Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-10-06
CHAPTER TX,

|" IdERD Is certain class OF
individuals that will gather
@1kSI around man in misfortune,
eSE2s and it differs very little, If it
differs at all, from the class that warns
itself in the glow Of a mans prosper
ity.
Horses were hitched to the fence
from the front gate all the way round
to the side entrance The mountain
people seemed to have left their vari.
GUS occupations to subtly enjoy the
spectacle Of common man like them
selves who had reached too far after
forbidden fruit and lay manned and
torn before them.
Their disapproval of the old mans
effort to hurry Providence could not
have been better shown than in the
failure Of them all to comment on the
rascally conduct Of the Atlanta lawyer.
They even chuckled over that part of
the incident. To their minds Perkins
was sort of faroff personifcation Of q
necessary evil, who, like the devil him
self, was evidently created to show
mortals their limitations.
The Rev. Charles B. Dole, a tall,
spare man Of sixty, who preached the
first, second, third and fourth Sundays
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 "fightin'
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, as 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 it.
Dole did not care much for Abner
either. They had engaged in several
doctrinal discussions in which the
preacher had waxed 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 have had some trouble, !
heer, sence l saw you last" said the
preacher as he sat down and began to
wipe his perspiring brow with big
handkerchief.
"Well, reckon it mought be called
that" Abner replied as he carefully
folded his newspaper and put it into
his coat pocket. "None of US was ex-
pectin' of it, an 1t sorter busted our
calculations. ALI 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 I 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! 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-
pects."
"Huh, reckon" grunted Dole, irri-
tated, as usual, by Abner's double
meaning. II take it that the Lord
hain't got much to do with human
speculations one way or other"
EFF just had that scamp that roped
i'm In before me minute, I'd fix i'm"
said Abner. do you know what de-
nomination Perkins belongs to?'
mo, DON'T" Dole blurted out, "an',
what's more, I don't care"
well, acknowledge it sorter inter-
ests me-" went on our philosopher in
an inscrutable tone, "beca'se, Brother
Dole. you kin often trace mans good
ur bad doin's to his belief in Bible mat.
tiers. Maybe you don't remember Jabe
Lyman that stold Thad Wilson's stump
suckin' boss an was ketched an put
up. was at the courthouse In barley
when he received his sentence. His
wife sent me to i'm to carry his pipe
an one thing or other-a pair O. socks
an other necessary tricks. little can
O I've soap, fer one thing. She hadn't
the time to go, as she said she had q
patch o. young corn to hoe out. found
i'm as happy as eff he was goin' off or
a excursion. He laughed an loved
1t nd be some time fore he got back
an l wondered what could "a made
i'm so contentcd. so I made some in.
quiries on that line. I found that he
was a firm believer In predestinatior
an that what was to be was. foreor
dained. He said that he firmly believed
he was predestinated to go to the Goa
mines fer boss stealin', an that life was
too short to be kickin' ag'in the Lords
way O. runnin' matters. Besides, he
said, he'd heerd that they issued plug
O. tobacco week to chawin' prison
ers, an he could prove that he was one
o. that sort eff they'd look how he'G
ground his jaw teeth down to the
gums"
Huh" grunted Dole again, his sharI
gray eyes on Abner's face as If he hal.
believed that some of his own theorie.
were being sneered at. 1t was ru,
that he, being Methodist, had not ad
yocated belief in predestination, bu
Abner Daniel had on more than on,
occasion shown decided tendency t,
bunch all stringent religious opinion!