Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1902-02-15
SATURDAY. FEBRUARY is. 100.
The Courtship of
Hold and Jason D
BY HAYDEN cARRUTH.
copyrighted by Daily story Pub. Coz

r.
tant at Hawley burg, the home of
many experienced and intrepid liars.
1t is doubtful if the Hawleyburgers
themselves believed it all, though of
great capacity in this line. But the
Widow Gilbert certainly did exist,
though now married in accordance
with the tale; she also had a farm on
which was a likely hollow where the
chief occurrence might have taken
place. Perhaps it was the simple truth
after all. Truth is stranger than fic
tion-at Hawley burg it was very much
more of stranger.
There were several versions of the
legend known; let us take that of "Old
Dad" High bottle. who maintained a sa-
loon at Bofiuger's grocery store.
When the Wilder Gilbert was "a
running her farm" Old Dad would say,
as he munched dried apple and looked
at the newcomer with a fabby eve,
"she used to have to keep a couple O.
hired men, that there boy o. her'n not
being able to do much work beyond
hooking my watermelons and raising
the Old Harry generally. The wilder
was pretty likeiy-looking woman n,
femme tell you-bloo eyes and fetch
ing way. Abe Trotter and Jim Buck
was going to fight a duel about her,
but they compromised on pizening ca oh
otherses dog and sowing pusley seed
IN each otherses garden. Used to think
IN them days that the wilder put sort
ola soft-appearinge eye on yours trooly
but | fit shy.
This summer the wilder had her
usual two hired men. One was Hoe
Buckley and the other Jason Dobbs
Wei, now, you know how it is with
hired men-always lazy as all get-out
or more 50. Bound to soldier on YOU
no matter what you do. The only way
10 get anything out of 'em is to work
right alongside of EN- and prod ZEN
along. Leave one of 'em working alone
and he'll just naturally lay right down
and never wiggle wiggle till he see
you coming. And these year men, Hod
and Jason, was just the old great.
grandfathers of all lazy hired men. &C
to sleep right in their tracks, stand.
ing up, with their hoes h'isted into the
air ready TO hit weed. They'd both
worked for me, and the only way /
ever could get anything out of either
OF 'em was to use 'em for scarecrows;
and finally it even got so the crows
would roost on 'em-'and the fowls of
the air roasted on its branches as the
good book says about the ginger seed
But what do you think?-both of these
year shiftless galoots feu dead in love
with the wilder. And 1t had the queer
est effect on 'em. Hold braced up and
went to work like a steam engine.
Work? Wy, he just sot up nights to
work. Worked in season and out o.
season, rain or shine. Done the worl,
OF three men If he done a stroke.
Thought sure he'd catch the wilder
with his pesky industry, you see. But
1T had just the opposite effect on that
there Jason. Seemed to just sort o.
Petrify him. Couldn't seem to move
IL he tried. Managed to stir about q
little if the wilder was watching him,
but at other times just elapsed. The
wilder had pertater patch down back
OF the barn in little holler where she
Kept Jason a-hoeing the main part OF
the time. But all the hoeing he done
you could a-put in your eye. Didn't
work enough to keep his hoe bright
Just as soon as the widder's back was
turned Jason would get up on the fence
and set down and go to sleep, his feet
resting on the second rail and his ell
bows on his knees and his face in his
hands. Always, regular, all day long
there Jason sot, snoring steady. 1 tel
you Satan never found no work for
them idle hands to do, cause he
wouldn't work at nothing. The rea.
son that Jason got on the fence was
that the ground down there in the
holler was sort o. wet and sudgy and he
was afeerd of rheumatic.
We'll, it made Hold mad to see his
self doing al the work and Jason al
the resting, even though he was sur,
he would catch the wilder by it. Hs
didn't like it cause the wilder WOULDN'T
discharge Jason, and he sot about
bringing ridercule onto his head. Fuss
he knocked down the rail fence and le II
Jason without his natural means OF
support. But he knowed this WOULDN'T
do, with old Deacon Thorp's COW.
ranging about seeking wot they might
deVour, so he put up a wire fence
not barbed wire, cause it wasn't in
vented yet, but old-fashioned smooth
fence wire. Strung up five wires from
post to post down long the side OF
the pertater patch and 'crost the hollel
where Jason was 'customed to roost
There says Hold, 4 reckon that will
fetch him. Leastways he'll have to la
down on the sudgy ground now and ge
the chills, and I'll get rid of him, any
how But did it fetch him? Notmuch
Jason just put his coat on the TOT
wire, clumb up, sot down, hooked hi!
heels on the second wire and wen
plumb to sleep as soon as the widdeI
wasn't looking. In fact, 1 think h,
slep' better, cause he swayed it'll,
in the breeze and it sort O. rocked hin
and made him dream he was a chile
again in his mothers cradle.
AT fust Hod was dead beat. He
too many for me- says Hold. The wild
der might Just as well put a spriny he,