The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-11-06
UNCLE BENT's GREAT BOwLDER.

"GooD-MoRNING, Uncle Bent! I've
come over to see if you can give me q
job"
Uncle Bent stood looking at huge
bowlder in a field beside the house. He
was something of bowlder himself !;
welhrounded, massy, hard, with a jaw
as set and firm as if it had been modelled
out of the granite hills.
He turned and looked at his nephew,
and grim smile fickered like April
sunshine over the compact, gray visage.
Wallace Bent was as little like his I'M
Gle as a boy of the same name and race
could well be. There was nothing of
the bowlder about him. He was small
and rather delicate, yet with certain
decision and strength in his plain, hon
est face.
He saw the slightly derisive smile,
and was conscious of looking very puny
indeed in the eyes of his stern relative.
He blushed, and, aware that such evil
dence of weakness would not tend at
all to raise him in the old mans estima-
ton, blushed redder still.
"Want a job, do you? 1 declared"
said Uncle Bent. "What do you think
you can doP"
81 should think there might be q
good many things about your place, or
your mill, or your store, that l might
do" Wallace replied, with awkward
diffidence. "Any way, mother said 1
ought to apply to you before going to
any one else. I've got to do something
now, you know; I'm not going to let
her support me, now l can support my
SELF"
yes, thought both of you ought to
come to that conclusion long ago." said
the old man. ga poor boy like you
ought to have been put to earning his
living sooner"
81 suppose So" Wallace assented.
"But mother wanted to keep me in
school as long as possible"
"You're a pretty good scholar, 1
hear" said Uncle Bent; "but what
good will that ever do ye? You haven't
the means to go through college and take
a profession"
"That's true; but 1 believe little ed
ucation will be good for me, whatever l
do for living" said Wallace, with
firm and intelligent look, quite forget
ting his bushes. "That may be mis-
take. But 1 am ready to 60 to work
now. And l thought I would please
mother by calling on YOU"
Uncle Bent was greatly annoyed, for
he said to himself, Is If I hire nephew,
and a poor widows son, shall have to
favor him, and pay him wages, or folks
will talk. Boys that work for me must
be tough! 1 don't want anything to do
with him -
Then he said aloud, "But you are
kind o. weakly! You amt stubbid
enough to take hold and do real work!
You always have been puny!"
1t was WaLace's turn to smile. "You
blame me for not having gone to work
before; and now you say l am not able
to work.
Uncle Bent wasn't pleased to be con-
victed of inconsistency in this easy, off
hand way by school-boy nephew.
"There may be some things YOU can
do" he said " but my work is mans
aOork. have mans work enough, if
you could do that"
81 am sure can do some thing at it,
and don't expect more pay than can
earn"
Uncle Bent was afraid he had already
said too much. 81 shall have the fam
lily on my hands if 1 give him the least
encouragement; that's what the widow
wants!' thought he. So he fastened to
reply to the boys last remark.
"Here's a mans job, right here. I
want to build barn; and I've been
wondering how I should get rid of this
bowlder. If you want to tackle that,
you CAMP
AS the rock was large, and Wallace
looked quite small beside it, the old man
smiled again at the grotesqueness of the
proposal.
every WE'LL" Wallace replied, "Iu
take hold if you'll pay me by the week. :"
No, mol" cried Uncle Bent, grow
ing good-natured over what he consid-
cred capital joke. "Take it by the
job, and then you can be as long as you
please about it. Lift a little in the fore.
noon, sit down in the shadow of it and
eat your dinner, then lift little more in
the afternoon"
"What shall do with it when take
it away?" Wallace asked.
81 don't care; only get it off from
my place"
"And what do you propose to give for
the jobP"
"Ten dollars" said the old man.
promptly, for he had already calculated
that it would cost much more than that
to drill the rock and break it up with
blasting powder.
"I'll think about it," said Wallace,
after little hesitation.
Uncle Bent laughed. But there was
something in the boys face he didn't
understand.
"He can't be in earnest" he said to
himself, and he thought it wise to add,
"I'll give you six weeks to do it in; say,
till the first of June"
"An right" said the boy. "Mean.
while, isn't there some other little Job
you'd like to have me try my hand att
There's all that brush back there which
the woodchoppers have left; wouldn't
you like to have me take that away?"
eyes"
"What win you giveP'
"Nothing!n said the old man. shortly.