The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-08-25
A HUMBLE FAILURE.

a HUM BIIE FAILURE.
I was getting my first lesson in
business. 'sNow, my boy" said Mr..
jerks, the Superintendent, after all
I have told you, 1 want TO give you
bit of warning: If you want any
candy, eat all you want in the store,
but never take a piece away unless
you pay for it So with everything
else. Remem Der that in business
strict honesty must be observed"
1 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 HbOss.H There was
nothing striking about him. His
face impressed me as being twO-thirds
covered by a tawny beard, and his
dark, uncom bed hair hung down over
his eyes, contrasting disagreeably
with his dusty complexion. A loose
cotton shirt, drawn into wrinkles by
half a suspender supporting a pair OF
patched s'Overalls, " with a pair of
as one Of the poor farmers of the plain
north or the village. To the ''DOss'
he explained that three years ago he
had traded his Z-Year-OId calf for
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 ghbor's fields ION shares" and
thus pay for the mower. Could the
boss let him have a mower and ay
FIR in IA fuI 10 had no
into debt so heavily before, and he
knew it was a risk. but he thought
he could do it, and then his Billy was
awfully smart-he had learned his
letters already. and he was only six
If he could make a little money with
the mower he could buy Billy books
and a coat to 20 to school in the vii
Iage. / thought the man grew family
animated as he spoke OF Billy. Evil
IDENTIFY he was making the greatest
speculation of his life for Billy's edu-
cation. The result was that when
he drove home a mower was tied to
the haIf-dOzen boards on four block
wheels which were his wagon, and
the same day entered in the day
book of the store: June Sd, Eph-
RAIN GoodnOw, to one mower, 500
Three months at l per cent.
monthly"
sept Is had passed, and Ephraim
GoOdnow had not paid any of the
three bills for Sol. 50 sent him. Mr..
jerks, therefore, sent his assistant
to collect the bill, saying that IN such
a bad year, when ali the crops had
failed, the store could not afford to
have outstanding accounts But the
assistant reported thai GoOdnow had
DO money whereWitn to pay the bill,
1rrr
take his Wheat-and at the present !
take nearly his whole stOck-Or his !
horses, which were worth about $40
each.
well. " said Mr.. jerks, 81 need A
couple of horses to hurry on The mar
vesting. Go up to GoodnoW to-mOr-
row and take his horses PHI give |
him sixty dollars for the span. II he |
0 bjects-well, we can collect it by |
law"
The afternoon Of the next day
then, the assistant and 1 started out |
TO cross the prairie to the hills. |
twenty miles away, where Goodn
lived. The ride across the prairie |
did anything but cheer our spirits. /
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 Rlisteniug green snake /
crawled slowly around a saRebush. I
Toward sunset we reached GOodnow's I
home. Home. A hole about four
feet deep had been dug in the ground
and covered with untrimmed poles
at right angles The po-es
had been covered with dry branches
and these with earth. One gable was
walled uD with branches and earth
like the roof, while the other was
closed with sawed boards in which was
; door Two panes of glass, set with
put frame in the boards and held IN
place by a nail al each side, served
Tor windows. To one side OF the
sadug out" poles had been planted in
the ground and covered with willows
and straw and earth-that was the
sta BILE for the horses and the cow.
The cow, thin at the sides, was tied
10 a post under the shed, and
dressed in a dirty yellow
gown was milking her. Back Of
the 'shouse" was a sand pile where
Two half-naked children, we're throw
ng handfuls Of sand at each other;
from the inside Of the house
thought / heard the wall OF a baby.
1oOdnow was Just coming in from
his days work, driving MS horses be-
fore his moving machine At his
side walked a boy about u, whose
dragging gait and dull look bespoke
too well the man he would be On
ma of the horses rode a little white