arithmetic part is all right. It 
 is just a plain sum in multiplication, that any- 
 body who knows anything about figures can 
 prove in ten minutes; and there's no mistake 
 but what a regular beer-drinker spends a good 
 deal of money for his drink." 
 
 " What of it ? It costs something for what a 
 man eats ; but I never heard of anybody living 
 a great while without eating." 
 
 "That is the very point, Stafford. That is 
 what I thought most about when I calculated 
 that sum. I said to myself: A. man can live 
 without beer or tobacco, but he can't live with- 
 out bread. Now if a man has a family and 
 earns only a certain amount every day, he needs 
 to spend his wages to the very best advantage; 
 so they will bring him and his family the great- 
 est amount of comfort. You won't deny that." 
 
 " I won't deny anything. You have learned 
 your lesson well. The fanatics have said the
 
 Who sent the Tractsf 127 
 
 same thing hundreds of times, and I admit that 
 it sounds plausible. But I claim that every man 
 has a right to decide for himself how he shall 
 spend his money." 
 
 "His family must be considered. A man 
 must put his family first. I'm not going back 
 on you, Stafford; but I tell you what, my tract 
 set me to thinking. Did you have one ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And did you read it ? " 
 
 " Of course I did. I heard that all which 
 came through the office were alike, and I wanted 
 to see for myself what the stuff was. All I have 
 to say about it now is, that I consider it a cow- 
 ardly way of fighting. It is like striking a man 
 in the dark, when he can't defend himself, be- 
 cause he can't see his assailant." 
 
 It was evidently the intention that every 
 family in town should receive a copy of the 
 leaflet, as well as every workman without 
 family ties ; and the fact that the distribution 
 was so general excited curiosity which would 
 be satisfied only with a careful perusal. Staf- 
 ford's annoyance, also, increased the interest, so 
 that the subject was universally discussed. 
 
 " If I had known all this six months ago, I 
 should have voted differently," said more than 
 one who read and re-read the statistics until 
 they could be repeated word for word.
 
 128 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 People began to talk about the saloon. Many 
 who had been indifferent in regard to it found 
 themselves compelled to consider its influence. 
 Thad Byam denounced it in season and out of 
 season ; warning parents who had years before 
 warned him. 
 
 " We shall be rid of one meddler when that 
 Byam is gone," remarked the saloon-keeper to 
 one of his best customers. " He has told Haver's 
 story so often he has really made himself be- 
 lieve it." 
 
 " He has made others believe it too. We all 
 know it is true, and more's the shame. In his 
 worst days Thad Byam never was known to tell 
 a lie, and he certainly wouldn't do it now when 
 he has so much to lose. You don't know him 
 as well as the people do who have always lived 
 here. 
 
 "All he says about Haver is true, and you 
 won't gain anything by denying it. I want a 
 dram when I want it, and I don't count it any- 
 body's business; but I wouldn't be guilty of 
 selling liquor to such a man as Haver. I'm 
 alone in the world, so it doesn't make much dif- 
 ference what becomes of me, but Haver has two 
 children. It's a hard fight for a man like him, 
 who has been used to taking his drams, to give 
 them up ; and now he has started over again, I 
 hope whoever puts a glass to his lips will be
 
 Who sent the Tracts f 129 
 
 punished for it. You'll kill your saloon if you 
 allow such work. Richard Anslow has under- 
 taken to help Haver up, and he is going to do 
 it." 
 
 " Who is Richard Anslow ? " 
 
 " A man who knows a good deal more about 
 his own business than his neighbors do." 
 
 " What is Haver to him ? " 
 
 " You must ask him if you want to know." 
 
 " Is he the man who owns Cold Spring ? " 
 
 " He and his sister own it." 
 
 " Then I know all about him I want to. I am 
 thankful he don't live in this town." 
 
 " It might be better for the town if he did. 
 There can't anybody say anything against him 
 or his sister without saying what isn't true. 
 They are good people." 
 
 " Would they be likely to send these tracts 
 everybody is talking about ? " 
 
 " I don't know." . 
 
 " Who could have sent them ? " 
 
 This question was often asked. Some accused 
 Thad Byam of sending them ; but upon his de- 
 nial, the charge was withdrawn. As there was 
 no postmark upon the envelopes, no clue could 
 be obtained which might betray the sender; 
 but that the work so well begun was likely to 
 be continued was proven by the third appeal, 
 which commanded even more attention than
 
 130 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 either of the preceding. This was brought by 
 mail from a different direction than the others, 
 thus making the mystery still more complete. 
 
 Meanwhile there had been an influx of sum- 
 mer visitors. Every room in the new hotel was 
 occupied. Farm-houses were open to guests 
 who were willing to pay liberally for large, 
 airy chambers and appetizing food. Berries, 
 both wild and cultivated, with cream and but- 
 ter of the richest and sweetest, were served in 
 old-fashioned dining-rooms on old-fashioned 
 tables. It was a paradise to city people, who 
 did not fail in appreciation of the generous pro- 
 vision made for them. 
 
 But there was " that saloon "; a blot upon 
 the otherwise fair landscape, and a source of 
 constant anxiety to many a tired mother longing 
 for rest. 
 
 " Can it not be closed ? " was asked ; and the 
 question was answered in a tone of such utter 
 indifference as might challenge an apology for 
 its utterance. 
 
 "Public opinion tolerates it, and you know 
 it is impossible to go against public opinion. 
 If all felt as I do the saloon would be closed, 
 but I am only one." 
 
 This was said by a man professing to be in 
 favor of temperance. He wished this to be dis- 
 tinctly understood, although he was careful not
 
 Who sent the Tracts f 131 
 
 to incur the displeasure of those who differed 
 from him. He could not see the wisdom of 
 extreme measures so long as there was such a 
 variety of opinions in regard to the best manner 
 of combating the evil of intemperance. He was 
 waiting for the right opportunity, when some 
 effort could be made which promised success. 
 
 " It is not possible that you are the only per- 
 son in town opposed to that saloon," was the 
 response to his somewhat elaborate expression 
 of his opinions. 
 
 " Certainly not ; but the majority of the 
 towns-people think best not to interfere, and so 
 I suppose we must be satisfied with doing what 
 we can to counteract its influence." 
 
 "That is the kind of talk that keeps the 
 saloon running," exclaimed Jacob Hill, when 
 this was repeated to him. " Our village used 
 to be a quiet, orderly place, but since Stafford 
 got a foothold here everything has changed. 
 The boarding-house he is building for his work- 
 men won't make things any better. Then there 
 is the new grocery-store his constituency is ex- 
 pected to patronize. It will be pretty much all 
 of a piece, and beer is to rule." 
 
 " No doubt of that," was replied. " Now his 
 father is at the new hotel, we may expect to see 
 things pushed to the last degree. I have heard 
 that the old man will try again to buy Cold
 
 132 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 Spring with ten acres of land adjoining. If he 
 can do that, he will build the largest hotel in 
 this part of the State, and the town authorities 
 will be obliged to lay out a road for him." 
 
 "There is no chance for him to buy Cold 
 Spring, and there are not many property -holders 
 in town who would sell him or his son a square 
 foot of land. They will never own the Brenner 
 estate, either. Clyde Stafford will find that 
 plan will miscarry."
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 STAFFOED, SENIOR. 
 
 " HAVE you heard of Stafford's last move ? " 
 
 " I am not sure that I have," was replied to 
 the above question. " His moves are so many 
 and so frequent, it is not easy to keep track of 
 them." 
 
 " It is not necessary either, but as the last of 
 which I have heard promises important results, 
 I am interested ; and the more so, since in a cer- 
 tain way it threatens injury to a man for whom 
 I have a profound respect. It is a business ven- 
 ture in his son's name and I presume he con- 
 siders it the shrewdest he has yet made. 
 
 " He and his family spent last summer in the 
 town where Luke Brenner's old homestead is 
 situated, and the upshot of the matter is that 
 he has bought land there on which to build a 
 brewery. It is all in Clyde's name, but every- 
 body knows that the old man must furnish the 
 money." 
 
 "And you say a brewery is to be built in 
 Brenner's native town ! I wonder at that. 
 Brenner was one of our ultra temperance men, 
 
 (133)
 
 134 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 and particularly severe on beer-drinking. I 
 should suppose he would fight a brewery for all 
 he is worth." 
 
 " Once he would, and have carried his point ; 
 but I have been told that since his failure he 
 has withdrawn almost entirely from active life. 
 His failure completely crushed him, although 
 within a few months he has rallied somewhat, 
 and if it was not for a mortgage on his place he 
 might possibly redeem himself in time." 
 
 " I heard he mortgaged his country seat to 
 pay his last debt." 
 
 " He did ; and the worst of it now is, that 
 Clyde Stafford holds the mortgage and has fore- 
 closed on it. It seems from what I have heard 
 that Brenner was so discouraged he was ready 
 to give up everything without making any fight 
 at all, and Stafford is determined to push mat- 
 ters to the last extremity. You remember Bren- 
 ner had a daughter." 
 
 " Yes ; and a bright, handsome girl she was. 
 It must be two years since I have seen her, but 
 she struck me then as one sure to make a beauty 
 and a belle. She must be a very attractive 
 young lady." 
 
 " Clyde Stafford evidently thought so. It is 
 understood that he offered himself to her and 
 was rejected ; and then bought up the Brenner 
 mortgage in order to be revenged. The death
 
 Stafford, Senior. 135 
 
 of the original mortgagee gave him an oppor- 
 tunity to do this ; as the heirs wanted the money 
 and he was ready to advance it." 
 
 " I should suppose Brenner might have made 
 some arrangement to prevent that." 
 
 "As near as I can learn, he made no effort to 
 do so. Young By am told me about it, and he 
 says the Brenner place is worth twice the 
 amount of the mortgage." 
 
 " You mean Byam, the inventor, that every- 
 body is talking about ? " 
 
 u Yes; his home is in the same town as Luke 
 Brenner's place, and he is determined in some 
 way to help the old man. He says he will put 
 another mortgage on his invention, but what 
 he will take the mortgage out of Stafford's 
 clutches." 
 
 " He can raise money on that, but they say he 
 won't sell any part of it." 
 
 " No ; he calculates to have the full benefit of 
 it himself. He has worked hard enough for it, 
 and he is too sharp a business man to miss his 
 chances now." 
 
 "Hilliard is responsible for Brenner's failure. 
 He was owing Brenner sixty thousand dollars, 
 and besides that Brenner's name was on his 
 paper, some say, for as much more. All that 
 was a dead loss. Hilliard beggared himself to 
 save his son, and left Brenner in the lurch."
 
 136 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " Did you ever know how much it cost Hilli- 
 ard to settle up for George ? " 
 
 "I don't know exactly, but a good deal over 
 a hundred thousand, and it wouldn't be strange 
 
 ' O 
 
 if it cost him twice that. Their George ha^ 
 been drawing on his father for years ; so that 
 really the old man had been growing poorer 
 long before the crash came. 
 
 " At one time he and Clyde Stafford were 
 great friends, but they were differently made 
 up. Stafford would drink moderately and keep 
 his expenses within reasonable limits, while 
 Hilliard would indulge himself without stint, 
 and plunge headlong into the worst excesses. 
 When he was under the influence of liquor he 
 was perfectly reckless. He was the fastest man 
 of a fast set, and such a life as he lived costs 
 money. His father hushed up a good many 
 scandals that would have put him in a worse 
 position before the public than he is now. 
 
 " It was virtually Brenner's money that saved 
 him from the State prison." 
 
 " Exactly, and Hilliard had no right to spend 
 money in that way when it justly belonged to 
 another. I told Byam all about it, so that he 
 understands the whole matter." 
 
 u Do you know the whereabouts of George 
 Hilliard?" 
 
 " No, I do not. It is said that even his
 
 Stafford, Senior. 137 
 
 family have known nothing of him since the 
 night he was released from custody. He was 
 at home about an hour, and then left the house 
 dressed in his plainest suit." 
 
 " The family seem to have dropped out of 
 sight too." 
 
 " I presume they have no wish to be seen by 
 their old friends. They must be very poor. 
 Hilliard is a broken-down old man. His son's 
 conduct must have been a terrible trial, and I 
 think, too, that he must be troubled about 
 Brenner." 
 
 " He ought to be troubled about Brenner. 
 It was a clear case of dishonesty on his part. 
 And liquor was at the bottom of it all. Hil- 
 liard always had wine on his sideboard, and 
 George learned to drink it at home. I suppose 
 he can drink moderately all his life, but George 
 could not." 
 
 " I am not sure that he can. I have heard 
 it whispered that since his failure he is drink- 
 ing heavily ; and as he cannot afford wine, he 
 takes cheaper drinks. I am afraid he is going 
 down pretty fast. 
 
 " When you come to think it all over, it is 
 strange how much of the trouble and poverty 
 in this world is caused by alcoholic liquors. I 
 used to talk for liberty and moderation, but I 
 have changed my opinions on the temperance
 
 138 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 question. There is one safe course for every- 
 body, and that is to abstain entirely from the 
 use of all intoxicating drinks." 
 
 " Do you class beer among such drinks ? " 
 
 " I do, and to my mind it is one of the worst. 
 I know a man may drink a great deal of beer 
 without being drunk ; but when he is drunk 
 on beer he is terribly drunk. You see I don't 
 choose to use smooth words to describe a man's 
 condition when he is under the influence of in- 
 toxicants. 
 
 " My attention was called to the effects of 
 beer by an article in The Scientific Monthly, 
 and in that article the statement is made that 
 ' beer-drinking produces the very lowest type 
 of inebriety,' and also that ' the most dangerous 
 class of ruffians in our large cities are beer- 
 drinkers.' ' 
 
 " If that is true, we have as much to fear 
 from breweries as distilleries." 
 
 " I think we have more. I have been looking 
 around since I read that, and I believe it is 
 true." 
 
 " Stafford, senior, has made his money in 
 beer." 
 
 " I suppose there is no doubt of that. He 
 has an interest in several breweries in the West- 
 ern and Middle States, and now he is making a 
 push for New England."
 
 Stafford, Senior, 139 
 
 " Why should he wish to do that ? There is 
 great opposition to the business." 
 
 " Yes ; but it is something gained politically 
 for the rum power to be able to establish a 
 brewery in the face of this opposition. It will 
 have an influence, and may sometime control a 
 local election. All this counts ; and they who 
 are working for the liquor interest are not 
 above counting the smallest gains." 
 
 " You say Clyde Stafford is to manage the 
 new brewery ? " 
 
 " He has a deed of the land on which it is to 
 be built, and everything connected with it will 
 be in his name." 
 
 " Will he keep as cool a head as his father ? " 
 
 " That remains to be seen. He is much more 
 of a gentleman than his father. He has agree- 
 able manners when he wishes to produce a good 
 impression. I suppose, too, he would be called 
 handsome, if the expression of his face was not 
 taken into account." 
 
 " I hope he won't get the Brenner place." 
 
 " I don't believe he will. There will be some 
 way of saving it. There are some things even 
 brewers will not be allowed to do, although we 
 sometimes seem to be at the mercy of the liquor 
 interest. We hardly know the power this in- 
 terest exercises ; and it is solely to put money 
 in the pockets of comparatively few men. It
 
 140 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 has no regard whatever to the general prosper- 
 ity of the country, or even of any given com- 
 munity." 
 
 " Is any one really benefited by the manufac- 
 ture and sale of alcoholic liquor ? " 
 
 " Money is made by it, and the Government 
 gains a revenue from it." 
 
 " That is true ; but if money is made by the 
 manufacturers and sellers it is lost by the con- 
 sumers ; and what the Government gains in 
 revenue is small compensation for the crime 
 and poverty entailed upon the nation by the 
 drinking habits of the people. 
 
 "Alcoholic drinks are not by any means 
 among the necessaries of life, and there are mill- 
 ions of men in our country who cannot afford to 
 spend a single dollar for what is not absolutely 
 necessary to the well-being of themselves or their 
 families. Their income, economically spent, will 
 barely suffice to meet the just demands upon 
 it. An expenditure of even so little as ten or 
 fifteen cents a day outside of these demands, 
 involves positive suffering on the part of the 
 family ; and T judge that few beer-drinkers drink 
 less than two or three glasses a day." 
 
 " Most would exceed that ; many double it, 
 and not a few drink an even dozen. Consider- 
 ing its importance, the economic side of this 
 great question has received little attention. A
 
 Stafford, Senior. 141 
 
 man who says he is too poor to educate his 
 children, and at the same time uses either liq- 
 uor or tobacco, is guilty of telling an absolute 
 falsehood. Thousands of men are dooming 
 their children to ignorance, that they may 
 gratify a besotted taste and indulge in low 
 revels ; and it is time that this fact was un- 
 derstood and appreciated." 
 
 " It is more than time. Young Byam has 
 shown us what a man can do with two hands, 
 pluck, energy, and perseverance ; but who be- 
 lieves he could have done what he has if he 
 had not been a teetotaler ? Not every tee- 
 totaler could do as much, because, as people 
 say, they are not made for it ; but every man 
 with average health can earn a comfortable 
 support for a family, if what he earns is judi- 
 ciously spent." 
 
 " I hope that is true ; for how families are to 
 be supported and educated on small means is 
 one of the problems of the age." 
 
 " A problem which would be quickly solved, 
 if money was only spent for what gives a fair 
 equivalent."
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A STRANGE MEETING. 
 
 THE clocks were striking ten as Thaddeus 
 Byam was returning home from an evening 
 spent with some gentlemen interested in his 
 invention. 
 
 The night was dark ; a heavy mist settling 
 down upon the city, rendering everything damp 
 and disagreeable. The street-lamps burned 
 dimly, but he did not heed the gloom, so ab- 
 sorbed was he in his own thoughts. Presently, 
 however, his attention was arrested by the words 
 spoken not far away : 
 
 " Oh, father, do try and get up ! What can 
 we do ? " and then there was a low, despairing 
 cry, as if words had utterly failed. 
 
 As he sprang forward to offer assistance, he 
 saw a man, who had evidently fallen upon the 
 sidewalk, with two young girls standing beside 
 him, vainly endeavoring to raise him to his feet. 
 
 " Allow me to help you," he said cordially. 
 
 " If you only will, we shall be so thankful," 
 was replied. " We must get father home be- 
 fore a policeman sees him." 
 (142)
 
 A Strange Meeting. 143 
 
 Thaddeus By am did not need to ask if the 
 father had been taken suddenly ill. He com- 
 prehended the situation at once, and with some 
 words of encouragement assisted the man to his 
 feet. 
 
 " Thank you a thousand times. I think we 
 can manage now," said one of the young ladies. 
 
 " It will be better that I should go with you," 
 was responded quietly. " If you will lead the 
 way, I think I can answer for the rest. Another 
 fall might injure your father seriously." 
 
 It was evident that the daughters wished 
 to avoid further notice, yet circumstances com- 
 pelled them to accept the assistance so kindly 
 offered. They had gone but a few squares, 
 when they stopped before a small cottage stand- 
 ing a little back from the street, and again 
 wished to dismiss their newly-found friend. 
 
 " We thank you for your kindness, and we 
 will not trouble you further." 
 
 Yet even as this was said, the father would 
 have fallen had not a strong arm sustained him. 
 
 " I cannot leave you until I see you safely in 
 your home. I am quite sure I am needed, and 
 I could not forgive myself for leaving you here," 
 replied Thaddeus Byam. 
 
 " What will mother say ? " exclaimed one. 
 "We cannot manage father alone, and I am 
 afraid it will kill her to have a stranger come
 
 144 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 into the house in this way. But father is grow- 
 ing worse, and " 
 
 The door of the cottage was opened, reveal- 
 ing the figure of a woman. 
 
 " Poor mother ! It is so hard for her. If you 
 have a mother, don't ever do anything to make 
 her unhappy," added the same voice. 
 
 " I have neither father nor mother, but I have 
 a dear old grandmother, who has done every- 
 thing for me, and whom I hope to make very 
 happy as long as she lives," was replied. 
 
 " Oh ! my husband ; has it come to this ? " 
 cried the half-distracted wife, as she stood aside 
 to make room for him to be taken through the 
 narrow hall into a small parlor. " My cup was 
 full, and now it overflows. The worst has come 
 to me." 
 
 "Mother, this gentleman deserves your 
 thanks," said one of the daughters. " He saw 
 that we needed help, and came to our assist- 
 ance. But for him it would have been worse 
 for us all." 
 
 Help was still needed. Rousing a little from 
 his stupor, the intoxicated man was ready to 
 assail whoever and whatever came in his way. 
 He asserted his independence and his determi- 
 nation to do as he pleased. 
 
 " My name is Hilliard, and everybody knows 
 that Hilliard means what he says," he shouted
 
 A Strange Meeting. 145 
 
 hoarsely. " What are you staring at me so for ? 
 Get out of my way. I want a clear track, and 
 I am going to have it. If you get in my way I 
 shall run you down." 
 
 His ravings were frightful. His wife and 
 daughters clung to each other in abject terror. 
 
 " Mrs. Hilliard, I think I can quiet your hus- 
 band, if you will leave him alone with me," 
 said Thaddeus Byam ; and receiving no answer, 
 he asked : " Am I right in addressing you as 
 Mrs. Hilliard?" 
 
 u You are right. I am Mrs. Hilliard. I once 
 was proud of the name, but it has been dis- 
 graced ; terribly disgraced ; forever disgraced." 
 
 " You have a right to know my name. I am 
 Thaddeus Byam." 
 
 "Thaddeus Byam, the inventor?" 
 
 " Yes, madam." 
 
 " Then I know we can trust you. We are out 
 of the world, but we have heard of you. I am 
 not afraid to leave my husband with you, but 
 you will put us under such obligations, that we 
 can never repay you." 
 
 " I am glad to be of service to you, Mrs. 
 Hilliard. A cup of strong coffee might benefit 
 your husband, and I think I could persuade 
 him to drink it." 
 
 " There is no coffee in the house ; neither 
 have we money to buy any."
 
 146 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 This was said by tbe younger daughter, 
 whose frankness was proverbial, and who, when 
 reproved for her plain speaking, insisted that it 
 was best to know the whole truth, in order to 
 act intelligently. 
 
 Here was poverty, and this was the man so 
 deeply in debt to Luke Brenner, and who, as 
 his companion had been told, most deeply re- 
 gretted the misfortunes he had brought upon 
 his friend. Even in his ravings he talked of 
 this ; saying over and over again : 
 
 "Luke Brenner deserved better of me." 
 
 "Luke Brenner deserves well of the whole 
 world," at length responded young Byam, curi- 
 ous to know if he could thus arrest the atten- 
 tion of the raving man. 
 
 There was no sign of this; but those who 
 listened in an adjoining room heard the name, 
 and looked from one to another questioningly. 
 
 "I think I have heard that Byam, the in- 
 ventor, is a native of the town in which Mr. 
 Brenner lives," said Mrs. Hilliard. 
 
 " Then he knows all about it." 
 
 " I suppose he must." 
 
 " And I want to know about the Brenners." 
 
 " What good will it do ? " asked the elder 
 sister. " We cannot help them, and I know 
 more about the wretched business now than I 
 wish I did."
 
 A Strange Meeting. 147 
 
 "That may be your way, Mollie, but how am 
 I to help unless I understand it thoroughly ? " 
 
 " Help, child ? What can you do ? " 
 
 " I don't know, mother. I thought I couldn't 
 do anything, but I am not going to sit down 
 and starve, without trying for something bet- 
 ter. To begin with, just as soon as father is 
 really sober I am going to talk to him and tell 
 him what I think. It cannot be but what some- 
 thing can reach him. I know when the trouble 
 began." 
 
 "When?" 
 
 " When wine was first put into the cellar by 
 father's orders, to be brought on the table and 
 left standing on the sideboard. George learned 
 to drink wine at home, and it is a mercy we 
 girls are not drunkards. I would rather die 
 than marry a man who ever tastes of wine." 
 
 " Grace, dear, you are becoming excited." 
 
 "It is time to become excited, mother; and 
 time, too, to call things by their right names. 
 Nothing else can be so bad as going to a low 
 saloon for father and find him so drunk that he 
 could not stand. After that I think lean bear 
 anything. I am growing desperate." 
 
 " Grace, Grace ! have you no mercy on 
 mother ? " 
 
 " Certainly I have. I love mother as well as 
 you do. I could sit down and cry until morn-
 
 148 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 ing. I wish I dared to do it, but that would 
 help nobody. As soon as father is quiet I shall 
 ask Mr. Byam to come into this room where I 
 can talk with him." 
 
 " How will that help us ? " 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 " You forget that he is a stranger," said Mrs. 
 Hilliard, looking at her young daughter with 
 wondering admiration. 
 
 " I know he is a stranger, but I am sure he is 
 to be trusted, and I think he can tell me what 
 I wish to know about the Brenners. It will be 
 dreadful if they are obliged to give up their 
 home. I have heard that it is a grand old 
 place, and Tamson is such a lovely girl. Mrs. 
 Brenner is so beautiful, too. How can one like 
 her bear poverty, and all because her husband 
 was so kind, and thought others as honorable 
 as himself. 
 
 "They must hate us all. If I was a man I 
 would earn the money and pay Mr. Brenner 
 every dollar that is his due. I hope they are 
 not as poor as we are." 
 
 " Hush, Grace. How can you talk so ? Mo- 
 ther is not to blame. Have you no thought for 
 her?" 
 
 " I have all thought for her, and for the Bren- 
 ners too. I am going to work for them all." 
 
 " Grace, my child, you don't realize what you
 
 A Strange Meeting. 149 
 
 are saying. How can you ever earn so much 
 money ? It is a small fortune in itself." 
 
 " And all gone for worse than nothing. It is 
 dreadful to think how we are, and know it is 
 just the abominable drink that has done it." 
 
 Again the elder sister attempted to stay this 
 torrent of words, but Grace Hilliard had been 
 thinking in silence, until now, when it all 
 seemed clear to her, she would not be repressed. 
 She was quite determined to ask Mr. Byam in 
 regard to the Brenners, in order, as she said, 
 that she might know what was best to do. 
 
 While this was under consideration there was 
 a rap on the kitchen door, followed by the lift- 
 ing of the latch, as if the person seeking admis- 
 sion was impatient of a moment's delay; but 
 the door was locked. Again an attempt was 
 made to open it from without, and at the same 
 instant a husky voice was heard. 
 
 " Let me in. If you have any mercy, let me 
 in. I am starving." 
 
 " It is George," said Grace, and hastened to 
 open the door. 
 
 He was only fairly within the room when he 
 fell heavily to the floor ; at sight of which Mrs. 
 Hilliard shrieked and fainted. 
 
 As Mr. Hilliard was now in a condition to be 
 left with safety, Thaddeus Byarn came to the 
 rescue, and by well-directed efforts succeeded in
 
 150 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 reviving George Hilliard, who feebly begged for 
 food. 
 
 " Is he drunk ? " asked his sister. 
 
 " No ; I think he is nearly starved." 
 
 " And we have so little to give him. We have 
 sold almost everything that would bring us any 
 money, and we have only tea and crackers in 
 the house. We never were so poor before." 
 
 " Crackers and tea is all he should have at 
 present. He must be fed carefully." 
 
 " Mother ! where is my mother ? " whispered 
 the son, who was still lying on the floor, with 
 his head supported by a cushion. 
 
 " Mother is here," was replied, as soon as she 
 could speak. "I am here; but oh, my son, my 
 son, that I should have lived to see this night. 
 Your father brought home too intoxicated to be 
 able to walk, and now you 
 
 " Mother, believe me, for I am speaking the 
 truth. I have not tasted liquor of any kind for 
 a month, and I will die before another drop 
 shall pass my lips. It is two days since I have 
 tasted food, and ten times that since I have 
 had a square meal. Give me something to eat 
 and I will tell you all about it. I am starv- 
 ing." 
 
