Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1873-10-02
"Goin' to take 'em to school tssNax-

"Goin' to take 'em to school tesNax-
field-goin' to do it ev'ry day."
The incumbents of the log were too
nearly paralyzed to demonstrate, but
after a few moments of silence the
patriarch remarked, in tones of feeling,
yet decision:
"He's he'd tough time of it, but
he's no business to ruin the settlement.
I'm an old man myself, and need peace
of mind, SO I'm going to pack up my
traps and mosey. When the folks at
Maxfeld knows what he's doin, they'll
make him a constable or q Justice, an
I'm too much of man to live nigh any
SIGH"
And the next day the patriarch
wheeled his family and property to
parts unknown.
A few days after Jim Merrick, brisk
farmer few miles from the Bend, stood
in front of his own house, and shaded
his eyes in solemn wonder. It couldn't
be-he'd never heard of such a thing
before-yet it was-there was no doubt
of it-there was Pike, riding right to-
ward him, in open daylight. He could
swear that Pike had often visited him
that is, his wheat-field and corral-after
dark, but daylight visit from Pike
was unusual as social call of Samar-
itan upon Jew. And when Sam-for
it was he-approached Merrick and
made his business known, the farmer
was more astonished and confused than
he had ever been in his life before. Sam
wanted to know for how much money
Merrick would plow and plant hun
dred and sixty acres of wheat for him,
and whether he would take Sans horse
! "a fine animal brought from the States,
and for which Sam could show a bill of
l. g., 4l,N :
he could harvest and sell his crop.
Merrick SO well understood the Pike
nature that he made very liberal offer,
and afterward said he would have paid
handsomely for the chance.
| A few days later and the remaining
Pixies at the Bend experienced the
greatest scare that ever visited their
souls. A brisk man came into the Bend
with tripod on his shoulder and wire
chain and some wire pins, and queer
machine under his arm, and before dark
the Pixies understood that Sam had de-
hberately constituted himself a rene
gade by entering a quarter section o1
land. Next morning two Iaore residences
were empty, and the remaining fathers
of the family adorned not Sans log,
but wandered about with faces vacant OF
all expression, save the agony of the
patriot who sees his home invaded by
corruptiug influences too powerful fol
him to resist.
Then Merrick sent up q plow-gane
and eight horses, and the tender greer
of Sans quarter section was rapidly
changed to dull brown color, which il
odious unto the eye of the Pike. Day
by day the brown spot grew larger, an6
one morning Sam arose to find all hi.
neighbors departed, having wreaket
their vengeance upon him by taking
away his dogs. And in his delight a
their disappearance Sam freely forgavt
them all.
Regularly the children were carried
to and from school, and even to Sunda,
school. Regularly every evening San
visited the grave on the hillside, ant
came back to lie by the hour watching
the sleeping darlings. Little by ittl'
farmers began to realize that their prop
erty was undisturbed. Little by ittl'
Sans wheat grew and waxed golden
and then there came day when mai
from Frisco came and changed it into
heavier gold-more gold than Sam ha,
ever seen before. And the farmers be
gan to step in to see Sam, and thei
children came to see his, and kind wo
men were unusually kind to the orphans
and, as day by day Sam took his solitar
walk up the hillside, the load on hi
heart grew lighter, until he ceased t
fear the day when he, too, should Ii
there.-CdLifO79liG Exchange.