The Applicant

"The story begins with a boy tripping over something in the snow. The narrator explains that in order to explain what that thing is, he has to explain the backdrop to the Aberush Home for Old Men, a house created by a philanthropist who left his wealth to the house's upkeep and left the town. The running of this home was left to trustees and a superintendent but the level of care and cost did not compare to how it should have been run. An old man approached the home on Christmas Eve asking for a place to stay. The superintendent, Mr. Tilbody talks with the man and explains that the Board of Trustees found that allowing the man to be admitted would not be very good for the reputation of the Home. Understanding that he won't be admitted, he leaves and it is his body that the boy trips over in the morning. He is also Aberush, the man who built the home." -- Lance Eaton

First published in the Wave (San Francisco), December 17, 1892.