 Food w r as given him ; at first sparingly, and 
 afterward in larger quantities, until nothing re- 
 mained for the family ; while both he and they
 
 A Strange Meeting. 151 
 
 needed something more substantial than tea and 
 crackers. 
 
 Grace Hilliard found the opportunity she de- 
 sired to ask in regard to the Brenners, and when 
 told of Stafford's claim upon their home, she 
 said: 
 
 " I will tell father and George of that. That 
 will influence them if anything will, and that 
 mortgage shall be paid if I beg the money." 
 
 In the early morning, soon after Thaddeus 
 Byam had left the cottage in which he had spent 
 the strangest night of his life, a market-basket 
 containing an ample supply of food for the day 
 was brought to the door ; the bearer saying it 
 had been paid for. When the contents were 
 examined, Mrs. Hilliard said, with tears stream- 
 ing down her cheeks : 
 
 " I would rather die than live upon charity." 
 
 George and Grace said : 
 
 " We will live upon charity and be thankful 
 for it until we have proved ourselves worthy of 
 the charity."
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 UNDEK THE LINDENS. 
 
 " THE old bench is as strong as ever ; good 
 for twenty years more of service," said Luke 
 Brenner, as he seated himself and looked off 
 upon the fair landscape. 
 
 He was quite unlike the man who had passed 
 that way in the early spring-time, disheartened 
 and discouraged. He was older by some months, 
 but these months had been so full of work and 
 its compensation that the wheels of time seemed 
 to have rolled backward rather than forward. 
 
 Everything had prospered in his hands, and 
 he had many plans for the future. His wife's 
 energy and ability w r ere a constant surprise to 
 him. If, for a moment, he was disposed to look 
 on the dark side, she would insist that all was 
 light ; and although no provision had yet been 
 made for redeeming the place, she was so sure 
 this would be accomplished, he had come to 
 share in her faith. 
 
 Tamson and Ann, with Mrs. Turner and Dolf, 
 allowed nothing from dairy, poultry yard, or 
 (152)
 
 Under the Lindens. 153 
 
 garden to go to waste. There was a market for 
 all which could be produced ; the demand far 
 exceeding the supply. Honey from the Bren- 
 ner place brought the highest price ; and never 
 had bees worked more industriously for the 
 benefit of their owners. 
 
 Every week-day morning Ann and Dolf 
 started early for the large hotel with the old 
 farm wagon, in which was neatly packed what- 
 ever could be spared that would bring a re- 
 turn in money. The amount was sometimes 
 small ; but whatever it was, so much was set 
 down to the credit of the farm. 
 
 With his gaze still resting upon the sur- 
 rounding landscape, Mr. Brenner was thinking 
 of all this, thankful for the good which had 
 come to him. So absorbed was he that he did 
 not notice the approach of a young man until 
 he was addressed by name. He looked up and 
 responded : 
 
 " George Hilliard ! " 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Brenner, I am George Hilliard. 
 It is impossible that you should bid me wel- 
 come, but I have walked a hundred miles to 
 ask you to forgive my father and myself, and 
 to tell you that we have devoted our lives to 
 paying as much of our debt to you as is possi- 
 ble for us." 
 
 This was said hurriedly, the last words being
 
 154 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 scarcely audible. What their utterance had 
 cost the speaker could be plainly seen. He did 
 not raise his eyes or offer his hand. 
 
 Nothing could have more astonished Mr. 
 Brenner ; but rising to his feet and taking the 
 young man's hand, he said cordially : 
 
 " I trust God will forgive all my sins against 
 Him. Why should I refuse forgiveness to those 
 who have sinned against me ? George Hil- 
 liard, I freely forgive both your father and 
 yourself." 
 
 " A thousand thanks, Mr. Brenner. It is more 
 than I had a right to expect ; but I knew you 
 were a Christian, and Grace said real Christians 
 will forgive their enemies. I am the greater 
 sinner. Father wronged you to save me from 
 the punishment I deserved. We have both 
 been down into the depths ; but with your for- 
 giveness, I believe we can do something towards 
 redeeming our lives." 
 
 " God helping you, you can, and no one will 
 rejoice at your prosperity more heartily than I 
 shall. Your father is one of my oldest friends. 
 We did not always think alike, but there was 
 no break in our friendship. I thought he was 
 wrong on the temperance question. He be- 
 lieved in the moderate use of wine and other 
 alcoholic stimulants, while I believed in total 
 abstinence of the strictest sort."
 
 Under the Lindens. 155 
 
 " There was where father made a fatal mis- 
 take. Mr. Brenner, I was ruined by wine- 
 drinking, and so was my father. I learned to 
 drink wine at home with my father. I cannot 
 tell you how low his appetite dragged him ; 
 but 1 have tramped the country, hiding by day 
 and walking by night ; half starved for the 
 want of food, and half crazed by my longing 
 for drink I had no means of obtaining. 
 
 " The craving for the old stimulants has not 
 left me; but whatever comes, I am pledged 
 never to taste the cursed stuff again. That is 
 my only hope. Father is pledged too, and when 
 I tell you what he is doing, you will believe 
 that he is in earnest. He is selling wood pre- 
 pared for the stove to poor people who can buy 
 only in small quantities. At first he bought 
 only a cord, which between us we managed to 
 saw and split, and when that was sold he 
 bought two cords. There is land enough be- 
 longing to the cottage he has rented to furnish 
 storage for the wood, and he makes a small 
 profit on its sale. It is humble business, but 
 it is honest." 
 
 " It may be humble, but it is not humiliating. 
 Whatever is honest should be considered hon- 
 orable ; and if your father prospers, there is no 
 reason why he cannot enlarge his business. I 
 am glad to hear from him, and more glad than
 
 156 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 I can tell you, to know that he is at last a tee- 
 totaler. You say you walked a hundred miles 
 to reach here ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I could not afford to ride. I 
 started with only a dollar in my pocket and a 
 pair of stout shoes on my feet. My shoes are 
 a good deal worse for wear, but I have ninety 
 cents of the dollar left. Whatever else I could 
 take with me in the way of clothing and toilet 
 necessaries I brought in my knapsack, which 
 has served a double purpose. It has been a pil- 
 low for my head." 
 
 " And you have spent but ten cents ? " 
 
 " Only ten, Mr. Brenner, but I have not 
 begged." 
 
 " A young man with health and strength does 
 not need to beg. He has the world before him 
 from which to choose." 
 
 " The world was all before me, but with my 
 own hand I closed the doors leading to honor- 
 able employment, and I must now take a low 
 place ; but whatever I do, I will do it as well as 
 I can. I wish to go into a lumber camp some- 
 where in the wilds." 
 
 " You would find the work hard and the 
 company rough in a lumber camp." 
 
 " Hard work is what I need ; and as for com- 
 pany, the exterior may be rougher, but the real 
 men themselves cannot be less refined than
 
 Under the Lindens. 157 
 
 many with whom I have associated, and who 
 counted themselves gentlemen." 
 
 " I presume that is true. But what will you 
 do before the lumber season opens ? " 
 
 " Whatever I can find to do. I am working 
 my way north. If I could live over the last ten 
 years of my life I would gladly do so ; but as I 
 cannot do that, I am bound to make the most 
 of what remains to me. All my regrets will 
 avail nothing." 
 
 " Regrets are useless, except as they lead us 
 to act more wisely in future." 
 
 George Hilliard made no reply to this, and 
 there was a short silence, when, as if thinking 
 aloud, he said : 
 
 " And Stafford holds a mortgage on this 
 place ? " 
 
 " He does," replied Mr. Brenner. 
 
 " He shall not have it. My sister Grace says 
 she will beg the money to redeem it, before 
 Clyde Stafford shall ever own it. It must be a 
 valuable estate." 
 
 " It is. I have allowed it to deteriorate in 
 value, but this year we are improving on that." 
 
 " You must have some valuable timber, if 
 that stretch of woodland belongs to you." 
 
 " It does, and those who can judge of its value 
 better than I, say the timber would nearly pay 
 the face of the mortgage. Of course there is
 
 158 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 interest overdue, but we could pay that if we 
 could manage to take the mortgage out of Staf- 
 ford's hands." 
 
 "Are you willing I should look the timber 
 over ? " 
 
 " Certainly ; I should be glad to have you do 
 so, and I will accompany you." 
 
 George Hilliard's father had at one time been 
 a large lumber-dealer, and when a boy, George 
 Hilliard had found great pleasure in examining 
 the different varieties of wood and learning 
 their uses. He had prided himself upon the 
 knowledge thus acquired ; and now, as he was 
 seeking an occupation which would enable him 
 to make a fresh start in life, it was not strange 
 that he should have chosen that of lumbering. 
 
 Mr. Brenner, knowing something of his early 
 tastes, was not sorry to have his judgment in 
 regard to the market value of the grand old 
 trees he had so long counted as his own. 
 
 " Such oaks ! " exclaimed the young man. 
 "There is almost a fortune in them, to say 
 nothing of anything else. They add greatly to 
 the beauty of the landscape, but you can afford 
 to spare them. Thaddeus Byam told me about 
 them, and he said oak timber was selling higher 
 now than ever before." 
 
 " Then you know Thaddeus Byam," remarked 
 Mr. Brenner.
 
 Under the Lindens. 159 
 
 For answer to this his companion told him of 
 the circumstances under which they had met, 
 adding : 
 
 " It was he who proposed father's selling 
 wood, and when I told him I intended to 
 see you, he said it was the right thing to 
 do. Grace thought so too. She wished she 
 could come with , me, but she is needed at 
 home. And besides, we had no money for car 
 fare." 
 
 After this there was much to be said ; with 
 many questions to be asked and answered ; the 
 time passing rapidly, until the sun was sinking 
 toward the west. 
 
 " You will be my guest for the night," then 
 said Mr. Brenner, as they came again to the old 
 bench under the lindens. 
 
 "Thank you, but I cannot accept your hospi- 
 tality," was replied. " I am not dressed to meet 
 company, and I must prove myself worthy to 
 come under your roof before I presume to do 
 so. I am very grateful for your kindness. It is 
 more than I deserve ; but if you would remem- 
 ber me in your prayers it might help me some- 
 times when I am sorely tempted." 
 
 "You shall have my prayers and my best 
 wishes ; and may God bless you with the choicest 
 of His blessings." 
 
 O 
 
 The two men clasped hands for a moment ;
 
 160 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 then, turning away, George Hilliard was soon 
 lost to the sight of his friend. 
 
 An hour later he called at a lonely farm- 
 house and asked for a bowl of bread and milk ; 
 and as fortune would have it, found, at the same 
 time, an opportunity to render the farmer an 
 important service, in return for which a more 
 substantial supper was set before him. Then 
 he moved on ; walking some distance before 
 lying down to sleep in an empty barn. 
 
 The next morning he wrote a letter to his 
 sister Grace, which he placed in a directed en- 
 velope, carried in his pocket-book with several 
 others, for this very purpose. This he left at 
 the next post-office, and afterward made a long 
 journey before another night. 
 
 At the end of this day's journey he rested 
 and looked about for employment, which was 
 readily found. He was unused to work, as any 
 one could see, but he was quick to learn and 
 faithful to perform, so that he soon made friends.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 GRACE BILLIARD. 
 
 " MR. FOWLER, a lady to see you." 
 
 The counting-room door was opened wider ; a 
 young lady passed in, and the door was closed. 
 
 " Miss Grace ! Good-morning," said an elderly 
 gentleman, turning from his desk and extend- 
 ing his hand. " Please be seated. I prefer sit- 
 ting to standing, and so probably will you when 
 you are as old as I am." 
 
 " Thank you, Mr. Fowler. I am not sure but 
 I ought to apologize for intruding upon you this 
 morning, but I had a favor to ask," replied his 
 visitor. 
 
 " I am not in the habit of having young ladies 
 ask favors of me, and I should be very sorry to 
 refuse you." 
 
 "But I have come to ask a favor for another." 
 
 " And who may the other be ? " 
 
 "Mr. Luke Brenner. There is a mortgage on 
 his country seat. Clyde Stafford bought the 
 mortgage and has foreclosed on it. The place 
 is worth twice the amount of the mortgage, and 
 
 (161)
 
 1 62 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 if Mr. Brenner could have time he could pay it 
 easily." 
 
 "And you came to ask me to advance the 
 money to pay it ? " 
 
 " If you only would, Mr. Fowler. I can't tell 
 you all about it, but Mr. Thaddeus Byam can. 
 His home is in the same town as Mr. Brenner's, 
 and he knows all about the mortgage." 
 
 " Is he the Byam who has invented such a 
 wonderful piece of machinery ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " I have heard of him as a man to be trusted. 
 And you say Clyde Stafford holds the mort- 
 gage?" 
 
 u Yes, sir ; he bought it of the heirs of the 
 original holder before Mr. Brenner knew he had 
 any idea of doing it. He offered himself to 
 Tamson Brenner, and she refused him, and I 
 suppose now he wishes to punish her by turn- 
 ing the family out of their home." 
 
 " Better be turned into the street than marry 
 him. Don't you think so, Miss Grace ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. My brother has done very badly, 
 but I don't think he is much worse at heart 
 than Clyde Stafford. Clyde Stafford could keep 
 a cool head, when George would be crazy drunk." 
 
 " Clyde Stafford calls himself a man of the 
 world, and such men are not troubled with 
 many conscientious scruples. I am thankful
 
 Grace Milliard. 163 
 
 Tainson Brenner did not throw herself away on 
 him. She was a bright, pretty girl, and Her- 
 bert Brenner was as promising a lad as I ever 
 saw. I used to almost envy his father when I 
 saw them together. His death was a terrible 
 blow to the family. If he had lived he would 
 have been a tower of strength in his home." 
 
 " Tamson is the tower of strength now. If it 
 had not been for her, her father would have 
 given up everything without making an eifort 
 to save his place. She is working as hard as 
 their one servant, and shows a wonderful apti- 
 tude for business." 
 
 " She is a brave girl. It would be a pity to 
 have them lose their home." 
 
 " It would be dreadful, Mr. Fowler. I would 
 be willing to work hard for ten years if I could 
 save the place for them. George has seen Mr. 
 Brenner. He said that before he started out in 
 his new life he must see the man he and father 
 had wronged so wickedly. He walked there." 
 
 "How far?" 
 
 " More than a hundred miles." 
 
 "And George Hilliard walked that dis- 
 tance \ " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; he was obliged to walk or not go 
 there. He hadn't money to pay his car fare. 
 He started from home with only a dollar, and 
 when he got to Mr. Brenner's place he had
 
 164 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 ninety cents left. After he saw Mr. Brenner 
 and talked with him, he said he felt so light 
 and happy he could work or walk without be- 
 ing tired. May I read you the letter he wrote 
 home?" 
 
 " You may read or say anything to me you 
 please, Miss Grace." 
 
 The letter was read ; after which Mr. Fowler 
 said: 
 
 "If that is true, the place must be saved." 
 
 " Mr. Byam says it is true." 
 
 " I wish you would ask Mr. Byam to call on 
 
 me." 
 
 " Thank you, Mr. Fowler. I know he will be 
 glad to come. It doesn't seem possible that I can 
 ever do you a favor; but if I ever can, I shall 
 be most happy." 
 
 " Nobody knows what may happen, Miss 
 Grace. I am not as young as I was once, and 
 my eyes don't serve me as they did. If my 
 daughters had lived our house would be less 
 lonely. Your father can never be really poor 
 so long as he has you. Money is not the best 
 thing in the world." 
 
 " No, Mr. Fowler, but the want of it is very 
 inconvenient." 
 
 " So it is, Miss Grace ; so it is. I shall not 
 forget your visit, and I shall be ready to talk 
 with Mr. Byam at any time."
 
 Grace Milliard. 165 
 
 "Thank you, Mr. Fowler; you are very kind. 
 I hope you don't think it was very improper for 
 me to come here this morning ? " 
 
 " Not at all, Miss Grace ; not at all." 
 
 "Then I am glad I came. Good-morning." 
 
 " Good- morning, Miss Grace." 
 
 The next day Thaddeus Byam called upon Mr. 
 Fowler and corroborated every statement made 
 by George Hilliard in regard to the value of 
 the Brenner place. He knew the exact amount 
 of the mortgage, with the circumstances under 
 which it had been given. 
 
 " There would be no risk in advancing the 
 money," he said at length. " Once let Mr. 
 Brenner feel at liberty to develop the resources 
 of his estate, and the debt w r ould soon be paid. 
 I could contract for every foot of oak timber 
 within a week ; and at such prices, too, as would 
 leave a large margin of profit." 
 
 " Would Stafford transfer the mortgage ? " 
 
 "No, sir; we must have the money outright. 
 He wants the place for two reasons. To be its 
 owner would gratify his revenge ; and then it 
 is the finest country seat in the vicinity. The 
 whole family are doing their best to save it, but 
 they must have help. I think they can pay the 
 interest now due, with something on the princi- 
 pal before the year closes. They certainly can 
 if allowed to cut the lumber. If there was any
 
 1 66 Old Benches with Neiv Props. 
 
 prospect of my being able to raise the money I 
 should see Mr. Brenner, and know just what 
 might be expected from them. My invention 
 is considered valuable, and I would give you or 
 any other honorable man a claim upon the sales, 
 to be redeemed by me at any time within five 
 years." 
 
 "In that case you would be the one to help 
 Mr. Brenner out of his difficulties." 
 
 "I would be willing to make a sacrifice to do 
 that. He gave me advice that changed my 
 whole life. He was my friend when I needed 
 friends. It is a good deal for such a man as he 
 was, fifteen years ago, to take a poor boy by the 
 hand and tell him what there is for him in the 
 world if he will only do his best." 
 
 " I judge that you have done your best, Mr. 
 Byam." 
 
 " I have tried." 
 
 " Come to me in a week and I will tell you 
 my decision." 
 
 The decision made it possible to save the 
 Brenner estate to its rightful owner. The 
 amount of the mortgage was to be placed in the 
 hands of Thaddeus Byam, he giving security for 
 the same; the conditions being so explicitly 
 stated, there could be no misunderstanding. 
 The money was to be repaid in installments, at 
 such times as were specified.
 
 Grace Hit Hard. 167 
 
 Mr. Hilliard could not have been more re- 
 joiced had a fortune fallen to him ; and from 
 that time he laid aside, each day, some part of 
 his small profits, to be applied to the reduction 
 of this debt. 
 
 " If I was only situated so I could sell lum- 
 ber for Luke Brenner, I could do a good thing 
 for myself and him too ; but he would be a fool 
 to consign it to me." 
 
 " Why would he ? " asked Grace. 
 
 " Because any man is a fool to trust another 
 who has once deceived him. It is too much to 
 expect. I must keep on selling wood and coal 
 as the season advances. It is poor business, but 
 it is honest, and it keeps us from starving. I 
 am getting used to the work, too, so it is not so 
 hard for me." 
 
 " If you could have a lumber-yard, father, I 
 would stay in the office and do all the writing, 
 so you could have your time outside," responded 
 Grace. " Since George's last letter I feel as 
 though I could do any amount of hard work." 
 
 " You would make a good saleswoman," re- 
 joined Mollie. " I watched you when you were 
 measuring the wood for that old lady and the 
 two boys. They will be sure to tell their neigh- 
 bors about the young lady who waited upon 
 them and asked them to sit down and rest." 
 
 "The old lady looked so tired I couldn't help
 
 1 68 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 asking her to sit down and rest, and I am sure 
 it did her good to tell me some of her troubles. 
 She said she had been cheated in buying wood 
 because she could only buy a little at a time. I 
 didn't cheat her a stick, 'though I made a fair 
 profit on what I sold her." 
 
 " What if some of your old friends had seen 
 you selling wood ? " 
 
 " It would not have troubled me. I am no 
 longer a society girl; and if society cares no 
 more for me, why should I care for society? 
 Father is saved, George is saved, and Mr. Bren- 
 ner is not to lose his place. I keep repeating 
 over these blessed facts till I quite forget every- 
 thing unpleasant. So long as we are all alive, 
 and all doing as well as we can, nothing can make 
 me very unhappy. I should be a little happier 
 if I was earning something every day, but that 
 will come in good time. I am practicing 
 for it." 
 
 "Is that what you are doing in your room so 
 many hours every day ? " 
 
 " Yes, it is ; and when I feel myself qualified 
 I shall apply for a position as book-keeper, 
 unless father has work for me." 
 
 Meanwhile George Hilliard had engaged him- 
 self to a large farmer for three months, to do 
 whatever should be required of him. At the 
 end of that time he would join a company of
 
 Grace Hilliard. 169 
 
 men to go into camp for the winter in a north- 
 ern forest. 
 
 It required the utmost effort of his will to 
 follow the course he had marked out for him- 
 self; but every letter from home inspired him 
 with fresh courage and made it possible for him 
 to persevere. 
 
 He made no acquaintances beyond those im- 
 mediately around him. He was accounted un- 
 social ; more than one saying there was some 
 mystery about him ; yet all trusted him and 
 treated him with kindness. 
 
 Even in his seclusion he heard of Clyde Staf- 
 ford's plans for money-making, and listened to 
 not infrequent discussions in regard to the effect 
 of beer upon the health and morals of a com- 
 munity. 
 
 "What do you think about it, Hilliard?" 
 asked an elderly man. 
 
 "I think it is a curse, morally and physi- 
 cally," was replied. 
 
 "But some folks say if a man drinks beer 
 he'll be satisfied not to drink anything stronger ; 
 and some say, too, that everybody wants a 
 stimulant of some kind. In my young days I 
 used to drink cider, and never thought there 
 was anything wrong about it ; but lately I've 
 made up my mind it ain't the best kind of 
 drink. I don't know as it ever hurt me, but I
 
 170 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 don't want uiy grandchildren to drink it. I 
 want them to be strict teetotalers. Then they'll 
 be safe." 
 
 " And that is the only safety. If cider is bad, 
 beer is worse, and all this talk about its being 
 a temperance drink is a tissue of falsehoods. 
 What should you think of a man who would 
 drink five, ten, or even fifteen glasses of beer a 
 day, for which he paid five cents a glass ? " 
 
 u I should think he was a fool to spend his 
 money so." 
 
 " But some men will drink twenty glasses a 
 day, and 1 have heard of a man drinking 
 thirty."
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 TWO DAYS. 
 
 "THADBYAM?" 
 
 " Yes, Mrs. Hill ; here I am at your service. 
 I thought I should surprise you, as I did grand- 
 mother. She did not know I was coming ; and 
 now that I am here, I can only stop two days. 
 I came on the night train, and must hurry 
 through my business as fast as possible. I hope 
 Mr. Hill is at home. I was obliged to start 
 early this morning, and hoped to be here before 
 he would go away." 
 
 "He is going soon ; but there he comes, and 
 he will be glad to see you." 
 
 Greetings were exchanged, and then the pur- 
 pose of the visit was explained. Thad Byam 
 had made arrangements to furnish Mr. Brenner 
 with whatever money was required to release 
 him from all obligations to Clyde Stafford. 
 
 " I intended to be sure of enough," said the 
 young man. 
 
 "You won't need anything more than the 
 bare face of the mortgage," was replied. " I can 
 spare a hundred or two dollars toward the in- 
 
 (171)
 
 172 Old Benches with A T ew Props. 
 
 terest, and Cousin Luke's wife has saved quite 
 a sum. So I think we can manage the interest, 
 and it is best for Cousin Luke to feel that he 
 has something to do in the matter, and forced 
 to do his level best. He is gaining every day, 
 and getting to have something of his old influ- 
 ence in town. There are not many in town, 
 either, but are glad of it. Tamson was never so 
 well liked as she is now ; and as for her mother, 
 people are just getting acquainted with her. 
 But this is not business." 
 
 During the next half hour calculations were 
 made and plans matured, until everything was 
 plain before them. 
 
 " I have not told you, but Richard Anslow 
 came up here last week and told me he was 
 ready to advance every dollar Luke Brenner 
 might need to free him from all embarrassment. 
 The question now is, shall he do it or shall 
 you ? " 
 
 " I always thought Mr. Anslow had money 
 somewhere," responded Thad Byam to this an- 
 nouncement, without giving a thought to the 
 question to be considered. " He is a grand man, 
 and his sister is a grand woman." 
 
 "I believe you are right, although I have 
 seldom seen them. They never seemed to care for 
 the people around here, so Prudence and I have 
 not tried to get acquainted with them. But
 
 Two Days. 173 
 
 what do you say, Thad, shall it be you or Mr. 
 Anslow ? " 
 
 " I cannot answer that until I have seen Mr. 
 Anslow. In either case, security must be con- 
 sidered." 
 
 " Mr. Anslow said lie wanted no security. A 
 note of hand is all he wants, and he says if the 
 money is never returned no one will suffer on 
 account of it. I told him there was no doubt 
 of its being paid." 
 
 " Not a particle of doubt, Mr. Hill. I have 
 planned for that from the resources of the place. 
 Mr. Brenner can do it without injury to his 
 estate." 
 
 " I wish you could talk with Tarn son. She 
 has a clear head for business, and she knows to 
 a dollar the amount of their indebtedness, and 
 what they can pay." 
 
 " I am not acquainted with her, and, of course, 
 I could not intrude myself upon her." 
 
 " She would not consider it an intrusion. We 
 have been expecting her up here to spend a day 
 with us, and I wish she would come to-day." 
 
 "I wish she would, but such things happen 
 only in stories," was replied. 
 
 Everything being settled, so far as this could 
 be done by Jacob Hill and Thad Byam, the lat- 
 ter was about to take his departure, when Mrs. 
 Hill exclaimed :
 
 174 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " There is Taruson, this minute. I have been 
 on the lookout for her all the morning. I knew 
 this was one of her most leisure days." 
 
 Cordially welcomed, she did not know of 
 Thad Byam's presence until he was introduced 
 to her as the young man who had come from 
 the city for the express purpose of helping her 
 father out of Stafford's clutches. 
 
 It was Prudence Hill's way of plunging into 
 the middle of things at once; because, as she 
 said, " it makes it easier all 'round, and every- 
 body knows just what to expect." 
 
 " He is very kind," answered Tarn son Bren- 
 ner, and was considering what more she would 
 say, when the young man began an explanation, 
 to which she listened with surprise and de- 
 light, although her eyes were wet with unshed 
 tears. 
 
 " And you would embarrass yourself to save 
 my father," she said, as he paused for a moment. 
 
 "It would not embarrass me," he replied. 
 " Mr. Fowler is an honorable man, and I am to 
 repay him by installments, which I can easily 
 do. Mr. Hilliard's family are to help in this, 
 too. The evening before I left the city he gave 
 me ten dollars, which he said he could spare for 
 vour father." 
 
 V 
 
 After this, Thad Byam told Tamson Brenner 
 of the manner of life the Billiards were lead-
 
 Two Days. 175 
 
 ing, and the efforts Grace was making to fit 
 herself to earn money. 
 
 " And Mr. Milliard saws and splits the wood 
 he sells ! " 
 
 " He has so far, with a little help from friends 
 who are more used to such work than he is." 
 
 " They must need the ten dollars." 
 
 " It is better for them to give it than to keep 
 it. Mr. Milliard is beginning to regain his self- 
 respect. He has told me more than once that 
 he was ashamed to look &n honest man in the 
 face. He thought, at first, he would go where 
 no one had ever heard his name ; but he says 
 now he is going to live down his shame and 
 disgrace in the city where he is known, and I 
 believe he will do it." 
 
