Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-07-20
CHE Story Tsl'sr.
ACCORDING To HIS FOLLY.
BY Mrs. Celilla f.. Means


day. male redbird on a small hick-
ory tree was pluming his feather with
care. A few feet beyond a wood peck
er tapped a hollow trunk. A woodbine
ran in riotous profusion over its
decayed branches on which an oriole
balancing himself swung in pure de-
light as the vines swayed back and
forth from its weight. On a holy
bush near by a mocking bird sung
of his best, chirping wren on low
er limb gave a cheerful response. On
a large oak a jaybird hoped from
twig to twig, his sharp eye turned
first to one then the other, seemed
to be keeping watch.
"Hatching mischief, eh?" said Mrs
Skeeter aloud. "They say you carry
tales to the devil. You cannot tell any
harm of my birds to-day" The
boards fastened on the lower limbs of
the grove, on which each day crumbs
were scattered, evinced the care Mrs
Skeeter took of "her birds" She had
come out of the house with an open
letter in her hand. She was eager to
have her husband read it. A neighbor
had halted his wagon in passing, and
Mr.. Skeeter stood in the road In front
of the gate, talking to the man. She
stopped and waited in the little grove
in front of the house enjoying the
whole atmosphere of the day. AS the
wagon drove off, Mrs. Skeeter moved
briskly on to her husband. Il think
IL will be fine to Co." she said with
bright smile, as she gave him the
letter. jeremiah Skeeter took the
letter and read it slowly. He turned
1t over deliberately.
There's no use talkin' Caroline.
/ see no use in your going and spend
ing money. Women ought to be stay
ers at home, not gadders about. Your
sister Is more than welcome to come
to see you. 1 didn't never grudge one
of your kin a welcome to my house"
He spoke with an JUNCTION, as If he were
both good and great.
But jeremiah" returned his wife.
Hannah is going to brother Roberts.
It's the old home where we all grew up
together. 1 have not been there since
father died. We all want to meet there
again."
There's no use talkin' Car'line,
when I'm sot I'm sot."
jeremiah spoke in the slow satisfied
way of a stupid and conceited man.
The face of his wife flushed. She look
ed him squarely in the eyes. "Yes,"
she said quietly. And set fool is the
biggest fool in the world" With that
she turned and went back into the
house. Mr.. Skeeter was dazed. He
gazed at her retreating figure. The un-
wonted tone of his wife, as much as
her words were beyond all precedent.
In the thirty-five years of their married
life, his wife had never hinted, what
she had now plainly said. In fact, Mrs.
Skeeter had always shown Jeremiah
great respect. With a remarkable de-
gree Of good sense, patience and tact
she had built up in others the idea that
he was a man of sterling qualities.
The white cottage home Of the Skeeters
was eight miles from the country town.
There was a foreground of forest trees,
pretty yard with walks and flower
beds we'll kept. Everything presented
an air of thrift and taste happily COM
bined. Thirty-five years before this
October day jeremiah Skeeter, then a
personable young man, had brought his
young wife here from her North Car
olina home Then the house was an
unpainted frame building Of four
rooms. A rail fence enclosed, the So
called yard, in which was no sign of
shrub or fiowerbed. The dover Of his
| bride was a blooded mare, two fine
milch cows, furniture for two bed
rooms, a small wagon, several coops of
fowls and $500 in cash.
The money, Jeremiah at once inves-
ted in some acres of land ito square
| corner of his farm. The fine animal
| that he now drove to his buggy was the
granddaughter of the mare. Jeremiah
was good farmer. He worked moder-
ately himself, but had the faculty of
| making others work more. He was as
Pegotty expressed it, "a little near.
Mrs. Skeeter was what is known as
| money" the sale of chickens. eggs, soft
| soap, dried fruit-in short the surplus
of her department, she added, from
| time to time two rooms TO the house
built a back and front piazza and had
the whole painted. Her energy also ac-
complished the neat fence around the
yard, a pretty flower garden and a pit
dug and glazed for pot plants. She was
| cheerfully ambitious woman. One who
quietly made her plans-and as they
were reasonable, carried them into eff
feet She was not grasping nor ungen-
erous but had the rare capability to
turn everything to account At home
there was always abundance, no stint
ing in living but still always a surplus.
The surplus she sold. In this way she
had managed to transform the dingy
house into a pretty home. At first Jer-
emiah had insisted that his wife should
turn over to him the money she ac-
quired by her industry and manage
ment. He would put it out at inter-
est" She held her own quietly. He
had come to receive with much COM
placency the compliments of his neigh
bors on how nice his place was fixed
up"
jeremiah would have the money for
which the turkeys sold His wife had
all the trouble of raising the birds but
conceded this to keep the peace. No
one could eat a well-browned gobler
with more gusto than he. for as Jere-
miah himself said, he was "a good
feeder" No woman was more helpful
in trouble or more kind in sickness
than Mrs. Skeeter. Her neighbors knew
that they might always depend on her
if needed. Ungrudgingly IL was ac-
knowledged that no one in the settle
ment was such a good manager. She
was always busy, always cheerful. Not
much of a visitor only when she could
be Of use. She went every Sunday to
church Once week Ito town." This
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