The Savannah morning news., 1900-06-17

be asked many times and perhaps be
threatened with a reduced allowance be-
fore the work would be satisfactorily done
J year from the time of his marriage
he had the distinction of being known as
the LATEST man in town.
1t is said that Satan finds some mischief
still for idle hands 10 do. Whoever fur
nished it, mischief was certainly done by
Aipheus Chubbuck. Not by his hands, to
be exact, but by his lively magma ton
and his active tongue.
There was a fair prospect that to his
other reputation would be added that of
being the greatest gossip in town.
by gentle ridicule, sly insinuation and
the repeating OF things people said he
soon had the whole town unsettled Old
FAMILY feuds were revived. new ones start
ed, while half the people would not speak
to the other half
One day, it was the first of April, Mrs.
Alpheus heard a strange sound In the
yard. She went to the window and saw
a gathering, rickety, dingy hen-cart drawn
by raw-boned sorrel horse On the
seat of the cart sat her husband and an
other man, a shabby, slouching direpu-
table looking man. Both jumped to the
ground when the cart came to a stop in
the middle of the side yard, and with ap-
parent haste embarrassed the horse
Then Alpheus took out his poke book
and gave the man some money The man
swung himself on the horses back and
with his legs dangling against her sides
ambled out of the yard and down the
street.
We'll of all things! said Mrs. Alpheus
and she went out 90 make inquiries.
II IN going into the hen business" said
Alpheus And just think, Lozy,. |
bought that cart for three dollarsr'
And got cheated. too" she said sharp
~ But then it's your own money
she added.
Yes, and I've got a dollar left to fix
1t up with"
"a dollarr' she said contemptuousIy.
How far will that go? IT won't set the
tires, to say nothing Of painting it and
fixing the broken doors"
"Oh. we'll" said Alpheus easily, "I
shall have some more money next month
and I'll do all l can on it myself"
For more than two months Alpheus was
missed from his old haunts and the rela-
tons of the villages became less strained
one pair OF lovers after another became
reconcled. and a number of the family
feuds We're as If they had never been.
All this time Alpheus was at work on
his hen-cart and people began to drop
in TO look at Il.
i've goa 1t just about in condition to
paint" he would say proudly IT'S taken
me a good while to get a. ready. but |
believe that If anything Is worth doing
at all, IL is worth doing well, and my wife
will sell you that It was a pretty hard
looking old trap when 1 got it. You see,
It's fixed up pretty nice now. OF course
1t won't show how much I've done TO il
til after It is painted. I had the tires
set and thas broken shaft mended, and
two new spokes and part of a rim i'm
that hind wheel. I've scraped and sand
papered II and put new snaps on all the
doors-why they were fastened with
clothespins when I got it-and I've fixed
a little railing around the Top so 1 can
carry things there IL l want to, and I've
got hinges on the seat and you see there
Is box under ID where / can carry my
dinner. and I've put up that frame for
an awning so l won't get sunstruck"
when are you going 90 start into bust
ness?"
"Oh. l don't know; time enough for
that when ! get my cart finished"
In due time the cart was painted. But
now, instead of going into the hen bust
ness, Alpheus began again to loaf about
the grocery store and 90 resume his old
habits When he went home at noon he
would look proudly at his hen cart, and