The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1896-06-26
! RECONCILIATION,

a peaceful little streim into an ;tiigfy
flood, SO that; it Stretched out it's arnnts
and dsspoiieea ntay . itch ,fdtnf and
in19%r 95tx Is hSI IS 6| S i MHs bafs
aside. On the day before. a barn
VIII WITH frightened fowl perchei
soper and We're sta s}andi gre several e@"
small frame houses, corn cribs and
other rickety farm buildings hiiA. gone
bobbing merrily along on the swift cur.
rent; great trees, uprooted by the greedy
waters. barrels, boxes and household
furniture had we seen. Today the flood
was ebbing; its strength was gone; the
rains had ceased, and for the first time
overhead.
| glanced from the river into the face
of the man ut my side.
more houses 60 by" said; "nothins
but barrels and such uninteresting OBJ.
jects. l suppose, though. they will be
of use to the people below"
ITS an ill wind ez blows nobody tiny
good ez Pete Siders sais," he replied
solemnly. 1.-The folks up the vailey'l
miss them bawrels an things. but they'll
come handy to them below ez ketches
EN-"
laughed.
1T is easy for you to argue in this
manner. for you are one of the fortunate
ones. unless someone claims that rock
ing chair that you rescued from drown
ing"
\ faint smile pissed over Soper's face
1t was quickly gone and his cuuntenance
resumed it's habitual stolid look.
He replied somewhat gruffly:
EFF a Teller don't seize his opportunity
it won't seize him He hesitated and
then added: ''Es Pete Sidets sails
'"Tell me- l cried; ''who is this oracle
ing?'
For during my few days acquaint-
ance with the rough fellow at my side
! had been struck by the fact that he
frequently made use of ancient adages,
the credit for the invention Of which was
always given to the mysterious Sidcrs.
l seated myself upon il stump and
awaited his reply: He was a crude,
rather stupid looking man; clad in !,
rough garb that betokened his rural
environments-a ragged cloth cap, Il
heavy. well-patched suit, which had once
been of gray material, a coliarless shirt,
and high Eoots. His hair had been
few days before, in token
of the coming of summer, and his I'M
kempt black beard stood, out iii bold CON
trast to his seeming badness. His hose
was narrow, long and hooked, and his
eyes were deep-set beneath shaggy
brOws.
After Al long pause he replied to my
question in a drawing tone, and with
the manner of a man perfectly convinced
OF the truth of what he said:
SE,f vOu uns bo6 az ,nr..l ,-.,,,, l,o,. y
ez Pete Siders hes in his leetle finger,
you'd be smart man. ::
but who is he?" | exclaimed. Il
have visited this valley yearly since I
was Il boy. yet l never before heard
of him. -. He does not live hereabouts,
does hep
replied:
"No. he don't. He lives up the valley
tell me an him he'd words an fell out.
You see Pete he was wonderful smart,
an l was no match fer him. My place
almost jined his. an he mawried me sis
ter. He knowed heap, did Pete, an
he'd read most of the books they is You
uns nd hev enjoyed talkin' to him, you
would, fer he'd travelled lot in his
younger days, an he'd a good ejurcation.
An, at music. Hedgins! l kin feel
'!ieI Oiu huule " Ills IL d-SO1H tnOO me
rit. 1t jest made you all blue like when
heap of tibet fiddle, he did. All! But
Siders!''
"How did you ever happen to part
with this para gon, SAM" asked
"Paragone,' he repeated, sadly. II
never heard him called tibet. Mebbe he
was one, fer he was most everything
~ Nxvv 4 II how 1.,2
4 few hawgs done it. Sometimes think
it was my fault, an on them days when
| low I'm to blame allus intend to go
over to his place an make up. But I've
never been able to git off at them times;
an when kin git off l allus blame Pete
an cal'late he kin come to see me-"
1T must have been a very serious trou-
ble,' said |.
"Hawgs." he replied. "Nawthin' but
few mean pigs. You see l was liv-
in up there three summers ago. 1 made
he'd farm close by my place, fer him
to let me hey three young hawgs in
tended to fatten 'em up
an butcher 'em when it come cold. One
day, in corn-huskin' time, / goes over to
biram's to git em. When I asst him fer
EN-, he looks at me surprised-like. an
sails. sails he, Why, Sam, Pete Siders
got them pigs. He tor me you sayd he
was to git 'em an you'd pay me fer 'em,
~ you t,, owed him fer his hevin' helped
you three days in the woods last winter.
was jest knocked. l knowed Pete was
hard mp, fer he'd kinder ben layin' off all
but l never tho't tibet of him. I
never let on to Hiram, but jest went
right over to Pete's place. found tibet
he'd gone an killed them beasts, an
turned EN- into butcherin's. When I
tor him what I'd come fer. he drawed
himself up ez fer ez he could, fer he's a
cali me thie e S''S Then sais e never eq
owed you no money, Pete Siders.' Sam
Soper,' sails he, 'hain't you 'shamed of
callin'. your brother-in-law a thief?' An
then he turns an walks into the house
an shets the door in me face. I hain't
seen him sence, fer couldn't stan Twin
near Pete an not be ON peaceful groun's
with him. give up me place there, an
"And sometimes You think you were to
blame" | asked.
Sometimes" he replied. 'Petc he he'd
curious ways, an | don't b'lieve he
meant no harm. OF mt hev called him
a thief
Soper suddenly started to his feet, and,
shading his eyes with his hands, gazed
up the river.
"A nuOle! he cried. ''Out on the rlv-
err! I heard it plain. There it is ag'in!'
sprang to his side and looked up the
stream at a black object to which he was
pointing. It was a boat; and we could
see man sitting in it's stern, rocking to
and fro. Then I heard quick success
sion of harsh, grating notes, low but dis
tinct, and l saw that the man was fd-
ding
''1t's Peter cried my companion.
"Thet's his playin' and thet's him. Look
at the boat! Why, it won't stay up an
hourv'
The craft was sunk low in the water,
and was sweeping rapidly toward us OH
the turbulent stream; but the fiddler
seemed unconscious of his danger, for he
swung to and fro in a maudlin manner,
running his bow madly over the strings
of his instrument.
tits Pete's way" Soper exclaimed.
"He don't know what he's dom, fer
he's ben at the liquor ag'in."
As he spoke he stripped off his coat
and boots. s.. 81
. ,.< T s.:,d