The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-02-13
THE LOST RICE.

How Serious Breach Was Almost
| made Before the Thief was Found.
Among the earlier settlers of ORA
per, Canada, were three young men
and their newly married wives, who
had iourneyed thither in company
from one of the eastern counties.
In order to gain time for their
work OF clearing land, the young men
erected but one log house the first
year, and three small families inhab-
tied it in common.
Among the parting gifts from her
friends in the east that one of the
young wives, whom we will call Mary,
had received was a six pound box of
rice. It was regarded as a rare deli
cacy and treasured accordingly. At
rare intervals only did Mary cook a
little of the rice, but she always gave
some to her friends.
The precious box was kept on a
shelf near theeaves ofthe rude cabin.
But during the autumn the young
housekeeper began to notice with
wonder that her rice was mysterious
ly disappearing. At first she dis
missed the thought that one of her
friends and cabin mates was robbing
her, and kept the matter quite to
herself; but when she found that more
Of it was gone, she TOLD her husband.
The young man adviced silence and
discreet observation; but in another
week the last of the rice had disap-
peared from the box. Then Mary,
( with the empty box in her hand,
openly accused the other young
wives of having robbed her.
The charge was promptly and in
dignantly denied. Angry words fol-
lowed. The harmony of that small
cabin was rudely broken up. The
husbands became involved in the
quarrel, and even grew at variance
with their own wives.
Hitherto, the three girls, for they
were scarcely more, had been bosom
friends; now, after violent quarrel,
they settled into sullen enmity, refus-
ing to speak, or even look at each
other. Such a state OF things in a
small cabin could not be tolerated.
After two days the families deter
mined to separate at once and for
| ever
Two of the young men took their
axes and stalked forth to fell trees
and chop logs for new houses, each
upon his own land.
While one of them was thus en-
gagged, he CHANGED to cut partially
hollow beech. To his establishment,
several grains ofrice fell out, and upon
fitting up the log and pounding up
OH it with his ak, long, white
stream of rice trickled out in a heap
upon the ground!
1t was all there-more than a
quart of it! With a disconnected
CHECKER, a little chipmunk ran out a
hole farther along the tree trunk.
The matter was plain enough now.
The roguish squirrel, coming in at
the chinks beneath the caves of the
cabin, had transferred the rice to his
own hoard. Quickly taking in the
true situation, the young pioneer
struck his axe in the log and walked
back to the cabin.
'Mary," he said, grimly, eff you
want to see who stole your rice, come
| out here"
After a moment of surprise and
hesitation, she followed him, as did
also the two other young women who
| had overheard the words-the first
which had been spoken in the cabin
that morning.
'There's your rice and there's the
thief, sitting on that stump yonder,''
said the young farmer, when they
reached the beech log "Only to
think that we should have been SO set
by the ears by little rogue off SPUR
rel!'' he continued.
The two accused young women
burst out laughing, but Mary shed
bitter tears OF modification.
She gathered up the rice, and hav-
ing carefully washed it, cooked it all
that day as peace Offering for the
foolish haste with which she had al
lowed herself to suspect her friends,