 " I certainly hope he will. I am sorry for 
 Mollie and Grace ; but hard lessons are often 
 needed, and one never knows what can be done 
 until the trial is made. You must have learned 
 that by experience, Mr. Byam." 
 
 " I have, and, thanks to your father, I had 
 courage to make the trial. But for him, I fear 
 I should have done little good work in the 
 world/' 
 
 Tainson Brenner was able to give just the in- 
 formation desired. She knew how much could 
 be expected from the proceeds of the farm. She 
 knew how many trees, and of what varieties,
 
 176 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 could be cut for timber ; also the probable cost 
 of preparing it for market. Every dollar re- 
 ceived for this would be applied toward pay- 
 ment of the debt for which the place had been 
 mortgaged. 
 
 Having learned all this, Thad Byam left 
 Eagle Point, and went to call on Mr. Brenner, 
 whom he found busily at work in the orchard ; 
 so intent upon this work, that he was not aware 
 of the young man's presence until addressed by 
 name. He was removing part of the fruit from 
 the trees, that what remained might reach a 
 higher state of perfection. 
 
 " As you see, there must be a great deal of 
 pruning and cutting off," he said, after an ex- 
 change of the usual courtesies. " One cannot 
 have all and everything in this life. There 
 must be a choice. Sometimes we make the 
 choice for ourselves, and sometimes it is made 
 for us; but always there must be some sacri- 
 fice." 
 
 " Yes, sir; I have learned that by experience. 
 You helped me to make the choice which has 
 given me whatever success in life I have gained. 
 I am here now to make you what return I can." 
 
 Mr. Brenner looked at his visitor questiou- 
 ingly, as if asking an explanation, which was 
 made in as few words as possible. 
 
 " And you would do this for me ! " exclaimed
 
 Two Days. 177 
 
 the old man, uncovering his head and looking 
 
 / O O 
 
 reverently upward. "It is too much. I must 
 not allow you to make such a sacrifice." 
 
 "It would be no sacrifice for me," was re- 
 plied. 
 
 Until that interview Mr. Brenner had not 
 realized the half of what this young man had 
 a right to expect as the result of his work. 
 When all was told, came the response: 
 
 " I am thankful for you ; thankful, too, if I was 
 able to speak the right word at the right time." 
 
 " That was what you did, Mr. Brenner. I 
 remember it all as well as if it had occurred but 
 yesterday. I did not sleep much the night after 
 you talked with me. You told me you should 
 pray for me, and for the first time in my life I 
 really prayed for myself. 
 
 " I had repeated the prayers my grandmother 
 taught me, but I was only a careless, thought- 
 less boy. The next morning I began to realize 
 that I had some responsibility in life. From 
 that day to this I have hoped the time would 
 come when I could give you some substantial 
 expression of my gratitude." 
 
 " The time seems to have come, but the ex- 
 pression is out of all proportion with the obli- 
 gation, even estimating that at its highest rate." 
 
 " It was a life and a soul saved, Mr. Brenner." 
 
 There could be no reply to this, except in words
 
 1 78 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 of thankfulness that such results had blessed 
 an humble effort made in the Master's name. 
 
 The two men walked out of the garden 
 into the library, where papers were produced 
 and estimates made, corresponding with those 
 previously made by Tamson Brenner. 
 
 " 1 have been all over this many times, and I 
 had about made up my mind to go to the city 
 and see if I could get help from some of my old 
 friends ; but you would save me from the ne- 
 cessity of that," said Mr. Brenner in a husky voice. 
 
 " And the Hilliards. They have done nobly. 
 I wouldn't have believed it was in George, to 
 start off on a hundred-mile tramp, and work 
 for what food he had." 
 
 " I expect he was used to tramping. After 
 his father had settled for his forgeries, he 
 wandered off, no one knew where ; and he told 
 me he hardly knew himself. He worked some 
 and begged some ; always drinking liquor when 
 he could get it. 
 
 " He slept in all sorts of places, with all sorts 
 of companions ; keeping mainly to large towns. 
 He was in the city two months before he went 
 to his father's, starving ; and it was the sight of 
 him that made his father realize how low they 
 had both fallen. That night they signed a 
 pledge of total abstinence, and I believe they 
 have kept it,"
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 A TEMPERANCE MEETING. 
 
 THERE was only time for people to wonder 
 why Thad Byam had come home again so soon, 
 before he was gone. Their astonishment was 
 greatly increased when he appeared upon the 
 village street in less than a week from the time 
 he had left. 
 
 During his first visit he had seen Mr. Anslow, 
 when all arrangements were made for the pay- 
 ment of Mr. Brenner's debt. It was thought 
 best, however, to consult Mr. Fowler, which 
 was done ; and although he was ready to ad- 
 vance the money, he was also ready to accede 
 to the new proposal. 
 
 The loan was made to Thaddeus Byam, who 
 transferred it at once to Mr. Brenner, accepting 
 no security, and expressing the utmost pleasure 
 in being able thus to make some return for past 
 kindness. 
 
 Before the evening of the day in which all 
 claim upon the Brenner place passed forever 
 from the hands of Clyde Stafford, the town rang 
 with the news. 
 
 " Thank God," said many a man and woman 
 
 (179)
 
 180 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 to whom a helping hand had been extended 
 when they were in trouble. Thad Byam was 
 the hero of the hour; people passing around 
 him for the privilege of speaking to him. 
 
 u I never expected to see such a day as this," 
 said an old man, who was leaning upon his 
 cane. " I remember Thad when his grandma'am 
 took him to bring up. I remember, too, how 
 hard she worked to do it. It seemed to me, a 
 good many times, as though she was throwing 
 away her time and strength, but he has paid 
 her for it all. 
 
 " May God bless him and make His face to 
 shine upon him. May God give him riches, 
 and long life in which to serve his fellow-men." 
 
 "Amen," was responded heartily, and then 
 as Thad Byam caught a glimpse of the old man, 
 he sprang forward, saying cordially : 
 
 " I am glad to see you, Gransir Lane. You 
 are carrying your years well. I hope you are 
 made comfortable." 
 
 " I hain't anything to complain of, Thad. My 
 children are good to me, and so are my 
 grandchildren. There's one thing, though, that 
 troubles me about the boys. It's the brewery 
 that's building, and the saloon they've got run- 
 ning. So far we've kept our boys out of the 
 saloon; but nobody knows how much longer 
 we can do it.
 
 A Temperance Meeting. 181 
 
 " Seems as though the devil helped such places 
 along. If the women that profess to be Chris- 
 tians had been as busy as they ought to be, 
 seems as though we needn't had this trouble. 
 They say you've got one of our town boys with 
 you, trying to make a man of him. Tim Dur- 
 rell is with you, ain't he ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, he is, and he is doing well. He is 
 a bright, smart fellow, too." 
 
 "I always knew that. You calculate he'll 
 hold out, don't you ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir; he would rather die than go back. 
 He hasn't had a long trial, but I believe Tim is 
 a Christian." 
 
 " Been converted then since he went away 
 from here. You're a Christian, ain't ye, Thad ? " 
 
 " I hope I am. Anyway, I am trying to do 
 my duty as God would have me." 
 
 " And trying to help others." 
 
 "That is a part of my duty; a large part, 
 too." 
 
 " You ain't ashamed then to say that you 
 love the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 " Ashamed ! Why, Gransir Lane, I think 
 being a Christian is the grandest thing in the 
 world ; and to have the Lord Jesus Christ for a 
 friend is the highest honor a man can attain." 
 
 " Thank God for letting me live to hear you 
 say that, I wish our boys were all of that
 
 1 82 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 mind. There's going to be a fight over them, 
 
 and nobody knows which will win in the end." 
 
 " In the end the right is sure to win." 
 
 " I know that, Thad, but I'm afraid we ain't 
 
 near enough to the end, so but what the wrong 
 
 will have some more triumphs. There's a blight 
 
 come on us." 
 
 Those who heard this conversation were 
 strangely impressed by its earnestness and the 
 contrast between the speakers ; one having long 
 ago passed the allotted age of man, while the 
 other was in the glory and strength of young 
 manhood. 
 
 But there was another clique who professed 
 friendship for Clyde Stafford, and denounced 
 Thad Byam as a meddler. The saloon-keeper 
 was using every art to increase the number of 
 his customers, even offering prizes to those who 
 patronized him most liberally. 
 
 " What can be done to counteract the influ- 
 ence of the rum power?" was a question often 
 asked ; and on this occasion it was answered by 
 Gransir Lane, who said : 
 
 "Let's have a temperance meeting to-morrow 
 evening in the town hall. We hain't had such 
 a meeting lately, and we ought to have one. 
 
 " Thad can tell us how he came to start on a 
 new track, when folks were afraid he was going 
 the same way some others did. We want him
 
 A Temperance Meeting. 183 
 
 to tell us, too, how he come to think of making 
 that machine folks talk so much about. That 
 wouldn't be talking about temperance, but it's 
 got something to do with it. We want to know 
 how he managed to earn and save money enough 
 to do so much. 
 
 "There's others that can help fill up the time. 
 Then we want some singing, and I rather guess 
 I can help that along with my bass-viol. I 
 can't sing very well, but I can keep time and 
 tune with my old viol." 
 
 After some consideration it was decided to 
 have the temperance meeting. Mr. Brenner 
 consented to preside. The clergymen were per- 
 suaded to take seats upon the platform. Tarn- 
 son Brenner arranged for the singing, taking 
 the lead herself; so there was no danger of fail- 
 ure in the musical entertainment. 
 
 As there had been no temperance meeting in 
 town for years, this was regarded as quite an 
 event. Care was taken to advertise the meet- 
 ing as widely as possible. Dolf Turner was 
 sent in one direction, while a lad who could be 
 trusted was sent in another; each being in- 
 structed to ask each one whom they notified to 
 notify others. 
 
 As a result the hall was well filled ; many 
 coming several miles to see and hear something 
 new. Mrs. Byam was there; so thankful and
 
 184 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 happy, she had no words to express her happi- 
 ness. 
 
 After the opening prayer and the singing of 
 a hymn, to which the old bass-viol lent a vigor- 
 ous accompaniment, Mr. Brenner made a short 
 speech, in which he deplored the poverty and 
 wretchedness caused by the use of intoxicating 
 drinks. He then introduced the speaker of the 
 evening : " Our townsman, Thaddeus Byam." 
 
 It was a new position for the young man, and 
 at first his words came slowly ; but as he looked 
 into the faces before him, he soon forgot all else, 
 in his desire to say what might have an influ- 
 ence for good. 
 
 He went back to his boyhood, when, careless 
 of the future, he had welcomed any excitement 
 which promised an hour of fun or frolic. He 
 told of the warning he had received ; the coun- 
 sel which had been given him, and lastly of the 
 long, sleepless night when the decision had been 
 made to which he attributed whatever of suc- 
 cess he had achieved. He then told of his work 
 in the humble garret; the time snatched from 
 sleep ; his frugal fare and constant self-denials, 
 that he might accomplish what he had set him- 
 self to do. 
 
 Passing rapidly over these personal reminis- 
 cences, he spoke upon the great question of tem- 
 perance or total abstinence. He cited numer.
 
 A Temperance Meeting. 185 
 
 ous instances, some of which had come under 
 his own observation, where young men with 
 every advantage of education, influential friends, 
 and abundant means, had sunk into infamy and 
 poverty because of their drinking habits. 
 
 In this connection he spoke of beer-drinking, 
 claiming that it was evil and only evil ; the ex- 
 pense of the habit being a waste no man could 
 afford. He read from statistics gathered by 
 men who would make no mistake in their esti- 
 mates, showing the large amount of beer manu- 
 factured, and the enormous profits from its 
 manufacture and sale. 
 
 " Brewers become enormously rich, while beer- 
 drinkers grow poorer every day, by the amount 
 they pay for beer. A confirmed beer-drinker, 
 taking no more than the average amount, daily, 
 will spend enough to pay for a comfortable home. 
 
 " In ten years he will waste time enough over 
 his beer, which if spent over good books would 
 make him an intelligent man. He will poison 
 his blood, and in every way make himself a 
 coarser, more disagreeable man. I will say noth- 
 ing of the appetite for stronger alcoholic drinks, 
 almost sure to be created by the use of beer." 
 
 There was a perceptible stir throughout the 
 audience when beer was mentioned. There were 
 many present who had voted for the brewery, 
 and whose fields of barley were ripening for the
 
 1 86 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 harvest. There were boys who had listened to 
 specious arguments in fa\ 7 or of beer, and who 
 already knew its taste; yet so implicitly did 
 they believe in Thad Byam, they were ready to 
 accept whatever he said as true. They nodded 
 to each other significantly, following him in his 
 calculations, as he told what luxuries the money 
 now spent for beer and tobacco would give to 
 every man, woman, and child in the country. 
 
 At the close of his "talk" he presented a 
 pledge binding all who signed it to abstain 
 from all alcoholic drinks, including beer and 
 cider ; and to his surprise, some from whom he 
 had expected decided opposition were among 
 the first to sign this pledge. The number en- 
 rolled was much larger than the most sanguine 
 had dared to hope. An attempt to create some 
 disturbance had so signally failed, the promoters 
 were ready to disavow the attempt, and con- 
 tented themselves with criticisms uttered half 
 under their breath. 
 
 " That pledge business was a trap sprung on 
 the folks before they realized what it meant," 
 said one who was careful to assert his inde- 
 pendence and his right to do as* he pleased. 
 
 If this were true, the trap had been so well 
 baited that the victims entered it willingly ; and 
 so Thad Byam, the inventor, was pitted against 
 Clyde Stafford, the brewer.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 IN A LUMBER CAMP. 
 
 IT had cost George Hilliard a severe struggle 
 to come to a^ decision to acknowledge his past 
 life to the man from whom he desired employ- 
 ment for the winter; but the decision once 
 reached he did not hesitate. 
 
 So soon as he had proved his ability to per- 
 form manual labor successfully, his sister Grace 
 urged him to make no further attempt to con- 
 ceal his identity. 
 
 " We must face the world in our new position, 
 and the sooner we do this, the easier it will be," 
 she wrote in one of the letters which came to 
 him regularly each week. " Now that Mr. Bren- 
 ner's place is safe, I can bear anything. He has 
 written a very kind letter to father, and you can 
 hardly imagine how much that letter has done 
 for us. It has just lifted us up out of our 
 troubles, so that father does twice the work he 
 did before. 
 
 " We are selling kindlings now, which adds 
 very materially to our profits. Our business is 
 getting too large for our accommodations. I 
 
 (187)
 
 1 88 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 have some book-keeping to do, and hope for 
 more. 
 
 " Don't go into the woods for the winter until 
 you have made a clean breast of it to the man 
 for whom you wish to work. If he will not 
 employ you after that, try another. Anything 
 is better than living in constant fear of ex- 
 posure." 
 
 Mr. Luscomb employed only picked men who 
 could be relied upon in every emergency ; men 
 who were total abstainers from all alcoholic 
 stimulants; who regarded the Sabbath and 
 reverenced the name of God. So far as pos- 
 sible, he employed Christian men, who, while 
 working hard, were not likely to miss oppor- 
 tunities for mental improvement. Luscomb's 
 camp was a model of comfort and convenience; 
 while the fare was generous and wholesome. 
 
 "The best owner, the best foreman, and the 
 best gang of men anywhere in our lumber 
 region," said the farmer for whom George Hil- 
 liard had worked through the autumn. " If 
 you can get a chance in that camp you better 
 take it. Likely Luscomb will ask a good many 
 questions he'll expect you to answer fair and 
 square. I took you on trust, and I hain't seen 
 any reason to be sorry ; but it's different when 
 you're going in for an all-winter's job. I'll 
 recommend you as far as I know."
 
 In a Lumber Camp. 189 
 
 " Thank you, 1 ' replied George Hilliard, and 
 decided at once to see Mr. Luscomb. 
 
 The gentleman was at home when he called 
 early one evening, and made known his business. 
 
 " I am one man short," was replied. 
 
 " Can I supply that lack ? " asked George 
 Hilliard. " I have had no experience in lumber- 
 ing, but I know something of trees and their 
 relative value when converted into lumber." 
 
 Having said this, he proceeded to make a 
 plain statement of his case ; speaking hurried- 
 ly, as if fearful that he might fail of his purpose. 
 
 " And you are George Hilliard, who ruined 
 his father, who in turn ruined Luke Brenner." 
 
 " I am George Hilliard, who ruined his father, 
 but, thank God, Luke Brenner is not ruined. 
 He will redeem his place, and if God gives me 
 health and strength, I will pay him every dol- 
 lar that is his due." 
 
 " You have a life-work before you, but I am 
 glad to know there is hope for Mr. Brenner. 
 Why did you tell me so much of yourself? " 
 
 " Because I wished you to know the truth 
 about me." 
 
 " But I might not wish to hire such a man as 
 you confess to have been." 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I thought of all that. I am very 
 anxious to be employed by you, but I would 
 rather be refused than be accepted without your
 
 190 Old Benches ivith New Props. 
 
 knowing my history; although it seems as if my 
 whole life depended upon your answer to me 
 this evening." 
 
 " You would not go back to your old ways ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; never. I shall not do that, let 
 come what will. I have learned that I have 
 strength for hard hand-work, and " 
 
 Here the speaker paused, unable to say more. 
 
 Mr. Luscomb looked at him for a moment, 
 and then said : 
 
 "I am going to trust you. My men will go 
 into the woods a week from next Monday, and 
 you can go with them. I shall go too, and stay 
 perhaps for a fortnight. I always start them 
 off myself. By that time my foreman will 
 know what place you can fill best, and decide 
 what your wages shall be. I suppose you are 
 prepared to rough it ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I think I am quite prepared for 
 that. I thank you for giving me employment, 
 and I will do my best for you. If I fail, it will 
 not be for want of hearty good-will." 
 
 " You need not fail. I believe you will not 
 fail." 
 
 At last preparations were completed, and the 
 men went to their winter's work, with cattle, 
 horses, and all needed supplies ; Mr. Luscomb 
 superintending in person, watching every move- 
 ment and ordering every detail.
 
 In a Lumber Camp. 191 
 
 During the fortnight spent in carnp he was 
 able to judge of George Hilliard's skill and in- 
 dustry, which more than realized his expecta- 
 tions ; and for which he took occasion to com- 
 mend the young man. 
 
 " I hope you will have an eye on Aries," he 
 said, when about to leave. "The boy came to 
 me two months ago and asked for work. He 
 was dressed poorly, and had evidently been 
 poorly fed ; and that is all I know about him, 
 except that he has worked enough to pay his 
 board and buy a decent suit of clothes. 
 
 " He declines to answer any questions about 
 himself. So far as I know, he neither writes 
 nor receives any letters. Perhaps you can gain 
 his confidence. He is not strong, and I objected 
 to his coming into the woods, but his heart was 
 set on it. He is more likely to be attracted to 
 you than to any other one of the men, and you 
 may be able to do him good." 
 
 There was not much to break the monotony 
 of the days, except when a heavy fall of snow 
 interrupted for a little the usual routine. The 
 winter was severe, yet work progressed fairly, 
 with promise of benefit to all. Young Aries 
 was the only one of the company who suffered 
 from positive illness, and then, in his weakness 
 and longing for sympathy, he told George Hil- 
 liard his story ; such as had been told many a
 
 192 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 time before, and will be told many a time again, 
 so long as alcohol shall madden the brain and 
 debase the moral nature. 
 
 "I want to see my mother," said the poor 
 fellow. " I would be willing to die, if I could 
 only see my mother. She loves me, but my 
 father cares only for money, and my brother is 
 like him. Oh, mother ! mother ! " 
 
 So he would moan, sobbing out his grief in 
 George Milliard's arms; left much to himself 
 through the day, but clinging close to his friend 
 at night. 
 
 " Just enough money to bring me to America, 
 and then Oh, mother ! mother ! I wish I had 
 died. I don't want to go out of the woods. I 
 have nowhere to go, unless you take me with 
 you, and you couldn't do that." 
 
 Nothing better could have come to George 
 Hilliard than this dependence of another upon 
 his care and tenderness. The entire discipline 
 of the winter strengthened and developed him 
 in the right direction. He made no secret of 
 his past follies ; and the frankness with w 7 hich 
 these were acknowledged and deplored, so far 
 from creating a prejudice against him, only 
 served to win for him a more sincere friendship. 
 When the spring opened, not a man in camp 
 but trusted and respected him. 
 
 He was going home to his parents, but would
 
 In a Lumber Camp. 193 
 
 first visit Mr. Brenner. Ben Aries was going 
 with him, hoping that somewhere there could 
 be found " a place for a poor boy to be taken 
 in and allowed to work for his board." 
 
 " It almost seems to me I might get well, if I 
 could only see my mother," said the young man. 
 " I can never pay you for your kindness ; but if 
 you ever see my mother tell her, and she will 
 pay you." 
 
 " You will see your mother before I do," re- 
 plied his friend. " We will find a home for 
 you where you will grow strong and well." 
 
 " I am afraid you can't do it. Nobody wants 
 me, and I am not worth much only for loving." 
 
 " You are worth being loved, Bennie. There 
 is no one else in the world, outside of my own 
 family, whom I love as I do you." 
 
 " Then I will try and live, because sometime 
 I may be able to do you a little kindness, and 
 won't I be glad to do it, and for Mr. Luscomb, 
 too ! " 
 
 Mr. Luscomb was still mindful of him, and 
 before he left gave him a generous sum of 
 money, although he had done but little work 
 during the winter. Then he started on the 
 journey which proved for him so eventful. 
 
 Most unexpectedly, when they reached the 
 town in which Mr. Brenner resided, George 
 Hilliard met Thad Byam, to whom he intro-
 
 1 94 Old -Benches with New Props. 
 
 duced Ben Aries; who in turn introduced him 
 to Mr. Anslow, who was standing near. 
 
 " Aries is an old-country name," said the gen- 
 tleman. 
 
 u And I am an old-country boy," was re- 
 sponded. 
 
 " I hope you like the new country ? " 
 
 " I do, because I have found friends here, and 
 I needed them. I am looking now for more 
 friends who will give me shelter and a chance 
 to do such work as I can." 
 
 Mr. Anslow was interested. The two seemed 
 mutually attracted to each other, and withdraw- 
 ing a little from their companions, engaged in 
 conversation. 
 
 " I wish Mr. Anslow would take Bennie home 
 with him," said George Milliard after a half 
 hour had elapsed and they were still talking 
 earnestly. " His face is that of a man who can 
 be trusted." 
 
 " I would trust him for all my life is worth ; 
 and his sister, who lives with him, is worthy of 
 such a brother." 
 
 "If Bennie only tells him his story he will be 
 sure to pity the boy." 
 
 " I take it he is English." 
 
 " Yes ; he says he is the younger son of an 
 English brewer, who turned him adrift with 
 only money enough to pay his passage to this
 
 In a Lumber Camp. 195 
 
 country. He was a wild boy, and after being 
 sent away from home be was reckless and des- 
 perate. But something made him stop and 
 think ; and thinking made him decide to change 
 his manner of life. That is the outline of the 
 story he told me, and I believe he told the 
 truth." 
 
 " If he wishes to redeem himself, Mr. Anslow 
 is the very man to help him." 
 
 This gentleman had listened to Bennie's story 
 from Bennie's own mouth, and invited the boy 
 home with him to spend a month. After that, 
 if a change seemed desirable, it could be made. 
 
 " Now L have to see Mr. Brenner, and then I 
 am off for home," remarked George Milliard. 
 
 " You will find things much changed at your 
 home," replied Thad Byam. " Your father is 
 doing quite a good business, and your sister 
 Grace is a popular saleswoman. The poor peo- 
 ple like to buy wood of her." 
 
 " Grace has saved the family. Her letters 
 have been an inspiration to me. I should never 
 have pulled through if it hadn't been for them."
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A PRIVATE INTERVIEW. 
 
 " HAVE you seen your paragon of perfection ? " 
 asked Clyde Stafford of a young man who was 
 passing him with a careless nod of recognition. 
 
 " Paragon of perfection ! Who may that be ? " 
 was responded. 
 
 " Why, Thad Byam. He is back again look- 
 ing after the interests of the town, I suppose. 
 He seems to have time to attend to everybody's 
 business." 
 
 " Without neglecting his own. No one can 
 accuse him of that. He is the smartest man 
 ever raised anywhere 'round here. I only wish 
 the rest of us could do as well as he has." 
 
 " Paragon of perfection, with a forger, swin- 
 dler, and roue for a friend. I never did have so 
 much faith in him ; but since I have seen him 
 with George Hilliard I think I know just about 
 how much his pretensions to goodness are 
 worth." 
 
 "If you know, please give me the exact 
 value." 
 
 Clyde Stafford turned sharply at the sound 
 
 (196)
 
 A Private Interview. 197 
 
 of a voice he recognized at once as that of the 
 man whose character he was considering. 
 
 "I have never been able to come to any 
 definite estimate of my goodness," continued 
 the speaker. " I intend to deal justly with all 
 men and show mercy to the unfortunate ; and, 
 Mr. Stafford, I don't intend to enrich myself at 
 the cost of other men's souls.' 1 
 
 "Mr. Byam, I stand convicted. You are a 
 paragon of perfection, and no one has a right to 
 dispute your claim, but 
 
 " I presume I know what you would say." 
 
 " Clyde Stafford," now said George Hilliard, 
 whose presence had not before been observed, 
 " I know of what you can justly accuse me in 
 the past, but having put all that behind me, I 
 hope to prove myself worthy of a good man's 
 friendship." 
 
 "When you have paid what it cost your 
 father to save you from the clutches of the law, 
 and he has paid what he owes Mr. Brenner, it 
 will be time for you to talk about being worthy 
 of a good man's friendship." 
 
 "That time will come, Clyde Stafford, if I 
 live ; and to-day I am not ashamed to look you 
 in the face. Mr. Byam has been a friend whose 
 kindness 1 can never repay. You had a cooler 
 head than mine. Where you won, I lost ; but 
 when I was at the lowest, I never saw the day
 
 198 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 when I would be guilty of making or selling 
 beer. That is too low for even such a beggar 
 as I was. 
 
 " As for Mr. Byam, you would not dare speak 
 against him in the city where he is so well 
 known. He is universally respected." 
 
 " Perhaps you are respected. If your whole 
 story was told, how would it be then ? " 
 
 " My whole story has been told. I am not 
 sailing under false colors. At first I wished to 
 hide myself, and desired nothing else so much 
 as to be forgotten by all who had ever heard 
 my name, but I have changed since then. You 
 cannot accuse me of worse than I have confessed, 
 and, thank God, you cannot lead me back in- 
 to the old way." 
 
 " I lead you back ! Do you accuse me of 
 leading you into the excesses of which you have 
 been guilty? " exclaimed Clyde Stafford angrily, 
 emphasizing his words with a terrible oath. 
 
 "I accuse you of nothing," replied George 
 Hilliard. " I have no wish to excuse myself by 
 blaming another. But before I leave town I 
 have a question to ask you ; it will be for your 
 interest to answer truthfully." 
 
 " Do you mean to insinuate that I am not in 
 the habit of speaking truthfully ? " 
 
 "I insinuate nothing. I only made a remark 
 you will do well to heed."
 
 A Private Interview. 199 
 
 By this time a crowd had gathered to listen 
 to the colloquy ; and having kept silence until 
 it seemed a fitting time for him to speak, Thad 
 By am said in a quiet tone : 
 
 "Mr. Hilliard is my friend. He has done 
 wrong in the past. Who of us has not ? He 
 has repented of the wrong. Who of us has 
 done that ? His father is deeply in debt to Mr. 
 Brenner because of that wrong, but something 
 has been paid on that debt; and I undertake 
 to say that every dollar now due will be paid. 
 I am ready to go bail for my friend's honesty in 
 future. 
 
