The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-12-13

thing, and what's more,
It never will be-"
Farmer Stone stood looking down in
evident disgust at the water trough
and faucet which had just been placed
by the town officers in his barnyard.
Not n drop of water came through the
faucet, although It was wide open.
When the town officers of Southville
had applied to Farmer Stone for per-
mission to dig a ditch and lay a water
pipe through bis land on the way
from the springs above to the village
below, he had told them that he did
not need any of the water and he
could not see why he should have his
farm all dug up to benefit somebody
else unless he were to receive an ade-
quate return.
The water commissioner Of the viii
lage, sturdy Luke Mathers, declared
that he would take the law to Farmer
Stone" To which he had just replied
that he might take the law and wal
Top him as much as he pleased"
Then Luke did go to the law, and
found that Farmer Stone was correct.
The right Of way across private prop
erty had q value which must be con-
sidered before entering upon 1t. But,
like many another man, Luke was
stubborn, and he did not want to APP
pear to have yielded in any way what
ever.
Sitting on the fence he had argued
with Farmer Stone the better part
of a day on the wonderful benefit it
would be to the people of the village,
and that nothing Farmer Stone could
do would bring him so many friends.
He would be public benefactor. The
village was poor and could not afford
to go to great extremes in the matter
Of right Of way.
Arguments were useless, Farmer
Stone said. The farmers were swim
died on every hand by unfeeling cor
pOrations; and he'd be just as foolish
as the rest of them if he followed their
lead like a "passel O. sheep"
1t was just at this juncture that a
would-be arbitrator arrived ON the
scene, the very pretty daughter of
Luke Mathers, so fair and so sensible
that Joshua Stone, the stirring son of
the man who owned the farm, had
been suspected for more than a year
of caring more for her than for any
other woman in the world.
One afternoon not long after her
fathers failure to come to terms with
scene of contention with her father
and sat for long time in the carriage,
listening with sorrowful countenance
to the conversation Of the two uncom-
promising men, Then she made a
proposition.
'Mr. Stone" she said very sweetly,
''if the town would put a nice water
trough here in the barnyard and furn-
fish it with faucet, so that you could
have all the water you need the year
round, would you not be willing to
let the line go through your landY
Farmer Stone thought Mettie never
looked prettier. But he was not SO
easily captured. If he wanted water
trough he supposed he could put il
there
''But you haven't got the spring
have youg' Mettie innocently queried
And this settled that part of Farmer
Stones argument. 1t was fact thai
his farm was destitute of springs; an(
when, as always happened in dry sea
sons, the wells on his farm failed his
place was as dry as the desert Of Sa
hara.
"Well, I'll have to think about it.
amt one of the kind to make up m!
mind in hurry You'd be willing t,
do that, wouldn't you, LukeY
'Why, it's more than I ought to do
but if you'll say right now that that'l
be satisfactory think we can clos
the bargain. Tomorrow might no
want to do it. It's making a grea
concession on my part-a great con
cession."
But Farmer Stone knew his advau
tage and he pressed it.
"All right So fur as I'm concerne
It don't make no difference"
There was a tone of independence 1
his voice which at once brought til
commissioner to terms.
II didn't propose it, but I Away
did stand by what Mettie says mus
and I viii now"
Joshua felt his heart leap with
him when Mettie gave him one Of he
mos approving glances as the ca
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