The Hickman courier., 1873-02-08
EARNING A FEE.

h6AhN1NO - LII.
How Good Deacon was Nonplussed.
A reasonably good man was Deacon
Pilsey, as times went ; bnt, if he had
a weakness, it was for making things in
general go about as he wanted them to
go. Not an overbearing man by
any means, and certainly not a violent
one, but with wonderfully cute and
quiet subtle ways of his own, by which
he brought matters about without let
ting other folks know how the thing
was done. When a man is accustomed
to have his own way, he makes up his
mind pretty easily but there was one
point of all others upon which Deacon
Pilsey had been set and fixed for years,
and the care of which lay heavy on his
mind, for the time had come when, in
his judgment, something deep required
to be planned and all his skill exercised
in carrying it out To a mind like his,
that had taken a perfect measure of
every other in the village, and for miles
around it, there could be little difficult
ty in selecting his tools and assistants,
and he had no need of counsellors.
That was how he came to be talking so
confidentially witlsJoe Gaines, as the
two stood 10y the yard gate.
Why, deacon, " said Joe, % always
thought YOU liked Bob Humphrey.
-, s......- .s...- '-sood
% So he Is, so he is, said the deacon.
Can't say word agin him. Knew
him from a boy. Gan't forbid him the
house, or any of that sort of nonsense
but then he can't have Irene Wyer."
Il don't see how you'll help it, dea-
con. You're only her guardian, and
she is about of age"
g Not for year yet-that's how the
will reads-and she's in my house, you
know. 1 guess 1 can fix some things,
specially if you'll turn In and help me.
You're lawyer, Joe Gaines, but you're
a young one yet and I'll give you the
fattest fee you ever dreamed Of, if you'll
only hitch teams with me, and sec that
Bob Humphrey don't get the upper
hand
q Well, if that's what you're after, so
it's all right and square, I'd as lief earn
fee one way as another What's your
programme? ?"
" Well, you know there's right on to
thirty thousand coming to Irene Wyer,
in her own right, and I've took the best
kind of keer of it. It's been mighty
sight of trouble, and all along I've
thought of my son Scott"
g Scott Pilsey ?" interrupted Joe.
g Why, he's in California"
g Heo won't be long. He's coming
home inside of six months, and I want
to keep Irene safe for him. They used
to be wonderful thick, and he writ to
her regular ever so long after he went
away, and so she did to him.
''Do they correspond now ?" said Joe.
''No, not now There's the rub.
That's one reason Tn looking so sharp
after Bob. Now. 1 want you to just
take hold l.hd try and keep Bob off
till Scott gets back. Twon't be long,
and Irene amt such bad company
nohow."
az don't know" said Joe. "There's
Maggie and her mother. 1 couldn't be
particularly attentive to Irene without
their knowing it And Bob Humphrey
viii be around most of the time, and it
won't he long before 1 have the whole
village talking the matter up"
"Never mind that, Joe, never mind
that. It'll be all right when Scott gets
home. I'll give you the biggest kind
of fee. -
"weIl, deacon" coolly replied the
young lawyer, it's pretty tough case,
but I'll take it one on condition"
whats that?'
"Why, so long as it's only fun, and
all that, I'll go ahead; but if it seems
as if 1 was doing any harm, anything
real bad, you know, I'm to be at liberty
to back out. -
"well, don't mind. so long as you
let me Anow in time.
And so the deacon and the lawyer dis
cussed their plot to their satisfaction
and when all was settled the latter took |
his way down the broad and grass
grown street of the village.
'' The old shark - he muttered, as he |
strolled leisurely along. What on
earth put it into his plotting old head
to pitch on me for his tool? He never |
was more'n half decent to me before.
reckon I'll earn my fee, but I'll be fair /
and square with Bob Humphrey. What
would Irene say if she knew what was
up? Wouldn't those black eyes of hers
strike FIRE q sA
Now it happened that of late, un-
known, perhaps TO the deacon, there
had been growing up more than little
closeness of intimacy between Joe
Gei1es and Bob Humphrey and that it |.
was treachery to his friend as well as
unfairness to the pretty heiress, to
which the young lawyer had allowed |
himself to be bribed by the deacon's |
promised fee.