 " I have no quarrel with Mr. Stafford person- 
 ally, but when the people of this town allowed 
 him to come here to build a brewery .they put 
 a heavy mortgage on the boys and young men. 
 Some of them are paying the interest on that 
 mortgage. In a few years interest and principal 
 will all be in the hands of the mortgagee. 
 
 " And that saloon, started, as .the proprietor 
 says, for the convenience of Mr. Stafford's work- 
 men. If only for them, why are such efforts 
 made to induce the boys to drink beer, smoke, 
 and chew tobacco ? The saloon and the brewery 
 will do a wholesale business. Who will dare 
 to say the business will be an advantage to the 
 town ? " 
 
 " I dare to say it. When we can sell our bar-
 
 2OO Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 ley for cash, without middlemen's profits, there 
 will be a great advantage. Some men will get 
 more money for their crop than they ever got in 
 one year before ; and there will be more than 
 one farm saved from going under the hammer. 
 You won't claim that all this is a disadvantage 
 to the town." 
 
 "I claim that the brewery will prove an un- 
 mitigated curse to the town, but I will not pro- 
 long this conversation. I should not have said so 
 much if Mr. Stafford had not attacked my friend." 
 
 " No one envies you his friendship," was mut- 
 tered in reply, as Thad By am turned to speak 
 to an old man standing near. 
 
 At that moment George Hilliard went nearer 
 to Clyde Stafford, and asked i'n a low tone : 
 
 "When will you give me a private inter- 
 view ? " 
 
 " I am too busy to waste time in private in- 
 terviews," was replied gruffly. 
 
 " I will not detain you more than five min- 
 utes. In fact, you can answer my questions in 
 less time than that. I leave on the night train, 
 and you must tell me what I wish to know be- 
 fore I leave." 
 
 " What if I refuse ? " 
 
 "You will take the consequences. I can 
 brand you as a villain, and if an old man and 
 his daughter
 
 A Private Interview. 201 
 
 " So that's it, is it ? Of course you would be 
 hatching up some trumpery charge against me, 
 but no one will credit anything you say." 
 
 " I have made no charge against you, but I 
 must know 
 
 " I shall give you no information." 
 
 "That is your decision?" 
 
 " Yes. Are you satisfied ? " 
 
 " So far satisfied, that I shall act accordingly. 
 That you won money from me when I was in 
 no condition to defend myself, is to my shame 
 and disgrace ; but when you induced an old man 
 to drink until intoxicated, and then took from 
 him his last dollar, 'you committed a crime of 
 which the law takes cognizance." 
 
 "Perhaps you would appear as a witness 
 against me," said the brewer with a sneer. 
 
 " I certainly would, and black Charley would 
 appear with me," was replied. " He had his eyes 
 and ears open, and nobody would doubt his word. " 
 
 " You would not claim the same truthfulness 
 for yourself." 
 
 " I would not accuse you wrongfully, but if 
 I felt obliged to proceed to extremities, I should 
 take Mr. Byam into my confidence. He would 
 know how to manage the case." 
 
 " I have no fear of him. What does he know 
 of gamblers and gambling, unless he is one of 
 the initiated ? "
 
 2O2 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " He is not a gambler. I am sure he has 
 never seen the inside of a gambler's den, and I 
 wish I could say as much for myself. But I am 
 anxious now to have justice done Mr. Pulsi- 
 fer. I think I know a lawyer who would under- 
 take the case ; one who has no reason to respect 
 either you or your father." 
 
 "That means Owen, I suppose. He better 
 look out for himself before he tries to help 
 others." 
 
 " He is able to do both." 
 
 " How came you to know so much about 
 everybody ? Where have you been for the last 
 two years ? " 
 
 " That is no business of yours, Clyde Stafford. 
 I am here now for a purpose. In coming here 
 it was not my first purpose to see you, but you 
 cannot deny that I know enough of you to ruin 
 your reputation in any respectable community." 
 
 " I might retaliate. What brought you here, 
 anyway ? " 
 
 "I came to this town to pay Mr. Brenner 
 some money. I have not yet seen him. I pre- 
 sume you thought you were well rid of me." 
 
 " I did ; and I wished never to see you again." 
 
 " That I do not doubt ; and only for my in- 
 terest in an unfortunate man and his daughter, 
 I should not have sought this interview." 
 
 "If you fancy I have any information to give
 
 A Private Interview. 203 
 
 you, you will find yourself mistaken ; but if you 
 are determined to prolong this interview, come 
 into my office." 
 
 It was a strange meeting for the two who 
 had parted at the door of a saloon, through 
 W 7 bich, two years before, they had made their 
 way to a gambling-room above. One had lost, 
 the other had won. One went out into the 
 darkness desperate and reckless ; the other but- 
 toned his coat around him, congratulating him- 
 self upon his ill-gotten gains. 
 
 " Where is Mr. Pulsifer ? " asked George Hil- 
 liard when the office door was closed behind 
 them. 
 
 "I have not seen him for a year, and then 
 only a moment, as I passed him in the street," 
 was replied. 
 
 "And his daughter?" 
 
 " She was with him. I had not seen her be- 
 fore since I saw you. I am telling you the 
 truth," continued the speaker ; judging rightly, 
 that his companion would be disposed to doubt 
 this assertion. " I pitied the old man, and made 
 an effort to find him, but I could get no clue to 
 his whereabouts. I would have been glad to 
 help him." 
 
 " Would you have returned the money you 
 took from him ? You had no more right to it 
 than any thief has to the money he steals."
 
 2O4 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " You mean to say that I had no more right 
 to it than you had to the money you obtained 
 on a forged note ? " 
 
 " Exactly that. The value of the forged note 
 was repaid. Will you repay the thousand dol- 
 lars taken from Mr. Pulsifer when he was so 
 under the influence of liquor as to be incapable 
 of defending himself ? " 
 
 " He was not obliged to drink the liquor." 
 
 " You and I know all about that, Clyde Staf- 
 ford. I know far more than I wish I did, and 
 I was by no means blameless in the affair. If 
 I can find the old man, I shall try to make what 
 amends I can. Will you try to do the same ? " 
 
 " I will wait until I am sure Mr. Pulsifer will 
 receive what I choose to give him. Have you 
 any more questions to ask ? " 
 
 " One more, and then I have done with you 
 for the present. Will you return the money 
 taken from Mr. Pulsifer? " 
 
 " If you can prove that I have taken money 
 from Mr. Pulsifer to which I had no right, I 
 will return it." 
 
 "I am answered. You will hear from me 
 again." 
 
 Clyde Stafford stood for fully ten minutes 
 leaning against his desk, as he had stood when 
 George Hilliard left him. He had spoken truly 
 when he said he knew nothing of Mr. Pulsifer's
 
 A Private Interview. 205 
 
 whereabouts; yet that the old man would be 
 found he did not doubt. 
 
 It would go hard with him to relinquish the 
 money he had no scruples in counting his own ; 
 but it would be harder still to be branded as a 
 villain.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 DR. LASH. 
 
 IT had been Clyde Stafford's intention to 
 open his brewery with appropriate ceremonies ; 
 making a holiday not only for his workmen, 
 but for all others who would join in the fes- 
 tivities. Instead of this, he commenced the 
 work of beer-making so quietly, that only those 
 most interested knew when this was done. 
 
 It was true that he had distributed much 
 money in town ; also that he had given employ- 
 ment to many who would otherwise seek it else- 
 where. He manufactured the barrels and casks 
 necessary for his use; purchasing the lumber 
 from those he was pleased to call his " neigh- 
 bors." 
 
 He wished to establish friendly relations with 
 the people. He had thought himself sure of 
 their favor until adverse influences had told 
 against him. 
 
 His failure to secure the Brenner place was a 
 greater disappointment than he would have ac- 
 knowledged. He knew that Mr. Brenner was 
 
 now in a position to prove a formidable antag- 
 
 (206)
 
 Dr. Lash. 207 
 
 onist 5 while Tamson was drawing around her a 
 large circle of young people who were ready to 
 assist her in any enterprise she might under- 
 take. 
 
 " It is unfortunate that that mortgage slipped 
 through your fingers," remarked Mr. Stafford, 
 senior, to his son. 
 
 " It was no fault of mine," was replied. " I 
 could not refuse the money when it was offered 
 
 me." 
 
 " They say Mr. Anslow furnished it." 
 
 "Yes, and he is sure to receive it again. It 
 will not take long for the place to clear itself. 
 The old man will retrieve his fortune." 
 
 " So I have heard. He has the most desira- 
 ble place within twenty miles. I would pay 
 every dollar it is worth if I could get possession 
 of it." 
 
 " Money would not buy it." 
 
 " Then there is Cold Spring, and the land 
 around it." 
 
 " Mr. Anslow will own that while he lives. 
 He will never sell a foot of land; neither will 
 his sister. There are some strange people about 
 here." 
 
 " I think so, Clyde. At first it seemed as 
 though a shrewd man could wind them 'round 
 his finger. Now they are on the alert ; so dis- 
 trustful, they will hardly believe the evidence
 
 208 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 of their own senses. Anyway, you are estab- 
 lished here, and I am ready to help you punish 
 your enemies. Money will do almost anything. 
 It is as true now as it ever was, that every man 
 has his price." 
 
 "There are some exceptions to that rule, 
 father." 
 
 "That may be, but I have seen few in my 
 life." 
 
 " There are some to be seen in this town." 
 
 " Are you really beginning to admire Mr. 
 Brenner as well as his daughter? " 
 
 " Both are worthy of admiration. Tamson 
 Brenner is a rare girl. I will say that for her, 
 even if she does not approve of my business." 
 
 The father frowned and made no reply to 
 this. He did not care to hear the Brenner 
 family praised, and presently he was talking of 
 sales, freight, and profits. Plans were perfected, 
 estimates made, and, lastly, the Stafford beer 
 was sampled, and pronounced in every way de- 
 sirable. 
 
 " Your fortune is made," said the elder gen- 
 tleman decidedly. " In ten years you can whis- 
 tle at the teetotalers, and buy them out by the 
 score. The saloon seems to be doing a good 
 business. Anybody who once gets a taste of 
 this beer is likely to try it again. It is a good, 
 healthy drink, no matter who says to the con-
 
 Dr. Lash. 209 
 
 trary. Your workmen thrive on it. They are 
 a hearty-looking set." 
 
 Clyde Stafford was about to make some re- 
 sponse to these assertions when Dr. Lash entered 
 the office; his stout figure and bloated face be- 
 traying his habits. 
 
 " A glass of beer ! " he exclaimed, as this was 
 offered him. " You need never expect me to 
 refuse such drink. I believe in it. I believe, 
 too, that better beer was never brewed. It 
 braces me up, and, Mr. Stafford, you may be 
 sure I lose no opportunity to sound its praises. 
 I am sorry everybody does not think about it 
 as I do." 
 
 " I am sorry too, doctor, but we can hardly 
 expect all the world to endorse our opinions. 
 I believe in every man judging for himself, 
 without being dictated what he shall eat or 
 drink." 
 
 " There is where we agree, Mr. Stafford ; but 
 I don't like to hear my friends accused of being 
 enemies to the town when I know they are 
 helping it every day." 
 
 The old doctor was ready for another glass 
 of beer, and continued his potations until he 
 became even more demonstrative than usual in 
 his professions of friendship. It was true that 
 he lost no opportunity to praise the brewery 
 and its work.
 
 2io Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 On one occasion, after Luke Brenner had 
 overheard him talking to some young men in a 
 strain the listener could not but condemn, he 
 was confronted with the question: 
 
 " If your boy had lived, would you be will- 
 ing to see him a drunkard ? " 
 
 A deeper color suffused the doctor's face, and 
 his husky voice was hardly audible, as he an- 
 swered : 
 
 " My boy a drunkard ! My boy was as dear 
 to me as your boy was to you." 
 
 " I do not doubt it," was responded. " He 
 was a noble boy, of whom any father might be 
 proud. My Herbert was very dear to me, but 
 I would rather have him in his grave than have 
 him live to be a beer-drinker. The boys of the 
 town are just as much to their parents as our 
 boys were to us. If your boy had lived, 
 would you wish to see him a patron of the 
 saloon ? " 
 
 " I I I don't know just how I should feel 
 if my boy had lived." 
 
 " You know you would not wish him to be a 
 drunkard." 
 
 " Anything but that, Mr. Brenner. I could 
 not bear that. I'm not a teetotaler myself. A 
 little stimulant does me good, but my boy might 
 have been different. I should want him to be 
 all he could be, and I can't deny but what tee-
 
 Dr. Lash. 2 1 1 
 
 totalers are on the safe side. I should want 
 my boy to stand well in the world." 
 
 " You would be satisfied to have him stand 
 as well as Thad Byam." 
 
 " I could not expect anything better, 'though 
 likely it would have been in a different way." 
 
 " Doubtless it would. The same gifts are 
 not for all. Did you hear Thaddeus Byam talk 
 in the temperance meeting ? " 
 
 " No, Mr. Brenner, I did not. No one can re- 
 gard drunkenness with greater abhorrence than 
 I do, but I am not prepared to go all lengths, 
 as many do, in condemning the moderate use of 
 alcoholic stimulants. Used with discretion, they 
 give tone to the system when other tonics have 
 failed. Of course, excess is always to be avoid- 
 ed in drinking as well as in eating." 
 
 " It would be useless for us to discuss this 
 question, doctor. We have learned already that 
 neither will abandon his position. But I have 
 something to tell you, which I think you ought 
 to hear, and which I hope will influence you in 
 the future. You remember young Paul Nye, 
 who spent a few weeks in town last summer." 
 
 " I do. He was under my care as a phy- 
 sician, and I had the pleasure of knowing that 
 the treatment recommended by me proved bene- 
 ficial. He gained so much in strength and 
 weight, he hardly seemed like the same person.
 
 212 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 His was one of the cases in which stimulants 
 are absolutely required." 
 
 " It may seem so to you, doctor, but nothing 
 could have been more unfortunate for the young 
 man. Stimulants may have given him for the 
 time an increase of strength, but had you known 
 the final result of your treatment, you would 
 sooner have given him poison." 
 
 " Mr. Brenner, what can you mean ? I have 
 not heard from young Nye for several months, 
 but the last report was satisfactory." 
 
 " I heard from him two weeks ago, and he is 
 drinking himself to death. He comes of a fam- 
 ily of drunkards, so that the inherited appetite 
 needed only the first indulgence to rouse it to 
 vigorous life. When sober the young man be- 
 wails his fate, blaming his mother for not warn- 
 ing him of his danger, and blaming you for the 
 treatment you recommended. At the same 
 time he curses himself for his weakness, while 
 he seems to have no power to control his ap- 
 petite. He will not live long, and hard as it 
 seems to say such a thing of one who has so 
 much to bind him to life, it is not desirable that he 
 should. He is engaged to be married to a most 
 lovely young lady. He is devotedly attached 
 to her, and she loves him, but she will never 
 be his wife." 
 
 " If Nye had only taken what I ordered, he
 
 Dr. Lash. 213 
 
 would have had no trouble. If he drinks to 
 excess, and so makes himself drunk, I am not 
 responsible. His system needed toning up, and 
 he ought to have had judgment enough to stop 
 when he had taken the prescribed quantity of 
 stimulant." 
 
 "Appetite overrides judgment. You have 
 lived long enough to know that, doctor. It 
 is almost certain that Paul Nye will die a 
 drunkard. I am very sorry for him and his 
 friends." 
 
 " I am sorry, Mr. Brenner, but I don't con- 
 sider myself responsible. Any man, sick or 
 well, should use moderation. That is my doc- 
 trine, and I calculate to practice as I preach." 
 
 " It may do for you ; but, for the sake of 
 others, I wish you could be induced to throw 
 your influence on the side of teetotalism. We 
 need your help. We are threatened by an un- 
 scrupulous enemy. I know you favored the 
 brewery, but it cannot be possible, doctor, that 
 you approve of the saloon ? " 
 
 " Well, Mr. Brenner, I can't say that I ap- 
 prove of the way that saloon is managed. 1 
 don't believe in trying to get boys into a place 
 their parents want to keep them away from." 
 
 " If your boy and mine had lived we should 
 have tried to keep them away from drinking- 
 saloons."
 
 214 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " We should, Mr. Brenner. I am free to say 
 that." 
 
 " You must believe that the saloon in our 
 town is run in Mr. Stafford's interest, and that 
 whatever is done to draw business there is done 
 with his approval, if not at his suggestion." 
 
 " I know folks say so, but Mr. Stafford is as 
 much opposed to the immoderate use of alco- 
 holic drinks as we are." 
 
 " Not so much as I am, doctor. I consider 
 any drinking immoderate and injurious. It is 
 impossible to estimate the injury it may do. 
 You were called in to see Mrs. Sprague's daugh- 
 ter yesterday ? " 
 
 " I was, and found her in a very low state. 
 I am afraid she has not had such nourishing 
 food as she needed. I prescribed better food, 
 with beer as a tonic." 
 
 " Do you remember you once said it was a 
 mercy William Sprague's only child was a girl ? 
 You said if he had left a son, nothing short 
 of a miracle would have saved that son from 
 being a drunkard." 
 
 " I may have said so, although I have no 
 remembrance of it. Bill Sprague was a hard 
 drinker, but there is no danger for Miranda. 
 She has always hated liquor. She can take it 
 as a medicine whenever her system requires it." 
 
 " I am glad to know she will not run the
 
 Dr. Lash. 215 
 
 risk. I saw Mrs. Sprague this morning, and 
 not a drop of beer will be allowed in her house." 
 " It may be, Mr. Brenner, that is the best way 
 for her. There are exceptions to all rules, and 
 we have known each other too long to quarrel 
 for matters of opinion. I am glad you are go- 
 ing to save your place, and I must say that 
 your daughter has shown herself a most re- 
 markable girl a most remarkable girl."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 STARVING. 
 
 " IT'S glad I am that ye're to the fore this 
 mornin', Miss Hilliard," said a smiling Irish 
 woman, as she opened the door of a small room 
 in the shed, which, for want of a better place, 
 had been fitted up as an office. " I was wishin' 
 ye'd be the one I'd find. There's nothin' but 
 yere father's all right. But I'm tradin' for the 
 whole house, barrin' two, and I'm wantin' the 
 money to go as far as iver it can." 
 
 " If you are trading for the whole house you 
 must have a large sum of money, Mrs. Conni- 
 hee," replied Grace Hilliard. 
 
 " It's mistaken ye are there, Miss. It's but 
 little I have gathered in pennies and nickels. 
 We're that poor we could do no more, but 
 there's them that's poorer. An' old man and a 
 young girl come to live on the upper floor last 
 month, and nobody knowing what they have 
 for eating or firing. It's me belief they're near 
 starviu'." 
 
 " Starving ? " 
 (216)
 
 Starving. 217 
 
 " Starvin' and freezin' both." 
 
 ' That is dreadful, Mrs. Connihee." 
 
 " Yes, Miss ; dreadful things happen every 
 day. I went through the house and this is 
 what I gathered. I've a lad waitin' outside 
 with an ould sled, and when ye'll be plazed to 
 measure up what ye'll give for the money, he'll 
 be takin' it along." 
 
 Grace Hilliard listened to further surmises in 
 regard to the old man and his daughter, whose 
 isolation and evident poverty had called forth 
 the sympathy of their humble neighbors. Mrs. 
 Connihee assisted in packing the wood ; at last 
 declaring that she had more than could be af- 
 forded for the amount she had paid. 
 
 " You see I saved a bit for bread and mate 
 and a measure of milk," she said as she was 
 about to leave. " I wint to the market on the 
 corner, where there's a woman, and whin I tould 
 her how it was she threw in a bit. 
 
 " Now ivery cint has gone, but the hardest for 
 me is to come. I've to carry the wood and the 
 basket, niver knowin' if they'll be angry or 
 plazed. They're not our kind at all. They're 
 Yankees, and niver another in the house." 
 
 " I shall wish to hear more of them," respond- 
 ed Grace Hilliard. 
 
 " So you shall, Miss. I'll be tellin' ye as fast 
 as I know."
 
 218 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 Until then Mrs. Connihee had hardly thought 
 of the awkward position in which she might 
 find herself in delivering the articles the pur- 
 chase of which had given her so much pleasure. 
 She could afford little time for consideration, 
 and as she afterward said she made up her mind 
 to go right along, " without batin' the bush or 
 askin' lave." 
 
 She knocked at the door of the upper room, 
 when it was opened by a man, whose gaunt 
 figure and hagsrard face betrayed the privations 
 from which he had suffered. 
 
 " I'm one of yer neighbors, and I've brought 
 ye some things I'm hopin' ye'll be willin 1 to take." 
 
 Saying this, she proffered the basket, which 
 was eagerly snatched with a murmured "Thank 
 God. He must have sent you." 
 
 " And I'm thinkin' He did that same," replied 
 the woman. " And here is wood for firin'," 
 she added, as the boy came up the stairs with 
 his arms full. 
 
 "Thank God," again exclaimed the man. 
 " Child, child, here is food and fuel. We shall 
 not starve or freeze. Oh, my child, hear me, 
 hear me." 
 
 In a corner of the room, upon a sack filled 
 with straw, lay the form of one addressed as 
 " child," but there was no response to this ap- 
 peal.
 
 Starving. 2 1 9 
 
 Mrs. Connihee sprang in, knelt by the wretch- 
 ed bed, and seizing the hands which chilled her 
 as the hands of the dead, she cried : 
 
 . " May God forgive me if I have come too 
 late." 
 
 A moment after, as she pressed the cold 
 hands to her breast, there was a slight move- 
 ment of the prostrate figure, showing that life 
 was not extinct. 
 
 " Save her. Save her," moaned the father, 
 tottering across the room, which was bare of 
 furniture, except a small rusty stove, a rickety 
 table, two chairs, and some battered tin dishes, 
 which might have been rescued from a dust- 
 heap. 
 
 " Go for something hot," said the woman, and 
 the boy who had waited hurried away, to re- 
 turn almost immediately with a bowl of coffee 
 and a spoon. 
 
 Without further orders, he proceeded to light 
 the fire, then he took a loaf of bread from the 
 basket, and breaking a piece, gave it to the 
 man, who seemed oblivious of all personal 
 needs, and whose only anxiety was for his 
 daughter. 
 
 " She's near dead," exclaimed Mrs. Connihee. 
 
 " I know it," said the father. " I've watched 
 her, and wanted to find some work, so she could 
 be comfortable, but she kept me with her."
 
 220 Old Benches with New Pr.ops. 
 
 At sound of ber father's voice, the girl for 
 she was only a girl, despite the look of age upon 
 her face opened her eyes and made an effort 
 to speak, but no sound caine from her lips. Yet 
 her father answered : 
 
 " I will not go. I promised you. We may 
 die together, but I will not leave you." 
 
 By this time the house was aroused. A kind- 
 hearted woman came in bringing a bowl of hot 
 soup, which she urged the man to drink. 
 
 " My daughter first," he replied. " Nothing 
 for me until she has eaten." 
 
 " I've a dhrap o' whiskey ordered for me 
 mither whin she was that wake she naded it. 
 Wall I fetch it I" 
 
 "No! No! No!" 
 
 These words, uttered by the daughter, were 
 distinctly heard, and the next instant her father 
 fell senseless to the floor. 
 
 Then all was confusion ; but at length Mrs. 
 Connihee succeeded in making the room com- 
 fortable, and ad ministering such nourishment as 
 could be safely taken by persons so near starva- 
 tion. 
 
 She remained with them for several hours, 
 although she could illy afford to lose so much 
 from her working day ; and in that time she be- 
 came convinced that the innocent was suffering 
 with the guilty the penalty of wrong doing.
 
 Starving. 2 2 1 
 
 She judged rightly that the girl dared not trust 
 her father away from her, lest he should yield 
 to his craving for strong drink. 
 
 All this was told Grace Hilliard that even- 
 ing, who was so much interested that she im- 
 proved an early opportunity to call upon these 
 strangers; ostensibly looking for some one who 
 would do plain sewing for a reasonable compen- 
 sation. One call succeeded another, until she 
 had learned so much of the history of this father 
 and daughter, that her warmest sympathies were 
 enlisted in their behalf. 
 
 She found work for them, counselled, en- 
 couraged, and helped them ; and in the spring 
 had the happiness of knowing that their for- 
 tunes had been greatly improved by her efforts. 
 
 "I am so thankful I can do something for 
 others," she said to her sister, who was less in- 
 clined to outside benevolent work. "Think 
 how we have needed help, and how good every- 
 body has been to us. When I think it all over, 
 I feel like getting down on my knees and thank- 
 ing God for all His mercies. 
 
 " We are so much better off than when we 
 came to this house. George is coming home, 
 and I can earn money, and father is doing so 
 well, and and why, Mollie, we never can be 
 half thankful enough for all the good that has 
 come to us. If I could prevent it, no one should
 
 222 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 ever be cold or hungry. I know how dreadful 
 it is." 
 
 " Don't speak of it, Grace. I wish I could 
 forget it all. I am as thankful as you are, but 
 I can't feel about it just as you do. 
 
 " You are stronger and braver than I am. I 
 never could do as you have done ; not even to 
 save the family. You have saved us all, George 
 with the rest. I don't wonder he calls you his 
 good angel, and says he should never have pulled 
 through but for you." 
 
 " Whatever he calls me, I shall be delighted 
 to see him. I am sure he will never go wrong 
 again. He will pay Mr. Brenner a little on the 
 debt." 
 
 " But the debt is so large and the interest so 
 much." 
 
 "Every dollar paid makes the debt smaller. 
 That is the best way to think of it, and you, 
 Mollie, are doing your part every day. You 
 make everything go so far, it seems as though 
 everything multiplied in your hands. You are 
 a wonderful manager." 
 
 George Hilliard realized how much he owed 
 to this sister, who shrank from no labor which 
 could in any way benefit those she loved with 
 a self-sacrificing affection of which few are capa- 
 ble. How gladly he was welcomed home, and 
 how delightful home seemed to him ! He won-
 
 Starving. 223 
 
 dered he could ever have turned away from it 
 to seek the companionship of the low and vile ; 
 himself, as he acknowledged, vile as the vilest. 
 
 " It seams to me I must have been insane to 
 do as I did, but it was an insanity for which I 
 am responsible both to God and man. I won- 
 der I did not die of exposure and hunger. 
 The veriest beggar in the street is surer of 
 needed food than I was." 
 
 " How could you go on in that way so long ? " 
 asked Grace, to whom her brother had spoken 
 thtis frankly of the experience in regard to 
 which he had before seemed unwilling to allude. 
 
 u You can never understand how I could do it, 
 little sister. Thank God, too, that you never can. 
 One must sink very low to comprehend how a 
 man can cut loose from everything which makes 
 life desirable, and plunge into such depths of 
 degradation that he almost forgets his human- 
 ity. But there are more men doing that very 
 same thing than the uninitiated would think 
 possible. Many of them, too, have been brought 
 up in homes of elegance ; and too many of them 
 acquired their taste for liquor in those homes." 
 " It seems sometimes as though most of the 
 real misery in the world was made by drinking 
 liquor. The poor women who have come here 
 for wood have told me some pitiful stories." 
 
 " But after all, little sister, the most pitiful
 
 224 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 stories are never told. Some are sinned against, 
 and some are sinning. Poor Ben Aries ! I 
 have written you about him ? " 
 
 " Yes. Don't you think his father did wrong 
 in pushing him out into the world, instead of 
 trying to make him better ? " 
 
 " Certainly I do, and I am more sorry for the 
 boy on that account." 
 
