Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1907-02-22
IMhkZDZIH MghUZ5lW
MfhEYCSSfEz.. .ll7OzDSSHY6r
Ca9nEVT Iol5 6r Raa55 SeaeJ5 "a

of Annandale's main street was a
dock where several small steam craft
and a number of catboatS were being
dismantled for the winter. AS passed
a man approached the dock in a skiff.
landed and tied his boat. He passed
at quick pace, then turned and eyed
me with rustic directness.
Good morning." said. ANY ducks
sbout?"
He paused, nodded and fell into step
with me.
"No,-not enough to pay for the
trouble"
I'm sorry for that. I'd hoped to
! pick up q few"
81 guess you're a stranger in these
parts" he remarked, cycling me again
my knickerbockers no doubt mark.
ing me as an alien.
quite so. My name is Glenarm
and I've just come" =,
Il thought you might be him. We've
rather been expecting you here in the
village. I'm John Morgan, caretaker
OF the resorterS' houses up the lake."
Il suppose you all knew my grand,
father hereabouts."
well. yes; you might say as we
did, or you might say as we didn't. He
wasn't just the sort that you got next
to in a hurry. He kept pretty muLl
to himself. He built wall there to
keep US out, but he needn't have trou-
bled himself. We're not the kind
around here to NEEDLE, and you may
be sure the summer people never both
cred him."
There was a tone of resentment in
his voice, and fastened to say:
I'm sure you're mistaken about the
purposes of that wall. My grandfather
was a student Of architecture 1t was
hobby of his. The house and wall
were in the line of his experiments,
and to please his whims. hope the
people of the village won't hold any
hard feelings against his memory or
against me. Why, the labor there
must have been good thing for the
people hereabOuts."
1T ought to have been. said the
man grufly; but that's where the
trouble comes in. He brought lot of
queer fellows here under contract to
work for him,-Italians, or Greeks, or
some sort of foreigners. They built
the wall, and he had EN- at work in
sile for half a year. He didn't even
let EN- out for air; and when they
finished his job he loaded en- On to a
train one day and hauleia en- away" |
That was quite like him. In sure"
| said. remembering with amusement
my-grandfathers scoetfye ways.
II guess he was a crank al right"
said the nan coIcHsirev.
L vas e,iJent dat he III not careI
TO establish fr'enaly relations ~itr TIE
resident Of Glonarm. He IVES about 40. !
li-H, with yellow beard and rale
blue ewes. He was dressed roughly
and were a shabby soft ha..
We'll. I SUPPOSE I'll haze to assume
responsibility for him and his acts" |
remarked, plqued by the fellows surli-
ness.
We had reached the center Of the vii |
lGSo, ard he left ne abruptly. cross
ing the street to one of the shops. | |
continued on to the railway station,
where | wrote and paid for my mes.
sage. The station master inspected
me carefully as | searched my pockets
for change.
You want your kilograms delivered |
at the house?" he asked
Yes. please" | answered and he |
turned away to his desk of clicking in
struments without looking at me again |
1t seemed wise to establish relations
with the postoffice, so | made myself |
known to the girl who stood at the de-
livery window.
You already have box" she ad. |
vised me. There's a boy carries the |
mail to your house; Mr.. Bates hires
him." .
Bates had himself given me this in
formation, but the girl seemed to find |
pleasure in imparting it with a GER
tain severity. then bought cake Of |
soap at the principal drug store and |
purchased package Of smoking to-
bacco, which did not need, at a
grocery.
News of my arrival had evidently |
reached the villagers; was conceited |
enough to imagine that my presence |
was probably of interest to them; but |
the station master, the girl at the post. |
Univ anu INC ClcIhS III Iu6 SHOPS /
treated me with an unmistakable cold !
reserve. There was a certain even
ness of the chill with which they Wis. |
tied me. as though particular degree |
of frigidity had been agreed on in ad- |
vance.
l shrugged my shoulders and turned |
toward Glenarm. My grandfather had |
left me a cheerful legacy of distrust |
among my neighbors. the result, prob. |
ably. Of importing foreign labor to
work on his house. The surly Morgan |
had intimated as much; but it did not |
greatly matter. L had not come to
Glenarm to cultivate the rustics. but |
to fulfill certain obligations laid down
In my grandfather's will. was, so to |
speak, on duty, and I much preferred |
that the villagers should let me alone.