Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-06-19

Now, he would, for fact, wouldn'-
her"
|
II you want him, quick and short, +
would be-whlskers, secret societies
statistics and plug tobacco, the latter
mostly worked up. That was Majt
Sampson.
Bluntly, a wind bag; 27O pounds Of
atmosphere, up on benevolent frater
mites, up on politics, up on the money
question, up ON everything. The sever
financial conspiracies engaged Majt
Sampson's attention pretty continual
ly and had for him practical appli
cation. There were never less thar
seven conspiracies afoot in Medicine
Bend to make Maize Sampson pay up.
Pay? Indeed, he did pay. He was
always paying. 1t was not question
Of paying; not at all. 1t was ques
ton of paying up. which is different.
The children-they were brickbats
tow headed, putty faced, wash eyed
youngsters Of all sizes and conditions
About Maze SIMPSONS children there
was but one distinguishing character
istic-they were all boys, nothing but
boys, and they spread all over town
Was there q baby run over? It was
Maze SIMPSONS. Was there a child
lostP Maze Simpsons. Was there
violently large headed, coarse featured
hangdog. Gathering sort Of chap any
where around-in the street, station
roundhouse. yards, stock pens? 1t was
brickbat, sure-ons Of Maze Samp
sons brickbat boys.
The Simpsons were at the end Of the
street, and the end Of the street was
up the mountain. Maze SIMPSONS lo
"raired," as Neighbor put it-stOOd OF
its hind legs. His house had startling
tumble over aspect as you approached
II. The back end Of his lot ran up into
the sheer, but he marked the line sharp
" by a kind of horizontal fence, be-
cause the cliff just above belonged te
the corporation that owned everything
else on earth around Medicine Bend.
Maize Sampson did not propose to lei
any grasping corporation encroach or
his lines, 80 he built, and added to from
time to time, cluster cf things OH the
hind end Of his lot-an eruption OF
small buildings like pimples on n boys
nose, running down in size from the
barn to the last drygoods box the boys
had heaved up the slope for doghouse
To add to the variety some one OF the
structures was always getting away In
the wind, and II anything smaller than
hotel was seen careening across lots
| In q Medicine Bend breeze 1t was spot
ted without further Investigation us
Maize Simpsons. When the gale abated
Joe McBracken, who conducted the 10
cal dray line, was pretty sure to DC
seen with a henhouse or wood shed
or something likewise, loaded on bis
trucks headed for Maze SIMPSONS
Once the whole lean-to Of the house blew
of, but Joe McBracken stood ready
for any emergency. He met the NAV
erlck addition at the foot Of the grade
loaded 1t OH his house moving truck
hitched on four bronchos, crawled In
side the structure and, getting the lines
through the front window, drove uI
Main street before the wind had gone
down. Joe was photographed In the
act, and aftcrward used tue exhibit In
getting Judgment against Maze Samp
son for his bill.
Now, a man like MAZE wouldn't be
likely to have very much Of a run mol
very much Of an engine. He had the
284, an old pop bottle. with a stack like
tepee turned upside down. For run
he had always trains Nos. % and ~
the local frcights, with an accommoda
tion coach east of Anderson. There
were times Of stress frequently OH the
West End, times when everybody ran
first In first out, except Maize Sampson
He always ran Nos. 20 and 30 west to
Silver River and back. A pcttifogglng
cheap, Jerk water run with no rights tc
speak of, not even against respectable
handcars.
The only things Maze Sampson did
not have to dodge were tramps. blanket
Indians and telegraph poles; everything
else side tracked Nos. 20 and 30 and Maze
Sampson. Almost everybody OH through
trains must Mt some time have seen
Maize Sampson putting on siding as
Moore or Mullen shot by on No. ] OF
No. 2. Maze was so big and his cal
80 little that when he got his head
through the window you couldn't see
very much of the cab for shoulders and
whiskers and things. From the cal
| window he looked like fourteen-year
| old boy springlng out Of ten-year-old
1acket. Three things only made Majt
tolerable. First, the number Of benev0
lent orders he belonged to; second. De
LARGO; third, Martie.
Maze Sampson was Joiner ana
sitter up. He would join anything OF
the West End that had ritual. griT
and q password, and he would sit III
night after night with anybody that
had broken leg or fever, and, II
nothing better offered. Maze, rather
than 60 to bed, would tackle a mar
with the stomach ache. This kind Of
| took the cuss of, but he was that pc
culiar he would sit up all night with
| sick man and next day make everybod!
sick talking the money question:
least everybody but Delaroo. II DE
LARGO was bored he never showed 1t
As long as Maze would talk Delaro'
would listen. That single word was. II
fact, the key to Delaroo. Delaroo wa
a listener: for that reason nobody knew
much about him.
He wasn't railroad man by birth
but by adoption. Delaroo came from
the mountains; he was Just plail
/ mountain man. Some said bis fathe
was a trapper; II so, 1t explained every
thing-the quiet, the head bent inquir
ingly forward. the modest unobstrusive
nesS of a man deaf. OF size ant
shape nothing remarkable, Delaroo-bu
a great listener, for though he looke'
like a deaf man he heard like a dis
hatcher and saw marvelously from on
the ends of his silent eyes. Delaro
for all the world was trapper.
He came into the service az q round
house sweeper; then Neighbor, after
long time. Dut him at wiping. DeIaro'