 The brother and sister talked on. Each had 
 much to tell the other. At length Grace 
 chanced to speak of Mr. Pulsifer and his 
 daughter Annis. 
 
 " Mr. Pulsifer ! " exclaimed her brother. 
 " Tell me about him. He ought not to be so 
 poor. Tell me about him." 
 
 George Hilliard asked many questions in re- 
 gard to this man and his daughter, saying 
 finally : 
 
 " There was a Providence in your finding 
 them. Mr. Pulsifer was defrauded of a thou- 
 sand dollars by a man who, I think, can be com- 
 pelled to return it. At any rate, I shall do my 
 best for him." 
 
 Clyde Stafford ? " 
 
 " Yes ; Clyde Stafford, the brewer."
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 SIGHTING A WRONG. 
 
 CLYDE STAFFORD read the letter, and, with a 
 muttered oath, threw it to the floor. Soon, 
 however, he took it again, read it with more 
 deliberation than before, and then laid it care- 
 fully with some private papers in a drawer of 
 which he alone had the key. 
 
 Ill at ease, he read the letter several times 
 during the day, always returning it to the 
 drawer. At last, as if to bind himself more 
 strongly by the promise, he said aloud : 
 
 " I will never do it," repeating this with 
 marked emphasis, until the very sound of his 
 voice gave him courage. 
 
 He left his office and went out into the street, 
 where he joined a group of men who were evi- 
 dently discussing some topic of general interest. 
 Upon his approach they were silent, when he 
 accosted them with the remark : 
 
 " I hope I am not intruding." 
 
 " Not at all," replied one. " We were just 
 
 talking of the new move made by Mr. Brenner. 
 
 (225)
 
 226 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 He has just opened a wood and lumber yard in 
 the city, and put it in charge of Mr. Hilliard, 
 who was his heaviest debtor. I presume they 
 have made a private bargain. At any rate, no- 
 body knows what it is." 
 
 " Mr. Brenner must have great confidence in 
 human nature," responded Clyde Stafford. 
 " Not many would put themselves in the 
 power of a man who had once defrauded them ; 
 and this man of all others, who has proved him- 
 self utterly unworthy." 
 
 " Then you know Mr. Hilliard ? " 
 
 " I have known of him for years. He would 
 probably never have gone down as he did, if he 
 had not done so much for his son." 
 
 " I have heard of that, but they say the son 
 has reformed, and bids fair to be a first-rate 
 business man." 
 
 " Yes, and he is to superintend the cutting of 
 lumber on the Brenner place, and anywhere else 
 where he can buy trees that suit him," said an- 
 other. " They say young Hilliard has been 
 pretty low down ; but now he has reformed, Mr. 
 Brenner is ready to give him a helping hand, 
 and nobody knows better how to do it." 
 
 Clyde Stafford stayed to hear no more. He 
 went back to his office and wrote to his father, 
 asking for a loan of a thousand dollars. Then 
 he sat down and computed the interest on this
 
 Righting a Wrong. 227 
 
 sum for the length of time it was claimed he 
 had wrongfully held possession of it. 
 
 Circumstances were against him, and he was 
 forced to yield to the will of one whom he cor- 
 dially hated. 
 
 A week from that v time Mr. Pulsifer received 
 from the hands of George Hilliard the money, 
 the loss of which had brought to him. and his 
 so much of suffering. 
 
 " I am more than glad to bring you this," 
 said the messenger. " I was not guiltless in the 
 affair, and I have always hoped the time would 
 come when I could make some reparation. I 
 have done it now by inducing Stafford to repay 
 you." 
 
 " I owe you more than I can express," re- 
 sponded the old man, his voice trembling with 
 emotion, and his eyes filling with tears. " You 
 have given me back what it was a crime for me 
 to lose. I must have been insane to do as I did. 
 
 " The wine I drank made me perfectly reck- 
 less. I remember throwing down my pocket- 
 book containing every dollar I had in the world ; 
 but when I try to recall what transpired im- 
 mediately after that, everything is confused. I 
 am not sure where my daughter found me. I 
 don't know how we lived until a kind-hearted 
 Irish woman came to us in the garret where we 
 were starving.
 
 228 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " Ann is cared only to be hidden away where 
 she could die in peace, and I was ready to die 
 with her. Not that I was fit to die, but I felt 
 that nothing could be worse than what we had 
 endured. This place, your sister found for us, 
 seemed like a palace when we came here ; and 
 together we have managed to earn enough to 
 pay the rent and provide ourselves with com- 
 fortable food. Now you have made us rich, 
 and may God bless you." 
 
 " May God bless you." 
 
 The very words Ben Aries had so often mur- 
 mured in the ears of his friend, making the 
 heart of this friend to rejoice, that, notwith- 
 standing all he had sinned and suffered, it was 
 yet possible for him to bring happiness to others. 
 He was ready to respond to any call where he 
 could be of service, thankful for the opportunity 
 thus to express his repentance for past selfish- 
 ness. 
 
 He had not been long at home when one of 
 the wealthiest women in the city called upon 
 him at his father's, and who, as he entered the 
 room where she awaited him, said hurriedly : 
 
 " I have come to ask if } ou kuo\v anything of 
 my son. Have you seen him within two years ? " 
 
 " I saw him about a year ago," replied George 
 Billiard. 
 
 " Excuse my abruptness," now said Mrs. Lit-
 
 Righting a Wrong. 229 
 
 ton. " When I saw you I thought only of rny 
 son. Ever since I knew you were in the city I 
 have felt that you could tell me something about 
 him. Was he " 
 
 She could not say more, but he to whom this 
 incomplete question was addressed knew what 
 she would have asked, and answered accordingly. 
 
 " When I saw your son last he told me he 
 was fully resolved to change his course of life. 
 He solemnly pledged himself never to play an- 
 other game of chance or taste a drop of any al- 
 coholic drink, and I believed that he would re- 
 deem his pledge." 
 
 " Do you know if he has kept it until now ? " 
 
 " I feel sure that he has." 
 
 " Do you know where he is ? " 
 
 " As I have not heard from him since, I can- 
 not be positive, but I think I could find him." 
 
 " Oh, if I could only see him ! My poor, 
 misguided boy. I was so proud of him. I 
 never thought I should live to see the day when 
 I should wish I had no son." 
 
 " Do not wish so now, Mrs. Litton. I believe 
 you will live to see the day when you will be 
 thankful for your son." 
 
 " If I only could, I should be the, happiest 
 woman in the world," exclaimed the half-dis- 
 tracted mother. " I wouldn't mind being poor 
 as the poorest. I would give all I am worth to
 
 230 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 be sure my son would return to me what he 
 should be. His father never mentions his name, 
 but he is not forgotten. 
 
 " I think of him sometimes as wandering from 
 place to place, cold and hungry, and perhaps 
 half starved. I think he may be suffering for 
 the very necessaries of life, while we are living 
 in luxury, although it does not seem possible 
 that a boy brought up as he was could ever go 
 down so low." 
 
 " I have sometimes thought, Mrs. Litton, that 
 such boys are more likely to go down into the 
 depths when they have once cast off restraint. 
 There are many tramping the country, or skulk- 
 ing in garrets and cellars, who were brought up 
 in elegant homes and accustomed to every lux- 
 ury. The very fact that they have thrown away 
 so much makes them the more desperate." 
 
 " It may be so. Oh, my poor boy ! My poor 
 boy ! If I could see him once more, if only for 
 an hour ! " 
 
 Here the unhappy woman began to weep, 
 and for a time was unable to control her emo- 
 tions. 
 
 " I have troubled you," she sobbed at length. 
 " You cannot know a mother's heart. Her child 
 is dearer than her life. Will you find my son 
 for me? Here is money," she added, taking 
 from her reticule a well-filled pocket-book. " It
 
 Righting a Wrong. 231 
 
 is money I have saved for him ; only a small 
 part of it, but enough to pay your travelling ex- 
 penses if he is in the country. If not, come to 
 me for more. 
 
 " Find him, and tell him I can forgive every- 
 thing if he will only come back to me. If he 
 must be a drunkard let him drink at home, 
 where I can make him comfortable. I would 
 rather carry liquor to him with my own hands, 
 than have him a wanderer on the face of the 
 earth. Anything, if he will only come back to 
 
 me." 
 
 How could George Hilliard tell this mother 
 that, if living, her son was looking through 
 prison-bars, hundreds of miles away ; that he 
 had been sentenced under an assumed name, 
 and, as he himself said, Charles Litton had left 
 the world ! Of the crime of which he had been 
 adjudged guilty he declared himself innocent ; 
 and looking back now with clear vision, his old 
 comrade believed that he had spoken truly. 
 
 The interview with Mrs. Litton was pro- 
 longed until she had persuaded her companion 
 to go in search of the son she so longed to see. 
 He could but yield to her entreaties ; hoping 
 that in some way Providence would aid him. 
 He prepared for the journey without delay, 
 guarding another's secret, as he told his family it 
 was necessary he should leave them for a few days.
 
 232 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 He knew the old haunts well, but no one of 
 all he met would recognize in him the wretched 
 tramp whose very presence they had scorned 
 two years before. Even when admitted to the 
 prison in which Charles Litton was confined, he 
 was obliged to prove his identity by reference 
 to some past experiences known only to the 
 prisoner and himself. 
 
 The two conversed together until notified 
 that the time allowed for visitors had expired ; 
 but short as the interview seemed, Charles Lit- 
 ton had given his friend a clue to the perpe- 
 trator of the crime of which he had been un- 
 justly accused. 
 
 " I am sure that I am right, and if the fel- 
 low can be found, I believe you can force a 
 confession from him," he said as they parted 
 after many expressions of gratitude on his part. 
 
 It was not mere chance which that same 
 day prostrated the real criminal upon the bed 
 from which he was never more to rise and 
 which moved him to make a tardy confession, 
 exonerating the man then serving time for the 
 crime he had himself committed. 
 
 The prison doors were opened and Charles 
 Litton was again in the world. Then home to 
 the mother whose love had never failed him, 
 and who welcomed him as one given back from 
 the dead.
 
 CHAPTEK XXVI. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 " WE are coming to the end," said Jacob 
 Hill to his wife one day in early autumn, as 
 she met him at the door on his return from 
 the village. " Joel is dying." 
 
 " How do you know that he is dying ? " she 
 asked in a constrained voice. 
 
 " I have a letter. A woman wrote it. She 
 says Joel is dying among strangers, without 
 friends or money. He is in the same city with 
 Thad Byam." 
 
 " Thad would help him if he knew it." 
 
 " Yes ; but I must go to Joel. I want to see 
 him. It is ten years since I saw him last. He 
 has been a burden and a trial, but thinking of 
 him as dying makes me forget all that. We 
 have worked hard to pay his debts, honest and 
 dishonest, and now we are coming to the end 
 I want to see him. 
 
 " I wish he was here with us. It would 
 make me happier all my life to remember that 
 he spent his last days in my home. I tried 
 to do the right thing for him when he was a 
 
 (233)
 
 234 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 boy, but I am afraid I made mistakes. If his 
 mother had lived he might have been different." 
 " You have done your whole duty by him, 
 Jacob. I am sure of that ; and now, if he can 
 be brought here, I will give him a sister's wel- 
 
 come." 
 
 " Dear, good wife, I don't know as I ought 
 to expect that of you. You have sacrificed a 
 great deal for him ; more than I had a right to 
 ask of you ; and now there will be expenses 
 somebody must pay." 
 
 "We will pay them. Don't let him die a 
 pauper. We have a home, and we are not so 
 old but W 7 hat we can work." 
 
 " Yes, Prudence, the Lord has been good to 
 us, notwithstanding the hard places in our 
 lives. I can never feel like complaining, with 
 such a wife as I have had. I can take the 
 afternoon train if I go at once." 
 
 Mrs. Hill hastened her husband's departure, 
 and was looking forward to some lonely hours, 
 when Tamson Brenner appeared, sure of the 
 welcome always awaiting her. 
 
 " I was in such haste to reach here I could not 
 take the time to enjoy my walk," said the visitor. 
 " I wished to see you and Cousin Jacob. Noth- 
 ing is wrong," she added, replying to the look 
 of inquiry with which her announcement had 
 been received.
 
 The End. 235 
 
 " I don't know how matters could be going 
 any better for us, but I am thinking of our 
 young people. It sometimes seems as though 
 those who are against us are more than those 
 who are for us. I believe I am growing dis- 
 couraged." 
 
 " What has happened to discourage you ? " 
 asked Cousin Prudence. 
 
 " Only what is happening every day ; except 
 that the saloon is more aggressive." 
 
 " I have heard that your young ladies' union 
 is becoming more aggressive, and that you have 
 a good many honorary members among the 
 young men and boys." 
 
 " We have, and we are hoping for more ; 
 but father says alcohol is in the ascendant 
 despite all we have done." 
 
 " I am sorry. What a terrible thing it is 
 for a man to ruin himself, soul and body ; and 
 it seems to me even worse for men to make and 
 sell what brings such misery into the world ! " 
 
 " Such men don't care for the misery in the 
 world. They think only of the profits of their 
 business." 
 
 u Clyde Stafford calculates to be a wealthy 
 man, and I suppose the chances are in his 
 favor." 
 
 " Certainly they are, Cousin Prudence. His 
 beer has already gained a reputation which
 
 236 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 ensures the sale of every gallon he can put on 
 the market." 
 
 " They say he pays a fair price for barley, 
 and always has the money ready for everybody 
 who sells to him. I suppose that is a help to 
 the farmers, and he urges them to raise all the 
 barley they can. Then he wants them to try 
 his beer." 
 
 " That is what I have heard, but father says 
 there are men ready to sell him barley and 
 lumber who despise him and his business. 
 They wouldn't drink his beer any more than 
 they would drink poison. 
 
 " Cousin Prudence, something is troubling 
 you this morning, and I have been so absorbed 
 in my own perplexities, that I did not read the 
 trouble in your face until this minute," now 
 exclaimed Tamson Brenner ; asking in the same 
 breath, " Can I help you ? " 
 
 " It will help me just to tell you about it," 
 was replied, and for the next half hour the 
 visitor listened to a story, the like of which 
 has been often told, yet now seemed strangely 
 new. 
 
 " And that is why- 
 
 " That is why, with all we have earned and 
 saved, we are still poor," said Prudence Hill, 
 interrupting her companion. " As we had no 
 children, we thought it was right to do what
 
 The End, 237 
 
 we could for Joel ; even if there was danger 
 that we should suffer for it in our old age. I 
 never begrudged the money spent for him, but 
 I have begrudged the worry Jacob has had 
 about him. Since we came here we have known 
 less of Joel, but I was sure the time would come 
 when there would be a call for more help. 
 
 " Your father has known something about it. 
 Joel is not your father's cousin. Jacob's mo- 
 ther was a Brenner, but Joel is the son of a 
 second wife." 
 
 Only a half brother." 
 
 " That makes no difference with Jacob. He 
 loves him all the more because he is so much 
 younger. Joel was a handsome boy, with such 
 winning ways, it was hard to refuse him any- 
 thing." 
 
 " Why did he go wrong, Cousin Prudence? " 
 
 " I don't know. I have asked that question 
 over and over again, but I never could get an 
 answer that satisfied me. He was a favorite 
 wherever he went, and likely he found company 
 that led him astray. Jacob looked after him, but 
 he had a way of making excuses and smoothing 
 things over, so it was hard work to talk to him." 
 
 " Was it better to keep paying out money for 
 him ? " 
 
 " I don't know that, Tamson. So far as we 
 know, we kept him from being shut up as a
 
 238 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 common drunkard, and we kept him from mak- 
 ing a good woman wretched by marrying her. 
 It would have killed Jacob to think of him in 
 prison. Now he is dying, and there is not much 
 more we can do for him. 
 
 " But let us not talk of him longer. I heard 
 that Black was in trouble about his boys and 
 had threatened to prosecute the saloon-keeper 
 for selling them beer and tobacco." 
 
 " I think that is true, but I fear his boys have 
 gone too far for him to call them back. It was 
 a long time before he would believe they were 
 in any danger. Now they seem perfectly reck- 
 less." 
 
 " I am sorry for their mother, but their father 
 deserves to be punished." 
 
 " He is punished every day, Cousin Prudence. 
 If it was possible for him to sweep the brewery 
 with its shops and houses out of town, he would 
 do so. He came to me last week and asked me 
 to use my influence to induce his boys to attend 
 our temperance meetings and sign our pledge. 
 I told him I had asked them several times to 
 attend our meetings and they had always de 
 clined, but I would ask them again the first 
 opportunity." 
 
 " They are bright boys." 
 
 " Too bright to be sacrificed to the greed for 
 gain. Father says that so far as dollars and
 
 The End. 239 
 
 cents are concerned, the manufacture and sale 
 of alcoholic drinks is the most profitable busi- 
 ness in the country." 
 
 " Yes, and men will sell their own souls and 
 the souls of their neighbors for money. But let 
 us talk of something pleasant. Tell me about 
 the bees and the fruit." 
 
 "The bees have done Avonderfully well, and 
 every pound of honey we could spare has been 
 sold for a good price. As for the fruit, father 
 says this is the best year we have ever had. 
 Mother keeps account of every dollar we receive 
 and every dollar we spend, and I never saw her so 
 happy as she is now. She has developed a real 
 talent for business. She has a genius for dress- 
 making and millinery ; as witness our dresses 
 and bonnets. We shall save the Brenner place." 
 
 " I always knew you would if you set about 
 it with a will. Jacob says the timber will prove 
 a fortune to you, and George Hilliard will make 
 the most of it." 
 
 "I think he will. I am sorry to see the old 
 trees laid low, but they must do their part to- 
 ward clearing the land of incumbrance." 
 
 This subject having been introduced, hostess 
 and guest were soon absorbed in discussing 
 questions of domestic economy, which occupied 
 their time until Tamson Brenner was ready for 
 her walk home.
 
 240 Old Benches with Neiv Props. 
 
 " Tell your father about Joel," then said Mrs. 
 Hill. " I shall expect Jacob to-morrow, and I 
 feel sure he will bring Joel with him." 
 
 In this she was not disappointed. Just at 
 night came the two brothers; so unlike, and 
 yet so strongly bound to each other. Perhaps 
 then, as never before, the younger realized what 
 a grief and burden he had been to those who 
 loved him. 
 
 Yet he was kindly welcomed and assisted to 
 the room which had been made ready for him. 
 He essayed to speak his thanks, but was pre- 
 vented by a paroxysm of coughing which quite 
 exhausted him. He lay upon the bed, panting 
 for breath, while the tears slowly coursed down 
 his sunken cheeks. 
 
 "Only to die," he whispered hoarsely after a 
 short rest. " Only to die. I did not mean to 
 trouble you any more, but I wanted to see 
 Jacob, ray dear, good brother, and his wife." 
 
 A night's sleep, such as he had not known 
 for many weeks, so far revived him that in the 
 morning he was able to go into the kitchen. In 
 the afternoon he stepped outside the house, and 
 resting in an easy-chair, gazed long upon the 
 mountains and valleys stretching far away on 
 every side. 
 
 This look was his last. He died that night ; 
 died suddenly, without warning.
 
 The End. 241 
 
 He was buried in the village cemetery; a 
 stranger, whose history none knew save those 
 who were bound to him by the ties of kindred. 
 
 His life and death were an eloquent sermon 
 against the sin of alcoholic drinking; but alas 
 for the frequency of such sermons, so seldom 
 heeded !
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 AT COLD SPKING. 
 
 u TROUBLE at Cold Spring." 
 
 Mr. Anslow could learn nothing more from 
 the boy who, having uttered these words, fell 
 exhausted to the ground. Walking on as rapid- 
 ly as possible, he soon came to the spring, where 
 four terror-stricken lads stood looking at one 
 who lay as if dead, his head resting upon a stone 
 which was stained with blood. 
 
 " What have you done ? " he asked ; and as no 
 reply was made, he repeated the question more 
 sternly : " What have you done ? " 
 
 V We didn't mean to hurt him," said one after 
 some delay. 
 
 "What have you done? Tell me that. Have 
 you killed this boy ? " 
 
 " We didn't mean to hurt him. We only 
 wanted him to drink some beer, and and when 
 he wouldn't we tried to pour some down his 
 throat, and and he fought us. That is the 
 way he got hurt." 
 
 " Brave beer-drinkers ! Where did you get 
 (242)
 
 At Cold Spring. 243 
 
 your beer? Tell me the truth, or it will be 
 worse for you." 
 
 " We got it at the saloon. Mr. Scully said it 
 wouldn't hurt a baby." 
 
 " This is Harry Webster, who has come to live 
 with Mr. Jackman, isn't it ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Where is his brother ? They are usually 
 together." 
 
 " They were, but Carl ran away and said he 
 was going home to tell of us." 
 
 " So, to be sure of your revenge, you killed 
 Harry?" 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Anslow, we didn't mean to hurt 
 him. We only wanted some fun." 
 
 " You may find it serious fun. There is a law 
 against such brutality ; and such a little fellow, 
 too. Shame on you. You deserve to be severe- 
 ly punished." 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. Anslow had raised the pros- 
 trate boy, and was bathing his face, when, with 
 a gasp and struggle, he regained consciousness. 
 
 " My head ! My head ! I wouldn't drink 
 the beer. I wouldn't. I promised mother, and 
 so did Carl. I told Carl to run, and he did." 
 
 The murmur ceased. The boy had fainted. 
 
 The four who were responsible for all this 
 would gladly have left, but they were com- 
 manded to remain and dared not disobey. They
 
 244 OM Benches with New Props. 
 
 watched Mr. Anslow as lie cleansed the wound 
 from which blood continued to flow, and as he 
 bound it with his handkerchief, one found cour- 
 age to ask : 
 
 "What will be done with us?" 
 
 "That will depend upon circumstances," 
 was replied. " You have made yourself liable 
 to the law on two counts. You committed 
 trespass in coming here. This is my land, and 
 I could prosecute you for trespass." 
 
 " But but other folks come. Oh, Mr. Ans- 
 low, don't prosecute us." 
 
 " I suppose you threw that beer-bottle into 
 the spring. Take it out and carry it away from 
 here." 
 
 " Yes, we will. Don't prosecute us. We 
 won't ever come here again, and we won't ever 
 try to make anybody drink beer who don't want 
 to. I wish we hadn't this time." 
 
 " You are John Black, are you ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " And you are Henry Black ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " Did your father know you were coming 
 here to-day ? " 
 
 " No, sir. He'll be awful mad if he finds out 
 about it." 
 
 " How do you think Mr. Jackman will feel 
 when he finds out about it ? Now, I am going
 
 At Cold Spring. 245 
 
 to take this boy to my home, and you will go 
 there too. You will keep in front of us." 
 
 It was a queer procession that moved along 
 the narrow footpath leading to the main road, 
 where they found the boy who had given warn- 
 ing of trouble at the spring. 
 
 " Carl Webster has gone home. I saw him 
 going over the hill," said this boy. 
 
 Mr. An slow and his sister were quite equal 
 to the surgical treatment required by Harry 
 Webster; so that, except for weakness and a 
 nervous apprehension of danger, he was little 
 the worse for his struggle. 
 
 " Can't we go ? " now asked John Black, who 
 had been the ringleader in the disgraceful af- 
 fair, and who with his companions waited in 
 the hall, not daring to go without permis- 
 sion. 
 
 " I have not done with you yet," was replied 
 to his question. " I am expecting Mr. Jackman. 
 You must settle with him, and then we will 
 talk about the trespass on my land." 
 
 Another half-hour of waiting, and then John 
 Black, made desperate by the suspense, cried 
 out: 
 
 " For mercy sake, tell us the worst. We'll 
 promise anything, if you'll only let us off. 
 We'll come over here again to-morrow. We'll 
 go and see Mr. Jackman. We never'll do any
 
 246 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 such thing again as long as we live, will we, 
 boys?" 
 
 " Never," responded each one heartily. 
 
 " I have not done with you yet," was again 
 replied, and the boys were obliged to curb 
 their impatience still longer. 
 
 At length Mr. Jackman appeared, with Carl 
 in the carriage beside him. 
 
 " There'll be a reckoning for this day's work," 
 he said angrily, as soon as he had been assured 
 that Harry was safe. " We'll see if this new- 
 fashioned drink is to be poured down children's 
 throats, whether they want it or not. Carl says 
 Black's boys were in the scrape." 
 
 Here Mr. Anslow succeeded in silencing the 
 speaker, while he talked for some time in a 
 low tone. 
 
 '' 1 suppose you are right," responded the 
 tavern-keeper when his companion paused for 
 him to speak. " I've been thinking a good 
 deal about it lately, 'specially since these boys 
 came to live with me. Their mother is my 
 niece, and I want to help her along about bring- 
 ing them up. Their father didn't leave her 
 much property, and she is at work to earn 
 money, so to give them an education. 
 
 " She is as thorough-going temperance woman 
 as Tamson Brenner is, and she has trained her 
 boys to think as she does. They'd die before
 
 At Cold Spring. 247 
 
 they'd break the promises they made. I made 
 some promises too, and this job settles the 
 whole matter. I never'll drink or sell another 
 drop of liquor stronger than tea or coffee as 
 long as I live. If you have a pledge that 
 covers so much ground just bring it along, and 
 I am the man that will sign it." 
 
 There was another consultation, and then the 
 four boys were called out ; Harry Webster com- 
 ing with them, still weak and pale, but so glad 
 to see Uncle Jackman, that for the moment he 
 forgot what he had suffered. 
 
 o 
 
 It was an entirely different ending to the 
 day's fun from what had been anticipated, yet 
 all professed themselves satisfied when a pledge 
 of total abstinence had been signed by the en- 
 tire company. 
 
 " Now we will help turn over a new leaf in 
 the old town," said Mr. Jackman. " Just as 
 long as you keep your pledge you are all 
 right, but the minute you break it, you will 
 hear from me in a way you won't like." 
 
 " We have made fools of ourselves and every- 
 body will know it," remarked John Black as 
 they started for home. " It was awful mean 
 in us to treat Harry Webster as we did. I 
 never was so scared in my life as when I saw 
 his head bleeding and he was so still. I 
 thought we had killed him. I wanted to run,
 
 248 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 but my feet felt as though they were nailed to 
 the ground." 
 
 " Didn't Mr. Anslow just put us through ? " 
 asked another of the boys. 
 
 " He did, and we deserved it," was replied. 
 " Whew ! didn't he spring that pledge on us ? 
 I've declared twenty times I never would sign 
 it, and now we've just been and gone and done 
 it. We shall keep it too." 
 
 " Of course we shall. Won't Scully be 
 mad, and won't he do his level best to get us 
 back ! He and Stafford want everybody to 
 drink lots of beer, so they can make lots of 
 money. I have seen Scully do some awful mean 
 things." 
 
 " So have I. I mean to keep out of his way 
 till we get well settled down, and then I'll 
 risk him. Everybody will be talking about 
 us, anyway." 
 
 " They will talk about Mr. Jackman too." 
 
 The boys were right in this conclusion. The 
 affair at Cold Spring, with its results, was 
 generally discussed. The boys who had signed 
 the pledge were congratulated by some, while 
 by others they were ridiculed. Scully swore 
 he would have them all back, but one effort 
 in that direction convinced him of his mistake. 
 They who had been loudest in their assertions 
 of independence were still independent in do-
 
 At Cold Spring. 249 
 
 ing as they pleased, and they pleased to keep 
 their pledge inviolate. 
 
