Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1896-11-06

peep WV ~ Blu Wouiu hdNe eNpresScu
it.
The water had meapdercd down the
hillside from u leak in the big iiume
above, had tricklcd under ;,-cr "slat-and-
wire" fepce aud tried to make things
grow in her dusty dooryard. Without
thought of wrong she hal used IL all
summer TO cke out the scinty pension
her husband had left her. md provide
for herself and her orphan niccc ~
growing bcc;s for the sugar factory at
the town of Life Creek.
| She had lived among the green Yer
mont hills, where waterwa lot bought
and sold, buS here, "Sl0,0o puid to this
one, that ono, and the lnwycrsl"
Annie was sitting with onc foot curled
up under her, hemming u dish towel.
Mrs. Hart watched her rcacctively for
some time before she spokc.
"Annic," she said. finally, "did YOU
hear what Mr.. Norlsen said'"
Annie pushed her hair Lack over her
enr and looked up. About the wnter?"
she nsltcd.
Yes" said Mrs. Hart.
"That we arc taking II without Mr..
seymour's knowing about it?"
| "Yes."
"Dut, aunty. that means we've
been" she ncsitatcd.
= "Ycs, that we've been stealing I'll
There's no Other word for it,"
Annie looked nwcstruck "Dut
nunty." she said, earnestly, 1--WE didn't
know It."
~ ought To have known H." snid Mrs.
Hart, rocking gently. "if Ill stopped to
think"
"Whcn yon steal withou. knowing IT."
said Annie, softly, "is 1t stealing just
the samc?"
"Yes, it's virtually stcnling; that Is
taking without the consent OF the own
or whnt does not belong To you," said
Mrs. Hart. "a person onyht to know"
I "But the water just came md ran into
the ground. We didn't fetch ii, md we
couldn't give II back"
but we orght to have told the owner
1t wns comirg. It's same as II IL neigh
boris hens had been laying in our shed
md we'd kept the eggs"
"I}ut, nunty." said Annie. suddenly
sitting up md pulling her little ging
! ham skirt down over her ARE feet, "Mr.
Seymore should keep his i!umc mcnded
IL le didn't vunt us 10 have the water"
"Just because Mr.. Seymores too lazy
! TO mend his ditch is no excuse to us for
stealing his water" said 5Irs. Hart, re-
lentlessly. "Nobody's going to let Off.
n horse thief just because ne stole moth
ing but stray horses"
There was pause of few moments,
broken only by the crenIs'ng of Mrs.
Iiart's rockingchnir.
"Aunty," said Annie, finally, "whnt
arc you going to do about it? We can't
+ give him back the water"
NO. but we can give lincls all the
good the wafer did us. The bects." she
! explained. in answer to Annic's puzzled
: look.
"But, aunty," she said, fnintly, "you
don't mean 10 give him rack all our
beets?"
They amt ours ut all. child" snid
Mrs. linrt> "it's his water, that he pnid
fer. that made 'em grow. and lie has n
right to every blessed one of 'em. And
I'm goin' TO take em to him the min
ute they're out of the ground"
"Dut we bought the seed, aunty." pro.
tested Annie, "nnd il was our lnnd, and
wetook care of 'em. anyou're washing
for Mr.. Nordsen because he's going to
help us with EN-. ard lend ur his team"
"Ycs." said Mrs. Hart, "and the seed
would have been no good, nor the land.
either. II It wasn't for tn. water"
1t was well nigh hnlf of Rifle Creek
that went slipping quietly around the
hillside in John Seymorc's big flume.
and wandered in thousand tiny
streams about the roots %; his myriad
peach trees. Seymore had paidn good
ly sum in establishing n'ul defending
the right to cnll i: his. ard wns nntu-
rally not disposed to part - ith IT. on any
light terms.
I Hence ne had the name. both in the
town and among the rnnrhers. of he
Ing rather "close" Mt q bargain, and n
hard man to deal with. The re were but
few people, however, who really knew
him or were qualified to apoak with nu-
thority of his character.
Mrs. Hart md Annie drove in silence
along the dusty road from the mouth of
the canyon 10 the busy little town OF
Rifle Creek. Both were thinking with
vain regret of the things they were
to have brought back with them, pur-
chased with thesmoney paid for those
beets, and each knew we'll what the
other was thinking OF. A.. they drew
up before the new brick Office building
that bore Mr.. Seymore's name. Mrs.
Hart hnuded Annie the rc'ps.
"You sit right still. Apnie." she said.
"and III be out just ns soon rs con tell
him about it, and find out where lie
wants 'em put. And heaven knows"
she added. gropir.g under the scat for n
l'itch;ng strap. "that shall be glad
enough when it's all over" Annie snt
in maze of childish fancies set in mo-
ton by the ever-changing crowd be-
fore her, until her aunt reappearcd.
HRS. Hart knocked tim:dly at an oak
door bearing on it's ground glass panel
the Legend:
RIFLE CREEK RESERVOIR AND
IRRIGATION COMPANY.
JOHN ID. SEYMoRE. President.
She waited long in luxurious ante
I