The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1883-07-27
UNPARALLELED ]E

Gdte Omce, wearing q fresA weed on
his hat, but i'll succeeding in the evident
attempt'to conceal a high degree of sat
isfaction under the external show of
sorrow, which propriety seemed to de-
ymand.
"Good morning my dear sir" said the
survey Of the bootblacK's study in black.
ing on the cloth tops of his boots. HYon
seem to be in afflic:ion. Can do any,
thing for you?" Cs#..0
"Wall, yes, Squire, / have been visit
ed by,a dispensation o. Providence, so
to speak, and p'r'aps you ken sorter 'lay
my cur osity about ap'int or two. Fact
is, Squire, my wife Hannah died last
nigat, an come into town fer coffin,
Hannah was good savin' woman, AM
she's goin' to hev fust class funeral eff 1
know myself IN seein' g I'm here,
thinks 1, I'll Just drop in m see 4 i've
got ter 60 Through any performance
bout gettin' possession O Hannah's
prop'ty. Sspose it's all right jis' 's't is,
amt it, SQuire?"
"fhat depends, my dear fellow
said the Surrogate; 'it makes all the diff
ference in the world how your wife
came by her property; what it consist
Of; how she disposed of it, or whom che
left to inherit it,"
edo tell" said the man from G. az he
rolled his quid from one cheek to the
other, and heaved q sigh-presumably
ont of respect to the late lamented. "Of
course 1tknow it's all mine, anyhow, N
can't for the Ii of me see what odds all
them things kin make. But / don't
mind tellin' just how tits, SQUIRE"
By this time the bystanders began to
show indications Of interest. Three law.
yers who had dropped in to look for q
possible fee arranged themselves in lis
tening attitude; the raw reporter shar-
pened his pencil with Surrogale's pen
knife, that functionary the while keep
: ing sharp weather-eye on his property
and the m. from G. continued:
Ca, but, We see, squire, the deacon
willed all his property to the widder.."
and :She chuckle which had been ma
turing broadened into something very
like grin.
Indeed; no children, then, of
course?"
Wrong ag'in. squire; four on ,em,
three gals an boy"
Didn't the deacon make any provis-.
ion for them?"
wall, I s'pose, bstwixt you an me,
Squire. he did have an understan'in'
with Hannah that she'd give the young
'uns a home, and leave them the pro.
perty when she died."
re see, Squire, my wife was Deacon
Joshua Gordon's wilder up in Washing
ton county"
-"Ah," interrupted the Surrogate, 'Mve
heerd of the Deacon. Left handsome
property, I've understood"
.fWa1l VOC jSor;ro r o,,o,, r -. -. r..
IN assumin' t. Their was perty conside'-
bic pile $4,000 or whereabouts; quite
eh?"
And the m. from G. manifested ten
dency to chuck the Surrogate in theribs,
familiarity which that official might
have resented at some period more, re-
mote from the next county election, but
now contented himself with evading, as
he remarked:
Yes, presume 80, especially if ethe
Deacon left no heirs, and"
"Do the children live with your
me! Do you s'pose, Squire, Pm
such tarnation fools to marry q hull
family O. gals m good for nothin' bow
into the bargain? No stree, boss, mo
kids for me, even O. my own, let alone
other mems! I turned them QUIT grass,
lively, you bet y''r boots's soon's I come
into, possessionp
II suppose, at least, their mother
made provision for the children before
her death?"
"Wall, no, Squire, to tell the truth.
maxim a will n givin' the chin halt m
me t'other half, but kin O. talked her
out on t. Pm up to thing or two,
Squire; I amt agoin' to take no half loaf
when | kin hey the hull on 't,ye know!"'
"But how did you persuade your wife
to leave her children penniless?"
"Oh!1 reckon she'd somehow got "a
notion t. the law ID allow them suthir'
out o their fathers property anyhow,
an didn't ondedeive her; he'd MT the
heart to, ye see."
Here another SIGH escaped the manly
bosom OF the m. from G., while the Sur
rogate looked daggers. but proceeded:
WAS your marriage blessed with any
offspring"
on Any ,H,E Ri;d ,, ye mean, Squirrel Nary
I'm what shape,was the deacon's pro-
"Notes IN mortgages and Guv'ment
bonds, every red cent of it. But jjist g
soon 8 got the management on it I
says: Hannah, I'm.a goin't buy land
with that ere money. Don't want no
notes nor Guv' ments .noi no sort O. per-
ishable stuff e show fer my money"
like she says: Just IS you think best |
bout that, Elkanab:" AN don't you
think Squire, that woman was so con-
fden' she wanted me take all them
deeds in my own namep' %.
"And you did so?"
:.'No, Squire, / argu'd like this. I |
says to myself, Whats my wife's is
mine, except when my creditors get aft
er it, then it's just as we'll not to own
any reel estate. I've got long head,
Squire, and don't you forget it. And
when Lowe five hundred dollars t I
amt in no hurry to pay,I don't want t.
own two much ~ in sight, yau betp
But come, Squire, do MT 'spose moth.
ms got tc be done. has d.here? I'm fixed
Ill right, amt I? Not THAT I've any
1oubt ont but thought SEEM : rs in I'd
est get your Judgment ont, SEEM t
ion't cost cothin', while Pm waitin' fer
he coffin. I told 'eIn to take their time
n durn the Expense, Want ye It under
tand there's nothin' mean about me,
And the concluding sigh xas.a dead
allure. The m. from 6. could see the
ores bought with the deaoouss dollars
.lreadg his .a ,.fI.e-aa.
The Surrogate looked him oyer for
ully two minutes before he replied, and
he lawyers and the raw reporter, see.
ng the expression on his face, hraced
themselves for the opinion that followed,
'er curiam. ,atg1. 10 am: Ia
eyes. old man., you're fxed, no aais-
AXE. And you won't need to. trouble
ousself one bit about the Deacons es-
ate. You're just cbout the smartest,
owe I've seen yet. Now, you might
ave been 80 short sighted as to keep