The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1904-08-19
OLD MAN KENNEDY.

1 q as lltl idot WIN ~" a. ''N
for my groceries" said the old farmer
to- the country storekeeper. but by
Jucks. don't propose to pay you four
prices for sugar"
THE way / hgger it III be maxim
half a cent a pound said the store
keeper. sarcastically. That sounds
purity steep. l know. but by the time !
allow for shrinkage an storage an |
pay my taxes an sport my family out /
o. that half cent amt goin' to lay |
up much fer my old age"
Tho farmer grunted and then, say
ing that he would look around a SPELL |
he slowly departed.
Il had a chance 10 sell ont here four
years ago" said the storekceper. ad-
dressing Sol Baker Blame my cats
If / know why / didn't. There amt
no money in the grocery business any
more Every time man gets $40 In
cash he studies up the ST Looey mar
ket quotations an then comes around
10 fieger with me on a bill o. goods. II
figger him price on pair OF over
alls or plow clevis he pulls mail or
der catalogue on me an shows me how
much cheaper he can cit It by sendin'
of fer II. If I'd "a sold when I'd had
the chance / might have gone into the
hotel business an made money"
An you might have gone inter the
hotel business an gone busted OBJ
served Hank Judkins, the Gooseneck
school trustee Quit your hckin',
Rufe"
"Rufe reminds me Of old man Ken
nedy and the chance he missed said
/ Wash Hancock "Afore he moved in
ter Mizzoura an bought the Bush place
/ with its brick house an 800 acres O.
corn land. pascher an white oak tim
Der, ne owned 4O-acre farm in Penn
sylyanior where he had TO dig holes TO
bury the rocks he'd pick pn the land.
after he'd fenced with EN- an built
his house and stable with EN-. He jest
made out 10 keep the breath o life In
his body an hide on the ribs Of his
OK team an that was all, for years
But fnerly a fcller come around an
lowed that the rock was an extra fine
quality for bridge film an offered ter
buy the place an take his changes O
fndln o bridge ter I'll.
"Old man Kennedy sorter smelled
suthin' an asst the fcller to make an
offer The feller offered 1000 straight
up. Kennedy'd ben glad TO have taken
5000 afore that. but he smelled suthin'
stronger yet an he said 10000 was
the lowest fgger ne lowed ter take
fer It. Well. they dickered around the
best part Of a week an finerly the fel-
. Ter gave him $1,000 Then he socked
down a drill an the mex thing he had
an oil well that ne sold fer $4,000.
b That broke old man Kennedy a
5 heart. His grief was suthin' pathetic.
When he come here an began dickerin
fer the Bush place he looked S If he'd
Jest berried all his kin.
We'll. he done we'll with the place
He was a worker from away back an
that there bottom land IS mighty good
E land. Inside o. three years he had the
200 balance o. the purchis paid an
b money In the bank besides. But he
E couldn't git over scllin' his Pennsyl'
y vania rock pile fer 5000 when he
might have got sl5O,OOO for It
s He'd lean over the hog pen where
p the hogs was so rollin' fat that they
cd hardly git to the trough 'thout hell
an he'd say. If I'd on held OF NIGH
A ben driyln' around in my kerridg'
. ter-day.'
+ 1T got so at last people hated to b
around him, he was so everlastin' de
pressed about that oil well. But on
dav a tramp come along an ast hin
: fer A lob O. work Old man Kenned!
made a jump an ketched him by tn
coat collar.
You're the DUN villain at beat M
out o. my oil we'll in Pennsylvania! b
q SAYS. I've a notion to lick yer.
e "The feller looked at him sorter har'
e and then he says We'll, consarn mo
D. ia never have knowed you. You wa
n as lean as a rail when We made tha
y trade an now / bet you weigh 25'
/. sayl What are you hckin' about, any
d way? DO you own this farm?
,r " Yes says Kennedy; but If 20
he hadn't bilked me out O. my oil well
might have owned ha'f O. Pittsburg-'
If you hadn't met me you'd haV
hen erubbin' rock on that place yet
re- YOU wasn't in the poorhouse. says IN
ia feller. Your derned oil we'll gushe
il lest long enough to get me to put IN
er s15O.OOO back into It an then 1t gushe
v out You bilked me out O. $5,OOO-that
II, what YOU done-an' guess the iea'
'u YOU can do now IS ter give me 10
,e an suthin' 70 cat
of THAT took old man Kennedy bac
's: an he finerly give the feller job pioV
s- In corn an the feller worked wee
T. an then talked Kennedy inter advaT
ia Gin him a months wages an stole n
'll best horse an buggy an lit out Il
,1 parts unknown"
ms THAT orter we cured him talki
nm about his oil we'll" observed the stor
To keeper.
1T did" replied Hancock. but
never got over talkin' about the ped
gree an gait Of the horse the feli'
Sie stole. Chicago Daily News.