The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-08-08

mont hills, where water wac not bought
and sold, but here, $4,000 paid to this
one, that ono, and the lawyers!"
Annie was sitting with one foot curled
up under her, hemming dish towel.
Mrs. Hart watched her refectively for
some time before she spoke.
"Annie," she said. finally, ibid you
hear what Mr.. Nordsen said?"
Annie pushed her hair back over her
ear and looked up. About the water?"
she asked.
"Yes," said Mrs. Hart.
"That we are taking it without Mr..
Seymour's knowing about it?"
"Yes."
"But, aunty, that means we've
been" she hesitated.
Eyes, that we've been stealing it'll
There's no other word for it."
Annie looked awestrIck. But
aunty," she said, earnestly 1--WE didn't
know it,"
81 ought 70 have known IT," said Mrs.
Hart, rocking gently, "if III stopped to
think"
"When you steal without knowing it, "
said Annie, softly, sis it stealing just
the same?"
"Yes, it's virtually stealing; that is
taking without the consent of the own
er what does not belong to you," said
Mrs. Hart. "a person ought to know"
But the water just came and ran into
the ground. We didn't fetch it, and we
couldn't give it back"
"But we ought to have told the owner
it was coming. It's same as if neigh
boris hens had been laying in our shed
and we'd kept the eggs"
"But, aunty," said Annie, suddenly
sitting up and pulling her little ging-
ham skirt down over her Lare feet, "Mr.
Seymore should keep his flume mended
If he didn't v ant us to have the water"
Just because Mr.. Seymore's too lazy
| to mend his ditch is no excuse to us for
stealing his water" said Mrs. Hart, re-
lentlessly. ''Nobody's going to let of
horsethief just because ne stole moth
ing but stray horses"
There was pause of a few moments,
broken only by the crealSing of Mrs.
Harris rockingham.
"Aunty," said Annie, finally, "what
are you going to do about il? We can't
give him back the water"
"No, but we can give back all the
good the water did us. The beets," she
explained, in answer to Annie's puzzled
look.
"But, aunty," she said, fsintly, you
don't mean 10 give him Rack all our
beets?'
"They amt ours at all, child" said
Mrs. Hart, ''it's his water, that he paid
fer, that made 'em grow, and he has 4
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"
"But we bought the seed, aunty," pro.
tested Annie. land it was our land, and
we took care of 'em, an you're washing
for Mr.. Nordsen because he's going to
help us with 'em, ard lend us his team. :"
"Yes," said Mrs. Hart, "and the seed
would have been no good, nor the land.
either. if it wasn't for the water"
1t was well nigh half Of Rife Creek
that went slipping quietly around the
hillside in John Seymore's big fume.
and wandered in thousand tiny
streams about the roots OF his myriad
peach trees. Seymore had paid a good
ly sum in establishing and defending
the right to call i. his, ard was natu-
rally not disposed to part with it on any
light terms.
Hence he had the name. both in the
town and among the ranchers, of be-
ing rather "close" at bargain, and
hard man to deal with. There were but
few people, however, who really knew
him or were qualified to speak with au-
thority of his character.
Mrs. Hart and Annie drove in silence
along the dusty road from the mouth of
the canyon 10 the busy little town of
Rife Creek. Both were thinking with
vain regret of the things they were
to have brought back with them, pur-
chased with the money paid for those
beets, and each knew well what the
other was thinking of. As they drew
up before the new brick office building
that bore Mr.. Seymore's name. Mrs.
Hart handed Annie the re;ns.
"You sit right still, Arnie," she said,
''snd I'll be out just as soon as / can tell
him about it, and find out where he
wants 'em put. And heaven knows"
she added, cropping under the seat for
strap, shat 1 shall be glad
enough when it's all over" Annie sat
in a maze of childish fancies set in mo-
ton by the ever-changing crowd be-
fore her, until her aunt reappeared.
Mrs. Hart knocked tim:dly at an oak
door bearing on its ground glass panel
the legend:
RIFLE CREEK RESERVOIR AND
IRRIGATION COMPANY.
JOHN ID. SEYMORE, President.
She waited long IN luxurious ante |
room, and was at last admitted to the |
private Office. She stood anxiously |
canning the face OF Mr.. Seymore. He