The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1902-09-04

ed on his ten-mlle drive.
While he was unloading the cider in
front of Schwinbeck's saloon one of
his neighbors, Sam Mutry, came along
and said:
Hello, Gersh, didn't you bet the
cider on the election? Well, you've lost
it, so you may as well pay up to-day"
''All right" said Gershom, come in
and Wen fix it."
A group of vermillion-nosed loung-
ers about the door came in too. The
affable Schwinbeck set out a row Of
bottles, with the remark:
Yes, yes, shentlemens, here is shust
what you vants-some of last years
Pender cider. l keeps it a purpose till
after the 'lections."
Before Gershom left the saloon he
had added some fourthrate whisky
to Bender cider, and on his homeward
way team and wagon came clatter-
ing close behind him, and a thick,
drunken voice shouted: Now for a
race, Gersh Bender!"
He had scarcely time to turn his
head when he saw Sam Mutry nearly
upon him, and too drunk to know what
he was doing. In trying to pass Ger
shom, his horses SHE'D at a piece of
loose paper and veered round in such
a way that the wheels of his heavy
wagon struck the lighter ones of Ger
shom's and-but who can tell just
what happened, with one thoroughly
drunken man, and the other only half
himself! The new spring wagon lay
by the roadside almost total wreck
and Colonel, Gershom's fleet, high-spir-
tied horse, the pride of his stable, had
an ugly cash on one shoulder.
How dismally unlike was this home
going from the hopeful starting out in
the sunny morning!
Gershom rode the uninjured horse,
and led poor, limping Colonel by his
side. His mind went back to the
breakfast table conversation; he
thought of Grace's earnestness in de-
nouncing the selling of cider to old
Schwinbeck, and it was anything but
cheerful to anticipate the look on her
face when she would hear the outcome
of the day.
A dangling buckle on the horse he
was riding kept up ceaseless jingle,
jingle, and to his but partly cleared
brain it said: what a fool! What a
fool" He stopped down and adjusted
the offending buckle, and Immediately
the strain was taken up by piece of
Colonies harness, varied somewhat by
his hating, painful steps: Worse
than a fool! Worse than fool" and
Gershom Bender said half aloud:
well, guess it's So"
He was even denied the solace Of
thinking to secure damages from Sam
Mutry, for what could be recovered
from man whose farm was mort
wife held the purse-strings?
Then he thought of poor Tom Car
ter, frozen to death along this very
road, but stones throw from this
spot, and of Toms last maudlin NUT
terings for more Bender cider" He
thought of what had occurred at home
but few weeks ago, on a day when
he had taken load of cider to town.
On that day his son Jim and the hired
man, following the example the head
of the house so frequently set them,
thought it good time to treat them
selves to little spree on his cider,
and of course, drew from the hard
est" barrel in the lot. In their gen.
eral feeling of good fellowship and
wishing to give everything as good a
time as they themselves were having,
they turned out into the pasture lot
a horse of such well-known vicious
habits that he was never allowed the
freedom of the fields, and in less than
an hour promising colt had received
a fatal kick from the old brute's heels,
Somewhat later in the day, in their
drunken stupidity, they left the feed
room door invitingly open, and the
best cow. handsome thoroughbred
Jersey, walked in and helped herself
generously to everything she fancied;
and the next day she was a dead Jer-
sey.
just then another loose buckle now
took up the song: Does it pay? Does
it pay?" The weary ride ended at last,
and it makes no difference to you nor
to me what Grace said, but she had the
Christian forbearance not to saw:
"Well, L told you sou
Two weeks after this poor Colonel
was dragged out to a quiet resting
place beside the Jersey and the colt.
Grace looked out of the kitchen win
dow and saw her father sitting on a
log by the barn. She went out in
tending to speak some cheering word.
She had never seen SO strange and peni-
tent look on his face, and at sight
of her it changed to one of grim de-
termination. His voice was not quite
steady as he said:
well, Grace, it doesn't pay, and old
Schwinbeck will never get another
drop of cider from me-"
Grace's joyous 20, papa, I'm so glad
so glad!" and the resounding kiss on
his weather-beaten cheek were even
sweeter to his money-loving soul than
the jingle of old Schwinbeck's dollars.
Anna Beulah Kerr, in Union Signal.