The Van Buren press., 1895-11-02
or After That Hard.heil Note.

manu- tuo urSt urobk anu SAVE mybelli
on After That Hardsheil Note.
The very next day my note to Tobe
Crittenden fell due, SO bright and early
that mornin saddled up and mounted
my nag and started of after it. The
road to Tobe's place took me right by old
man Jeremiah Jernigan's, and when l
got along there the old man come out
and hailed me and wanted to know
where | was bound for. l told him
where was goin and what was goin
after.
You would better let your horse
swap ends for home right here" says
the old man. "Tobe Crittenden aint
goin to take your Confederate money"
well, il he don't take it," says l, 'ft
will be because you have been down
there and put him up to refusin, and II
you want heap older than me l would
give you my plain, personal opinions Of
a man that would play game like that
amongst his friends and neighbors. I
am on my way to Tobe Crittenden's,
and am goin after that note"
"And I'll jest bet my mare mule Kit
agn the sorriest steer calf on your
place that you don't git it," says old
man Jeremiah.
"I'll take that bet II l loose" says l,
shakin hands with him to clinch 1t.
"Good mornin, Uncle jerry"
When hove in sight OF the Critten-
den place Tobe he was walkin fast up
and down his front plaza, and smokin
and putin with his pipe like steam en-
gine.
"Good mornin, Tobe," says I.
"Good mornin, SIR" says he.
"You needn't too make out like you
don't know me-" says !, ''cause l was
warmin up at his cold and highferlutin
talk"
Eyes, do know you" says he. "That
is Rufus Sanders. Light and git down
and come in" e8.a..t
went in and let him know from the
jump that had come after that note.
"You can git it," says he, "providin
If you have come hceled with the right
sort of rocks, but let-me tell you now, /
am not goin to take any of your durn
Confederate money"
ssWhat was old man Jeremiah Jerni-
gan doin down here yesterday" says.
"He was dowa here ON business" says
Tobe, "but that amt got nothin to do
with your durn Confederate money.
wouldn't touch it with forty-foot
pole"
''Well and good, Mister Crittenden, ="
says l, "but you have got to sign a
paper refusin to take it. A man that
talks as big as you do ought to be
willin to put it in black and white"
Tobe lowed he was willin to sign his
name, and we went in the house to fix
up the paper.
That "Durn Dictionary Document"
Sorry spellin has always been one
of my mainest weak pints. l al
ways would spell word accordin to the
way it sounds. My spellin is done
mostly by ear, IS it were, and II the
letters don't run along with the sound
of the word am more than probable to
make mess Of it.
Now Tobe Crittenden was good and
kind-hearted, but at the same time he
was one of these nervous, restless, sus-
picious sort Of mon. He wouldn't be-
lieve his own dear daddy on Bible
oath, and he wouldn't trust his best
friend as far as you could throw a camp
meetin BY the tail. And besides that,
Tobe was monstrous dull in books. The
school teachers use TO say that the
onl vest way to put any learnin in Tobe's
head was to split the thing open, put
the book in it and sew the whole busi-
ness up.
1t was my job to write the paper, and
I didn't 90 so very far before I struck
knot and called for dictionary. Tobe
went and got the book and then wanted
to know what was goin to do with 1t.
81 have struck hard word to spell,
saws !, "and need the book to pull me
through"
"Look a here, Rufe Sanders ssyi