Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1902-08-02

"'Yes,' said he. The farms all
right, s'pose. But it's a wonder
Uncle Todd wouldn't "a cut the
brush and fixed the fences a little
before he went to willin' IL to folks.
There's most quarter of an acre O.
brush that's got to be cut In the
back lot. and more than ten rod O.
fence that's got to be fixed. Before
Uncle Todd went to leavin' his farm
TO folks it's a wonder he wouldn't "a
cut that brush and fixed that fencel'
Bound to kick and complain,
Charles p. Darlington was, and be
unappreciative and ungratefui. But
what started in TO making folks
travel miles out of their way to see
such a ding kicker and
complainer as old Charles 2. Barring
, ton was something that out-ding-
bumblegusted anything in the way of
kicking and complaining, and of in
gratitude and unappreciativeness
that even old Charles p. Darlington
had ever given a specimen of.
, A great big pepperidge tree stood
In field on his place, and he wanted
1t out of the way the worst kind.
but il you know anything about pep
Peridge trees you'll know that IL
amt any gentle piece of work to
/ move one out of the way. There's
no moro grain to a pepperidge tree
than there is TO a cork. and the wood
Is as tough and springy as rubber
; betting.
$50, by blasting a tree to pieces
I with dynamite or suoh, you get t.
! into chunks you can handle, the
wood makes frst-rate firewood, but
( it'd be worth a good deal more than
folks could pay for it to make it
J profitable to put on the market
Well, old Charles p. Harrington
figured and figured on what IL would
cost to blast that pepperidge tree
out OF the way and grub the roots
up. Any way he could figure il he
couldn't make the cost come out, so
ne felt that IL would warrant him
In doing the work, but he wanted
That tree of of that lot mighty bad.
he used TO lay awake nights try
a ing to think up how he could do IL,
but there was no use, and It worried
him like Sam Hill. One night in the
summer time there came I'D a bi0
thunderstorm.
{ Its a great place for thunder
storms, back of Hopewen Junction,
and the lightning does cut up around
: there enough to make some folks
, talk. At least it used to when lived
I over there. Well, this thunderstorm
came up and seemed to lust more
than throw itself about the Barring
ton place.
Z The lightning shot around and
dropped down in regular chunks.
When old Charles p. harrington got
up next morning and went out to
I take look over his farm. he found
{ that the big pepperidge tree waa
gone. Lightning had struck ii, and
1 the tree stood there numbering the
lot no more.
And lightning had done more than
simply strike that tough old pepper
idge tree. 1t had cut and split that
tree up into cordwoed lengths, and
ranked it all up in rows ready for
hauling away.
Now you would naturally suppose.
knowing how bad old Charles p. Bar
: rington had wanted ~ get that tree
4 out OF his way, that he would have
: just jumped and howled with ioT
when he saw that ID was gone, and
not only gone. but all ready cut and
measured to put on q profitable mar
ket-
but did he? Not he He was old
Charles p. Darlington first, last and
all the time. He looked at the wood
all corded up as regular as could be,
! and then growled out:
Its wonder the lightning could
mt just as web "a chucked that wood
/ over the fence yonder, into the wag-
on that's Standin' there and not put
me to the work o. comm in here and
loadin' it
| We'll, therei When folks heard Of
: that kick, they took to travelling
miles out of their way to see the man
4 who was such a dingbumblegusted
kicker and complainer and migrate
) fm citizen as old Charles p. Barring
ton was. And
But sayl" interpesed Farmer Bill
Leonard, while the man from over
. toward Pochuck still stares at Baldy
with his mouth open. THAT light
ming. What did folks seem to think
: of that2"
"The lightning?" said the landlord.
as if he wasn't exactly clear as TO
what the lightning had to do with
it. "Oh, what it did to the tree?
Why, that wasn't anything out of tho
way for lightning back of HopewelI
Junction, and nobody thought much
OF that pspperage tree act"
Badly, the landlord, paused. Farm
:, er Bill Leonard sighed. The man
from over toward Pochuck closed his
mouth with a snap, rose from his
chair, glared a moment at Badly, the
landlord, and strobe Pochuckward
without a word.
Now amt that too badl" ex-
claimed the landlord, going to the
door and looking after the retreating
Pochuek citizen. Just as like as NOT.
now, We'll never know what he came