Mower County transcript., 1904-08-17
swuss Than anythng gfelse. I've tried fo.
ana out Sbat afRs hinAs shboqt 4 row


svnss ;1i, than anything delse. 1've i, r,ed t.,.l
ana out xhat aRe thinls abolt t no,,, NJ
but she nayer pep9ons the subject to
soul. I've suffered the torments Of
the damned. made public confes-
sion In meetin', as we'll as I could to
show. my contrtion without implicatin'
Hank Williams, but It didn't do. a speck
O. good. All the members .swarmed
round me and patted me on the back
an said I was nigh the throne, but
Their pats Jest seemed to beat my guilt
deeper in. I was afeard O. the slight
est sound at night or my shadow in
daytime an was always countin' on
bein' tuck off by disease. One mornin',
in Shawn, ! noticed little red spot
on my cheek an tuck it fer a cancer.
was shore then that the Lord intend
ed to make me die slow, loathsome
death, an all at once felt weak at the
knees an couldn't hardly stand. My
wife come an found me. I didn't tell
her about my cancer, an she thought
was jest sick from some'n' I'd eat,
L
to tell i'm about the sore place. He
left some medicine, an made out like
tuck 1t, but th'owed it away. After
that I'd make point to stop an talk
to i'm every day to see ef he'd notice
my face an speak Of it, but he didn't.
I've started up to his Office fifty times
an backed out, jest beca'se I couldn't
bear to be told that it was a cancer.
Howsomever, one day, when it was
more indamed than ever, went to his
omce-as weak as a sick kitten, feeItn'
jest like man goin' to the scafrold
I went In an set down an waited fer
i'm to git through with somebody else.
an when he turned to me I said, Doc,
want you to take look at my face
he put on his specks an examined it.;
then he laughed an said: I'll bet dol
lar you thought it was cancer. Folks
nowadays is more anxious to raise can
GERS AN they are good .taters.' But
amt ttr I axed i'm. No. said he, 1T
hatn't nothin' O. the sort. Eff you'll
quit rubin it every minute in the day
an stop thinkin' about 1t, it'll go away
in week. I~felt as light as a feather
when left him, but it wasn't twenty
four hours fore had some other all
ment.
II was always lookin' fer the Lord
to show designs agin me. Fer one
thing, no children come to me N Mar
tina, an I interpreted that as meanin
that, sence I'd put life out O. the world,
I shouldn't fetch it in. Most married
folks worry when they hain't got some
offspring, but it worried me powerful.
I never seed happy child or proud
mother an father without feelin' the
Lords rebuke. Oh, George, George,
I've led the most awful life that was
ever led by human bein', it seems to
mean kept it all to myself, smilin'
along with the rest, an tryin' to find
some loophole Of escape. Now here's
whar you come in, an you'll think it
odd, but I've started in to explain in
full, an I'm goin' to do it. You, know
used to pass yore pas place pretty
often, goin' to my river mill an farm,
an at the mill frequently seed you
comm on that swaybacked old mare,
a-straddle Of yore bag O. shelled corn,
barefooted even in winter, with yore
hands an feet cracked with the cold.
1t was common report about how bad
you was treated by yore daddy an
what a awful character he had. May
be you remember the talk me m you
had, an how you told me how anxious
you was to git schoolin' an books.
That was the fust day after my crime
that got beam Of spiritual light. 1t
come all over me like fash that eff
could take you out'n yore degradation
an raise you to a respectable, useful
place in life could atone in part for
what I'd done. Do you remember that
day, GeorgeT'
George Buckley started, raised his
eyes from the floor in a sharp stare at
the haggard face before him and said:
Eyes, sir, l remember that day"
"Well, couldn't git away from the
idea. AS say, it was the fust bit Of
light I'd had. The following winter
you remember my proposal Somehow
was even then afeard you'd refuse,
but you went off to school. An then
the weight and bitterness of my heart
seemed to lessen. for every report had
was glorious. You stood head: you
made the best speeches.; you had the
most friends among teachers an pupils.
Oh, George, George, you don't know
what it meant to me; you seemed to be
totin' me out of rushin' rivera river
rushin' toward hell! Then you know
about the job give you here after you
graduated; every dollar you laid up, an
properly invested was proof to Inc that
God had heard my long prayer an was
answer1n' it In his own way. l was
putin into life man fer one l had
tuck out. Only one hitch occurred, an
that was when they threa tened yore pa
with arrest fer pennia' up them hogs.
Then you got desperate an started in to
drinkin'. But we squashed that, an it
went on smooth again till this-this
late matter. And now-oh. George. I'm
afeard-I'm. afeard the Lord or the