 There was a larger attendance than usual at the 
 next temperance meeting. Mr. Black was pres- 
 ent with his four boys, so thankful and happy 
 that, as he said, he felt as rich as if all the 
 kingdoms of the earth had come into his pos- 
 session. " I don't deserve such happiness, but 
 if the Lord gives me health and strength I 
 will try and make some return for it." 
 
 Mr. Jackman brought his boys to the meet- 
 ing. George Hilliard was there with Ben Aries ; 
 the latter greatly improved in health by his 
 summer's experience, and now working under 
 the direction of his friend. He was gaining 
 other friends, one of whom was Mr. Brenner, who 
 was often among the men engaged in felling 
 trees, where he always received a welcome, 
 which he returned with kind, encouraging 
 words. 
 
 One day, while sitting under the lindens, he 
 was approached by a middle-aged man, poorly 
 dressed, who asked for work. 
 
 u What can you do ? " asked Mr. Brenner in 
 reply. 
 
 " I would try to do anything by which I could 
 earn enough to keep soul and body together," 
 answered the man. " Last night I made up 
 my mind to end my life, and so get out of the
 
 250 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 way, but I couldn't do it. I thought of my 
 mother and I couldn't do it." 
 
 " Taking one's life is the act of a coward." 
 
 " I know it, but when a man has ruined his 
 life it makes little difference what else he does." 
 
 " The ruin can be retrieved. It is never too 
 late to do that." 
 
 " I have decided to try, and as a beginning 
 I am looking for work. I may as well tell you 
 that 1 am a drunkard." 
 
 " You did not need to tell me that ; but you 
 are not drunk now." 
 
 " No, sir ; I have not tasted liquor for three 
 months. Nothing has passed my lips for two 
 days except water, and some turnips and apples 
 I found by the roadside." 
 
 "You must be faint for the want of food." 
 
 " I suppose I am, but I had hardly thought 
 of it. I am thirsty for the drink that has ruined 
 me, and which I will never taste again. May 
 God strike me dead with all my sins upon my 
 soul, if I ever taste of alcohol in any form." 
 
 " That is a terrible imprecation." 
 
 " It is, but I will not retract it." 
 
 Mr. Brenner looked at his companion for a 
 moment and then said : 
 
 " Sit down on this bench, and I will see what 
 can be done for you." 
 
 Dolf Turner was spending a day in the woods,
 
 At Cold Spring. 251 
 
 and had brought with him a basket of food, 
 " so to have it seem more like a picnic." This 
 he was very glad to give to the stranger, and 
 when he delivered the basket to Mr. Brenner, 
 he said : 
 
 " I saw that man last night when I was com- 
 ing home from the village. He stood ever so 
 long looking down into the river, just as though 
 he meant to jump in ; and I was so afraid he 
 would, I watched him till he went away. I 
 am glad I brought something to eat. He can 
 have every bit there is in the basket." 
 
 The stranger was only too glad to accept the 
 proffered food, which he ate while Mr. Brenner 
 went in search of George Hilliard. 
 
 " I will see the man very soon," said the lat- 
 ter in response to an application for work. 
 " If he will be satisfied with such wages as he 
 can earn, we can probably find employment for 
 him. If what he told you is true, he has come 
 in his life to where two ways meet : one lead- 
 ing upward and the other downward. There 
 is a soul to be saved or lost."
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 WARREN LYFORD SAVED. 
 
 - t 
 
 " Is there any way to stop Dr. Lash from 
 prescribing beer for his patients ? If there is, 
 I wish it could be done before Warren Lyford 
 is made a drunkard. 
 
 " I hope you'll forgive my writing to you, 
 and excuse all mistakes; as I am a poor old 
 woman, trying to do a little good in the world. 
 " Yours with great respect, 
 
 "PHCEBE BYAM." 
 
 There were many mistakes in spelling, and 
 the cramped, irregular characters betrayed a 
 hand unused to writing; but Mr. Brenner, to 
 whom the brief note was addressed, thought 
 only of its contents. He read it once carefully, 
 then again aloud ; adding by way of comment: 
 
 " I cannot understand why Dr. Lash should 
 persist in his crusade for beer. Jacob Hill be- 
 lieves that he is paid a salary by Stafford, but 
 it does not seem to me possible that a man like 
 
 him could be bought up for such a purpose." 
 
 (252)
 
 Warren Lyford Saved. 253 
 
 " Is Dr. Lash a member of our church ? " 
 asked Mrs. Brenner. 
 
 " He is, and he has always been very sensi- 
 tive in regard to any criticism reflecting upon 
 his Christian character. He claims, too, to be 
 a temperance man, in spite of his habits and his 
 advocacy of beer." 
 
 " I don't see how any man doing as he does 
 can be a Christian. If he is not a fit subject for 
 church discipline, who is ? I am sure he must 
 be doing great injury to the community." 
 
 " He surely is; and so far as I can judge, he 
 intends to persevere in doing it. I think I will 
 see Mrs. Byam, and inquire about the Lyfords. 
 I did not know there was a Warren Lyford ; 
 but if there is, he needs all the safeguards that 
 can be thrown around him." 
 
 "Is it Thaddeus Byam's grandmother who 
 wrote you the letter ? " 
 
 " Yes, my dear, and she would not have writ- 
 ten if she was not very anxious. I will drive 
 over to her house, and it may be I shall think 
 best to go to the Lyfords'." 
 
 As Mr. Brenner was about starting, George 
 Hilliard came to consult him in regard to some 
 business, and accepted an invitation to ride 
 with him. 
 
 " And this is where Thaddeus Byam spent 
 his boyhood," remarked the younger man, as
 
 254 OM Benches with New Props. 
 
 the} 7 came in sight of the little brown cottage 
 which formed an attractive feature of the land- 
 scape. " I don't wonder he loves to come back 
 to it." 
 
 Mrs. Byam met them at the door with old- 
 fashioned courtesy, inviting them to " come in," 
 and expressing her pleasure at seeing them. 
 
 " You have made some improvements since I 
 was here last," said Mr. Brenner. 
 
 " Thad makes the improvements and I enjoy 
 them," responded the happy woman. " I have 
 nothing to do now but to take the good he 
 brings me. He provides me with so much, I 
 don't feel the need of doing a great deal of 
 work ; so I have plenty of time to look after 
 my neighbors, and lately I've been troubled 
 about the Lyfords. I don't expect anything 
 can be done for old Jerry, but it seems as 
 though the grandchildren might be saved." 
 
 " I did not know there were any grandchil- 
 dren there." 
 
 "They are Oscar's children. Oscar and his 
 wife are both dead, and I don't know as it 
 would have been any better for the children if 
 they had lived. They were poor, and never 
 likely to be any richer." 
 
 " Did Oscar follow his father's example ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, he did ; and his wife was a poor, 
 shiftless, discouraged thing, who didn't know
 
 Warren Lyford Saved. 255 
 
 how to make the best of what she had, and 
 didn't have much anyway. It's poor encourage- 
 ment for a woman to work, when a man cares 
 more for liquor than he does for his family. 
 
 " I want to go up to Mr. Ly ford's. Mrs. Ly- 
 ford and I are old friends, and I mean to see her 
 before snow flies." 
 
 " Go with me this morning, Mrs. Byam. I 
 will drive up there, and perhaps do some busi- 
 ness while you are visiting. I have heard that 
 Lyford has some fine standing timber." 
 
 " He must have, Mr. Brenner, and if I shouldn't 
 be a trouble I should be glad to ride up there. 
 It is a long walk, and I can't walk as well as T 
 used to. I can tell you about Warren Lyford 
 as we go along." 
 
 George Hilliard went back through the woods 
 to his work, while Mrs. Byam made herself 
 ready to accompany Mr. Brenner. To reach 
 the Lyfords by carriage, they were obliged to 
 go through the village. When opposite the 
 saloon their attention was arrested by seeing 
 Dr. Lash talking with a lad, and apparently 
 urging him to some course of action at which 
 he hesitated. 
 
 " That must be Warren Lyford," exclaimed 
 Mrs. Byam. "It is more than a year since I 
 saw him, but I can't be mistaken. He is a 
 cripple, and you see he favors one foot as he
 
 256 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 stands. If you would speak to him it might do 
 good. 
 
 " I don't see how he got down here. He must 
 have walked, for Jerry Lyford hasn't had a 
 horse for more than five years. I wish you 
 would speak to him. It might do good." 
 
 " I will, and if it is Warren Lyford I can 
 take him home." 
 
 " I wish you would. He is not very strong. 
 I heard the doctor recommended him to drink 
 beer as a medicine, and if he once begins there 
 can't anything stop him. It is as natural for a 
 Lyford to drink liquor, as it is for a fish to 
 
 swim." 
 
 This last remark was lost upon Mr. Brenner, 
 who had left the carriage, and reached Dr. Lash 
 just as he was entering the saloon with his 
 young companion. 
 
 " Doctor, have you forgotten that you pro- 
 fess to be a Christian ? " 
 
 This question, sharply spoken, was followed 
 by another : 
 
 " Are you prepared to answer for another's 
 sins in the day of judgment ? If not, come 
 away from that saloon ; and, if you have any 
 respect for yourself, never be seen near it again." 
 
 Turning to the lad, Mr. Brenner asked : 
 
 " Are you Warren Lyford ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir," was replied,
 
 Warren Lyford Saved. 257 
 
 " I am going to your grandfather's, and can 
 save you a long walk if you will ride with me." 
 
 "Thank you, sir, but I must find some work 
 to do. I want to find some work, so I can take 
 care of my sister. Grandfather is " 
 
 Dr. Lash had hurried away, so the two were 
 left to themselves to continue their conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 " Is your grandfather sick \ " 
 
 " No, sir, but but grandmother says it is 
 worse than it ever was before, and she don't 
 know how we can all have enough to eat this 
 winter. I ain't strong, but Dr. Lash says if I 
 drink beer every day I shall grow stronger. Do 
 you think I should ? " 
 
 The questioner looked up earnestly, as if ready 
 to accept as a final decision the answer he should 
 receive. 
 
 " No, indeed, my boy. You would grow 
 weaker and wickeder ; and if you continued to 
 drink beer you would be a beer-drunkard." 
 
 " So it read in the tract, but grandfather said 
 it wasn't true. He said Dr. Lash could tell me 
 all about it. Sallie believes the tract, but 
 but I didn't know." 
 
 " The tract tells the truth." 
 
 " Then Dr. Lash tells a lie." 
 
 " Dr. Lash is mistaken." 
 
 Far up on the side of the mountain, at the
 
 258 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 end of a road so little travelled that the grasses 
 grew rank and tall on either side of the slightly 
 worn track, was the home of the Lyfords. John 
 Lyford, one of the first settlers of the town, had 
 bought a large tract of land, built a log-cabin, 
 and brought here his bride to share in the hard- 
 ships of pioneer life. 
 
 Later the log-cabin had given place to a 
 framed house, in which sons and daughters 
 grew to manhood and womanhood. In time, 
 where had been the primeval forest there were 
 cultivated fields, orchards, and broad reaches 
 of pasture-land. 
 
 Of the thousand acres once belonging to John 
 Lyford, less than a hundred now remained to 
 the family, most of this valuable only for the 
 timber growing upon it. Piece by piece the 
 goodly estate had been sold until it came into 
 the possession of its present owner, who had 
 often said that not a square foot of land should 
 go while he lived. 
 
 If he counted not an acre less it was no proof 
 of thrift. His house was sadly out of repair. 
 The floors were worn to a dangerous thinness ; 
 the doors sagged on their hinges ; the windows 
 presented a disgusting array of rags, old hats, 
 and pieces of boards ; while the roof, moss- 
 grown with age, afforded but poor protection 
 from winter's snow or summer rain. The barns
 
 Warren Lyford Saved. 259 
 
 were in even worse condition than the house. 
 Everything betokened carelessness and indif- 
 ference. 
 
 Jerry Lyford could not truthfully be called a 
 poor man, yet his family suffered all the priva- 
 tions of poverty. Whenever the subject of 
 temperance was under consideration he pro- 
 claimed himself a moderate drinker, who be- 
 lieved in using the good things of life without 
 abusing them. 
 
 It was a question with others if drinking 
 could be called moderate which made such con- 
 stant drain upon the time, strength, and money 
 of the drinker. Every sale of land from the 
 Lyford estate had been made for the payment 
 of a debt incurred for alcoholic drinks, and still 
 the sons followed the example of their fathers. 
 
 Jerry Lyford was an old man ; his wife five 
 years his junior, and yet feeling the effects of 
 age and disappointment. She might struggle 
 against her fate, but she had no power to 
 change it. Winter would soon be upon them 
 and little preparation had been made to meet 
 its inclemency. Less than usual had been 
 raised on the farm, with the exception of bar- 
 ley, which had been attached for debt by Jack- 
 man, the tavern-keeper, and sold to Stafford, the 
 brewer. 
 
 " Did you owe that man ? " Sallie had asked
 
 260 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 her grandfather, who was expressing his indig- 
 nation at the treatment he had received. 
 
 " Yes," he answered gruffly. 
 
 " What did you buy of him ? " the child 
 continued. 
 
 " Something I wanted ; and now I've told 
 you all I shall, so you needn't ask me any more 
 questions." 
 
 From this time the brother and sister dis- 
 cussed ways and means of earning money and 
 so supporting themselves ; and having heard 
 Dr. Lash praised as a man who could make 
 people well and strong, Warren Lyford deter- 
 mined to apply to him, with what result we 
 have already described.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 TWO GOSPELS. 
 
 " MISSIONARY work to he done at Stafford's 
 Corner, and it must be done or the town will be 
 overwhelmed by ignorance and beer. The longer 
 we wait the harder it will be to make a begin- 
 ning." 
 
 So said the clergyman who had lately come 
 to one of the village churches, and who believed 
 heartily in the gospel of temperance. 
 
 Some missionary work had been attempted 
 in that quarter, but it was so rudely repulsed 
 as to quite discourage the workers. 
 
 The clergymen on the ground at the time 
 the brewery was under consideration opposed 
 its establishment ; yet afterward, when asked 
 to use their influence against it, hesitated, tem- 
 porized, and finally submitted to what seemed 
 to them inevitable. They could preach to all 
 who would come to listen, and pray for those 
 who remained away, and beyond this they felt 
 themselves powerless. 
 
 Clyde Stafford professed to desire the best 
 
 good of his workmen, and although he seldom 
 
 (261)
 
 262 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 attended church himself, advised them to attend. 
 He contributed to the support of each society, 
 saying he thought it the duty of every business 
 man to help support the institutions of religion. 
 
 One clergyman had found another field of 
 labor; so leaving a vacant pulpit, to which was 
 called a fearless, enthusiastic man, who left un- 
 improved no opportunity to strike a blow at 
 the liquor traffic. He was wont to say : 
 
 " It is the gospel of Christ and temperance 
 against the gospel of the liquor-maker and the 
 liquor-seller. They are pitted against each other 
 the world over. In the end the first will win, 
 but some one must preach it before the victory 
 can be gained." 
 
 A new physician had also come to the town ; 
 a friend of the outspoken clergyman, a Chris- 
 tian and a teetotaler, who was ready at all times 
 to give a reason for the faith that was in him. 
 
 Dr. Lash, who felt himself growing old, and 
 whose habits were making rapid inroads upon 
 his strength, called upon his brother physician 
 soon after the arrival of the latter. 
 
 " This is a good town," he said, rubbing his 
 hands vigorously. " The people are all good 
 citizens, 'though they don't all think alike. 
 Some are too radical, and some take things too 
 easy. For my part, I believe in middle ground 
 and moderation in all things."
 
 Two Gospels. 263 
 
 " Often there is no middle ground," was re- 
 plied. " It is for, or against, and I for one have 
 decided opinions upon most subjects." 
 
 " A man can have opinions without express- 
 ing them. I have found it best in my life 
 sometimes to appear to agree with others when 
 I could not fully endorse their opinions." 
 
 "That may do very well, Dr. Lash, under 
 some circumstances, but where principle is at 
 stake, I believe in standing squarely for what 
 you believe to be right." 
 
 " But we are to be wise as serpents and harm- 
 less as doves." 
 
 " Doves are well in their place, doctor, but 
 there must be aggressive work in this world if 
 men are to be saved. I hesitated about coming 
 here, on account of Stafford's brewery, but Mr. 
 Dunning thought a teetotal physician was all 
 the more needed because of it." 
 
 " Maybe he was right, though I can't think 
 as he does about the use of stimulants. I have 
 had a long experience, and ought to be able to 
 judge intelligently. I don't doubt but what 
 Mr. Dunning is a good man, and I hope his 
 church will sustain him. Mr. Brenner was very 
 active in getting him here, and no doubt will 
 stand by him. I haven't a word to say against 
 him, but temperance isn't exactly the Gospel. I 
 believe in ministers preaching the Gospel."
 
 264 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " So do I ; good tidings of great joy to all 
 the people, and every one who preaches tem- 
 perance preaches just such tidings; the possi- 
 bilities of human nature under its best condi- 
 tions. 
 
 " These conditions are better understood than 
 they were fifty years ago. The world has 
 moved, and medical science has made a great 
 advance. At one time alcoholic stimulants 
 were recommended by all physicians ; now we 
 are learning that in most cases they injure, 
 rather than benefit the patient. Then, too, we 
 are beginning to understand better the great 
 law of heredity, and hesitate to prescribe such 
 stimulants under any circumstances, for fear we 
 may 'rouse to action an inherited appetite which 
 will not down again. 
 
 " A physician needs to take a broad outlook. 
 He must look beyond the present exigency. 
 You may not agree with me, Dr. Lash, and pos- 
 sibly you may think the new doctor as much 
 too radical as the new minister; but I have 
 reached my conclusions after careful study of 
 the subject." 
 
 " I hope you will both do good," responded 
 the visitor, and soon after took his leave. 
 
 Not long after this an accident occurred in 
 the brewery, by which six men were so injured 
 as to require skillful medical treatment. Clyde
 
 Two Gospels. 265 
 
 Stafford would have sent at once for Dr. Lash, 
 but as soon as this was proposed, one of the in- 
 jured men said : 
 
 " I don't want that old sot. I won't have 
 him touch me. I want a doctor who knows 
 something. Send for Dr. Nute, and give him 
 the whole job." 
 
 The men were taken to their homes, and Dr. 
 Nute was called. Their wounds were dressed, 
 and they were made as comfortable as their 
 condition would permit. 
 
 " Now, it all depends upon yourself," he said 
 to each one when leaving. " If you will follow 
 my directions you will come out all right." 
 
 Then he gave his directions ; insisting upon 
 a meagre diet, and " not a drop of beer." 
 
 " Not a drop of beer," he repeated. 
 
 Four of the men promised to obey to the let- 
 ter, while two evaded the questions intended to 
 lead them to make such a promise. 
 
 " Weak tea, crackers, and milk ! " exclaimed 
 one, when the doctor had gone. " How can I 
 keep up my strength on that ? I shall have my 
 rations of beer, the same as if 1 was at work. 
 Stafford sha'n't make anything out of this job." 
 
 " But you know what the doctor said," urged 
 this man's wife. 
 
 " He says, too, that beer is the worst stuff a 
 man can drink anytime, sick or well, and I say
 
 266 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 he don't know anything about it. He talks the big- 
 gest kind of nonsense, and I shall have my beer." 
 
 This man's next-door neighbor was of the 
 same opinion; both asserting their independ- 
 ence, and claiming to know what was best for 
 them to do. Advice and remonstrance were 
 lost upon them. Even their employer found it 
 impossible to influence them. 
 
 " It is no time to quarrel with a physician 
 when you are under his care," said Clyde Staf- 
 ford, realizing how much depended upon proper 
 regimen. " Dr. Nute has the reputation of be- 
 ing a fine surgeon, and the best you can do is 
 to follow his directions until you are well. 
 Then you can go back to your old habits." 
 
 That the brewer was sincere in his advice no 
 one could doubt. The injured men had been 
 hired by him because they had been trained to 
 the work he wished them to do. They were 
 inveterate beer -drinkers, coarse, uneducated, 
 and stubborn to the last degree. Their very 
 looks betrayed the impurity of their blood, 
 which would make recovery from even a slight 
 accident doubtful and difficult. 
 
 Beer they would have at any cost, while they 
 ridiculed the idea that it could do them an in- 
 jury. The result was what had been predicted. 
 The process of healing was arrested, and not 
 until too late were they convinced that they had
 
 Two Gospels. 267 
 
 sacrificed their lives for the gratification of a de- 
 basing appetite. 
 
 " I knew it would be so," remarked Dr. Nute 
 to Mr. Dunning, as they were leaving the ceme- 
 tery together after the funeral of these men. 
 "They had little to fall back upon in the way of 
 physical resistance ; and, besides, they kept their 
 blood at fever heat. To a casual observer they 
 were stout, robust-looking men, but they were 
 poisoned through and through with beer. They 
 drank it more freely than they would drink 
 water, and the end is not yet. They have left 
 families of children to inherit disease, weakness, 
 and a depraved appetite." 
 
 The circumstances attending these deaths 
 were the universal topics of conversation 
 throughout the town ; some being, louder than 
 ever before in their condemnation of beer-drink- 
 ing, while others quoted various authorities to 
 prove its healthfuluess. It was predicted by those 
 whose wish was parent of the thought, that the 
 new minister and the new doctor would find them- 
 selves so unpopular they would soon leave town. 
 
 " They won't go if I can do anything to keep 
 them," said Miv Jackman. " I've sold liquor, 
 and I'm sorry for it. I'm ashamed of it. It 
 is mean business, but I never was mean enough 
 to pretend that in doing what I did I was help- 
 ing the cause of temperance. That is what some
 
 268 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 of the brewers say, and they know they are 
 lying every time they say so. 
 
 " I sold Lyford's barley to Stafford and he 
 paid roe for it. Lyford owed me for liquor. 
 First and last, he has paid me a good deal of 
 money. As I looked at it, I had a right to the 
 value of that barley, but I'll give every dollar 
 of it to Lyford if he'll spend it for his family. 
 It would pay for a good stock of groceries, with 
 some left to buy glass and shingles. That 
 grandson of Lyford's has been all 'round trying 
 to find some work he can do to earn some money. 
 He came to me, and I pitied him so, I asked 
 him to stay a week or two till he got stronger. 
 I told my wife what he needed most of anything 
 was plenty of good victuals, and some lively 
 company to make him have a jolly time. Dr. 
 Lash told him to drink beer, but he won't do 
 it. His grandfather is growing poorer every 
 day, and knowing that don't make a man any 
 pleasanter in his family. Mr. Brenner has been 
 up to see about buying some timber of him, and 
 I hope Mr. Brenner will get it. Stafford wants 
 it, the same as he wants everything, but it will 
 be put to a bad use if he gets it. It wouldn't 
 be right, and I don't want to destroy anybody's 
 property, but if there was to be a fire in town, 
 I know of one building that could be spared 
 better than any other."
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE SALOON-KEEPER. 
 
 THE saloon door was thrown wide open, and 
 a man called loudly : 
 
 " Scully, I wish to see you ! " 
 
 " I am to be seen in my place of business," 
 replied the saloon-keeper, as he stepped from 
 behind the bar. " Come in, Mr. Lunt." 
 
 " Never. I will never cross the threshold of 
 your place of business, unless to help clear 
 it of its cursed contents. I have something to 
 say to you." 
 
 " Say on ; I can hear." 
 
 " Then listen. I forbid your selling beer or 
 tobacco to either of my boys. If I know of 
 your doing it, I will prosecute and punish you 
 to the full extent of the law. I will make this 
 town so hot for you, you will be glad to leave 
 it. You hear me, do you ? " 
 
 " I hear you, Mr. Lunt, and I advise you to 
 keep your boys where you want them. I shall 
 not go after them. I am here to keep a saloon 
 and make what money I can out of it. It is 
 
 none of my business to look after your boys." 
 
 (269)
 
 270 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " You make it your business. If ever a man 
 set himself to ruin the boys of a town, you are 
 that man." 
 
 " I deny that charge. I am doing an honest 
 business, and the people of the town sustain me 
 in it." 
 
 " Not all the people sustain you. Many con- 
 demn and despise you." 
 
 " For all that, this is a free country, and the 
 majority rule. The majority don't want to in- 
 terfere with me. I know both sides of the story 
 a good deal better than you do. It will be 
 wasting words for you to talk to me." 
 
 A crowd had gathered around the saloon ; 
 among others there was Mr. Brenner, who wished 
 to give his townsman the support of his pres- 
 ence, and who now said : 
 
 u Mr. Scully, it will be well for you to remem- 
 ber that you are here only on sufferance. There 
 will come a day of reckoning, when your sins 
 will confront you." 
 
 For once the saloon-keeper had no reply to 
 make. His face flushed for a moment, and then 
 was deathly pale. He reached out his hand as 
 if to close the door, then turned away without 
 doing so. 
 
 Stafford, who had heard the colloquy, did 
 not care to interfere. Only a few days before 
 he had met Mr. Brenner at Lyford's, where this
 
 The Saloon-Keeper. 271 
 
 gentleman had anticipated him in the purchase 
 of some lumber. 
 
 Mr. Brenner, Jacob Hill, Mrs. Byam, and her 
 grandson were the members of the community 
 he most feared. This he acknowledged to his 
 father, while to himself he confessed that Tamson 
 Brenner was his strongest opponent. He had 
 his circle of friends and admirers, but when he 
 saw George Hilliard welcomed to the society of 
 those who gave him only the most formal recog- 
 nition, he was deeply chagrined. 
 
 In all this, however, he had one great conso- 
 lation. He was doing a most profitable busi- 
 ness, backed by an association of brewers, bound 
 to stand by each other and fight all fanatics who 
 dared question their right to make and sell 
 what they pleased, regardless of the interests 
 of their patrons. 
 
 " A free country. No sumptuary laws." 
 
 " Free country or not, we of this town will 
 express our minds," said Jacob Hill. " If any 
 one will go with me, I will call at every house 
 in town and talk up this matter." 
 
 " Including Stafford's Corner ? " was asked in 
 reply. 
 
 "Certainly. That would be the last place 
 to leave out of the canvass. I should like some 
 one younger to go with me." 
 
 " Tamson Brenner would be a good associate."
 
 272 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " Yes, but there are some places I should not 
 like to have her visit, and there are some people 
 I should not like to have her meet. If Thad 
 By am was here I would enlist him." 
 
 Mrs. Byam said Thad was coming the next 
 week to remain for several days. He had some 
 new plans to carry out. His grandmother, too, 
 had some new plans she wished his assistance 
 in carrying out, yet no one but herself knew 
 what they were. 
 
 As usual, when Thad Byam was expected, 
 there was a large attendance at the weekly tem- 
 perance meeting, and, strange to say, some habit- 
 ual beer-drinkers were present. Why they had 
 come was a mystery, but what they heard sent 
 them to their homes in no enviable frame of 
 mind. Thad Byam was the principal speaker 
 of the evening, when he took occasion to state 
 some facts in regard to brewers and distillers. 
 
 " Monopolists, the most selfish and the most 
 aggressive of any class of men in the country ; 
 reckless of the good of the community ; actu- 
 ally forcing their wares upon the people ; they 
 are making enormous fortunes out of the me- 
 chanics and laboring men of the community. 
 They defy the temperance sentiment of the en- 
 tire country. They are building breweries 
 wherever they can obtain a foothold ; profess- 
 ing what ?
 
 The Saloon-Keeper. 273 
 
 " To furnish a temperance drink ; to improve 
 business ; to provide a home market for the 
 farmer's grain, and give employment to men 
 who would otherwise be idle. 
 
