The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1894-08-04
A HUMBLE FAILURE.

T was getting my arst lesson IN
business. Now, my boy" said Mr..
jerks, the Superintendent latter all
I have told you, ] want 10 give you a
bit Of warning: II you want any
sandy, eat all you want IN the store,
but never take a piece away unless
you pay for it So with everything
else. Remember that In business
strict honesty must be observed"
I had been In the store for some
weeks, selling anything from self
binders to matches--for the store was
the only one In the village-when one
day a man came slouching in and
asked for the "boss" There was
nothing striking about him. His
race impressed me as being two-thirds
covered by q taWny beard, and his
dark, uncombed hair hung down over
his eyes, contrasting disagreeably
with his dusty complexion. A loose
cotton shirt, drawn into wrinkles by
half suspender supporting a pair OF
patched 'vveralls," with pair OF
heavy-soled shoes, identified the man
as one OF the poor farmers Of the plain
north Of the village To the "Doss"
he explained that three years ago be
had traded his 2-Year-old calf for a
colt, and that the colt was now a
horse, and that a couple Of days ago
he had traded his second cow for an
other horse. Now, having two
horses, If he had a moving machine,
he could do his own harvesting very
Quickly, and then he could NOW his
ne gh boris fields ION shares" and
thus pay for the mower: Could the
boss let him have mower and lay
for it in the fall? He had never gone
into debt so heavily before, aud he
knew it was a risk. but be thought
he could do it, and then his Billy was
awfully smart-he had learned his
letters already, and he vas only six
II he could make little money with
the mower he could buy Billy books
and a coat to go to school in the VIII
Isge. I thought the man grew family
animated as he spoke OF Billy. Evil
dently he was making the greatest
speculation Of his life for Billy's edu.
cation. The result was that when
he drove home mower was tied to
the half-dozen boards on four block
wheels which were his wagon, and
the same day I entered in the day
book OF the store: June Sd, Eph-
raim Goodnow, to one mover, So0
Three months at l per cent.
monthly"
Sept. Is had passed, and Ephrain
Goodnow had not paid anV Of the
three bills for Sol. 30 sent him Mr.
lenks, therefore, sent his assistant
to collect the bill, saying that IN such
a bad year, when all the crops had
failed, the store could not afford 70
have outstanding accounts But the
assistant reported thai Goodnow had
10 money wherewith to pay the bill,
and the only way to collect it was to
take his wheat-and at the present
low rate and the poor year it would
take nearly his whole stock-or his
horses, which were worth about $40
each.
"Well" said Mr. jerks, Il need
couple Of horses to hurry on The har'
vesling. Go up to Gooduow to-mor-
TOW and take his horses I'll give
him sixty dollars for the span II he
objects-well. we can collect it by
law"
The afternoon of the next day
then, the assistant and ! started out
TO cross the prairie to the hills,
twenty miles away, where Goodnow
lived. The ride across the prairie
did anything but cheer our spirits.
Nearing the foothills the grass grew
scantier and the sand ridges more
FREQUENT and the prairie dogs from
their mounds barked at US every few
steps. A glisteniug green snake
crawled slowly around a sagebush.
Toward sunset We reached Goodnow's
home. Home. A hole about four
feet deep haG been dug in the ground
and covered with untrimmed poles
meeting at right angles The po.ea
had been covered with dry branches
and these with earth. One gable was
walled up with branches and earth
like the ROOF, while the other was
closed With sawed boards in which was
a door Two oanes Of glass, set with
out a frame In the boards and held in
place by nail at each side, served
for windows. To one side OF the
dug our' poles had been pIante1 in
the ground and covered with willows
aud straw and earth-that was the
stable for the horses aud the cow.
The COW, thin at the sides, was tied
to q post under the shed, and
woman dressed in a dirty yellow
gown was milking her. Back Of
the ..house" was a sand pile wheScs;
two half-naked children, were
ing handfuls OF sand at each 1e' 1c5es
from the inside Of the house
thought l heard the wall Of baby,
Goodnow was just coming ip frog
his days work, driving his horses be-
fore his moving machine At his
side walked a boy about u, whose