Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-02-27
: The Old cronies
J Charles Townsend, in National
: Magazine.


The last of the sugar snow ha
disappeared. The pussy willows wer,
shaking and nodding their feathers
4 heads. Crocus ana hyacinth and daffy-
i down dilly had climbed up bravell
thru the dank earth to greet the early
< sunshine. The robins. na'sre'S Choir
I listers, were voicing their ever welcome
! mathis. Spring had come with lance al
rest. and grabbed winter had fled in dis
may
/ doors and Joe and John drifted together
as naturally as two chips in bucket OF
water.
Kind err guess tn suckers II be rum
min t day John"
| You bet they will, Joe"
What d you say to- gon' spearin' p
Down t tn crick ~
yep"
suits me. Git yer spear. an I'll
bring tn key O. tn boat house
Soon they were strolling down toward
the river, thru a winding lane and be-
tween broad fields where the thick
green shoots promised an abundant
! harvest.
They were two old army chums who
had fought side by side from Bull Run
to Appomatox. and each owed his life to
the other. John had dragged Joe aside
just in time to save him from being
trampled by Stuart's cavalry, and Joe
had saved John from bleeding to death
among the rocks of Devils Den, on that
awful day at Gettysburg. after reaching
his side thru a Wild hell of rebel bull
lets.
When the war drums ceased to beat,
and the battle flags were furled, they
had returned home. IT pick up tn
in the burned family row. as Joe de-
clared.
They owned adjoining farms-the
best in the Genessee valley-and being
shrewd. careful men, they were able to
pass their sunset days in ease and COM
fort, growing young again in their old
age.
From boyhood they had been friends.
and probably had fought more pitched
battles with each other than they had
years in their lives. Joe usually got
clicked" but he never knew it, for his
pluck was of the Spartan mould, so he
was always ready for the next scrap
And tho they battled with each other,
woe betide any one who picked a quar-
rel with either; for. like fighting man
and Wife, they would Instantly combine
and give the outsider occasion for grief.
Naturally they differed in many
things-especially in matters political
and religious. John had been a whig
free soiler, Know nothing" and
hastily an uncompromising republican.
He declared himself to be a stanch old
school Presbyterian, tho he had rather
hazy views on the Calvanistic doctrine
and his orthodoxy consisted chiefly in
believing that all other views were
heterodox.
Joe described himself as Thomas
Jefferson Andrew Jackson don't -give-a
dunn democrat AS for religion, he
always asserted that he was an out
door Methodist" agreeing with Bryant
pies. So while he never went tn
meeting that was within easy reach.
wonder If tn ole tub leaks" said
Joe, as John opened the boat house.
Tub" snorted the latter. You
dum'd ole .fraid cat! This here boats
es tights an Atlantic liner. an safe
es Noah's ark. Ketch holt'n We'll haul
'er out"
Eager hearted as in boyhood. they
dragged the boat to the little floating
dock where it was quickly launched.
You set in tn starn, Joe, an paddle.
I'll do tn spearin'.
"All right"
Joe showed off and let the boat drift
idly down the placid stream. There was
joy in mere existence on such "a day.
The balmy breeze, the limpid water, the
rich ozone filling the lungs and sending