The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1904-08-26
In. O eferlse Of
the Mail ~ ~
y 42 Il X -. $t> |.
WALTER n. E001NT0N

~ mail carrier reaching 1OrW10
and lightly fecking . fly from the horse
with his whip. Eyes, l have had them
even on this quiet, country route. ]
recall one affair that happened on this
road, and not far from where We are
now. >a ,ss,-.;z, ,. !. lib. ~ ,s,t,g "a
The rural mail carrier 10 friend OF
mine, and sat beside him on the single
seat Of tho wagon enjoying the glor1-
GUS country drive which 1t 10 his busi-
ness to take daily. The scene was peace
full and quiet in the extreme. In the or
there was only the hum Of insects. the
purling Of hidden streamlets, the sort
sound Of waving foliage. ':1:sss !
{ The road at this point curved around
Z hill, skirting the base Of it, and there
was not farmhouse in sight. On one
side was the hill, rising abruptly sky
ward. we'll covered with a thick growth
Of young trees and bushes, q wild, un-,
cultivated stretch of country; on the
other side the ground fell away to q
babbling creek beyond which the land
was fenced of, showing here field OF
waving corn, there patch Of potatoes,
and farther on a bit of pasture land with
worn paths showing where the cows
were accustomed to make their way TO
the water. The whole picture looked
restful and prosperous, q typical bit
Of cup York state" farm country. q I
Farther on, on the other side Of the
hill and down IN the valley, nestled the
little town Of CORNING, which We had
left some hours before In starting on the
Journey to Hornby Forks, . distance OF
sSme Is miles. sSN .S 5000
The wagon was light and contained
besides ourselves only the huge leather
bag filed with letters, papers and mall
matter. This lay at the carriers feet,
between his knees, and from It he tossed
letters and papers into the little boxes
which the farmers had erected near the
roadway to receive their mail, or, more
frequently, handed it out to the men
themselves who were stationed e1-
.pectantly beside thsboxes. H.
when began to- work on this route"
the carrier said, which ! did for the
sake Of my health which had been Inn
paired. II not broken, by the too close
confinement Of q shop, / carried gun,
a revolver, I mean, as most OF us 40,
lust to be on the safe side. There were
registered letters containing money IN
that bag quite often. and parts OF the
road are rather lonely. Besides, am
not q big mansand never was powerful
one. So I carried q revolver In my hip
pocket. and felt secure. But as time
went on and the quiet and peacefulness
Of this part Of the country impressed
me moro and more, I began to grow
careless. Sometimes had the gun
With me, and sometimes not It was or
one Of these latter occasions that the
exciting incident have in mind oc-
CURED: 49,. ,.s.. g,
1T was beautiful autumn day, and I
had reached the top Of Horribly hill and
was about to take the road that leads
down into the Forks, when old Farmer
0riseer came hurrying down the path
from his house and hailed me, waving
an envelope. / pulled up and waited for
him. 2sfS "a . 55s$ssE, q :8s !,
.,95 he hnd;a letter, he told me. in which
he wanted to inclose some money. As
vas my custom, IN such cases, told him
rs could give the amount to me to-
xether with the price Of q! money order
and the ,unsealed letter and I would
rive him 4 receipt for the amount, and
81 REACHING the post ONCE ! would see
that the money order was sinclosed and
the letter sezt onsitsiway.
=. Iii right, air;;' sad he, IN his hearty
way. Here's the money! Pulling ont
v mil Of kreenbacks he counted OF: