Connecticut western news., 1880-08-24

"sGood wood; well-split; pretty smart boys r said the deacon, tumbling over a few sticks on top. Guess I'll take it.
 "'Shall we deliver it at your house ? Medad asked, almost too eagerly.
 "'Wait 8 minute What's here ? cried the deacon, thrusting down his hand and pulling up one of the hidden crooks. 'Is there much like that?' And he began to dig down straight into one of our choice hollows.
 "'See here, if you please!' said Me- dad, alarmed, you needn't take the wood if you don't like it, but don't spoil ou1 load ?
 "'Spol your load r echoed the dea1 con, with indignant scorn, thrusting in his arm up to his shoulder. You wouldn't be afraid of my spelling an honest load; but what sort of load is this? Its perfect cheat, and you arc 8 couple of rascalsp
 "'You needn't take it if you donl want itl' Medad repeated, more angrI than ashamed, am sorry to say. w just put it in that way to make hand some load of it; but we don't expect any body to pay for it until they've seen I thrown off,
 "The deacon did not, evidently, put much faith in this falsehood; for he repri manded us again sharply as he climbed back into his chaise. ......
 "1 guess he was about right, Mede, 1 I said, as we watched him drive away. | We are couple of rascals!
 "'Pshaw! who cares It'swhat every | body does.' said Mede, blusteringly: what he does himself, every time he sells goods out of his store. It takes a rogue to catch 8 rogue. We'll look out next time.'
 "He laughed scornfully when begged | him to drive home and reload the wood in honest fashion. But he was shy of making the sale where the deacon would be likely to hear of it.
 "'We'u go over to the East Village he said. It'll be dusk when we get there; nobody will know us; and by that time nobody can look into our load ''Ihis plan was carried out in spite oi horse, while Medad went from door to door ia the East Village, offering the wood dog cheap he said, because it W out and go home.'
 ''His idea of dog cheap was two dol lars, although he tried hard to get three. At last we found a woman who confessed that she was out of wood, and must get some soon, but said she was too poor to buy cord-wood, and then hire man to | cut it.
 "Medad convinced her that it would 1N,- G<-. !, ready cut.
 "But I haven't got three dollars in the world ? she said. T am really poor, dref1e poor If you'll throw off half your load into my shed, I'll give you a dollar and half
 "sCan't do that, nohow,' said Mede :; for nobody then will want to buy the other half. I should think not ! he said to me aside, with comical grimace.
 "'Will you trust me for the other dollar and half? ? she asked. 1T am Mrs. Ober,-Widow Ober; everybody knows me-
 ssThat didn't suit my cousins views, either.
 s''Ten ye what r he said. Give me two-and-a-quarter now, and you shall have the load it's too little, but we've got to get home
 "Two dollars and twenty cents was all she had, and Mede consented to take that. The poor woman paid down the money with heavy sigh, and we threw the wood into her shed.
 "She offered to hold lantern for us, but we were glad enough to dispense with that luxury. don't know when she discovered what 8 small pile the wood made, which looked so large in our wagon certainly not until after we were gone, for she came to the door as we backed around, and said she was very much obliged to us, and bid us goodnight
 That's the way to do it, said my cousin, on the way home. :We'n sci the other two loads just at dusk
 "I didn't say much. I was feeling sick. And when he gave me my share of the 'plunder,' as he called it,-and aolat'ader indeed it was,-it was with g strange sense of loathing that I put ii into my pocket. After all my antici. pations of pleasure in receiving money fairly earned, that was the miserable re- suit. Instead of sweet satisfaction, nothing but remorse and disgust!
 4Ouuu GudG ny COuS1n O1O not feol just right about the transaction, either. If we had shaved the sharp old deacon, he said, s'twould have been good joke, ) though it aOas almost too hard on the widder.'
 "He was, somehow, different from me. He hardened his heart against all compunctions, which could not do. ] didn't like to talk about our success, as my father called it, after we got home and went to bed thatnight miserable enough.
 ''I did not see Medad again until the next afternoon, when he came over tc talk about taking another load of woo6 to town.
 :. "'If we take any more, I said, i z must be honestly loaded, or I'll hay, 7 nothing to do with it. It was an awful, m can thing we did yesterday r. "He laughed foolishly, and said h. | orl7oacad I was rioht ahort + ST'vo ;o1