The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1893-11-17
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UNCLE DAVIS SCHEME.
Why He Didn't Get the Hoped-FOr
Reward

day failed to win quarter of a dollar
from the newcomers at the Sugar
Springs summer hotel. and he feared
he would go home that night without
having earned the price of the tobacco
for his after-supper smoke. To be sure,
the hotel proprietor had offered him a
dollar for moving the hotel lawn, and
with ordinary industry it could be
moved in less than q day, but Uncle
Davy accounted it direct loss to earn
a dollar by the sweat of his black brow
when quarters could be earned by q
few adroit compliments So the now
ing of the lawn had dragged for a
week, and bid fair to become like the
task of Sisyphus So slowly did Uncle
Davy work that the grass verify grew
under his feet, and although he had
completely moved the lawn once, the
grass had grown as fast as he moved,
and he could not call the hotel proprie
tor to view completed task and pay
him dollar.
"Nebber see sech stingy set in my
born'd days as desc bo'ders at de ho-
tel" muttered Uncle Davy to himself.
"Dey won't even give me one o dem
wo-for-a-niclIef sega-es dey smokes
for reckon dey is too stingy to smoke
muffin mo- costly. All, good cvenin',
Young marsa," he continued in Il CHEEKY
tone, bowling and scraping to q smart
addressed young fellow passing by.
as YOU on a beautiful walk, S even
IMP"
''No: I am on q board walk, Uncle
Davy," replied the young fellow, with
difficulty denying himself the indul-
gence of a smile al his own witticism.
GLORY! you's as witty as a blue jay,
young marsa, an jes' as peart an wears
as fine cloes. / knew you was ladies'
man de minnit / sec you-all dressed
up so fine, an walllin' SO graceful, like
you dance NON you walk. I jes' done
did do it, pen my soul. Wizard you
say you come from? Up MORT, you
say?"
"Michigan."
Good glory! Hows il seem to be
down whar yon kin keep warm?"
eve keep just as warm as you do
81 reckon you ali wear sheepslsins;
dey would keep you all warm. What
town do you live imp
Ann Arbor."
For de lan's sake! is dat so, young
marsa? Is dat so? Befo' de wa [ use
to live al Culpepper Cot House, Virgin
yah, on de estate Of old ledge CARING
fo'd, an ] remember dat de Caringfo'd
boys went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to
school. Did you know de Caringfo'd
boys? Cose not; you's too young for
dat"
'Here is a quarter for you, Uncle
Davy." said the young man, loftily.
They tell me at the hotel that when
you stop the guests and compliment
them you expect to be rewarded with
quarter
Cord Dress you, young marsa," said
the old man. "Much obliged for de
quarter. Dem bo'ders at de hotel is
wrong about my expectin' quarter,
when | talks to 'em. | hopes for q
quartel., young marsa, but | doan eX-
pee muffin from sech d lot Of stingy
bo'ders as dey is at lie hotel dis sum-
mer."
do you see that old old man across
the lawn there, Uncle Davy, going
down to the spring with two water
bottles? Do you ever get money from
him?"
dat poor ole man? He's too poor.
He amt got muffin to give me-"
''He is the richest man about here.
He is that rich Mr.. Bondell who has
Just bought that fine cottage at the
other end of the grounds. He lives in
st. Louis. and two years ago gave five
thousand dollars TO q young man who
rescued him from being run over by
runaway team"
Goodness. an amt hardly been
spealSin' to dat ole gentleman.
thought he was some poor ole groun'-
hog that never seen q quarter. | wish
a team OF bosses would come runnin' in
heah now after dat ole gentleman. I'd
biff 'cm on de hade wifi de lawn-mower.
| wish he'd slip down on de part to de
spring an ben his neck so he'd think
he was gon' to choke to death, an I'd
run up an twis' it straight again. I'm
goin' to save dat ole gen'leman's life
somehow an git five thCusan' dollars
Laws-a-lnassy. he mus be one O dem
milliondaires How much is five thou
san dollars young marsa? / reckon it
wound buy all Sugar Springs an
hunk O. Sedalia.''
With the golden possibility of five
thousand dollars before him, Uncle
Davy could work no more that after
noon, and he pat the lawn-mower in
its place and followed Mr. Bondeu to
the spring, in the hope that some op-
portunity of saving the old mans life
might arise. But though for days
thereafter Davy followed Mr.. Bondell
like black shadow wherever he went,
the intirm old man never was in any
strait that called for the intervention
of his self-constituted guardian. At
last Davy came to the conclusion that,
if Mr.. Bondell was to be in peril and in
need of succor, he himself must be the
author of the peril as well as the bear
er of aid. He therefore turned over in
his mind several schemes Of various de-
Crees of feasibility. He might have Mr..
Bonden attacked by q fictitious noe
lurnal highway man and, suddenly ap-
pearing, boldly put the highwaynian
to fight, but as the only person he
could trust sufficiently to employ as the
fictitious highwayman was his grand
son Tobias, aged fifteen, and. more
over. Mr. Bondell never stirred out of
doors after nightfall, he rejected the
plan. At length his brain conceived a
scheme that seemed absolutely fault
less, and he at once proceeded to put it
into execution.
A few miles from the village was a
Sruall. rocky Hill. among the crevices of
whose outcropping Lodges lived a col
ony of rattlesnakes. Several Of the
boys of the neighborhood had achieved