The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-07-17
The Yankee Pass.



passed through the Mohawk valley OF
his way to Albany. The day was Sun
day. and there was law among th'
Dutchmen Of those parts that no ont
should travel on that day. Moreover
there was as much antlpathy between
Dutchmen aud Yankees as there Is be
tween cats and mice. How the Dutch
ever left Holland TO make homes In 0
new country beyond the sea no his
torian has ever explained, for when 0
Dutchman was once settled anywhere
he never moved. Not so the Yankee
He would take up piece OF land, I'm
prove II, sell II and go somewhere else
"Mein Colt" exclaimed one OF the
deacons OF the Dutch church, ''see that
Yankee travelling on the Lords day
Was ever such blasphemy? Let us
take him before Justice Van der Donl;,
who will doubtless mete out his pun
ishment."
SO they took Aaron before the Jus
tice. He was sitting under an apple
schnapps beside him and long clay
pipe in his mouth. This Is not men
toned as an unusual position for the
great man, for all the long day he sat
in no other AS Aaron was taken be-
fore him the peddler saw pair OF
blue eyes looking at him from a win
dow In the house. There was some
thing In the young girl who owned
them to attract him, and there was
that in the peddler's spry step and
twinkling eye to catch her fancy.
"What you travel Sunday for?" ask
ed Van der Donk, taking his pipe out
OF his mouth and looking sternIy at the
peddler.
I'm goin' to Albany and from there
down east. / have sold my wares and
want to get home"
Him." said the Dutchman, you
stay here till tomorrow. l don't want
you to bring the wrath of the Lord
down on u.s."
The peddler threw OF his pack, max
Ing virtue Of necessity. At least that
was the appearance Of 1t. Really he
was quite willing TO remain over
awhile that he might look upon the fair
face Of the justices daughter Katrina,
who had looked upon him out of her
blue eyes. And the girl was equally
DESTROYS of seeing more of the engag
ing peddler, why II Is no man has
ever told us. but peddlers are proverbl-
ally fascinating to women. Perhaps II
is the same aRdacity that enables them
to sell their Wares. At any rate, the
peddler. leaving his pack for security.
went off to the other end OF the apple
orchard and waited for the girl to come
to him, never for moment doubling
that she would do so.
And she did She had been long de-
sirous of pouring out her dissatisfac-
ton at the life she led to some person
in whom she had confidence. and she
felt sure that she could confde In the
Yankee. She told him that her father
compelled her to do all the work, while
he smoked and drank schnapps; that
she had a thousand dollars in a bank
at Albany left her by her mother for
which her father was trustee and that
he would not let her have it. The ped
dler told her that she needed a hus-
band to work for her, and she would
find this much easier and pleasanter
than working for some one else.
Now, the justice, thinking the peddler
in hurry to go on, when the shades
of night came down intimated that for
a consideration he would pass him.
The Yankee declared that Sunday end
ed at sunset The Dutchman secuted
such theology, maintaining that it last
ed till sunrise the next day. The Yam
kee finally consented to pay. The jus
tice, who either could not write or was |
too fat or too lazy to write or could |
not write in English as well as In /
Dutch, told the Yankee to write pass. |
Aaron took up the quill and wrote In |
an illegible hand on q bit of paper. I
The Dutchman ran his sleepy eyes over |
1t, grunted "Gootw signed it and hand
ed 1t back to him. Anthony folded 1t,
put 1t in his pocket, took up his pack I
and departed. The justice got up from
his chair and by the aid OF two canes I
got himself into the house, where sup
per was served him by his daughter.
Then, after couple of hours smoke,
be went to bed.
The next morning when he woke up
md called Katrina, as usual, there was
40 response. The old man reused his
1eighbors, who hunted high and low
For the damsel. but she was not to be
found. That she had gone with the
,eddler never occurred to the justice or
my of the stupid Dutchmen. If they
connected her disappearance with him
t was that he might have murdered
her.
Two days passed, and Katrina did
lot reappear. Then one morning there
anne letter to old Van der Donk.
since he was not used to receiving let
ers he felt sure 1t contained informa-
ion of his lost daughter. He helped
himself with his canes to the apple
rec and got one of his neighbors to
ring his pipe and his schnapps. After
ie had taken n pull at she one and
Ighted the other he broke the letters
cal It contained statement closing
is account with the bank In Albany
shere bis daughters legacy was kept
here was one Enclosure. The Dutch
ii L. I
nd upside down. He could make moth
ng of it. Then he called the nearest
otary, who read it and told him that
. was an order for the bank to pay to |
.nron Whiting his daughters legacy,