Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-11-17

traces Of the chance he had lost
"You must be all beat out waitin' for that
chance Of yourn Sim" said Jim Durgin who
| prided himself on being the wit of the village,
! II expect it'll get here long with the millen-
! ium, or Cy Underhilrs machine that's goin'
TO pull weeds and never touch the plarnts
| Cy has been to work on that nigh upon fifty
! year now and he amt mite discouraged"
HE might jest as well q been takin things
kind Of easy all them fifty years." said Sim,
| ignoring Jim Durgns personal inquiries
"Hed ought to "a found out long ago that he
was jest a-wrastlin' with fate, and fate was
| bound to win. Like enough his chance has
come joggin his elbow time an ag'in while
he was tilin' away on that ere machine, and
he's shet his eyes to it, or fairly gin it hist
out o. the winder. That's where the interleck
comes in bein' an onintellectooal man, Cy
has done a terrible sight of hard work, and
missed his chance. And he wouldn't be apt
to see it now if twas p'inted out to him. He
can't believe in nothin' but that pesky ma
chine. And there's sight of folks in this
communerty that's got their understandin'
dsrkened through settin' too much by stiddy
days works. They don't darst to leave em
for fear O. gittin' into the poor-house, not il
their chance comes along and yanks 'em by
the hair of the head. But, la you can't ex-
pect every body to be intelectooal; it amt
in the mater of things"
well, you wont forget us poor fellows
when your chance comes along will you,
Sim p said Jim Durgn.
The mailbag arrived at that moment, and
created diversion.
II was calkerlatn' to go home and set my
dinner pot a-b'ilin'," said Sim, "but guess,
as long as the mails got in, 1 may as well
wait and see if there's any letter for me-"
The men all laughed at this, Sims standing
iOkp for he had neyer baan knowu n hava n
a letter but their laughter was soon changed
to ordinations of astonishment, for the
postmaster called, 'Here is a letter for you,
Sim, as sdre as you're born" And he came
out from behind the partition which shut the
post-ofi in sacred privacy from the store in
state of great excitement. Sorting the re-
naming contents of the mailbag was not to
be thought of until curiosity concerning Sims
letter was gratifed.
Every feature of Sims face seemed distend-
ed with astonishment. He took the letter
tenderly between his thumb and forefnger
and looked at it in silence, at the superscrip-
tion and the postmark alternately. There
was no doubt about it the address was,
Simeon Pingree, Esq, Greenhollow, Maine"
The postmark was almost illegible. The
crowd waited in respectful silence, while Sim
struggled to decipher it.
"Californy :" he exclaimed at last, bring
ing his hand down upon his side with a re-
sounding thump. Gurus If my chance had
come along now, wouldn't it?'
''Some advertisin' cirkler-minin' stock or
somethin'. They've found out that you are a
capitalist, Sim, and want to get you to invest"
said Jim Durgin.
'Or mebbe they want man of tarlents for
president of minin' company" suggested
Elijah Wiswell.
"Mebbe it's from your GIRL" said one of
the boys. But his jest was Immediately
frowned down, for Sims sweetheart, Cynthy
Jane Reynolds had deserted him and married
his brother, and this disappointment was
thought to have had something to do with
Sims queerness.
Sim proceeded to open the letter slowly
and cautiously. He read it aloud, picking his
way laboriously along, while his audience lis
tened in breathless silence.
Friend Simeon" (it RAM, ''this is hopein'
to find you alive and to say that am enioyin'
the same blsssin'. And likewise have had
run of luck, after I'd begun to think 'twan't
never comm. I've struck q vein of silver
that's goin' to make my fortin sure, if it pans
out anything at all as l calkerlate now, and
want an honest man to come and help me to
keep it away from the sharpers that are as
furoe as wolves after it. write to you fust
of anybody because l aint forgot the good
turn you done me lickin the schoomaster,
and takin' care of me when 1 had the fever
and nobody else come nigh me. 1 send
check that will pay your expenses gettin'
here, and hope you'll let me know pooty
quick whether you're a-comin'. Yours to
command CYRUS BADGER"
"P.S.-You can be sure there want never
nothin' like it for a chance to make fortin'."
There was a chorus of exclamations.
''Well, Sim, l begin to b'lieve that there is
unu,atbipt in f,ft oIIu
jah Wiswell, scrutinzng the check Elijah
was practical man, and knew that brilliant
prospects were often delusive, but the check
impressed him.
"Well, 1 never had no he'd for iggers, and
mebbe that's the reason I'm to the bottom of
the heap said Uncle Zach, mournfully.
"Granther he always said mans luck lay in
his bumps"
"Just my luck that never licked a school
master nor took care of Teller through fe-
ver," grumbled Jim Durgin. ''But I'm glad
of your luck anyway, Sim"
And Sim received great many hearty grips
of the hand for though he was shiftless,
there was something about Sim that made
everybody like him.
In spite of his firm faith that his chance
was on the way, Sim seemed almost overcome
with surprise His angular frame trembled
and perspiration stood in drops upon his
brow.
'Tm obleeged to ye all, " he said, in rather
a bswildered way, "but I'm kind o. took by
surprise, for it's come soonern 1 calkerlated.
You see, it's been little kind o. hard.
want never one that stiddy days works come
natural to, but aint one neither that likes to
have folks think slightin' of him, and pint
their finger at him, and begrudge him a meal
of victuals So, though l amt a-goin' to
complain O. nothin', it has been sometimes a
little mite hard. For there aint none on us
but what's got feelin's. And now my chance
comm along SO kind of unexpected, 1 be just
a little upset. So guess I'll shake hands all
around once more, and then I'll go home"
And Sim shutllsd of, while the crowd lin
gered, glad of the opportunity to talk over
his good fortune without the embarrassment
of his presence.
AS he drew near his own gate, Sim saw that
a crowd of neighbors had gathered around it.
Had the news of his good fortune reached
them so soon, and had they come to rejoice
with him Sim liked sympathy, but just
now, until the first flush of his Joy was over,
he felt that he would rather be alone. But
the neighbors fell into the background as he
drew near, and disclosed a stranger-a worn
and haggard looking woman, who, with two
little girls clinging to her skirts, leaned against
the fence.
Sim looked at her with no sign of recogni-
tion in his face. But she raised her sad and
heavy eyes to his, and said Appealingly;
'He's dead and he told me to come to you.
didn't want to, and I've been tryin' for
moren year to get along; but fell sick,
and 1 couldn't see my children starve. I've
had hard time Sim. He didn't treat me
very well, particularly after he took to drink
ing; but he had bad luck, poor felow-every-
thing seemed to go against him. Ifyou'll take
me and the children in, we Bhan't cost you
much. l shan't last a great while, but l can
work some you know l used to stitch shoes"
'You can't never in this livin' world be Oyn-
thy Jane ?" said Sim, tremulously.
Eyes, l am. It's no wonder you don't
know me, said the woman, sadly. 81 used
to be so bloomin', and now Pm nothin' but
shadder."
81 do know you, Cynthy Jane l know
your voice and your eyes. But kind O.