Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1896-06-04

gales and extreme cold. These condi-
tions he withstood so well that I had
hopes that the winter would pas with
out illness at the house on the knoll;
1 but one day early in February found
him suffering from a severe cold and
exhibiting symptoms which were most
uUfavorable. 1t was my first opPor-
. tunity to earn the salary of his medical
/ adviser, and fortune was kind. AL
| though he developed q good deal of
/ fever, and at the worst it was touch
/ and-go with pneumonia, a week saw
him practically out of danger, though
/ still quite willing to keep TO his bed,
and a good deal safer there than he
( would have been prowling about the
| house. he expressed no opinion OF Lis
| treatment, no thanks TO his doctor, no
/ impatience to be about again. I was
his physician, hired by the year, and so
| long as he was i'll my orders were TO be
obeyed unquestioningly; there was
no need of gratitude either way. 1t
was all very logical, no doubt, but it in
creased my dislike for him. There
would have been more real satisfaction
in persuading a dropping sapling to
keep alive.
After his recovery we Slipped back
into the old routine. He gave oruers
occasionally, and / obeyed them. with
! out question and without any great
| heed for the reasons for them. In fact,
| specializing upon this mans history or
his plans was such proftless business
that, for the time, gave it up in dis
| gust. He was 4 person who was 10 be
visited daily, who paid libcraIly for the
| attention, and who thus ":.a.i,a Ec to
pass my many leisure h"u-s p" "-=~rl.~.
easy-going comfort. Fhr g.. 0... r'.'
were no longer inquisitive about the
hermit; the theory of the brewer from
Charleston appeared TO have spread
widely and to have been accepted, find
ing believers far more easily than
would have been the case with any state
ment of the facts concerning him, so
far as they had fallen within my llnowl-
edge.
At last winter drew to a close, and
spring came on, advancing coyly, as is
the custom of maidens before whom
the world is ready to bow in eager hom-
age Then the last of the snow-banks
disappeared from the recesses of the
hills, the slopes grew green, and the
rank vegetation of the marsh fourished
in all the vigor of its strong new life.
Once more there were birds in the trees
end flowers In the fields, and once more
from the sea swept invigorating
breezes.
To all about me spring brought re-
newed activities. There was a fine
hustle on the FARMS and even the sleepy
village seemed to be awakened. For
the first time my ease became onerous;
l fell to inventing tasks to convince
myself that one could be busy if he
would. My horse, whose existence
during the winter had been all that
equine sloth could desire, was now In
steady service, for the roads were excel
lent, being sufficiently sandy soon to
rid themselves of undesirable moisture,
and 1 explored the highways and by
ways for miles around. Near the vii
laRe let my steed choose his own gait,
but when we found level bit of road
where there were likely to be no spec
tators the trotter had Gn opportunity
to prove his speed. He was all that Car
penter had said for him; devoid of
nerves, yet, when pushed, by long odds
the fastest animal III the region. His
appearance certainly was against him
Arching the neck he left to the younger
and less philosophical of his kind; his
head was carried as low as that of the
IL larra1aif TNlAxxr horse
in the town. He was free from the vice
of stumbling, yet often seemed to
threaten to lose his footing On the
slightest provocation. A high knee
action was foreign to his notions, aDd
his ordinary trot was a mere shuttle.
Yet he covered ground surprisingly,
even when apparently only lounging
along. His only serious fault, from a
practical point of view, was a hard
mouth, which sometimes made 1t no
easy task to pull him in after one of
our spurts.
We were jogging along toward the
village one day, when l heard sharp
pattcr of hoofs behind me, and soon
DIR. Banks clever little mare drew up
alongside the dark bay.
Good morning, Morris" her owner
called out, in his oheery voice, which
had done as much for his patients as
half his prescriptions.
Fine day, doctor" I shouted back to
him.
every professional-looking nag you've
got there" he continued. "Will stand
without hitching, I'll be bound"
HE answers my purpose we'll
enough" 1 responded, rather stitfly,
for after awhile jokes about ones horse,
no matter how we'll intentioned, lose the
charm Of novelty.
"Pity he hasn't more speed" said the
other, and, with twitch of the reins,
he shot his marc couple of lengths
ahead. 1t was probably his scheme to
trot hundred yards or so and then pull
up to watch In triumph my tardy ap-
proaah. When he looked over his
shoulder, however, the bays head was
close to his wheel. Much surprised,
and no less disappointed, he brought
his animal down to walk, proceed
ing which promptly initiated.
"Tve been wanting TO have talk
with you, Norris" he said. TT has