Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1880-12-23
THE LOAD OF WOOD.



BYT. J. TRowBRIDGE
The boys were talking about the kind of
business they would choose, when Uncle Asa
came into the ROOM AS Uncle Asa had tried
they appealed to him for advice. ~.
what want to know is this, said Char
ley, in the course of the discussion that fol-
lowed: "You have bought and sold many
Things. but what has turned out to be the
most profitable 20
Uncle Asa considered a moment, while a
curious smile passed over his pleasant, rosy
face.
s'Well, if were to name any one thing
that have handled and which has in the long
run proved most to my advantage-well,"
said the old gentleman, nodding decidedly,
Il think / must say load of wood"
"a load of wood !" chorused the boys. They
aad expected he would say WOOL or wheat, or
hardware, or indigo; and they couldn't be-
lieye his reply was quite serious.
But it isl" said Uncle Asa. "a load of
wood, and not large load either, not near
50 large as it looked. 1t was really the be-
gissa,llg ui my fortune, and owe more TO it
than TO anything else ever dealt in.
Fell you about it? OF course will, if you
wish it. and perhaps it will help you in the
right direction.
1T was when was hoy about your age,
Charley; think was sixteen that fall. The
summer work was well over; the winter
school had not yet begun; and my cousin
Medad and myself were considering how we
should earn little pocket money My faith
er heard us talking over some boyish schemes,
and said to US:
$ L can give you an idea better than that.
There's the oak that blew over las, spring, in
the mill pasture. You may cut it up, and
have all you can make out Of it.
" But there's working in that, said.
"Yes; so there is in almost any honest
joy that people are willing to pay money for
But it isn't so hard as you think said my
father One stroke at time, so many strokes
hour; so many hours day. That's the way
great things are accomplished. 1t isn't much
of tree; you'll wish there was more of it be-
fore you get through
SWELL" Uncle Asa continued, ''we under
took the job, and we did wish there was more
of it. With cross-cut saw and beetle and
wedges, then with ahand- saw and an axe, we re-
duced that tree to stove wood in very short
time; and had fun of it too. Boys have only
to be interested in their work, you know, to
find it pleasant.
i''.'We saw profit in every stick. and had as
much talk about what we would do with the
money as if we had been young miilionaires
discussing some great project.
''There's good deal in the way you Pile
wood to SELL, Medad said. There's Jake
Meeker-he says he can take nine cords Of
wood and pile it over and make ten of it, easy
as nothing
"'Yes replied; sand father says he can
throw his hat through some of Jakes wood
piles-such great holes He don't really make
ten cords of it that way
He does, Medal insisted. ''Theres
holes through every wood pile and you meas
ure so much for cord, whether they're big
or little
"'But that's cordwood,' said |. you can't
pile stove wood so as to make much more of
it,
Gwen see about that Medad replied,
with laugh. We're going to make the most
of our job, amt wei"
'Of course, said, and waited with a good
deal OF curiosity to see how he would man
age.
s'He showed me in day or two We had
an old one horse wagon; we harnessed Dolly
to it, and backed it up to our wood pile. Then
we began to lay the sticks close ia the box, so
as to make them take up as much room as
possible. .-. .-v.v ---
"But they did not fill up as fast as we ex-
pected, for we knew if we piled them too
loosely they would be apt to shake down to-
gether On the way to the village, and so cause
our labor to shrink before we sold it,
'.Medad looked at the wood in the box
when it was filled, and then at that which re-
manned on the ground, and shook his head
obviously. Twon't dom said. 'We ought
to make three loads of it but at this rate we
shan't make but two I've an idea y
What ?" | said, wondering how he would
get out of the difficulty. IL
Throw it all out again; I'll show vel"
didn't like that notion; but he insisted,
and the wood was all unloaded bit a few
sticks in the bottom of the wagon box. With
these he began to build the load, as b e aptly
termed it. Instead of laying the sticks to-
gether all one way he placed few on the
bottom far apart, cob house fashion. Then
he called upon me for more wood.
{" But, Mede, objected, this will never
do ~.
"'Why won't it do !" he demanded.
"'It's cheating, isn't it ~
Hts no more cheating than the way Jake
Meeker piles his wood is cheating. Other
folks do SO. Only we make our pile little
more hollow than common
81 couldn't deny the truth of the argument
And if the others made the most of their mon-
ey by their skill IN piling it, why shouldn't
we do the same /?
Still hesitated. A man might perhaps
not be accused for cheating a little, but we
were preparing to cheat good deal.
"'The principle is the same Medad said
when mentioned my scruples' (pretty fell
lows we were to talk about scrlpesl 1t
amt cheating exactly but even if it is, it's
what everybody does in the way of business.
Ie can't get along without it, maybe We can in
|. the next world, but We can't in this. Who
tells the bad points in anything he wants to
sell? Don't everybody cover them up and
show the good points and make The most of
'em. OF course they do. Hand me more
sticks
81 wasn't convinced in my heart and con-
science by this plausible speech. But my
cousin, who was year older than I, had a
great influence over me: and must confess
that l was little anxious to get rich out Of
that wood. So merely said: Don't make
the hollows too large, Mede, and handed him
more sticks
"'Hll look out for that he said. Now
you'll see.'
''After about half the load had been built
hollow, he put our crookedest and meanest
sticks over 1t, and then covered the whole
| with pice wood closely packed, filing the
wagon, SO that, to all appearances, we had a
compact load. .asa. ~ .
''My father came ont and looked at it, as
we drove out through the yard, and praised us
for our industry. We'll, well, boys, said he,
you've got Handsome load of wood, / must
say. I'd buy il of you, but i suppose it will
be just as we'll for you to take it to town and
| see what you can get for it, 0a ars Z.
think it will be better, said Mede, with
sly wink at me. What is snch a load as
that worth 2 SHAFT "a sssss,l Iet-s.4,t ! z.@4.
'Stove wood like that-white oak-solid
load through, said my father, running his eye
over the wagon box, ought to bring at least
two dollars. '.,7 "a II f53ts.s.s1,ssz ar
That's too much said my father New
er, boys. try to get more for thing than it ia
| really WORTH raat4a .se gas !, s.sfl.e.s.sg,
81 knew that he always acted upon this
principle himself; andI felt some pangs Of
conscience as thought Of the empty spaces
hidden in that load. as. r5s.. - go
but III tell you what you may do,' he
said. ''Drive to Deacon Finch's store, and
get him To look at vnnr load He knnus hot