St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1893-11-09

THE SURGEONS MIRACLE.
npoor Abe Dodge"

fOlkS-nOT So pun as eoHc. HOW
could he be poor, work as he did and
steady as he was? Worth a whole
orist of such bait as his brother,
Ephe Dodge, and yet they never
called Ephe poor-whatever worse
name they might call him. When
Ephe was off at show in the vii
LACE, Abe was following the plough,
driving a straight furrow, though
YOU wouldn't have thought il to see
the way his nose pointed. In winter,
when Ephe was taking the girls to
singing school or spelling bee or
some other foolishness-out till after
nine o'clock at night, like as not
Abe was hanging over the fire, hold
ing book so the light would shine,
first on one page and then on the
other, and he turning his head as he
turned the book, and reading first
with one eye and then with the
other.
There, the murders out Abe
couldn't read with both eyes at
once. II Abe looked straight ahead
he couldn't see the furrow-nor any,
thin else, for that matter. His best
friend couldn't say but what Abe
Dodge was the cross.eyedest cuss
that ever was. Why, if YOU wanted
to see Abe, you'd stand in front of
him; but if you wanted Abe to see
you, you'd got to stand behind him,
or pretty near it. Honey? Well, if
YOU mean downright "humbly,"
that what's he was. When one eve
was in use the other was out of
sight, all except the white OF it.
Humbly amt no name for it. The
girls used to say he had to wake up
in the night to rest his face, it was
so humbly. In school you'd ought
to have seen him look down at his
copybook. He had to cant his head
clear over and cock up his chin till it
pointed out Of the winder and down
the road. You'd really ought to
have seen him, you'd have died
Head OF the class, too, right along;
just as near to the head as Ephe was
to the foot; and that's sayin' a
good deal. But to see him at his
desk he looked for all the world like
a week old chicken, peekin' at a
tumblebugl And him a grown man,
too, for he stayed to school winters
so long as there was anything to
draw him away; no girl wouldn't
look at him-lucky, too, seein' the
way he looked.
Well, one term there was a new
teacher come-regular high-up girl,
down from Chicago. As bad luck
would have it, Abe wasn't at school
the first week-hadn't got through
his fall work. So she got to know
all the scholars, and they was awful
tickled with her-everybody al
ways was that knowed her. The
first day she come in and saw Abe at
his desk, she thought he was squint-
IN for fun, and she upped and
laughed right out. Some of the
scholars laughed too, at first; but
most of 'em, to do 'em justice, was a
leetle took back young as they was,
and cruel by nature. young folks
is most usually always cruel-don't
seem to know no better.)
Well, right in the middle of the
hush, Abe gathered up his books and
upped and walked outdoors, lookin'
right ahead of him, and consequent
ly seeing the handsome young teach
er unbeknown to her.
She was the worst cut up you ever
did see; but what could she do or
say? Go and tell him she thought
he was maxim up face for fun?
The girls do say that come noon
spell, when she found out about it,
she cried-just fairly cried. Then she
tried to be awful nice to Abe's ornery
brother Ephe, and Ephe he was
tickled most to death; but that
didn't do Abe any good-Ephe was
jest ornery enough to take care that
Abe shouldn't get any comfort out
Off it. They do say she sent messages
to Abe, and Ephe never delivered
them. or else twisted 'em so as to
make things worse and worse.
Mebbe so, mebbe not-Ephe was Or
merry enough for it.
Course the school-ma am she was
boardin' round, and pretty soon it
come time to go to OF man Dodge's.
and she went; but no Abe could she
ever see. He kept away, and as to
meals, he never set by, but took
bite off by himself when he could get
chance. Course his mother
favored him, being he was so cussed
unlucky. Then when the folks was
all to bed, he'd come in and poke up
the hire and peek into his book, but
hrst one side and then the other,
same as ever.
Now what does the schoolma am
40 but come down one night when
she thought he was abed and asleep,
and catch him unawares. Abe
knowed it was her, quick as he
heard the rustic of her dress, but
there wasn't no help for it, so he
just turned his head away and
covered his cross-eyes with his hands,
ana she pitched in. What she said l
uon't know, but Abe he never said