 " Beer is not a temperance drink. I have 
 seen men drunk on beer. A brewery does not 
 improve the business of a town. A shoe-shop, 
 or a shop for the manufacture of any article 
 necessary to the comfort of a family, costing as 
 much as Stafford's brewery, would employ ten 
 times as many men, without tempting them to 
 guzzle beer until they become cross and stupid. 
 
 " Think of boys twelve years of age going to 
 school so stupefied with beer that they cannot 
 sit erect in their seats ! 
 
 " This is a small town, but we cannot afford 
 to have a brewery here." 
 
 " But we have it. What can we do about it ? " 
 
 " Boycott it," was replied promptly. " The 
 brewery was sprung upon the town before the 
 voters realized what it would be." 
 
 " The saloon came with it." 
 
 " Boycott that. If no one patronized the sa- 
 loon it would soon be closed. Keep the boys 
 away from it. Their souls are worth too much 
 to be bartered for beer and tobacco. Don't go 
 to the saloon." 
 
 " There isn't a boy here in the hall who ever 
 goes to the saloon now"
 
 274 Old Benches ivith New Props. 
 
 This was said with so strong an emphasis 
 upon the little adverb of time as to provoke a 
 smile ; but the next day, when it was report- 
 ed to Scully, he declared with an oath that, if 
 he could have his way, he would " have all the 
 boys in town dead drunk within twenty-four 
 hours." He would not dare make the least 
 effort to accomplish this ; knowing, as he did, 
 that retribution would be sharp and sudden. 
 
 Clyde Stafford had often cautioned him 
 against carrying matters with too high a hand, 
 but Scully was beginning to feel himself master 
 of the situation. The brewer had so often pro- 
 tested that he had no interest in the saloon, it 
 was absurd for him to attempt anything like 
 dictation in regard to its management. 
 
 Meanwhile the canvass of the town was be- 
 gun at Lyford's, by Jacob Hill and Thad Byam. 
 
 " I've heard about this young man," said Mr. 
 Lyford. " I used to see him when he was a 
 boy. His grandma'am and my wife used to 
 visit together when he was a boy. You've 
 been lucky," he added, turning to Thaddeus 
 Byam. 
 
 "I have been lucky enough to work hard, 
 and save what I could of iny earnings. I have 
 earned all T could." 
 
 "Folks say you've got a long head-piece. 
 The Lord makes a difference in folks, and I
 
 The Saloon- Keeper. 275 
 
 can't help thinking He'll remember that when 
 we get through. Some grow richer and some 
 grow poorer." 
 
 " There is generally some reason for the dif- 
 ference in people," said Mr. Hill. " It isn't all 
 the Lord's doings, and it isn't all luck. A good 
 deal depends on ourselves." 
 
 "Yes, yes; I know what's coming. Now 
 I am old and feeble, you want me to give up 
 drinking what I've always been used to, and I 
 can't do it. I can't, and it's no use talking about 
 it. Jackman came up here and made me a 
 generous offer, but I wouldn't take the money 
 he got from Stafford for my barley. 
 
 " I sold some timber to Mr. Brenner, and I 
 brought some things into the house that will 
 make us more comfortable, but I must have my 
 liquor. My father drank before me, and his 
 father before him, and so back I don't know 
 how far. My boy drank. It hurt me to see 
 him, but I couldn't say much. There's Warren 
 and Sallie ; they mean to stick to cold water, 
 and I hope they will, but it's too late for me." 
 
 " But about voting. Will you vote with us 
 at the next meeting ? " 
 
 " Tell me how you want me to vote, and I 
 am your man. If my vote will do you any 
 good, you shall have it." 
 
 This promise was something gained for their
 
 276 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 cause, and the two men left the mountain en- 
 couraged to persevere in their canvass. 
 
 Most of the calls made were short. Where 
 the people were in sympathy with them, ques- 
 tions were quickly answered. Where there was 
 violent opposition they did not waste their 
 words. Every house was visited ; the result of 
 these visits being more favorable than they had 
 dared to hope. 
 
 Contrary to their expectations, they were 
 courteously received at Stafford's Corner ; some 
 of the tenants acknowledging that they were 
 injuring themselves by their beer - drinking 
 habits, and professing themselves willing to 
 vote for any measure calculated to advance the 
 cause of temperance. 
 
 " Scully is a wretch," said a woman who was 
 doing her best to bring up her children with a 
 hatred for all intoxicating drinks. " He tries 
 all ways to draw in the boys and young men. 
 A good many of the older ones don't need any 
 coaxing. 
 
 " Some of us women have been talking it 
 over, and we have made up our minds to save 
 our children if we can. If we can't do it here 
 with our husbands, we are going away by our- 
 selves. We must save our children. I know 
 marrying is for life, but a woman has a duty to 
 her children.
 
 The Saloon-Keeper. 277 
 
 " Mr. Dunning has been down here and talked 
 to us, and the new doctor just goes through the 
 Corner preaching against beer. We have had 
 tracts to read too, and the children read them 
 to each other. 
 
 " There ain't anything else makes Stafford so 
 mad as to see those tracts. I don't know who 
 sends them, but I hope they'll keep coming."
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 WARNED. 
 
 AND keep coming they did until " the town 
 was flooded with temperance literature." Tracts 
 and leaflets were mailed to every family in town, 
 scattered broadcast and posted in conspicuous 
 places; so that the attention of the community 
 could not fail to be arrested. 
 
 To be sure, many were twisted into lighters 
 for cigars and pipes ; the smokers thus express- 
 ing their contempt for " such rubbish," yet for 
 the moment they were obliged to think of tem- 
 perance. 
 
 Stafford complained that there was an at- 
 tempt to ruin his business ; but as he had no 
 clue to the offender, his threats of punishment 
 availed nothing. 
 
 One morning the entire front of the saloon 
 was covered with posters denouncing the use of 
 beer, and branding it as a vile concoction, of 
 which alcohol formed a component part, and 
 which, with dirty water from decayed grain, 
 was sold at an enormous gain to the producer 
 and a corresponding loss to the consumer. 
 (278)
 
 Warned. 2 79 
 
 No better way could have been devised to 
 bring the subject before the people. Even the 
 patrons of the saloon considered it " a good 
 joke." As the posters were torn down, one 
 after another, they were seized by the bystand- 
 ers, and because of the very difficulty of match- 
 ing the irregular bits, they were read and dis- 
 cussed at leisure. 
 
 Scully said little, although he ground his 
 teeth in impotent rage. He controlled himself 
 so far, that beyond a muttered oath, he gave no 
 expression to his anger. 
 
 As for Stafford, he made no attempt to curb 
 either his indignation or its expression. The 
 scoundrel who had so insulted him and defamed 
 his beer " deserved imprisonment for life. No 
 person with any claim to be considered respect- 
 able and law-abiding but would condemn such 
 an outrage." 
 
 " I have no idea who deserves the credit of 
 papering the saloon, but it was the best job 
 that has been done for our side, and the hard- 
 est blow Stafford has had," said Jacob Hill, 
 when speaking of the affair. 
 
 "If hard blows would drive his brewery out 
 of town, it would be a blessed thing for us all," 
 replied Luke Brenner. 
 
 " And as he can't be driven out of town at 
 present, the next best thing is to do all we can
 
 280 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 to weaken his influence. If we can carry our 
 point at town meeting we shall make a great 
 gain, and I believe we shall have everything our 
 own way." 
 
 " Of course By am has faith or he would not 
 have purchased the property he hopes to im- 
 prove. It is bought and the price paid. Staf- 
 ford will regard that transaction as another blow 
 aimed at him." 
 
 " Thank God for every blow. He isn't car- 
 rying things with quite so high a hand as he 
 calculated. It will be a grand thing for the 
 town to have Thad Byam here. He is a host 
 in himself, and the fact that he has worked his 
 way up to his present position is an object-les- 
 son for all our young people." 
 
 " That is true. I overheard Dolf Turner talk- 
 ing with Ann, and telling her what he intended 
 to do when he should be a man. He made fre- 
 quent reference to Mr. Byam, who used to be 
 poor as anybody." 
 
 " Thad has done well ; and one good thing 
 about him, he has not outgrown his grand- 
 mother's cottage. He has forgotten none of his 
 old friends. It was a great thing to speak the 
 words which saved him, as he says you did." 
 
 " It was only a word spoken in season, Jacob. 
 The Lord added His blessing, and we have Thad- 
 deus Byam, the inventor and Christian worker.
 
 Warned. 281 
 
 He in turn saved Tim Durrell, and so the work 
 goes on. He has paid me a thousand times for 
 all I did for him." 
 
 " He does not think so." 
 
 " I know he does not ; but it was through his 
 influence that Stafford was paid. Mr. Anslow 
 would hardly have come to me with the money." 
 
 " He will be repaid, Cousin Luke." 
 
 " Every dollar. We shall make quite a re- 
 spectable payment this year. Mr. Hilliard is 
 paying me slowly on his debt, and George takes 
 only enough of his wages to meet his expenses, 
 which he makes as light as possible. So they 
 are gaining as well as we. 
 
 " I feel as though I had taken a new lease of 
 life, and sometimes I think I may work twenty 
 years longer. At any rate, I shall do all I can. 
 I am surprised to find how much I enjoy my 
 work, and my wife says she is happier than she 
 ever was before in her life. Tamson is happy 
 too. We have been successful in everything we 
 have undertaken. Our lumber has sold for a 
 high price, and there is more to follow. 
 
 " George Hilliard is to be trusted. I trust 
 both his honesty and ability. He has a remark- 
 able power of influencing others. Not a man 
 at work with him but would follow wherever 
 he might lead." 
 
 " What of the stranger you told me who came
 
 282 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 to you acknowledging he had been so desperate 
 as to be tempted to commit suicide?" 
 
 " He is one of the best men we have, but I 
 know no more of his history than he told me 
 the first time I saw him. I don't even know 
 his name. He said he wished to be called Sar- 
 gent, and his wishes have been regarded. If 
 any one, in speaking to him, prefixes Mr., he 
 does not reply." 
 
 " Is he a good worker ? " 
 
 " He is diligent and faithful, but it is plain 
 to be seen that he is not used to hard work. 
 Dolf Turner has come nearer than any one else 
 to gaining his confidence. Dolf is getting quite 
 ambitious, and having some trouble with his 
 lessons, asked Sargent to help him. This Sar- 
 gent did, and at the same time made some allu- 
 sion to his own school days. 
 
 " He sleeps in a chamber over the shed at 
 Mrs. Turner's, where he spends all his evenings. 
 He never stays with the family except when he 
 is eating, but Dolf presumed to go to his room ; 
 so they have become fast friends. He reads 
 everything that comes in his way, and often 
 when he hears some subject discussed, he be- 
 trays his interest by the expression of his face, 
 yet never volunteers a remark. When he first 
 came I should not have been surprised if he had 
 left at any time ; now I regard him as a fixture."
 
 Warned. 283 
 
 " I wish he could vote. I tell you, Cousin 
 Luke, I am almost ready to buy votes for our 
 side. Stafford will control every vote he can, 
 and do all in his power to prevent a new busi- 
 ness being exempt from taxation." 
 
 u I understand Thad Byarn will speak for 
 that, and if there is likely to be much opposi- 
 tion, he will tell the people some plain truths. 
 If it should be a pleasant day, we shall have 
 such a meeting as this town has never seen. 
 You did a good work in your canvass." 
 
 " I hope it will prove so. If some of the 
 voters do not play me false, we shall have a fair 
 majority on our side. Scully's saloon is to be 
 headquarters for the opposition. There will be 
 free liquor for all who will drink, and money 
 for men who have votes to sell." 
 
 The next day after the above conversation 
 between the cousins, Sargent asked Mr. Bren- 
 ner for a private interview, which being grant- 
 ed, he said : 
 
 "From what I have heard, I judge that at 
 your coming town meeting some questions of 
 importance are to be decided, and it is feared 
 that Scully, the saloon-keeper, will use his in- 
 fluence on the wrong side." 
 
 " All that is true," replied Mr. Brenner. 
 
 " You may think me interfering with what 
 does not concern me, sir, but I have it iii my
 
 284 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 power to silence Scully so he will not dare ex- 
 press an opinion in regard to the questions at 
 issue. I can drive him from the town, if that 
 is desired." 
 
 " How can you do that ? " 
 
 " By telling what I know of him and what 
 he will not dare to deny. I know enough to 
 send him to prison for a term of years. He is 
 out now on leave, and has done more than 
 enough to forfeit his liberty. It is not strange 
 if you doubt the truth of what I am saying, but 
 if you or Mr. Hilliard would go with me, I 
 would demand an interview with him, when 
 you could see for yourselves w r hat effect my 
 accusations would have on him. I should 
 hardly dare to meet him alone. He would 
 hesitate at nothing to accomplish his purpose. 
 I have never seen Mr. Stafford ; but from what 
 I have heard of him, I wonder at his being in 
 any way concerned with Scully Brown, who is 
 not only unprincipled and unscrupulous, but 
 coarse and ignorant." 
 
 " Is his name Scully Brown ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, but he chooses to shorten it. He 
 does not do it, however, to shield his family 
 from disgrace, as so many others are doing." 
 
 " Yourself among the number." 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I confess to that." 
 
 " Some one may be anxious about you."
 
 Warned. 285 
 
 " Better anxiety than disgrace. I have brought 
 myself to my present condition ; to a worse con- 
 dition than the present. I have now thanks to 
 you a chance to earn an honest living. A 
 man like you can never know what such a 
 chance has been to me. I have done my best." 
 
 " I believe you. You have had my sympathy 
 through it all, and I have wished I could do 
 more for vou." 
 
 \f 
 
 " It has been enough for me to feel that I had 
 your sympathy. It has saved me when I have 
 been ready to despair. Now I wish to help 
 you, and I have thought I could do it by silenc- 
 ing Scully." 
 
 " You can. Unless silenced, he will do all 
 he can against us. If you do not wish to meet 
 him, write to him, and I will see that he receives 
 the message." 
 
 " That will be a better way, and I will put 
 the letter into your hands to-morrow morning." 
 
 This was done, and before night the saloon- 
 keeper read the words of accusation and warn- 
 ing, written in the lonely chamber where a re- 
 pentant man struggled against the appetite 
 which would drag him back to sin and shame.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 WAS IT AN ACCIDENT? 
 
 " IT is going to be a hard fight, and we shall 
 need every vote we can command," said Staf- 
 ford to the saloon-keeper. " If Byam is allowed 
 to set up business here " 
 
 " Byam will be allowed to do anything he 
 wants to," responded Scully, interrupting his 
 companion. " He has the town at his back." 
 
 11 Not the whole of it." 
 
 " Enough to carry any vote that will benefit 
 him. It is hard work to fight him, and for my 
 part I am about ready to leave." 
 
 " Ready to leave ! Your contract was for 
 three years, arid I shall hold you to it. It will 
 be for your interest to act on the square with me. 
 I have been fair with you, Scully. I knew what 
 you were and what you had to fear. You have 
 no reason to complain that I have played you 
 false in anything. I put you in a way of earn- 
 ing an honest living, when a word from me 
 would have sent you back to your old quarters." 
 
 Scully was cowed. Turn which way he would 
 
 he was treading on dangerous ground. There 
 
 (286)
 
 Was it an Accident? 287 
 
 was no signature to the letter which had re- 
 called to him so much of his past life, yet he 
 well knew who was the writer. He cared no 
 more for Stafford than for the man called Sar- 
 gent ; but the former had a certain amount of 
 influence in some quarters which might serve 
 him in time of need. He was expected to in- 
 fluence votes ; at the same time he was told that 
 his only safety was in absolute silence on all 
 public questions. Small w r onder then that he 
 was tempted to commit a crime to hide other 
 crimes. 
 
 One night Sargent did not return to his 
 boarding-place. Supper waited for him in vain. 
 Dolf Turner went several times to his chamber, 
 but he was not there. The next morning the 
 boy went early to Mr. Brenner's with the news. 
 
 " Sargent didn't come home last night, and 
 I've been hunting for him ever so long this 
 morning. I got up before it was much light, 
 and I've been all through the woods, but I can't 
 find him anywhere. Sometimes he sits down 
 on the bench and gets to thinking, so he forgets 
 how late it is, but I don't believe he did that 
 last night." 
 
 " Perhaps he has gone away without saying 
 good-bye," responded Mr. Brenner. 
 
 " I don't believe he has. When I was up 
 in his room evening before last, we made lots
 
 288 Old Benches ivith New Props. 
 
 of plans about what we are going to do next 
 summer. He said he should stay 'round here as 
 long as he could get work to do, because he 
 wanted to be with Christians ; and, Mr. Bren- 
 ner, when a man prays every night right from 
 his heart, isn't he a Christian ? " 
 
 " He would not be likely to pray every night 
 right from his heart, unless he was a Christian." 
 
 " Sargent prays so every night. I have heard 
 him lots of times, and he always ends with : 
 1 Help me, Lord, for Christ's sake ! ' Don't that 
 mean that he's a Christian ? " 
 
 " I think it does, Dolf." 
 
 " So do I, Mr. Brenner, and I want to find 
 him. I tfiust find him." 
 
 " Does Mr. Hilliard know about it ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I told him, and he said he would 
 look for Sargent. He told me not to tell any- 
 body but you about it, and I haven't. Mother 
 knows, because she couldn't help it." 
 
 George Hilliard was already searching along 
 the bank of the river, when Dolf Turner bounded 
 past him, and was soon out of sight. Hurrying 
 on, looking into every clump of bushes, and peer- 
 ing sharply into the water, he came at last to 
 where a bank of rock and gravel overhung the 
 river. Under that shelf he saw his friend lying 
 as if dead. 
 
 The man could only be reached by going
 
 Was it an Accident? 289 
 
 quite a long distance further, and then coming 
 back on so narrow a foothold, a single misstep 
 would plunge one into the swollen waters. 
 
 " Did you fall ? " asked the boy, literally pant- 
 ing for breath, as he stood by his friend. " What 
 can I do for you ? Can you stand on your feet ? " 
 
 " I cannot help myself at all," was replied. 
 " I am chilled through. One leg is broken, 
 and I am bruised from head to foot." 
 
 The suffering man could say no more. He 
 had quite exhausted his strength in the effort 
 he had made. 
 
 " I'll bring somebody to help you just as 
 quick as I can," said Dolf ; and as he afterward 
 told his mother, he ran faster than he ever did 
 before in his life until he met Mr. Hilliard, who 
 sent him to Mr. Brenner, who would know what 
 to do. 
 
 It was with great difficulty that Sargent was 
 rescued from his perilous position ; and when 
 laid upon the bank his sufferings were so intense 
 it seemed hardly possible that he could endure 
 being moved to his boarding-place. Dr. Nute 
 was summoned, who gave him a restorative, 
 and superintended his removal, which was ac- 
 complished quickly and carefully. 
 
 The best room in the cottage had been made 
 ready for him. The fractured limb received at- 
 tention, and his bruises were examined.
 
 290 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " You must have had a hard fall," said the 
 doctor. 
 
 " Yes, sir," was replied. 
 
 " The wonder is that you did not take enough 
 of the bank with you to bury you, or fall so 
 far over as to go into the water. In either 
 event you would have been killed, while now, 
 good care, time, and patience will bring you out 
 all right." 
 
 To these remarks Sargent made no response, 
 and soon after, under the influence of an opiate, 
 he w r as resting as comfortably as was possible 
 under the circumstances. 
 
 " The man will need constant care," said the 
 doctor to George Billiard. " He was so chilled, 
 it is impossible yet to tell how badly he is hurt. 
 Is it possible that he was intoxicated ? " 
 
 " It is not possible. I saw him when we quit 
 work last evening, and he was all right. He 
 has a habit of sometimes wandering off by him- 
 self after his day's work is done, and he says at 
 such times that be does not care for any supper." 
 
 " If that was the case with him last evening, 
 he must have been too much absorbed in 
 thought to notice where he was, or he never 
 would have gone so near the edge of a bank 
 ready to fall at any moment. He had a narrow 
 escape." 
 
 Most of the villagers knew every man em-
 
 Was it an Accident? 291 
 
 ployed on the Breimer place, and more than 
 ordinary interest had been felt in Sargent, who 
 had come among them a stranger, and who so 
 persistently avoided all intercourse with any 
 one, except Dolf Turner and his fellow-work- 
 men ; intercourse with the latter being re- 
 stricted to the most commonplace matters. Qf 
 course, the fact that he had been found so seri- 
 ously injured caused much comment ; some pro- 
 testing that no sober man could have met with 
 such an accident. 
 
 " It is a wonder he hadn't died where he 
 was," remarked one. " He might have shouted 
 as long as he had strength, and the chances 
 would be against anybody hearing him ; but set 
 Dolf Turner on a hunt, and no matter what he 
 is after, he'll get it. He is a smart boy, and 
 Tamson Brenner will see that he keeps on the 
 right track." 
 
 The next report in which the people were 
 generally interested was that Scull) had been 
 seen walking hurriedly down the railroad track, 
 carrying a large valise, and evidently wishing 
 to avoid recognition. 
 
 " I hope he will never come back. We have 
 had enough of him," was the general expression 
 of relief at his departure, although Stafford could 
 not conceal his annoyance at the desertion of one 
 upon whom he had counted as a faithful ally.
 
 292 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 A young man who had sometimes assisted 
 Scully, kept the saloon open during the day and 
 evening, but he had no authority for doing so. 
 
 " Now Stafford must show his hand," said 
 Jacob Hill, who was frequently in the village, 
 looking after various interests in which he was 
 concerned. " Either he must come forward as 
 the real proprietor, or the saloon must be closed. 
 We shall see which will be done." 
 
 For two days the saloon remained closed; 
 after which it was opened by a stranger, who 
 stood in the doorway waiting for customers, 
 when Thad Byam saw him and exclaimed : 
 
 " Grimes, you here ! What are you about in 
 that hole? Come out of there. Where are 
 your wife and children ? How came you in 
 such a place ? Come out into the free air. I 
 want to talk with you." 
 
 The man obeyed, without answering one of the 
 questions thus hurled at him, and when fairly 
 away from the saloon, his companion asked : 
 
 " Who hired you to come here ? " 
 
 " Stafford," was the quick reply. 
 
 " And you would stoop so low as to sell beer 
 and whiskey, when you could earn a good 
 living for your family by doing honorable 
 work. Leave that saloon and I will find work 
 for yon. We are fighting beer and whiskey 
 with all our might here, and we want your help.
 
 Was it an Accident? 293 
 
 "Tell me about Will, the brightest little fel- 
 low I know ; aiid Ruth, the dear little girl, any 
 man might be proud to call his daughter. They 
 deserve to be loved and cared for by somebody 
 better than a rumseller. Why, Grimes, you 
 must be crazy to think of going into that saloon. 
 Tell me about it. Have you taken to drinking 
 again ? " 
 
 " Not a drop, Byam. I haven't broken my 
 pledge, and I don't mean to." 
 
 " Do you expect you can measure out liquor 
 and see other men drink it, and not drink it 
 yourself? Why, man, you can't do it. But 
 how came you here, an y way ? There must be 
 something wrong somewhere. Tell me what it 
 is!" 
 
 " There was a strike, and I had to come out 
 with the rest. I didn't want to, but there was 
 no help for it." 
 
 " No help for it ! Don't you own yourself ? 
 Haven't you a right to earn your living ? " 
 
 " But, Byam- 
 
 u I know all about it, and I wonder any sens- 
 ible man can tolerate such tyranny. I had 
 only my head and my hands when I started, 
 and I kept them for my own use. I didn't hold 
 out my hands for somebody to bind and hold 
 at his pleasure. But you haven't told me yet 
 why you came here."
 
 294 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 " I came because it was the only opening for 
 me. Of course I shouldn't be allowed to work 
 at my trade except under certain restrictions, 
 and I must do something." 
 
 " Did your wife know what your business 
 would be here ? " 
 
 " No ; I didn't tell her. It might have made 
 her feel bad." 
 
 " Well, now, decide. I will give you work 
 at your trade, and pay you the same wages you 
 have been receiving, if you will promise me that 
 the bargain shall be between you and me alone. 
 Stafford and I are working against each other, 
 and I intend to win." 
 
 " If you don't, it will be the first time you 
 didn't carry your point. I'll swear off from 
 Stafford and work for you." 
 
 " All right ; but remember there can be no go- 
 betweens. One master is enough for any man." 
 
 At that moment Stafford appeared, and was 
 informed by Grimes of the change in his plans. 
 
 " I suppose I may thank you for this," said 
 the brewer, turning to Thad Byam. 
 
 " I don't care for thanks, but I do care for 
 the assurance I have just received that Clyde 
 Stafford is the owner of the only liquor-saloon 
 in town," was the cool reply. " It has been 
 often denied, but further denial will be useless. 
 Come, Grimes, let us be going."
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 A TOWN MEETING. 
 
 IT was a busy winter, yet among the workers 
 there was an eager expectancy of something 
 better in the near future. The saloon was do- 
 ing its work under certain restrictions imposed 
 by public sentiment, but it was hoped that in 
 the spring a stronger public sentiment would 
 develop more active opposition. In fact, every- 
 body was looking forward to " town meeting " 
 as a crisis in affairs ; and when at last came the 
 appointed day, with weather all which could be 
 desired, every voter able to stand upon his feet 
 was out. The expected speech was made ; the 
 vote was passed, and all business carried on by 
 Thaddeus By am & Co. was exempted from 
 taxation for ten years. When this vote was 
 declared a grand cheer attested the favor with 
 which it was received. 
 
 On that day the temperance women of the 
 town provided lunch at a merely nominal price 
 for all who were disposed to patronize them. 
 There was, therefore, no ex.cuse for going to the 
 saloon, whose doors stood invitingly open. Beer 
 
 (295)
 
 296 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 was on tap for the thirsty free as water from the 
 spring, but the result was not what had been 
 anticipated. 
 
 " The town is coming to its senses," said 
 Jacob Hill. " This day's work will tell. Thad 
 will show us what he can do, and I believe he 
 has been raised up for the express purpose of 
 holding Stafford in check. Some of Stafford's 
 own men voted against him. He is going to 
 make money. There can't anybody prevent 
 that, but he can't run the town just to suit 
 himself." 
 
 As there had been two parties, so now there 
 were those who deplored such a state of things, 
 and, forgetting how the vote for the brewery 
 had been carried, condemned the action which 
 had given so much to one man. 
 
 But whatever might be said, it was soon 
 proved that many were to be benefited. Work 
 began at once. A large building was to be 
 erected as a workshop which would employ a 
 hundred men. Houses were to be built for 
 these men, and, in fact, plans were already made 
 which, if carried out, would give the town an- 
 other and larger village than that which had 
 so long been the centre of its small trade. 
 
 There was work for everybody willing to be 
 employed, and a demand for lumber requiring 
 increased facilities for its preparation.
 
 A Town Meeting. 297 
 
 Mrs. Byam regarded her grandson with un- 
 disguised astonishment. She " could not un- 
 derstand how Thad could carry so much in his 
 head without getting things all mixed up." 
 She was never tired of talking about him and 
 praising him for his kindness to her ; " a poor 
 old woman some folks would be ashamed of." 
 
 " Rushing as usual," remarked George Hil- 
 liard to Thaddeus Byam, as they met one even- 
 ing in the early summer. 
 
 " The world is rushing, and who would suc- 
 ceed must rush with it," was replied. " When 
 I was living in a garret, and often satisfying 
 my hunger with bread and water, I thought of 
 outdoor work as mere play. Now things are 
 moving along at our corner about fast enough 
 to suit me. We could set a few more men of 
 the right sort to work, and I expect they will 
 make their appearance before long. We have 
 only sober men." 
 
