Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-09-03

you must listen to-
"Listen TO %nothin'," Numbered Bish-
or. half rising from his chair. NO
body axed you two to put in. It's my
business. an I'm n-goin' to attend to
1t. ! believe I'm doin' the right thing,
an that settles it,"
'The right thing" moancd the old
woman as she sank into a chair and
covered her ficc with her hands. "NIr.
Trabuc," she went IN ficrcely, "whcn
that factory stock leaves our hands we
won't have a single thing to our names
that will bring in Il cent of income.
You kin see how bad it is on n woman
who has worked as hard to do fer her
children MS / have. Mr.. Bishop always
said Adele, who is visitin' her uncle's
family in Atlanta. should have that
stock for Il weddin' gift eff she ever
married, an Alan was to have the low
er half Of this farm. Now, what would
we have to give the girl-nothin' but
thousands o acres o hills, mountains
an gulchcs full O bear, wildcats an
catamOunts-land that it nd break any
young couple to hold on TO. much less
put to any use. Oh, l feel perfectly
sick over it,"
There was a heavy, ragging step in
the hall, and a long, lank man of six
ty or SiXty-tiv years Of age paused in
the doorway. He had no beard except
a tuft of gray hair on his chin, and his
teeth, being few and far between, gave
to his cheeks n hollow appearance. He
was Abner Daniel, Mrs. bishops bach
elor brother, who lived in the family.
Hello he exclaimed. shifting a big
quid of tobacco from one check to the
other. "Plottin' agin the whites? Ef
you are, I'll decamp, as the Teller said
when the bull y%ecrlin' butted i'm in the
small o the back. How are you. Mr..
Trabue? Have they run you out o
town fer some o. yore legal rascality?'
II reckon your sister thinks it's ras-
cality that's brought me out today"
laughed the lawyer. I'VE are on a lit.
tie land DEAL
"Oh, well, I'll move on" said Ahncr
Daniel. Il jest wanted to tell Alan
that Riggs hogs got into his young
corn In the bottom jest now an rooted
up about as many acres as Pole Rak-
er's plowed all day. IF they'd a-rootcd
in straight rows an not gone too nigh
the stalks, they mought "a done the
crap more good than harm, but Their
aim or intention. one or t'othcr, was
bad. Folks is that away. Mighty few
of 'em roOt-whcn they root at ALTER
anybody but the'rsc'ves. Well, Ill git
along to my room"
Don't go, Brother Al" pleaded his
sister. 81 want YOU to hep me stand
up fer my rights. Alfred is about to
swap our cotton mill stock fer some
more wild mountain land"
In spite of rs natural tendency to
turn everything into n i%cst-even the
serious things of lifc-the sallow face
of the tall man Heightened. He stared
into the faces around him for a mo-
ment; then a slow twinkle dawned in
his eye.
I've never been knowed to take sides
in any |connubial tussle yet" he said to
Trabue in a dry tone. "Alf may not
know what he's about right now, but
he's Solomon hissc'f to n
Teller that will undertake to settle a
dispute hetwiXt a man an his wife
more especially the wife. Geewhilikins,
! never shall forget the time old Jane
Hardeway come hccr to spend a week
an All thar an Betsy split over buyin'
n hatrack fer the hall. Betsy had seed
one over at MaSon's at the campground
an determined she'd have one. Maybe
you noticed that fancy contraption in
the hall as you come in. Well. ALI seed
a niger unloadin' it from a wagon at
the door II mornin', an when Betsy.
in feer an trenholm, told i'm what it
was fer he mighty nigh had a fit. He
said his folks never had been above
hangin' ther coats an hats on good,
stout nails an pegs, an as fer them
umbrella pans to kctch the drip, he
said they was fancy spitboXes, an
wanted to know eff she expected a body
to do Their chawin' an smokin' in that
windy hall. He said it jest should not
stand thar with all them prOngs an
arms to attack unwary folks in the
dark, an he toted it out to the buggy
shed. That got Betsy'S dander up, an
she put it back agin the wall an said
IL uu stay tlldT Fl size nuu 10 Stanl
behind it an hold it in place. All
wasn't done yet. He lowed ef they
was to have sech a purity trick as that
or the hill it had to stay in the best
room in the house, so he put it neer in
the parlor by the piano. But Betsy
tool it back two or three times. an he
larnt that he was a-doin' a sight o.
work fer nothin' an finally quit totin
1t about.
But that amt what I started in to
tell. As l was a-sayin', old Jane
Hardeway thought she'd sortcr put IL
word in the dispute to pay fer her
board an keep. an she told Betsy that
it was all OWN to the way the bishops
was raised that ALI couldn't stand To
have things nice about i'm. She said
IL. the Bishops she'd ever knowed had
a natural stoop that they got by livin'
in cabins with low roofs. She wasn't
spreadin' 'er butter as thick as she
thought she was-ur maybe it was the
sort she was spreadin'-fer Betsy
blazcd up like the woods atire in a
high wind. 1t didn't take old Jano
long to diSkiVcr that thar was several
breeds O Bishops out o Jail, an she
spent most o. the rest o. her visit bragg
GIN on sCme she'd read about. She
said the name sounded like the start