The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-06-20
NARY AND BEN AND DAN,L.
BY w. J.


hung his squirrel rife on the d er-horn
hooks over the door, but when I was a
youngster there wasn't no man or boy
in Poor Fork Valley that could shoot
alongside of me. Nary a one" and the
old man sighed heavily. But" he
continued, "this gittin' old knocks the
edge off a mans eye-sight, and makes
his hand SO trembly that he can't even
take a drink of water without wastin'
half of it; and as fer shootin' us old
fellers might as well try to hit center
with a maui at a hundred yards.
The visitor, to whom this converse
ton was addressed, made a few desul-
tory and incongruous remarks, and the
old man resumed his talk, pretty much
as if nothing at all had been said, which
it was mostly.
Il never got beat but once" he went
on, with a good humored reminiscent
chuckle, and that was by a teller that
hadn't sense enough skeercely to go in
out of the rain. Leastways that's what
I thought when the match come off.
He didn't live in my neighborhood, but
he had a farm about twenty miles
furder up the Fork, and I had a habit
of goin' up thar to see a nightly likely
gal, that was darter to the man that
owned the place next to the chap that
beat me at the shootin'. The old mans
name was Squire Higgins, and the gals
name was Mary. Mary's a purity name,
and Mary was a purity gal. Nothin' on
the Fork was a patchin' to that gal,
and I wanted her bad enough to go up
thar sparkin' about twict a week durin'
of a mighty hard winter, when it was
cold enough to freeze the knobs off a
bureau. Mary kinder liked me, too.
Liked me betterin' any of the other
young fellers that was hangin' round,
~exceptin' Ben Wilkins, and it was neck
and neck betwixt me and Ben. Ben
was her neighbor, and the same teller
| had the shootin' match with. I never
could see how she tuck to Ben, he was
so dog-goned freckled faced and sun
burnt and sandy headed and ignorant
like and fooler than Thompson's colt,
but you can't tell about women, and
thar wasn't no goin' back on the solemn
fact, that eff Ben didn't git out of my
way, I was W goin' to git the gal,
and it vas most nigh as certain that eff
somethin' didn't happen to me, Ben
wasn't goin' to git her neither. 1t was
close runnin', Mister, and the gal set
tim on the fence aggin' us on. That's
another weakness women has; I mean
these young women that has ther
choice, like Mary Higgins. Wasn't no
danger of her film a maiden's grave,
even eff me and Ben both got put out of
the way"
zone mornin' when I was on the
road leadin' up the Fork, towards
Squire Higgins's farm, I met Ben COM
in down with a load of hay, and I'd
been going to see Mary then fer mighty
nigh a year.
"'Howd'y, Benz says I, friendly
enough.
"'Howd'y', Danl, says he to me.
"'Fair to middlin', says I.
"fGoin' up to the Squire's, Ireckon3'
says he, questionin'.
"That's what says I, speakin' as if
I had the rights to.
"EMary amt home says he.
"'Who said anything about MaryF
says I gettin' red round the years.
"The way you're goin',' says he,
with a grin.
"'What's that to your says I, not
over polite, I reckon.
"sNothin', says he; 'but eff you want
to see her, you'd better go down to
mothers. She's down thar to a quilt
in
"Ben grinned again and I got purity
mad, but not enough to hurt anybody,
and says I to him:
"'Ben Wilkins says 1, have you
got a gun9
"'You don't want to fight, do youG"
sayshe, backin' off kinder, fer I thought
he was skeert, and mebbe he was.
Ono says I, but I want Mary Hig-
gins
$50 do T. says he.
"Then it cleared up a bit, and we
both looked at each other sheepish, and
grinned, fer before this we hadn't even
had no u~nderstandin'.
"'Now, as we know what we want
says [, we orter have it settled on
short notice who's to git it, and eff you
air agreeable, we'll settle it to the sat
~isfaction of all parties at intrust, as the