Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-08-09
DAILY SHORT STORY
sHREwD JAsEz cRoWFUTT.
Original


has an especial gift he is unconscious
OF it, whereas if he thinks he possesses
a gift he is usually mistaken. At any
rate, Jabez considered his faculty for
making shrewd deals so pronounced
that he left his wife to do all the work
Oh his little farm while he traded in
hOrsefesh, cattle and such live stock as
farmers use. All the money that was
made came from the woman's efforts.
One summer evening JabeZ was
smoking his pipe on his stOop when
man drove up in a buggy and asked if
he could be accommodated with sup
per and a bed for the night JabeZ
was about TO turn him away when he
noticed that the horse he drove was
built for speed He at once conceived
the idea of getting the animal into his
possession by trading the poorest horse
in his barn for it and acceded to the
strangers request. During the even
ing he pumped the owner of the ami
nal TO discover If he was aware of its
value. The man did not appear TO put
much value on his horse, and Jabez
thought If he could keep him in the
house long enough he might make the
trade
Jabez had no difficulty in persuadinG
the stranger to remain over day. and,
for the matter of that, he showed no
disposition to depart at the end of
week or a month or six months.
He was all this time making up his
mind whether he wished to swap
horses. Then JabeZ told him to make
up his mind or get out, whereupon the
stranger snapped horses without any
Ito boot" and Jabez was delighted.
The horse he gave was not worth $50,
while the one he received he finally
sold for $500. This fine bargain, the
only one Jabez ever made. confirmed
him in the opinion that he was a born
trader.
One day the stranger told JabeZ that
he was staying in the region for his
health; that he had been greatly bene-
flied and proposed to remain indeti-
nitely. If .Jabez would let him build Il
small house on his premises he would
pay a fine rental and turn over his
house to JabeZ without cost on his
departure. JabeZ was delighted. The
stranger asked him to fix his own
rental, and JabeZ named an enormous
price considering that in Il short time
he was to have the building. The
lessee consented at once.
Jabez supposed that as soon as the
lease was signed the building would
go up, but bT the terms the lessor was
entitled to put his structure wherever
he pleased on Jabez's property. He
spent several weeks making up his
mind, then astonished Jabcz by ChOOs-
ing a spot which included the we'll
The well was about ten feet in the
rear of JabeZ'S dwelling, and the
new structure would be disagreeably
close, shutting off all light from the
rear windows. JabeZ protested, where
upon the lessor, instead Of claiming
his right under his lease. offered
handsome bonus, which satisfied Jabez
and gave him great confidence IN the
way he managed his affairs; also
certainty that the stranger was either
crazy or a fool.
With the final payment, lumber be-
gan to arrive and structure to go up
over the we'll house. There were few
windows and none in position where
any one in the old house could look
into the new one. This made the archi-
tecturaI effect peculiar. In due time
the building was finished and the
stranger moved in. After that he stayed
at home u great deal. Jabez wondered
what he was doing in his house and
one day condescended to ask his wife
what she thought about 1t. She replied
that the stranger had paid enough 10
do what he liked. Then one day JabeZ
noticed Il crack in his wall, but when
he called his wife's attention to it she
made light of it. Finally the hearth
stone. which had lain on the ground
in the same position for forty years.
showed signs of sinking Then Jabez be
gan to suspect something was wrong.
After noticing this last peculiarly
Jabez looked for the stranger to come
out of his house TO ask him some ques-
tions But the stranger did not come
out. Jabez waited three days, then,
thinking the man might have died, told
his wife that he proposed to open the
door and investigate. The wife told
him that he had best do 50 by all
means Jabez went into the new house
and found it filled with dirt. In the
middle was the well out of which the
dirt appeared to have come. Jabez
looked down and saw that there was
no water. In some way il had either
been turned of or the flow stopped al
together Jabez ran for a ladder and,
putting it down, descended and found
tunnel running toward his house.
Going through it, he came to an eXca-
walton upward. Then he understood
the settling of the hearth. Going back,
he told his wife of the wonderful dis
covery he had made.
She burst out laughing.
As soon as the good woman could
control her mirth she made the follow
ing confession: She had suspected the
stranger from the first and had at last
charged him with some especial de-
sign. He told her that If she would
preserve secrecy and not stand in his