Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-03-20
THE CROAKER
[Original.l

Hans and Katrina Shaeffer were a
young couple who had come to Ameri
ca from Germany INT settled on a
farm In the west. They were having
a hard time of 1t, for they had no
money with which to stock their farm,
when a son was born to them. The
father did not welcome the little stran-
ger, giving as an excuse that he saw
nothing ahead for the boy but a life
of poverty, and poverty meant slavery.
Not so Katrina. A mother is too abb
sorbed in her child to worry about it's
future. She contented herself with the
care of little Peter, as he was named,
trusting to his own strength when he
became a man to bring him comfort.
The father never got owe croaking,
as the mother called it, about Peters
future, and when the boy was old
enough to- play with little Gretchen
Becker, the daughter of George Beck
err, who occupied the adjoining farm,
Hans said: 'sSee, there is more misery
coming. BY and by they will marry
and bring more children into the world
to suffer- This constant foreboding
hung like a dark cloud over Katrina's
life. 1t tended to draw her nearer to
her son and estrange her from her hus-
band. The mother gets the greater
part of a child's affections, n little
Peter showed his preference for his
mother from the first. This was nat
ural. How could he love a man who
was continually telling him and his
mother that he would grow up to beg
gary?
One matter especially tended to make
this division in the family of the father
on one side and the mother and son on
the other. Hans had a secret Will
he told neither of them. From little
Peters birth every now and then he
would go somewhere at night after
they had gone to bed, always remain
ing away about the same length of
time, an hour. Katrina did not ask her
husband where he went. She Knew
that If he wished her to know he would
tell her. When her son became old
enough for her to talk with him about
his fathers absences, the secret drew
them closer together and separated
them the more from the husband and
father. Peter suggested that he follow
his father to see where he went and
what he did, but Katrina said NO."
and Peter, though very young, had the
good sense to agree with her.
AS Peter emerged from childhood to
enter Upon youth 1t was noticed that
he and Gretchen were as devoted
as ever. None but themselves Knew
when the change came between a
childish friendship and the love of
maturity, but there came a time when
ali who knew them saw thai the bridge
had been crossed. Katrina dreaded the
n-v third -rsouid So
to in There are two
fools sowing the wind to reap the
whlrlwind." But for a long while Hans
had ceased his croaking and said moth
ing about what he saw plainly.
Hans was a Woodworking man and a
good husband and father. Neither his
wife nor son had any complaint to
make of him except the morose view
he had always taken of the boys fu-
ture. As time went on he got money
to buy stock INT tools for his farm
and before Peter came of age had farm
n stock and tools paid for. But be-
yond this he had nothing to show for
twenty years of toll.
One day Katrina nerved herself to
speak to her husband about their boys
love affair. She told Hans that Peter
was going to marry Gretchen.
Eyes; l know" said Hans. when
will they be married?"
"As 500 as the crops are gathered
Hans turned away without a word.
Katrina sighed. She would have rath-
er had him say, 81 told you SOP thar
nothing. People who will not either
oppose us or agree with us are the
most irritating. Peter had been told
that if he left his fathers farm he
would be employed on Becker's farm,
but could only expect the wages of an
ordinary hand and that only when the
crops were being gathered. Peter had
saved enough to carry him and wife
through the first winter. He wanted
to ask his father If he could continue
10 Work Tor MIN, out dreaded TO speak
of the matter.
However, the wedding day came
round. The two families were sitting
at the wedding supper when Hans rose
and said:
Katrina, now l show you where |
have been going nights"
Followed by the party, he went out,
taking q lantern with him and ooross
to the barn, where he stopped for a
spade. Then he went on to a corner
Of his land farthest from the road and
occupied by a clump of trees. In the
center of this thicket he began to dig
and o unearthed an old trough with
a cover ON it. Taking up the trough,
he carried it to the house and turned
II aunc on flo taLla Out raIIad q -.