 " You are running an opposition to the saloon." 
 
 " Yes ; we are trying to do that. Our room 
 is unfinished, and not so well lighted as we 
 would like, but it is clean and whole. Our 
 tables are made of pine boards planed and 
 matched, but they are covered with papers and 
 magazines for all who care to read. Then we 
 have tables for games, and every evening we 
 have some general entertainment speaking,
 
 298 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 singing, or playing. We have some good 
 singers and players. Last evening we contrib- 
 uted all 'round, and tad a little treat of lemon- 
 ade and cakes. That would look childish to 
 some people, but we enjoyed it. We are about 
 organizing a debating club, and promise our- 
 selves both amusement and improvement." 
 
 " You have a good-looking set of men." 
 
 " Most men will look well enough if they 
 keep themselves morally and physically clean. 
 A kind heart, clear conscience, and a cheerful 
 disposition will make almost any face attractive." 
 
 " You are right about that, Byam. It is 
 astonishing, too, how quickly a change in one's 
 life for the better will improve a face that has 
 become coarse and besotted. There is Sargent. 
 I have been watching him ever since he came 
 among us, and it has seemed to me his face 
 was going back to what it was originally. Now, 
 after his long confinement it is clear-cut and 
 delicate. 
 
 " I wish he would give me his confidence, so 
 that I could communicate with his friends, but 
 his lips are as tightly closed as ever when any 
 allusion is made to his past life. He is anxious 
 to be at work, and yesterday he asked me if 
 I thought you could give him some light em- 
 ployment by which he could earn enough to 
 pay his board, and perhaps save a little toward
 
 A Town Meeting. 299 
 
 paying his debts. He says he wishes to stay 
 here in town, and I hope be can. We have 
 given him what work we could through the 
 winter, such as he could do in-doors, but now 
 he is stronger." 
 
 " I am glad to hear that. There are all kinds 
 of work to be done at our corner, and it would 
 be strange if we couldn't find a place for him. 
 I will see him in a few days and see what can 
 be done for him." 
 
 " A man terribly out of place," was Thaddeus 
 Byam's decision as he talked with Sargent, be- 
 coming more and more interested as their ac- 
 quaintance progressed. 
 
 Not long after Sargent was seen among the 
 workmen at Byam's Corner, quick to learn what 
 was required of him, and impressing his com- 
 panions favorably. At first he did not enter 
 the club-room ; but having been persuaded on 
 one occasion to do so, he seemed for the time to 
 forget himself, and joined in the singing. Then 
 he was asked to sing alone, which he did, while 
 those about him listened spellbound, and his 
 own eyes filled with tears. The moment he 
 ceased singing he rushed from the room, and 
 was not seen again until morning, when he was 
 silent as usual. There was little talking by any 
 through the day. Every energy was bent to 
 the accomplishment of the work in hand. Build-
 
 300 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 ings rose as if by magic. Extra wages were 
 paid for work over-time. Dwelling-houses were 
 occupied as soon as they provided shelter from 
 the weather, while one room after another was 
 finished, so offering constantly improved accom- 
 modations. 
 
 There was hurry and bustle. Orders were 
 given promptly and as promptly obeyed. A 
 new impetus was given to business, which was 
 felt to the most remote corner of the town. 
 There was a demand for farm products of all 
 kinds, so that the poorest might avail them- 
 selves of this market. 
 
 Byam's Corner, as it was already called, was 
 the best site for business within a radius of five 
 miles. It was the very spot Stafford had chosen 
 for his brewery, but the owners of the land re- 
 fused to sell to him. 
 
 At a little distance, on a moderate elevation, 
 was a large, old-fashioned house, which, with 
 the grounds around it, the brewer had also 
 vainly coveted. For several years this house 
 had been open during the summer for the enter- 
 tainment of transient guests, as well as for those 
 who desired to spend some weeks in so pleasant 
 a home. This house now furnished accommo- 
 dations for those who were superintending the 
 work which every day developed larger propor- 
 tions.
 
 A Town Meeting. 301 
 
 " Thad, when and where do you propose to 
 stop ? " asked Jacob Hill as he surveyed the 
 busy scene. 
 
 " I cannot tell you," was replied. " When 
 we began I thought I knew all about it ; but 
 something new keeps turning up, until noV I 
 am waiting to see what will come next. I wish 
 we could buy the Crockett place, but Mrs. 
 Crockett is too wise to sell." 
 
 " Then you think she is wise to keep the 
 place." 
 
 " Certainly I do. In ten years somebody will 
 be willing to give her twice as much for it as 
 we could afford to pay now. Property is going 
 up in this part of the town. The men who 
 have started with us are going to stay, and we 
 shall have some fine houses to show as the re- 
 sult of our prosperity." 
 
 " You have no doubt that you will be pros- 
 pered." 
 
 " Not a doubt, Mr. Hill. We know what we 
 propose to do, and we are sure that we know 
 how to do it." 
 
 "Your invention comes in play here." 
 
 " Yes, sir, it does, and it will count large for 
 
 me." 
 
 "Tim Durrell is one of your foremen." 
 " Yes, sir, and for the place he fills we could 
 not have a better man, He is honest and faith'
 
 302 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 ful, ready to obey orders, and devoted to the 
 interests of the company. I could hardly spare 
 him." 
 
 " You have made him what he is. How about 
 the other two ? " 
 
 " There is not much encouraging about them. 
 Stafford seems to have them completely under 
 control. I suppose you know they voted 
 against us." 
 
 " I knew they did, and I heard they were paid 
 for it." 
 
 " I heard they were paid in beer, but judging 
 from their appearance that evening, I think they 
 must have had something stronger than beer. 
 Tim has tried to influence them, but he soon 
 found it was of no use. They threatened to pour 
 some whiskey down his throat, and said if Scully 
 was in the saloon they would soon settle him. 
 
 " Stafford would like nothing better than to 
 get some of our men into his saloon. If such a 
 thing should happen I should go there after 
 them, and I should take them away, even if 
 Stafford was there himself." 
 
 " You would not be likely to find him there." 
 
 " Perhaps not, although now that he has vir- 
 tually acknowledged himself to be the pro- 
 prietor, he will be less careful about being seen 
 there. I took Grimes away from him, and he 
 has an added grudge against me for that, 1 '
 
 A Town Meeting. 303 
 
 "1 heard about that Is Grimes at work for 
 you ? " 
 
 " Yes ; and his wife and children are here. 
 He is a good-hearted man, as the world goes ; 
 but he is easily discouraged, and doesn't always 
 stand up for what he knows to be right." 
 
 " There is Sargent. It was always a mystery 
 to me how he could tumble off the bank as he 
 did." 
 
 " It is no mystery to me, Mr. Hill. I never 
 asked Sargent about it, and I don't suppose he 
 would tell me if I did, but I have my own 
 opinion." 
 
 " Scully left the day he was found." 
 
 " Yes, sir, and he left in a hurry." 
 
 " That was one of the strange things that 
 have happened in town. I suppose you are in- 
 terested in Mr. Anslow's protege." 
 
 " Yes, sir ; we are expecting him here soon. 
 He is anxious to be at work, and his health is 
 so much improved, Mr. Anslow thinks it may 
 be as well for him." 
 
 " He has worked with Mr. Hilliard." 
 
 " He did no hard work. Mr. Anslow fur- 
 nished money to pay his wages, so that he might 
 feel he was earning something." 
 
 " Mr. Anslow is a rare man. People are just 
 beginning to appreciate him and his sister. 
 Wife and I made them a visit, not a great while
 
 304 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 ago, and we found them different from what we 
 expected. We went over to the old Joyce 
 house, too, and saw Mr. Haver and his chil- 
 dren. They seem to be doing well." 
 
 " They are, thanks to Mr. Anslow and Miss 
 Anslow." 
 
 " Well, Thad, you'll think I'm putting you 
 through quite a catechism ; but I want to know 
 a little more about the man you call Sargent. 
 Is he a good deal above the work he is doing 
 here?" 
 
 " We are doing honest work, Mr. Hill, and 
 honest work degrades no one, but I feel sure 
 that Sargent has had a different training from 
 the rest of us, although he is careful not to dis- 
 play his acquirements. Sometime there will be 
 a revelation in regard to him."
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 EGBERT TREVANION. 
 
 "FATHER! Father!" 
 
 The door was thrown open and a handsome, 
 well-dressed lad bounded into the club-room. 
 Every eye was fixed upon the intrude!*, as he 
 made his way straight to Sargent, who a mo- 
 ment before had been singing, but was now 
 silent and deathly pale. 
 
 " Oh, father, I have found you at last, and I 
 shall never let you go away from me again. 
 Speak to me, father. Speak to your Rob." 
 
 Still the man remained silent and motionless, 
 as if suddenly smitten with paralysis. Not 
 even when the boy's arms were around his neck 
 and warm kisses were pressed upon his lips, did 
 he give any sign that he had heard the appeal. 
 
 " Sargent, what does this mean ? " asked one 
 of his companions. 
 
 "Why do you call my father Sargent?" ex- 
 claimed the boy. " His name is Mr. Robert 
 Trevanion." 
 
 This name broke the spell, and clasping his 
 boy to his heart, he wept as only strong men 
 can weep. 
 
 " Don't cry, father. Don't cry. Mother and 
 
 (305)
 
 306 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 Sue are at the hotel, and I know they will be 
 glad to see you. Grandfather is coming to- 
 morrow ; but I shall stay with you, no matter 
 what he says. I am going to do just as you tell 
 
 me." 
 
 Then the father found his voice and said : 
 
 " Rob, my boy, will you go outside and leave 
 me here for five minutes ? I will come to you 
 in five minutes." 
 
 "Sure, father?" 
 
 " Sure, my son." 
 
 The boy took out an elegant gold watch, 
 looked carefully at the time, and then, without 
 another word, left the room. 
 
 "Gentlemen, friends, for such I regard you, 
 I did not intend to make to you the confession 
 now forced upon me. My name is Robert Tre- 
 vanion. The boy who claimed me as his father 
 is my son. His mother is my wife. I became 
 a drunkard. I spent my fortune, and then I 
 abandoned my family to save them from further 
 disgrace. If I was away, my children and my 
 wife would find a luxurious home with her 
 father. 
 
 " I came to this town, destitute and desperate. 
 How I have lived since then I think you know, 
 but only God knows what it has cost me to live 
 as I have. I thank you for your kindness." 
 
 Short and concise was this explanation, and
 
 Robert Trevanion. 307 
 
 before five minutes had expired, he was with 
 his son, who said quickly : 
 
 " Now come to mother." 
 
 " I cannot go to your mother. She would 
 not wish to see me. You cannot understand, 
 my boy, but 
 
 " I do understand, father. I know what made 
 you go away and leave us. I kept asking mo- 
 ther, and she told me. You drank too much 
 wine and brandy, and spent all your money, 
 so you didn't take care of us. But you are 
 good now. I know you are, and if you won't 
 come with me, I shall go alone and tell mother 
 I have found you. I heard you singing, and I 
 knew there wasn't anybody else could sing so. 
 Won't you come to mother ? " 
 
 " No, Rob, it would not be best, and perhaps 
 it would be better not to tell her that you have 
 
 seen me." 
 
 " I can't help telling her, father, because I am 
 going to stay with you. A boy belongs with 
 his father, if his father is good. I think girls 
 belong with their fathers, too." 
 
 Thad Byam, who had not been in the club- 
 room while the strange disclosure was made, 
 now came up when the man he had known as 
 Sargent said in a husky voice : 
 
 " Mr. Byam, allow me to introduce to you my 
 son, Rob Trevanion."
 
 308 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 The introduction was acknowledged, and the 
 boy cordially recognized. Then turning to the 
 father with : 
 
 " And you ? " 
 
 " I am Robert Trevanion, at your service," 
 was replied. 
 
 " I am happy to make the acquaintance of 
 Mr. Trevanion." 
 
 " I did not expect to answer to that name 
 again. I thought I was safe from recognition 
 by any one who had known me before I became 
 Sargent, but my son found me and I could not 
 disown him. You have treated me generously, 
 Mr. Byam, and I thank you for it. I cannot 
 tell what is before me, but wherever I am, I 
 shall remember with the deepest gratitude those 
 who befriended me in my hour of greatest 
 need." 
 
 The two men talked together until, judging 
 best to leave his companion alone, the younger 
 said with a hearty hand-clasp, " You have my 
 best wishes," and entered the club-room, where 
 was a low murmur of conversation. 
 
 " If the lady who came to the hotel this after- 
 noon is Sargent's wife, he must have been used 
 to a very different life from what he has lived 
 since he came here," remarked one. " She is a 
 splendid-looking woman, richly dressed, and 
 with the air of fine breeding in every motion.
 
 Robert Trevanion. 309 
 
 Of course, I only saw her on the veranda with 
 her children, but it needs only a glance to judge 
 of such a woman." 
 
 At that moment the woman thus described 
 was pacing her room and wringing her hands, 
 while her boy endeavored to keep step with 
 her, as he entreated her to see his father ; clos- 
 ing each appeal with the assertion : 
 
 " I am going to stay with him, and I don't 
 mean ever to leave him again." 
 
 " Tell him to come. I will see him," she said 
 at last, when unable longer to resist the plead- 
 ings which had so moved her. 
 
 Quick to deliver the message, the boy sped 
 down the hill, and taking his father's hand, 
 walked to the hotel without speaking. 
 
 Such a meeting ! A man coarsely clad, who 
 for three years had been dead to his family ; 
 who had gone down into the lowest depths, and 
 endured such privations as he shuddered to re- 
 call. This man stood in the presence of a hand- 
 some, elegantly-dressed woman, whom in hap- 
 pier days he had wooed for his wife and brought 
 to his home of luxury and ease. He stood be- 
 fore her now without uttering a word, or so 
 much as raising his eyes to her face. 
 
 At last she broke the silence. 
 
 " Robert." 
 
 " Mildred."
 
 310 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 There was another silence, broken again by 
 the woman. 
 
 " Robert, have you nothing to say to me ? " 
 
 " What can I say 2 " he responded. " I am 
 not worthy to speak to you. I might ask your 
 forgiveness for the disgrace I have brought upon 
 you and your children, but 
 
 "They are your children too, Robert, and yet 
 you will not even look at me." 
 
 " Look at you ! I dare not. Don't tempt me 
 too far, or I shall forget 
 
 " Forget that you once loved me, Robert ? " 
 
 " Once loved you ! I love you now, and be- 
 cause I love you, 1 must leave you." 
 
 " Leave me ! I cannot, will not live with a 
 drunkard. I loathe the very sight and smell of 
 all liquors; but give them up, and I will go 
 with you to the ends of the earth. Anywhere, 
 Robert, if you will only love me, and 
 
 For answer to this he caught her in his arms, 
 raining kisses upon her face until he could bet- 
 ter control himself. Then, leading her to a seat, 
 while his arms still encircled her, he said : 
 
 " Not a drop of alcoholic liquor has passed 
 my lips for a year, and I would sooner die than 
 taste it ; but I am a poor man, and you are not 
 used to poverty. I have found friends who 
 have helped me, but I have worked like any 
 laborer. You could not live as I must. It
 
 Robert Trevanion. 3 1 1 
 
 would be a sin to take you from your father's 
 house to such a home as I could give you." 
 
 " It would be a greater sin for you to leave 
 me again. I could not bear it. I trust you ; I 
 love you, my husband." 
 
 These last words were whispered, but they 
 reached the heart of the listener,' whose every 
 pulse thrilled with new hope and happiness. 
 
 All unconscious of the lapse of time, until 
 the children, who had become impatient at their 
 long banishment, rapped on the door of the 
 room, asking for admittance. 
 
 " Come in," said their mother, and there was 
 a family reunion such as is seldom seen. 
 
 Later, they separated ; Robert Trevanion go- 
 ing to his boarding-place, and the next morn- 
 ing appearing among the workmen, who could 
 not but regard him curiously. Rob came to 
 him early and remained until noon, seeming 
 content only to watch him at his work. 
 
 Mr. Esterbrook, Mrs. Trevanion's father, ar- 
 rived at the hotel in the afternoon, when there 
 ensued a stormy scene between himself and his 
 daughter, who informed him that she had seen 
 her husband, and they had become reconciled 
 to each other. 
 
 " He knows that you have money and hopes 
 you will be ready to support him in idleness," 
 said the angry father. " It was an insult for
 
 312 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 him to ask you to live with him again as his 
 wife." 
 
 " He did not ask me. I believe he has re- 
 formed. He told me that he was trying to lead 
 a Christian life, and I believe him. In his 
 worst days he never told me a falsehood when 
 he was sober. He would not do it now. I 
 offered to live with him. He thinks so badly 
 of himself he would not have asked me, but if 
 he will take me I shall go with him. He does 
 not know that I have money. He thinks me 
 dependent upon you." 
 
 " What if I find, upon inquiry, that he is still 
 a drunkard and unworthy of confidence ? " 
 
 " Then I will go with you, father, and never 
 see him again. I will not see him, either, until 
 you are satisfied about him." 
 
 " It will take time to make all the inquiries 
 I wish." 
 
 " That does not matter. I have waited three 
 years. What signify a few hours or days now ? 
 Eob protests that, come what will, he shall stay 
 with his father." 
 
 " We will see," said Mr. Esterbrook, and 
 went out with the avowed purpose to investi- 
 gate the character of his son-in-law. 
 
 He returned presently, but he did not see his 
 daughter until they met at the supper-table, 
 when neither made any allusion to the subject
 
 Robert Trevanton. 313 
 
 in which both were so deeply interested. At 
 length, however, the gentleman asked : 
 
 " Where is Rob ? " 
 
 " With his father," was replied. 
 
 Later, Mr. Esterbrook said to his daughter : 
 
 " I decided not to make any inquiries in re- 
 gard to your husband. It would be beneath 
 me to do it. You must choose for yourself; 
 only if you choose to remain with Robert Tre- 
 vanion, you must not expect me again to offer 
 you a home when he deserts you." 
 
 " I choose to remain with my husband and 
 abide the consequences," replied Mrs. Trevan- 
 ion. " I owe you much, father. I love you, 
 and I shall never cease to be grateful for your 
 kindness, but I must go with my husband. He 
 has the stronger claim upon me." 
 
 " Then go to him," responded the proud man. 
 " Gro to him, but do not expect me to acknowl- 
 edge him."
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 TEN TEAKS. 
 
 A BASKET picnic in the new workshop at 
 Byam's Corner, with everybody invited ; and it 
 really seemed that everybody except the brewer 
 and his especial friends accepted the invitation. 
 They sneeringly called it a temperance meet- 
 ing, and it is doubtful if any meeting before or 
 since that time did more to strengthen and en- 
 courage the temperance sentiment of the town. 
 
 The dinner, to which every basket contribu- 
 ted, was bountiful in quantity and perfect in 
 quality. After dinner, there were short speeches 
 and singing; singing of the grand old hymns, 
 in which the oldest could join ; so renewing 
 their youth, and bringing tears to eyes long 
 unused to weep. 
 
 The prayer by Rev. Mr. Dunning, preceding 
 the dinner, and the benediction pronounced 
 by him as the company was about to separate, 
 was a happy reminder of their dependence upon 
 an Almighty power. 
 
 " I wish it wa'n't too late for me to come in 
 with the rest," said old Jerry Lyford, who, with 
 his wife and granddaughter, had been brought
 
 Ten Years. 3 1 5 
 
 to the picnic. " I'm glad I come. It's done me 
 good to see how the young folks are coming on, 
 but it's too late for me. Warren's going to be 
 different from the rest of the Lytbrds, and I 
 thank God for it. We shouldn't come to-day, 
 anyway, if he hadn't said so much about it the 
 last time he was up home. We old folks are 
 like- 
 
 " Like old benches needing new props," said 
 Mr. Brenner, who would never forget the les- 
 son he had learned under the lindens ; and who 
 now interrupted his companion, that he might 
 give a more cheerful tone to the conversation. 
 " Now we have the props, we can stand firm 
 again." 
 
 " You can, Mr. Brenner, but I am too shaky 
 to stand firm, props or no props. I voted for 
 this business, 'though I was offered money to 
 vote on the other side. I'm glad I did." 
 
 " So am I, Mr. Lyford. Every vote cast for 
 this business was a vote for the best interests 
 of the town, and for the benefit of every person 
 in it." 
 
 u I guess you're right there, Mr. Brenner. 
 Wife and I expect to be a good deal better off 
 next winter than we have been before for years. 
 You see we've raised something to sell, and the 
 money'll be spent for something that's really 
 needed in the house."
 
 316 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 Mr. Lyford had improved, notwithstanding 
 his repeated assertion that it was too late for 
 him to change. Others, too, who would not 
 have acknowledged it, were yielding to the in- 
 fluence prompting them to better living. 
 
 Moving around among the people who had 
 gathered on this festive occasion, some whom he 
 had long known, and some whose acquaintance 
 he made for the first time, Mr. Brenner had a 
 pleasant word for each and all. Mrs. Brenner 
 and her daughter were present, winning for 
 themselves a host of friends, and contributing 
 largely to the success of the day. It was a 
 general holiday for many who seldom escaped 
 from the dull routine of a too prosaic life. 
 
 " Now for work," was Thad Byam's ringing 
 call the next morning, and every man responded 
 with a will. Machinery was put in place by 
 skillful hands, and it was not long before every- 
 thing was in good working order ; yet more was 
 planned for another year. 
 
 The club-room was finished, and arrange- 
 ments perfected for proper heating and light- 
 ing. Upon the table was a greater variety of 
 literature; several new publications being a 
 gift from Robert Trevanion, who, although far 
 away, thus proved his grateful remembrance of 
 kindness received. Over the door opening into 
 the club-room were the words: u Welcome to
 
 Ten Years. 3 1 7 
 
 all. Come in "; and many who but for this 
 would have felt their presence an intrusion, 
 availed themselves of the privilege. 
 
 " It is like going from midnight darkness 
 into the brightest daylight, to go from Staf- 
 ford's saloon into the club-room at Byam's 
 Corner," said a young man who spoke from ex- 
 perience. " One place is foul with all manner 
 of uncleanness, while the other is sweet and 
 clean. One drags you down, while the other 
 helps you up; and for my part I have done 
 with the saloon." 
 
 In the early winter Tamson Brenner opened 
 a temperance school, to which all under fifteen 
 years of age were invited. At this announce- 
 ment there was a general buzz of excitement 
 among the children at Stafford's Corner, as well 
 as in all other parts of the town. They were 
 going. They liked Miss Brenner, and considered 
 it an honor to be associated with her in any 
 capacity. Moreover, they had read the tracts 
 and leaflets which still continued coming, and 
 were ready at any time to express their dislike 
 of beer and tobacco. 
 
 So Stafford saw these children file past his 
 office every week on their way to the temper- 
 ance school ; knowing as he did that every les- 
 son learned there would be a condemnation of 
 his business. He would have made an effort
 
 318 Old Benches ivith New Props. 
 
 to prevent this, had he not known that such an 
 effort would increase his unpopularity, while 
 utterly failing of its purpose. 
 
 The contrast between his corner and ByarcTs 
 Corner was so great the most careless observer 
 remarked it. He was doing a profitable busi- 
 ness, but there were times when he would will- 
 ingly have sacrificed something of these profits 
 for the social recognition accorded Thaddeus 
 By am and George Hilliard. 
 
 None knew better than himself that he was 
 losing favor in the community. Now there 
 was a home market for fruit and vegetables, 
 farmers cared less for raising barley. Mr. Bren- 
 ner's success stimulated others, and Stafford 
 feared that the spring would bring with it in- 
 creased activity on the part of those he counted 
 his enemies. 
 
 This fear was realized, although little was 
 said openly against his business; it being at 
 that time the policy of those opposed to it to 
 show the people a better way of living than 
 sacrificing their own interests to enrich one who 
 had come among them a stranger, demanding 
 such sacrifice. 
 
 By vote of the town other industries were 
 exempt from taxation ; all to be located so near 
 to Byam's Corner as eventually to be included 
 in the same village.
 
 Ten Years. 3 1 9 
 
 "Stafford is being checkmated," said Jacob 
 Hill, who, with his wife, watched from Eagle 
 Point the progress of events. " When I was 
 down to-day I heard he was trying to have his 
 tenants clean up and make his corner look bet- 
 ter, but beer and tobacco and dirt are pretty 
 likely to go together. 
 
 " I went to see how Thad was coming on, 
 and there he was, wide awake as ever, leading 
 his men, and inspiring them to do their level 
 best. Ben Aries was there, looking a hundred 
 per cent, better than when we saw him at Mr. 
 Anslow's." 
 
 "And Cousin Luke?" 
 
 " He is well, and everything is going well 
 with him. Hilliard is doing a rushing busi- 
 ness in lumber, making a regular monthly pay- 
 ment out of his share of the profits. Grace 
 does the bookkeeping, besides running a small 
 wood-yard on her own account." 
 
 " She is a nice girl. When she was up here 
 with Tamson, I thought, if I was a young man, 
 I shouldn't know which to choose." 
 
 " It would be easier to choose than to win. 
 They will be in no hurry to give their happi- 
 ness into the hands of another. Tamson has 
 saved her father, her mother, and her home, and 
 Grace has done as much for her family, besides 
 helping to save her brother. Do you remember
 
 320 Old Benches with New Props. 
 
 the day Tamson walked up here on the snow- 
 crust?" 
 
 " Certainly I do. I shall never forget that 
 day. Stafford had just started here, and it 
 seemed as though everything was going wrong, 
 but since then everything except Stafford's Cor- 
 ner and the brewery has changed for the better." 
 
 " That is true, Prudence, and if we live ten 
 years we shall see greater changes." 
 
 Ten years have passed. The prophecy has 
 been fulfilled. The changes have been many 
 and great ; for most of which the people have 
 reason to be profoundly grateful. 
 
 The brewery is still there. Stafford has be- 
 come a wealthy man, but his social relations 
 are all outside of the town, which, despite his 
 business, is considered the strongest temperance 
 town in the county. 
 
 The younger members of the community are 
 especially enthusiastic and persistent in their 
 crusade against beer and tobacco; able at all 
 times to give a reason for engaging in this 
 crusade. 
 
 The mystery in regard to the tracts and leaf- 
 lets which had done so much toward creating a 
 healthy public sentiment on this question, has 
 been solved. The names of families and in- 
 dividuals were given to a summer visitor by a 
 woman no one would suspect of being in any
 
 Ten Years. 321 
 
 way concerned. This visitor had given the 
 literature from time to time to a Mend who 
 forwarded it in such a way that no postmark 
 betrayed the sender. 
 
 The Brenner place has been cleared of debt ; 
 Mr. Anslow having been paid every dollar ad- 
 vanced by him. This gentleman and his sister 
 have lived to rejoice in the prosperity of their 
 protege, Ben Aries, who, by the death of his 
 mother, has come into possession of a comfort- 
 able fortune, he is most happy to share with his 
 wife, brave Grace Hilliard. 
 
 At Eagle Point, Jacob and Prudence Hill 
 still keep watch and ward over the interests of 
 their friends ; ready at any time to lend a help- 
 ing hand wherever help is required. Their last 
 days promise to be their best days ; as do the 
 last days of Mrs. Byarn promise to give her 
 more of happiness than she has known before. 
 
 The old bench under the lindens stands firm, 
 with props steady and strong. Here often may 
 be seen an old man, who counts his years four- 
 score and more, but who forgets his age as he 
 looks into the upturned face of his grandson 
 and namesake, "Luke Brenner Byarn." 
 
 THE END.
 
 o