Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-09-17

Horses were hitched to the fenc
from the front gate all the way roun
to the side entrance. The mountai
people seemed to have left their var
Gus occupations to subtly enjoy tn
spectacle OF common man like them
selves who had reached too far afte
forbidden fruit and lay manned an,
torn before them.
Their disapproval of the old man
effort to hurry Providence could no
have been better shown than in th
failure of them all to comment on tn
rascally conduct Of the Atlanta lawyer
They even chuckled over that part o
the incident. To their minds Perkins
was sort OF faroff personification of ,
necessary evil, who, like the devil him
self. was evidently created to show
mortals their limitations.
The Rev. Charles Il. Dole, tall
spare man of sixty, who preached til,
first, second, third and fourth Sunday.
of each month in four different meet
ing houses within days ride of Bish
ops, came around as the guest of the
farmhouse as often as his circuit would
permit. He was called the "fghtin
| preacher" because he had had several
/ fearless hand to hand encounters with
certain moonshiners whose conduct he
had ventured to call ungodly because
unlawful.
On the second Saturday after Bish.
ops mishap, az Dole was to preach the
next day at Rock Crest meeting house,
he rode up as usual and turned his
horse into the stable and fed him with
his own hands. Then he Joined Abner
Daniel on the veranda Abner had
seen him ride up and purposely buried
his head in his newspaper to keep from
Offering to take the horse, for Abner
did not like the preacher ANY to
hurt" as he would have put II.
Dole did not care much for Abner
either. They had engaged in several
doctrinal discussions in which the
preacher had wnxed furious over some
of Daniels views. which he described
as decidedly unorthodoX. Daniel had
kept his temper beautifully and had
the appearance of being amused
through it all. and this Dole found
harder to forgive than anything Abner
had said.
You all hive had some trouble.
heer, sence ! saw you last" said the
preacher as he sat down and began to
wipe his perspiring brow with a big
handkerchief.
We'll, l reckon II mought be called
that" Abner replied as he carefully
folded his newspaper and put it into
his coat pocket. Nope of us was ex-
pectin' of it, an it sorter busted our
calculations. Aft had laid out to put
new high back benches In Rock Crest,
an new lamps an one thing another,
an it seems to me"-Abner wiped his
too facile mouth-"like heerd i'm say
one day that you wasn't paid enough
fer yore thunder an that he'd stir
around an see what could be done"
Abner's eyes twinkled. But, lawsy
me! l reckon eff he kin possibly raise
the scads to pay the tax on his invest
ment next yeer he'll do all the Lord ex-
poets"
Huh, I reckon! grunted Dole. irri-
tated, rs usual. by Abners double
meaning. Il take it that the Lord
haint got much to DO with human
speculations one way or other"
Ell just had that scamp that roped
i'm in before me minute I'd fix i'm"
said Abner. do you know what de- |
Perkins belongs TOT"
NO, l don't" Dole blurted out. IAN.
what's more, don't care"
well. | acknowledge it sorter inter
ests me- went on our philosopher in
an inscrutable tone, ''beca Sc Brother
Dole, you kin often trace a mans good
ur bad doin's TO his belief in Bible mat.
tiers. Maybe you don't remember Jabe
suckin boss an was ketched an put
up. | was at the courthouse in Dariev
when he received his sentence. His
VIE sent me to i'm to carry his pipe
an one thing or Other-a pair O. socks
an other necessary tricks. little can
, lye soap, fer one thing. She hadn't
The time 10 60 as she said she had
patch o young corn to hoe out. found
i'm as happy as eff he was goin' off on
excursion. He laughed an lowed
It I'D be some time fore he got back.
an | wondered what could "a made
i'm so contcnted. so | made some in
lulrias on that line. | found that he
was firm believer in predestination
IN that what was 70 be was forcor-
iained. He said that he firmly believed
he was predestinated TO 20 to the coal
mines fer boss stealth. an that life was
90 short to be kickin ag'in the Lords
way o runnin matters. Besides, he
aid. he'd heerd that they issued a plug
) tobacco week to chawin' Prison
rs, an he could prove that he was one
that sort ef they'd look how he'd
round his jaw teeth down to the
'ums."
Huh grunted Dole again, his sharp
ray eyes on Abner's face as if he half
Believed that some of his own theories
we're being sneered at. 1t was true
hat he, being n Methodist, had not ad.
coated belief in predestination, but
Abner Daniel had OH more than one
ccasion shown decided tendency to
lunch all stringent religious opinions
ogether and cast them down as out of
ate. When in doubt in a conversation
nth Abner, the preacher assumed
oldness on the outside that was often
OF consistent with the fires within
i'm. Il don't see what all that's got
} do with Brother Bishops mistake"
o said frigidly as he leaned back in
is chair