The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1904-01-15
EZRA BRIGGS
INV By d. II.
TALMADGE
...Copyright. 1903, by 7. C. Mcclure.

My friend the postmaster and gen.
eral storekeeper of Harleyville was sit
ting on the front porch OF his establish,
ment lazily pulling small clouds of
blue smoke into the air and blinking
comfortably ut his slippered feet
which were resting against post on
q level with his face. l spoke to him,
and the feet slipped down with thud.
"Howdy," he said. "Some warmish,
amt it?"
/ nodded, wiping from my face the
perspiration engendered by an ill ad-
vised walk Of two miles over Il road
unshaded from n mcrcileSs July sun.
The family at the farmhouse where,
from motives Of economy, | was spend
ing my vacation had gone to Il funeral,
and l had wearied of my own compa-
ny. Wherefore, the afternoon being
too hot for fishing, l had come to Har-
leyville to seek cOmpanionship.
I'D have went to likes funeral my
SELF" said the storckecpcr when l had
explained thus to his understanding,
"only the rest of the folks wanted to
CO. and l didn't like TO close up the
place on account of the postotiicc. |
was down to likes when the great
damp breath blew his lamp out. | set
up with him two or three nights along
at the last"
"He was close friend of yours?
I asked.
"Well," signing eXplosivcly, there
amt much doubt he was considerable
close, and we was always friends, him
and me. l had feeling of sympathy |
for him during the last years of his |
life, too-Sort of an admiration for |
him, because he took his medicine like
q man. 'Tain't every male human that |
does"
'Then he had long been an invalid"
mo; that amt the idea. He wasn't
back nigh on to twenty years, when
him and Ezra Briggs was rivals for the
hand Of Martha Tclford. Twas nip
and tuck between 'cm. but Ezra finally
won the match. Ike was fool enough
to get mad about it, and when his pa
died, leaving among his other effects
mortgage on the old Briggs place where
Ezra was living, his parents both being
iefunct, he forecloscd the thing and |
made regular dickens of n bad mess.
ezra could have paid if he'd had an
ther six months, but Ike wouldn't |
yait. That was the beginning of q
mighty hard time for Ezra. Nothing
lie touched after that seemed to pros
Der. Him and Martha-there wasI1 no
a iasi to live in house
not much better than n shanty down by
the mill yonder, and the woman's love,
30 my wife and daughter say, sort of
took sick and died. I've heard tell there
amt much female love that's proof
against poverty long drawn out, and
heaps of what passes for real honest
affection leaks away through the worn
out places in woman's clothes.
Its my opinion that Martha wasn't
a real comfortable person TO live with
during the last two or three years of
EZra's life. I've got Il suspicion, more
or less founded on fact, that she was
sourer than the drcSs of vinegar and
that her patience sort Of shot off like
Calling gun once it had busted. Ezra
took sick finally with somebody or 9th
er's disease of something or other that
the doctors said was incurablc, and he
didn't keep up after that just poked
dEounu ana ErOancu TIL the trouble
knocked him down into bed.
He kept his own counsel pretty
much, but I've got notion he was
nursing feeling of bitterness against
Ike most of the time then. / said to
myself 'twould be n blessing if the old
death angel would only flop down and
carry him off before he done anything
that would shock the community.
But I was worrying unduly. How
ever much he may have been figuring
on revenge, there wasn't no bloody vio-
lence mixed into his figuring He did
give the community sort of shock,
though, such as twas Most of us
couldn't understand then why he done
as he did, but it is as clear as molasscs