The Western news., 1903-10-07
A HORSE TRADE.
BY s. e. KISER.

| heo .AClc WcIc Two men VINO Lrdde(
horses. Each traded for the purpose o
cheating the other, and after gettins
home and examining his property each
lelI that he had succeeded in his de-
sign.
After that they would take round.
about ways to avoid meeting. and II
TINE each came to have hang-dog look
Feopie wondered at the change which
nao come over these twom men. They haC
formerly been. good citizens and STEADY
church members. Both had been genial
male fellows, who had cracA ed the II hon
est country jokes and laughed loudes,
at them themselves, but alter the horse
| traoe they lost their old gayety OF spir-
| it's.
lhey kept away from church.; they
avoided not only each other, but their
nelShDorS, and from cheerful old souls
they became sour-loolling fellows, who
went about continually dreading some
, thlhs that they thought was sure to
happen or that might happen if it didn t
turn out otherwise.
But one day the horse that Brown had
traded to White lay down and died.
White was filled with joy. He felt that,
aIler ali, he had not cheated the other
man. his conscience seemed to pull a
large. Jagged prod out of him. He even
went out behind the barn and whistled,
just to make sure that he hadn't forgot
ten how. He was glad that he was not
cheat, after all, and that he could still
look the world in the face.
I'll go to Brown" he said to himself.
ana forgive him for gouging me- | can
aHord to be magnanimous, for wicked
ness is its own punishment. | wish
somebody knew about this. | hate to
go around just keeping it to myself.
never thought before that I'd ever be
glad to set cheated, but it's one of the
pleasantest things | know of. | wish
could afford it right along. The old
worlds all right It's the finest place
I've ever seen and one of the best things
IN II IS that old, dead horse out there"
NOW 1t happened that while White
was having all this pleasure Brown. too.
was happy. His horse had fallen dead
OF Old age and general debility, and he,
therefore, supposed that he was the
cheated one. He was SO glad that he ate
nVe or SIX green apples without noticing
what he did. The sour look left his
lace and he ran out to the road where a
BOY was riding past on a milk cart to
cut up with him and plague him about
the Addison girl with the wart on her
chin.
Il must go and forgive White for
"ronSlng me-" he said to himself, land
we'll be friends again, if he has the
courage to look me in the face. and at
nlSht won't hear the cricllets all say
Ing, Cheat, cheat, cheat any more"
so he set off down the road humming
Nelly Gray as he went, and SURPRISING
the people he met by joking with them in
the old way.
Presently he saw White coming to-
ward him. He was sorry that large
crowd would not be present when they
met. He wanted other people to see
how pleasant he was going to be while
Goals of fire on his old
friends head. At the same time similar
thoughts filed the mind of White. AS
they came nearer each ran forward. with
happy countenance, and an out
stretched hand, not quite understanding
why the other didn't hang back and look
guilty:
My dear old friend" said Brown, as
they met, Il want to forgive YOU
~ inst oninr
you,'' replied White. "The horse YOU
traded me dropped dead this morning.
You cheated me, but I'll not hold a
grudge against you. l."
What! Me cheat you! Not much! You
cheated me. The horse | got from you
in that trade died of old age couple of
hours ago. But forgive you. Let's let
bygones be bygones"
Then they stared at each other for
moment, and began backing away,
while the guilty looks returned.
When he got home Brown sat down
and Thought. At length he seemed to
have it figured out
"By jing!" he said, 81 believe a man
that wants to cheat and can't get the
chance is just as bad as the fellow that
does and gets caught at it."
But White looked at it in another
way.
Darn it," he said to himself, now
won't have chance to go to church and
look at Browns empty seat there and
feel like boy that got licked for steal
Ing piece OF pie that they've just found
out somebody else Took -,
Many mans conscience is in his
!iyer.-Chicago Record-Herald.
e t&t>s''.,