Kimball enterprise. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1883, 1883-05-04

II shiitless means working hard and get
tlng lttle., s'pose l was. ! warn't one
OF KIND ter worry, and she was.
Elght children there were, and every
one mat come she was sorry itcome.
And then, when one after another they
died, all but one, that was what killed
her at last. They was my children, too,
and-Well Its given me something to
look forward to, seeing 'em up there,
yer see, but my wife, sue wasn't right
exactly in her mind, it's my belief, after
our troubles came. dunno's anybody's
to blame for 'em. There's more trouble
in this world than I'm able to account
for, Pm free ter admit. My wife, she
took to her bed two years before she
died, and then l had to learn a new
trade or two beside shoe making. I
was hired gal and most every thing
else. l made a pretty bad mess Of
it. don't deny it. Poor Jim-he's our
boY--run off. He couldn't stand
it. She died after a while.
She was one of the Budsons. A harm
some set of gals they were. 1t was a
heavy day for me when | buried her in
her grave. v been alone since, but
Eve had a great many mercies!"
81 thought you broke your leg last
winter, Mr.. Rogers"
so did; but, on the whole, l ruther
enjoyed it.. | dunno when l eve lived
SO hlgn or had so many Wits from my
friends"
And so Mr.. Rogers talked on, looking
sharply up at me row and then, as if to
assure himself tilat | was a better listen
er than the cat.
Two days after, | went for the rest of
the shoes, and Mr.. Rogers seemed so
glad to see me hat | was again hattered
into staying.
Come, now, if you'll lie down and
stay awhile, I'll tell you a story. Per-
haps you'd like to know how | come by
them lions? Wal, I'll tell yer, child,
how twas"
With a child's greed of stories, / was
only too glad to listen.
81 told him his shoW'd find it pretty
poor piekin's in this town. said Mr..
Rogers, in conclusion. "I'd done its
cobbling for twenty years and more.
But he wasn't for listening to me, and so
they went off, he and his menagerie, all
a-growling together"
Somehow, it appeared that. after sill,
Mr.. Rogers was the hero of This story;
and again it seemed that My. Rogers had
played a prominent part in the decline
and fall of Amos Belden's fortunes; and
again that Jonathan Wilder would have
done much better to listen to Mr.. Roger
advice, and thus have averted ruin and
consequent auction bills. 1t was a very
artless egotism, not hard to account for.
For years the old man had lived alone,
his chief counselorand friend. I do
not wonder that he grew a little
larger IN his W eyes than in other
mems. that his Imagination, having
nothing else TO do, built up the past, till
hIS mnnonrtr I,nII f,fi,, ~, Jo.. - It'd
am quite ready to forgive him bis ret
respective castle building, though l hap
pened to be his credulous victim.
Then there were marvellous tales of
my son Jim's" adventures in that far
OFT land, "out west" [ believe three
scanty letters furnished these romances
their foundation of fact; but / asked no
questions and believed with as honest a
faith in the gold paved streets of san
Francisco as in those of New Jerusalem.
He wa a good boy, Jim was," the
old man would say. 81 never thought
hard of him for goin' off. If he only
comes back to bury me that's all I ask.
He'll be coming back one Of these days
shouldn't wonder if he'd be looking
round for a wife. Let's see-how old are
you? shouldn't wonder if you were
Just about right for him by that time.
You'd make a putty little pair"
Though time had stood as still with
Jim as his father seemed to think, the
idea of my marrying him would have
lost none of its uncomfortable grotescue-
ness.
Don't, Mr.. Rogers" l said.
"Bashful, are your" he answered, try
ing to look roguish. "Don't you be for
not getting married, though like the
Miss Bucklands, and the Jewbury girls,
and the Bassett girls, and all the rest.
,em. | used to tell my wife that I was
better'n nothin, any way, It's kind Of
shabby III the men to so off and leave
the women to die off here up country all
alone: | amt afraid but Jinl'll find
somebody easy enough
"Oh, yes" | said, for / was afraid [
had hurt the old mans feelings. 'sI'm
sure he must be very NICE
One accomplishment Of Mr. RogersI
shall never forget. He not only told me
stories as he worked, but he protested
to be able TO read them from his hands,
which he held before him like the open
page of a book.
See! You can look at 'em,' he would
say. There's nothing hid in 'em. No
cheating about it. Hard and tough.
Don't look much like a book, do they?
But just hear mo read to you out of
'em."
| was completely mystiGed, especially
wien the reader stopped to spell out q
word, and when he held his hard hands
up to the light and complained that it
was rather fine print for such Old ewes; |
but still the story vent on without a
break, and, in spite of myself, l was
brought to the belief that MI. Rogers
possessed supernatural reading powers, |
perhapsakin to the mystery OF my par
sing lesson, which told of sermons in |
stones and books in the running brooks.n |
The summer and fall went by, and the |
winter came, with frolics without num-
Der; but alas! to the poor and old it
brought only a chill that crept into their
bones and took up its abode there. Poor |
old John Rogers! l lifted his latch one
day, but the awi lay idle on the bench.
1t was only the rheumatism that had
taken a mean advantage of the intirm
knee; but week otter week he lay in bis
bed, II the dust gathered thicker and |
thicker in his little shop. The neigh
bors were kind; but the best people find |
a sameness in the constant repetition of
good deeds, and by degrees itgrew plain !
that h old mans friends would feel a
sense of relief if he got we'll. 1t was
about this time that my grandmother
Ion1n ral ,r;tb /, e;-l, 4j,,s NJ $3.50