The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1884-12-05
foot" looking with halr-snut eyes aowl
to the ground.

foot" looking with nalr-snut eyes oown
to the ground.
..Howp"
Berries. Finest varieties of ber-
ries;" and with that they passed out Of
sight.
Still John did not come in. At last
Susy put on her sun-bonnet and went
through the garden, the truck-patch,
the woods, in search of him.
She found him, after long search,
among the hay mows, lying on his face
his head covered with his arms.
"Oh, John, what is itP'
He would not answer for while.
Then he raised his head. ..It's nv
luck," lie said savagely with an oath
such as never crossed his lips before.
There will be full yield on George
Harvey's farm, and on mine"
ION yoursr' breathlessly.
'tNot drop. Now let me alone. I
want no pity" and he stalked away in
to the woods.
But every cup, no matter how bitter,
Is drained at last. Months passed by,
George Harvey received from the COM
pany a sum for his land which to his
neighbor appeared princely fortune.
Derricks and mills were built. The oil
poured out like water. A branch rail-
road was built from the city to the
Harvey Mills"
Harvey himself babe the village
good-by, and went to one of the East
ern cities to live. Reports came back
OF his lavish extravaganza. of Partisan
clothes, of diamonds and blooded
horses.
Harvey lives like prince" people
said to John Alden. HE does credit
to his native town."
II there was no sarcastic emphasis on
the pronoun meant. John fancied it. As
for himself he was in a morbid. sulien
despair for about year. Nobody
would buy his land, except for oil. 1t
was an elephant on his hands.
At last, being young and hopeful,
and with Susy to urge him on. he de-
termined to make use of his elephant.
"What are you going to do, JackP"
queried Squire Peters. Digging up
your sheep walk?"
Eyes; berries" was Jacks crusty
answer.
The Squire smiled compassionately
and passed on.
Four years later Squire Peters was
escorting a Mr.. Hudson, from the West,
about the neighborhood.
':Here is the famous Harvey Mill"
he said. (which ran out in three years,
or but little more. Company broke UP
terrible smash. The young fellow to
whom the land belonged, too-that was
worse wreck than one of mere CAPT.
tai Very promising lad; little frothy,
superficial to be sure. But he shared
the fate of many to whom the oil fever
brought sudden fortune. Unexpected
success seemed to 60 to his brain and
made him heady. He took to extrava-
giant dressing at first then card play
ing, and at last the bottle. You may
see him hanging around the tavern
door, poor, penniless sot.'
They passed down the road, still
talking of the lamentable effects of the
oil speculation on the slow-going,
steady farmers, when the stranger
stopped suddenly.
''Aha! This looks like enterprise!
Whose work is thisP'
"Now, that, said the Squire, strok-
ing his chin complacently, shat is a
specimen of what different stamp of
a young man from poor George Harvey
can do. A miserable stone-patch of a
hillside, which had the luck to belong
to young man named Alden. He had
the idea of raising fine fruit; bought
the finest varieties of berries; spared
no expense in manuring his ground or
advertising his crops. Now, sir, he
has doubled his land. and commands
the markets in the Western cities.
Some men are bern to an Inheritance
of luck"
"Or of common sense. Marriedp'
mo. Lives with his sister, as nice
a little girl as the country side would
yield. But should not wonder if the
young fellow would marry some of
these days. There's certain young
lady in the next town that any man
might be proud to marry; but no mat
ter about that. This piece of work be-
fore you is not the result of luck-as
you see-but of downright labor and
skill. And the whole town is benefited
by the young mans enterprise and sue
cess"