The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1872-06-12
DIVERGENT PATHS.

The sun lacked quarter Of noon
and was beginning. to pour down
scorching hot, upon the piece of corn
land in the bottom. The laborer.
stopped at the end of the bout to wipe
the pcrspiration from their heated
brows. Ii seemed a long way acrOs.
the lot, and the dry sand, unshadowed
as yet by the Young corn, looked far
less inviting than the closely cropped
turf under the shady elms in the pas
turc lot near bv. The little spring
which bubbIed from beneath tn,
gnarled roots and lost itself few
PAGES further on in a tangled growth
of cattails and wild grasses, seemed
to beckOn the tired men to forget theil
toll and rest beside it.
Old Hiram rubbed his shining bald
pate with the remains of red sill
handkerchief and, settling his palm
leaf upon his head aimed a savage
blow at thrifty Young burdock stand
ing 50 close to a stock of corn that il
had escaped the tooth Of the cultiva
tor.
Now, lads" said he to the three ol
four younger men who stood each a.
the end of a new row "lct's get bach
here agin afore the old horn blows, an
50 hcv time ter rens out our mouths
afOrc dinner"
81 declare, Hi" said John Marvin
Il believe I'll take a rinse now, for
am powerful dry Joe, just keep NV
row along won't YOU" asked he care,
lessiy of the young man next him, who
had already loosened the earth around
two or three hills of his own allotment
The other nodded and proceeded t.
bring the idlcr's task along side hi,
own by few swift strokes of his hoe
Marvin leisurely climbed the fence
and strolled down the declivity, chop.
ping off the heads of such mullen
stalks as were within reach, and pick.
ing up a stone to fling at a golden.
winged woodpecker that was foraging
on the half-decayed trunk of blasted
tree growing near his path.
He was just out of ear-shot when
Hiram remarked:
Johns a good natured chap, but
he's mighty lazy. How many rows
have we fetched up for him since we
begun on this twenty acresfu
This makes my third one to-day, 4"
said Joe laughing, "but ] guess / am
the only one that he has asked this
morning. John does not like to work
very well, that is fact.
IF | had to pay the hands on this
farm, ] should almost be inclined to
dock him when Saturday night comes
round, put in another of the men, as
he unearthed a Canada thistle.
"Pshaw, Tom, answered Joe, with
a smile, John is philosopher and
looks upon work as one of the neces-
sary evils existing in this slower world.
He calculates upon dodging it, so far
a. possible"
IF that's what YOU call philoso-
pher, joe" said old Hiram, them an
imals is not Of much account in a
You've been to school,
which is better chance than work
ingmen, as old as | am, had when they
were boys snd 50 has John, though
] guess he was never over fond Of
book
Halfway across the field the lag
gard overlook his fellows.
II say, boys, if it as hot as this to-
believe that I've got to go
TO town to see about some Summer
Tom winked at Joe, who looked
grave but said nothing.
That night, after the milking was
done, John, with a cigar in his mouth
strolled out into the orchard, where
Joe was seated under a tree, laying
the fading twilight under contribution
for rays enough TO enable him to ex-
tract the pith from coarsely-printed