The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-04-10

hand to take his place at the FORGE.
had built the shop in the early da.
when the Center promised to be much
more than the pivot whose radius was
then marked by "Kirby Run" and Dea-
con Greene's vineyard. The dear old
Deacon! I can see him now with his
freckled face, and hair as red as the au-
tumn color Of the leaves which used to
fall from the big maple tree in front Of
my old home. The vineyard was on
the side Of the hill, steep enough to free
it from stones and brush, yet not SO
steep but the Deacon could keep his
foothold, and work all through the hot
summer days. How often have I seen
him with his head bobbing above the
green leaves, and how often have ]
heard HIM ask for the folks at home
with Gods blessing upon them!"
Well, Joe had mended the wagons
the ploughs. shod the horses and been
considered pretty handy" for many
years, but it did not occur to n that
. time would come when Joe'sto tools
would be idle for the waat Of his hands
TO use them. Joe had provided for this
emergency. tive writ 20 Uncle Stan
ton, Marthy I" he said to his wife when
he found himself no1onger able to rise.
Hes q sartin sort Of q man, and a
good one to take hold Of the smithy. /
never seed q time when lie missed the
mark he aimed 1T. and I've kncwed him,
Marthy.a powerful long while. You
see We growed up together, he was on
commonssharp. and likelier nine, but I
got the start somehow and went away,
and Stanton's been trudging along the
same old rut."y
So it came about that four days after
Joe Wheeler had been put in the little
yard back of the Methodist Church
whose steeple covered with rusty
tin marked the Center for many miles,
the big, 5creeky doors Of the shop once
more swung open, the smoke of the
forge was then seen curling out of the
tall red chimney, and Uncle Stanton
gratefully welcomed his first customer.
We became acquainted easily enough.
My first visit ut the shop was with hand
some gray Billy, who had cast a shoe.
i can recall even now the noise of his
hoofs as they clattered over the oaken
door, and the wondermont expressed
in the glance Of his noble, bright eyes,
~ Uncle Stanton bent down and crit
ically examined his hoof. Billy had a
great many friends, and ] believe it was
never decided which was the better an
imal, mine OF the lean dark bay which
the aggressive Mr.. Mullens, the meat
peddler constantly drove.
They've hada bad time over at the
Kirby's I heard Uncle Stanton said to
me, as he paused over o shoe which he
was hammering into shape. "Two fun
erals lesssn a week. / didn't believe
Rube would pull the second girl through
he amt much on fevers, not so much
IS young Hawkins. He beat the world
on fevers. Now, there was Southworth's
boy over at Pineville t'want o week be-
fore he was up n about, and that geve
Jim . settin' up. They ought to have had
Jim, to my thlnkin'."
And SO Uncle Stanton would rattle
on. The gossip Of the village all came
to him somehow; he never forgot what
he heard. and very little happened in the
place that did not in some shape or 9TH
ier reach Uncle Stanton's ears. Concern
ing himself, however, he was strangely
reticent.
Sometimes I would stop at the shop
door in the early evenings when the sun
NJ a no nnfkrrNps & l.a11rEEg~& n-I
throwing its golden mellow on the roofs
of the farmhouses and lingering in the
tree tops. Uncle Stanton always sat
there smoking his pipe, and when he
had no one to talk to would gaze off up
on TIE road in dreamy silence. He always
had Q CHEEKY sort of welcome for me,
and l always used to think that he was
freer with me than any one else. Per-
haps it wassbacause / was very young.
One day-it was q year or more after
had made. Uncle Stanton's a~cquaint-
tance-he said to me suddenly. "Davy,
my boy, the world isn't so very big, and
the people in it often run amuck when
they don't calkerlate.
We wer lounging at the doorway,
and Uncle Stanton was seated on the
raised floor with his back against the
easement, pressing down the tobacco in
his pipe with the end Of his stubby
finger.
What is ii uncle ?nIqueried. There
seemed to be something on his mind,
and fancied he wanted to talk to me.
4Sit down here, and I'll tell you a
little story. It's 8 story there's none
1eftto tell but me, and I'm agoin' to let
We hear it, Davy. because you've bin
good and kind and because in y'r face
I've found the only comfort Two had
many 3 long day. You don't know how
th~oseeyes Of youran have gone to my
hsaxthow they've brought me back
10 when my boy Harry was so much
like you that sometimes when I've
looked at you I've stoppedmy work and
lot my aons grow cold"
Had he forgotten what he wa abant
tosay? He had paused and was search
lng his waistcoat pocket for p match,
Ha1d his head wa down. Ash rellt his
pipe and pulled it into q gt5w I saw
thet his eyesswers moist and his hand
swas trembling. edged close to him,
md splacedapy,hand on hisJ arm.
He wasssa happy little chap, Dayy,
ands the folks 81 The yilldge used TO iii
'11s with feslinss sort D pride like, by the
tlingsthey would ray B Thin. You SEQ,
hesxassniagter,na whip, and il thar was