The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-08-22
THE YELLOW WHEELS.
BY MARIANNE DE WOLF PERRY,

BY MARIANNE DE WOLF PERRY.
Joe Jeffus drove coal team, grea
numbering two-horse coal team, and ever,
day Of his life, "Sundays excepted,
perched high above his business, he thun
dered With his dusky load through tn
streets Of the busy town. One large con
Germ used quantities of soft coal, and 10,
hsd found out that the easiest haul Their
and back was along the fine broad avenu,
where those who owned trotters speede(
them, and those who did not sat upon tn,
fences and made disparaging remarks.
But of all those who flew past Joe as h,
labored along the road, not one excitet
his ire halt so much as man with "yel
low wheels"
sometimes it was horse Of one colol
and sometimes of another, but Away.
"yellow wheels" Joe just hated the
very sight of him. He was so well
dressed, he was so self-contained, his
"team" was so spick and span, and he
drove so well, that to himself Joe had
wasted upon him all the choice epithets
that he had learned in the army.
Joe Jeffus had driven q team of some
kind ever since he could remember, and II
was therefore most natural that he and
the war maturing about the same time, he
should enlist as WAGNER and become q
driver of mule team.
He saved his bounties and his pay and
at the close of the unpleasantness con-
cluded to settle down and go to work.
But he missed being under orders, and
looking about him, wooed and won his
next-door neighbor, fragile little
light haired factory girl, and swore
allegiance to her for life.
: dis hands and face were not black and
grimy then, and his dark curly hair
crowned a head of youthful, manly
beauty.
2 Youth had long since gone from Joe,
the little light-haired girl had become a
delicate, ailing woman, and his heart
sank many and many time as he climbed
up the dingy stairs to his attic home.
The "little woman, tho, had proved on
the whole, good investment. Every
month little from his pay went into the
great stone savings bank in the center OF
the town.
; "Wouldn't the time ever come" the
little woman kept asking, "when they
could buy the little corner lot they could
see from their windows, and over which
the soft summer breezes coming up from
the river kept the grass and trees so
greeng".
And then Joe would light his pipe and
go down and sit upon the door step, and
think, always think about the 'syellow
Wheels"
:, ,Sow this feeling was not so very
strange after all, for into everybody life
at some time Or other, in some way or
another, there enters something very.
very nearly akin to the man with "vel-
low Wheels" And so it came to pass
that one day succeeding the time-worn
wish from his tired wife, that, thunder
ing along the avenue, he canght sight of
his epemy.
{. lie had pulled up toward the sidewalk
to see man. A line of heavy wagons
was coming in the opposite direction.
Joe kept bearing closer and closer down
upon the "yellow Wheels" away from
the approaching teams; he had taken in
the situation at glance. The yellow
wheels could be rasped and cut into by
the end of his clanking whiffle-tree, if
the man didn't pull out literally upon the
sidewalk. Now Joe could clear him lust
as well as not if he wanted to; but he
didn't.
Unconscious Of all this, the owner of
the "yellow wheels laughed and talked
with his friend on the sidewalk. On and
on came Joe, his face blacker than usual,
threatenings and slaughter in his heart
and evil in his eye. In less time than it
takes to tell it the heavy whif1le tree was
playing hide-and-seek among the yellow
spokes; the horse had Jumped and
backed, almost thrown out the man,
knocked his hat off in the mud and put
one foot squarely upon it, while Joe, un-
concernedly, face to the front, was clank-
ing along the road. Very soon Joe
knew the man was coming for him; he
heard the horses hoofs nearer and near
er, and now the ''yellow wheels" were
ahead of his team.
~ say" said the man, "what did YOU
do that FORT"
eco long" answered Joe, apparently
to his horses, really to the man.
81 say" repeated the man, ''what did
you do that for2'
And then Joe, using the most forcible
expression he had learned in his army
days, asked him if he thought that he
and his -- yellow wheels owned the
whole street.
The man with the ''yellow wheels
kept his place alongside, but seemed bur
led in thought.
Two things were open to him; he
could demand that Joe come down from
his perch and settle it then and there in
the old-fashioned way, or he could get
the number of his cart and make it disa-
greeable for Joe later on.
Looking at his damaged hat, which
was not cheering sight to see, and at
his lovely, disfgured wheels he gathered
up his reins and few down the road.
md Joe; 1t was the happiest moment
of his life, just then. The consciousness
of having hurt his enemy crowded out
all other thoughts for the time, but the
haul was still long one, the sun very
warm, the horses tired and listless, and
Joe began to wonder If, after all, he
hadn't made fool of himself to say the
ieast2 What would the tired little wo
man say who never had heard of those
yellow wheels" if he should tell her
what he had done2 And then he wished
his favorite wish. that he had never been
i,orni
''You must get her out of this" said
;he doctor to Joe. "She tells me she