Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-05-08

the watermelon the family had Just
eaten. My Lord" he grunted, "ef I
took folks to taw ever time they ioked
about you-uns. I'd have my hands full"
"Well, they'd better not let me heer
en- THROWN off on us" declared Dave,
and he stood up and stretched himself.
But when you come to think of it, Ron
is SO different from the rest of us that
it's no wonder folks take i'm for one
O. that highfalutin' crowd. l tell YOU,
he's no slouch!"
Dave went out into the back porch,
where stream of water shot from
the end of a hollow log into trough;
the water came from spring on hill
side half mile distant. The inventor of
this crude aqueduct was Ronald Fan
shaw; he was only boy when he con-
ceived the idea, but he gave every spare
moment to its construction. He had
felled the trees, dug the long ditch
through the meadows and fields, taken
the level and completed what was still
considered marvel of convenience by
the neighbors. While il was building,
Jason Fanshaw had contributed many
peevish objections to the work, which
he considered a waste of time. but when
the clear, cold water gushed out at his
door, he melted under blaze of won
der, and now no stranger ever came to
his house who was not shown 'sthe wa
terworks."
Huh" he would exclaim with pride,
0pnhO1V p1Sn hoe L =
land high enough fur such thing. Col.
Hasbrooke would pay no end o. money
eff he could have it. He has to keep two
niggers busy film his tank an then the
waters stale an hot. You see, we sunk
our pipes SO deep that the waters as
cold as ice."
A hundred yards from the house
was dense, wood which stretched on
to small river mile away, and fur
Their on to "a high mountain, and here
Dave found his brother lying on the
grasss reading his Blackstone. In his
unlikeEess to his family he was an
anomaly; he was over six feet in height,
well built, slender, dark of complex
ion, hair and eyes. There was in the
shapely prominence of his brow sug-
gestion of strong mentality one might
look for in vain in any of the other
Fanshaws; his limbs had the slight,
strong look of blooded horse; palm
list would have said that his hands in
dicated the possession of refined, SEN
sitiye spirit.
"Oh, had no idea you was heer!'
exclaimed Dave. 81 jest thought I'd
take a walk to git away from all that
clatter up at the house. An to tell
you the truth, I've got quart hid in
that stump thar; don't you want to
wet yore whistle, as the Teller said?
have to keep it hid from the old man;
he's too ALFRED stingy to buy whisky,
but he loves it like hog does slop.'
You know never drink, replied the
other, firmly. His words formed a
striking contrast to the dialect of his
brother; there was vague sadness of
tone in his voice, and his eyes dropped
as if they were weary of the print upon
which they had been resting.
SWELL, reckon you won't mind eff I
take pull at it, said Dave. I'm dry
as powder-horn." He removed a fiat
stone from the hollow of the stump
and took out his flask. Here's lookin'
at you" and the neck of the bottle went
into his mouth.
Il suppose they made me the subject
OF their talk, as usual" said Ronald,
when Dave had replaced the flask under
the stone and sat on the stump, his legs
crossed.
Not any more'n common, Ron;
they've got to talk; talkin' comes as