The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1904-10-05
RIGHT SMART o. FUN
LOriginal-

Nh oNefDeallnS man. Besides. old Sin
gleton was parsimonious and wouldn't
even pay his son the wages he gave
the hired help. OF course the Old 1aan
was rich. Stingy people always grow
itch. But what bothered Sam was
that his father wanted him to marry
Farmer Dudgeon's daughter because
Dudgeon was as rich as himself. Molly
Dudgeon was a Very unattractive
young woman, and Sam would have
none of her.
SO one fine morning in June Sam
was missing on the farm, and Il young
man who might have been his twin
brother, calling himself Bob Burton.
applied for work to John ketcham.
whose unpretentious farm lay twenty
miles distant The harvesting was on
and men We're hard to get, therefore
Bob Burton was engaged
Now. it happened that Farmer Bur-
ton had daughter Bessie, one of six
children, who was as pretty as d ripe
peach hanging in August sunlight. and
Burton (or Sam Singleton was as
much smitten with her as he had been
repealed by Molly Dudgeon. There was
something winning about the young
man, and Bessiewas as much attracted
to him as he was to her.
Bessie was a quiet little mink, one
of the "still water runs deep" kind.
and was so prudent as to her meetings
with Sam that her father. especially
since he was busy getting in the crops,
knew nothing of what was going Oh
| till it was too late. Then he dis
charged the interloper and put his
daughter under strict watch. He had
nothing against Sam, mind you, eX-
cept that he belonged to that uncertain
class, extra farm hands, many of whom
are tribe shiftless. Ketcham would
have been glad enough to marry his
daughter to a man possessed of few
acres. some stock and utensils, but a
rowing farm hand-never.
Well, Bessie remained the same duti-
full child, so dutiful and unresisting
that one would suppose butter wouldn't
melt in her mouth. But one morning
in October, when white hoar frost
|
to the spring house for some honey,
cast her eye up the road and saw her
dutiful daughter jump fence. get into
a buggy with the discharged farm
hand and ride away.
Pa she called to her husband, who
at the moment came out of the barn
door, "Bessie's gone away with that
| ic.so 1,1
git into wagon with him up yonder"
Without word Farmer Ketcham
turned back into the barn and began to
harness up. The only light convey
ance he had was out with his only rea-
sonably good roadster. He put the
next horse, slow one, into two seat
ed heavy wagon and drove away in the
direction the fugitives had taken.
| Now, the county seat lay ten miles
away, midway between the ketcham
and Singleton farms. Sam was bent
on reaching it and justice whom he
hoped to find there, with view to a
speedy marriage. He didn't know their
flight had been discovered and didn't
move in a tearing hurry till he heard
familiar creak behind; then he laid
on the stump of whip, and the race
began. Three-quarters of an hour later,
after various vicissitudes and delays to
both pursued and pursuer, the young
couple dashed up to the courthouse,
jumped from the buggy and ran up the
steps.
AS soon as the loungers saw the
couple drive up in such haste they
knew there was a runaway match.
Elopers always have the sympathy of
observers on their side, and in a
twinkling every lounger became a
swift footed messenger hunting for the
justice who was not in his Office Sam
and Bessie had scarcely reached the
room where the good man worked
when old ketcham drove up and like
wise dashed up the courthouse steps
Get in there" exclaimed lounger,
pointing to the open door of vault.
The couple did SO, and the door was
closed, save a crack for air. In few
moments Ketcham poked his head in
looking out the window and another
reading newspaper, went on through
the building in his search. Mean
while the justice arrived, and the con-
ditions We're explained to him. Since
the impressive marriage service was
liable to interruption in the Office, the
justice went into the vault There
was no light there, and he was obliged
to proceed from memory When near
| ly through he heard a commotion in
the Office. Some one had told Ketcham
what was going on in the vault. The
two men in the Office were barring the
way, and the old man was fighting for
an entrance.
Feel for her hand" exclaimed the
justice SCOT it? All right. l pro-
nounce you man and wife"
When the couple came out and
Farmer Ketcham learned that his
daughter had married the heir to the
Singleton farm he asked Sam why he
hadn't told him and saved all the fuss.
Wouldn't "a trusted father any
more'n YOU" replied Sam Besides,
there's right smart O. fun in q run
| away"