The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1890-03-06
to work for his hoard Il allowed 70 s..

person herself, and the villagers said
that two queer ones had met" when
Hiram went to live with her; but her
eccentricity was valuable to Hiram. for
she gave him sympathy and encourage
mentin his fixed determination to .'be
somebody
He spent twenty Of his hard learned
dollars for the first whole suit of new
clothes he had ever owned in his life,
and he felt his self-respect rise good
many degrees when he arrayed himself
in his purchase and started of to school
with sachel Miss Fanny had made for
him, filled with the first new books 10
had ever had.
The remainder of his money had been
given into Miss Greggs keeping, but
Hiram had well-defned idea of what
he intended doing with it and the
savings he intended adding to it.
Decently dressed, he did not look nor
act like the Hiram the villagers had
always. known, but he still had an
original way of speaking and acting
that distinguished him from other boys,
and the villagers still thought him
queer"
Some of his teachers began to see in
him degree of shrewdness and a keen
ness OF perception unnoticed by others.
The second summer he demanded and
received fifteen dollars per month OF
Farmer Cornish, and the second winter
| he staid with Miss Gregg and attended
| school.
In the spring the ''town fool" IN.
nounced his intention of going West to
seek his fortune, and the villagers shook
their heads and prophesied all sorts of
disaster as the result Of such venture.
You'd better stay here, Hi, and try
to get you little piece of ground and
| settle down to farming" counseled Mr..
Gerrish. But to his wife he said: 1.-THE
| boy hasn't wit enough to go of among
| strangers that way. He'd better stay
here among his friends
But Hiram put his few belongings into
a satchel and departed-"to come to no
good end" as his acquaintances predict
ed; and it was not long before he was
forgotten, or, if his name was mentioned
| it was in a tone of commiseration.
"Poor Hi Curry" some one said, ooca-
sionally. 81 wonder what ever became
of him? He went to the bad, reckon"
Meanwhile, the boys who had gone to-
school with Hiram, and who had laughed
at what they were pleased to call his
| ''greenness'-these boys, most of them,
grew to be men, and left the school to
! engage in various occupations.
The most successful one Of them all
became clerk, and then part owner of
a I 1rxy of0 ~, %hay<
About this time the first railroad it
had ever had ran into Wendom, and the
town began to have what would be called
boom" in the West.
Soon after the arrival of the railroad,
there came into the town q number Of
capitalists, who had heard of the SUI
perior advantages the town offered for
the establishment of q large manufac-
tory, now that it had railroad facilities,
and the result OF their visit was that
within ten days more than ahundred
men were at work ON the river bank,
excavating for an immense mandatory,
that would give employment to hun
dreds of families, and add greatly to the
Importance and population of the town.
house, handsomer. than any in the
village, was erected for the superintend-
ent of the works, who, it was said, would
arrive some weeks before the manufac-
tory was completed, and all applications
for situations must be made to him.
He would be the most important per-
sonage in the town on his arrival, and
there was great curiosity in regard to
the kind of a parsonage he was likely to
be.
Hes going to have house fine enough
for Queen Victory" said old Farmer
Gerrish to his family, one evening"
Every things fner'n fiddle, and 1
reckon none of us III be good enough for
such high-and-mighty gentleman to
look att
He was not, however, too good nor too
august parsonage for more than half
the male population of Wendom to look
at when he arrived the next day, on the
noon train.
Nothing so mighty high-falutin'
about him, whispered old Mr.. Gerrish
to neighbor, as pleasant-faced, full
bearded man stepped from the train.
Looks pretty young to be boss over
such big concern as that, don't hep"
said some one.
Eyes, but he's probably got an old
head" replied Mr.. Gerrish. "He's full
of snap ahd-Hey?"
He stopped short and stood in open.
mouthed wonder at the trim-looking
young man of :twenty-seven or eight
who came briskly forward, holding out
his hand and saying:
"How do you do, Mr.. Gerrish? Don't
you remember me?7 And here's Uncle
Tommy Simpson. and Nate Wardner, and
thank this is Frank Woodson, and I'm
sure this is my old friend, Mr.. Mallon,
isn't tip
"And who in creation are you?'' asked
Mr.. Gerrish, peering sharply at the
young man over his green speetacles.
II? Why, don't you remember me5
Many's the night I've slept under your
roof when was just Hi Curry to you
and"
Something like shout went up from
the crowd, and when it died away old
Mr.. Gerrish gasped out: 49,
Hi Curry! You Hi Curry-you? Why,
he-he want nothing but-ba: ITO town
fool!"
The new superintendent laughed as
loudly as any one at this, and said:
but you can't always tell Just how
these fools will turn out, my dear Mr..
Gerrish, and never had the remotest
idea of bringing up in lunatic asylum.
1 am delighted to see you all again, and
will be glad to see you at my house when
my wife gets here"
The whole affair was nine days WON
der to the people of Wendom, and their
amazement, not unmixed with chagrin,
had not died away at the end of three
times nine days.
ITO think of Hi Curry turning out like
that, said Mr.: Gerrish, again and again,
''and some of the boys who used to turn
their noses up at him living here poor as
mud, and never likely. to be nobody; and
here Hi Curry's been to Europe and he's
got as ladyhed wife as ever l see, and
ha Rvo Al.