The leader., 1897-06-16
-rruUUWWnHHHHWH"H""
! Entities Rules LOVemakins. :
z sY PAUL pHNeY. :
: Copyright. rs91l
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

,,otber Just across '"e a.,
hot Wasi Hill in the edge of the Big
Of You know, all this region was
nOOo srcd late, and although nearly
rlstbiog was cleared up on this side
eoIley and the pine timber had long
n ,ns cut off the flats, there was hcavy
ar,b of mixed hardwood and hem
- che west that stretched away
U'H don't know how many miles.
JAN and there the little openings" on
h' eide Of West Hill log houses were
W. ~, a. he seen and the folks living in
,Sem were sometimes pretty Prinl-
tive.
- ,o-,ccount of the lot. They lived
inV alittIe shanty old Rufe had knocked
so,her out of slabs given to him by
.Se sawmlll boss. They had only lit
u" natch of ground, and they lived on
sat thew raised, the fish they caught
'nJ what they trapped and shot. They
mInf steal. as know of, but they were
VI mortal shiitlcss, and young Rufe
vas worse than either his father or his
,aotbcr. In fact, he was so ALFRED
,.,r if | must put it that way, that
an the old man felt discouraged about
him.
younr Rufe was % before anybody
.nsnectcd that he could possibly have
anr ambition at all. But one day he
'ay Kitty Sylvester. She was the
da,ghter of the first manager of the
hr Earkley estate. Old man Barkley-
,be grandfather of the present Barkley,
Who never comes near the estate-had
inst nut the place in a managers hands
and moved away with his family. Now,
Kitty was real sensible, go-ahead
qrl She knew the Sylvesters were as
Good as anybody round the Corners,
= not n le-etIe better, and she tried to
live I'D to the family reputation in all
vars. When a girl, her mother had
baen famous for the work she could
do. and Kitty was not a bit behind.
Every morning in the winter she was
IN early and got breakfast by CANDLE
light All day long she wove carpet,
or quilted comforters, or spun stock
Ing warn, or did something else that
counted Every morning in the sum-
mer she was up with the sun, and
every day when it went down she had
cburned and worked more butter or
made more cheese, or in some other way
done more work than any woman any
where around could do. And she was the
sa,iugest girl in the county. Every
body said the was the smartcst young
woman going, and, naturally, she was
considered highly-dcsirable catch.
But she held herself mighty shy OF
them all for awhile, and it was regularly
gwen out that no young man need ever
think Of keeping company with Kitty
Syhester Who wasn't fully her match
both at working and saving. So when
it was noised about that young Rufe, of
all the world, had got him a pair of fine
boots, ruf1led shirt, docskin panta-
looms and broadcioth coat, and had
begun to shine up to Kitty, there was
general uproar. Folks couldn't believe
tat first, but it wasn't anywhere near
as hard to swallow as what came after
ward.
You see, the out-giviug ti!at had been
made about the kind of chap kitty's
husband would have TO be had sifted
,neyoung fellows out whole lot. Most
Of them were willing to work and will
Ing to save, and they all admired Kitty,
for she was as good looking as she was
Industrious and frugal. but her stand
ord was SO high it scared the boys, and
beaux got TO be mighty seldom on the
estate,
Now, as it turned out, Shiftless Rufe
thought more of Kitty than any of the
others, and at the very beginning she
gave him little encouragement. Not
much, to be sure, but enough to reform
him completely. lie WAS naturally
mighty hashful when he called at the
Big house, all fixed up in clothes he
wasn't used to, and Kitty at first pre-
tended she didn't understand that he
RAD come TO see her.
I'll call my father" she said. "Per-
HapS you want to talk about cutting
some cOrdwood."
No, said Rufe, directly. IL want to
Know II can keep company with you"
The girl was startled by his failure to
Deat about the bush, but she answered
quite rs directly:
certainly not. You're too lazy to be
eno"ed to keep company with anyone"
linen an idea flashed through her mind
but If you'll cut cordwood a whole
year. every day but Sunday and holi-
u0yS' you may come and see me-iust
Vnee' Here comes father, and you'd
Ve''er make arrangements to cut for
him on shares"
40 Mtty's surprise. Shiftless RUFF
s'0od his ground, and when her father
zane IN started at once to discuss the
proposed arrangement.
wal, Mist Sylvester" said Rufe,
siaSplng the old mans hand, 81 amt
I''ef been no great hand to work, but
wan must nave a chance to keep conp'ny
"1h NIFTY, and she says may come
MN see her after I've chopped cord
"Ooa a year. 1t won't be no fun, but [
~ nave Kitty and if I've got to work
.n :" her, why, then have, and that's
VI uere is about it,"
9nes'er was at first inclined to be
Snss al Kitty for trifiing with RUFF,
ous concluded to humor the situation,
~, au bidding Kitty leave the room. told
az young man he was ready to make
uargaln with him.
r.. lou can cut cordwood Oft the es,
wa. On shares. Rufe, of course, IL YOU
MI p. TO- and I'll set aside some trees.
Oh near your fathers shanty ON the
taL 'er SIDE of the flats. But you want TO
ss se OH them fine boots and them doe
s".. pants and that there broadclotb
On mn , ana you don't want to put them
~ho again till you've worked hard a
sa lue year. You're too shiftless to be
Ei, r"eu TO think a single minute about
VIII be. but" "''S
,est lou needn't say no more, Mist syl-
mns put in Shiftlcss Iiufe. but
To- S see Kitty again just long enough
" aSy good-night?"
ma IS said the old man, "you NAV
1s s Il tell her we've made the bargain
1S suggested" ~ ~ "'n
h..