The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-08-16
THE EVENING STORY
shrewd Jabez Crowfutt.

Jabez Crowfutt prided himself on his
shrewdness- 1t has been said that gen
ius is unconscious-that is, If one has
an especial gift he is unconscious of it, |
whereas If he thinks he possesses 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 on his little
farm while he traded in horSefesh, cat
tie and such live stock as farmers use.
All the money that was made came
from the woman's efforts.
One summer evening Jabez was smok-
ing his pipe on his stoop when a man
drove up in a buggy and asked if he
could be accommodated with a supper
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 possess
sion by trading the poorest horse in
his barn for it and acceded to the
strangers request. During the evening
he pumped the owner of the animal 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 a trade.
Jabez had no difficulty in persuading
the stranger to remain over a day. and,
for the matter of that. he showed no
disposition to depart at the end of a
week or a month or six months. He
was all this time making up his mind
whether he wished 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.
49, l@-- $50 al Tn1@ Ta-+
he was staying in the region for his
health; that he had been greatly bene-
flied and proposed to remain Indefinite
ly. If Jabez would let him build small
fine rental and turn over his house to
Jabez without cost on his departure.
Jabez was delighted. The stranger ask
| ed him to fix his own rental, and Jabez
named an enormous price considering
| that in 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 by the terms the lessor was en-
| titled to put his structure wherever he
| pleased on Jabez's property. He spent
several weeks making up his mind, then
aStonished Jabez by choosing a spot
which included the well. 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, whereupon the lessor, instead
of claiming his right under his lease,
| offered a handsome bonus, which salts
| fed Jabez and gave him great conf
dence in the way he managed his af-
fairs; also a certainty that the stranger
| was either crazy or a fool.
With the final payment. lumber be-
gan to arrive and a structure to go up
over the well 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
architectural effect peculiar. In due
time the building was finished and the
stranger moved in. After that he stay
| ed at home q great deal. Jabez won
dered what he was doing in his house
wife what she thought about it. She
replied that the stranger had paid
enough to do what he liked. Then one
day Jabez noticed a crack in his wall,
but when he called his wifes attention
| to it she made light of it. Finally the
hearthstone which had lain on the
ground in the same position for forty
years, showed signs of sinking. Then
Jabez began to suspect something was
| wrong.
After noticing this last popularity
Jabez looked for the stranger to come
out of his house to ask him some
questions. But the stranger did not
come out. Jabez waited three days,
/
died, told his wife that he proposed to
open the door and investigate. The
| wife told him that he had best do so
! by all means. Jabez went into the
new house and found it filled with
! dirt. In the middle was the we'll out
| of which the dirt appeared to have
come. Jabez looked down and saw
! that there was no water. In some way
it had either been turned off or the
flow stopped altogether. Jabez ran for
a ladder and, putting it down. de-
seconded and found a tunnel running
toward his house. Going through it,
he came to an excavation upward.
Then he understood the settling of the
of the wonderful discovery 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
way he would make her fortune. Upon
her agreement to do SO he had impart-
ed to her that somewhere on the
4 premises, which had once belonged to
money She had permitted him to get
it in his own way, he agreeing to di-
vide it with her.
| At this point in her recital Mrs.
Crowfutt took her husband to a closet
land opened a trunk, and Jabez saw
that it was full of money
MARY P. WINSLOW.
POINTED PARAGRAPHS.