The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-20
THE THING HE
| COULD DO BEST
Old Man Greenhut Tells How Jim
Ramsey round His Proper
Career.

sr.n't make such a hell roarin' lot o.
az nee what It's Z a man does FIR a
Ny,n A. II does how he does it," said old
man t,reenhut after the manner of one
who has it in mind to- benefit his fellow
mai nv the elucidation of a great moral
principle.
con. ! don't know said Mr.. Owen
Peprer. There was a man up in the
Cumberland range, where l come from
in eastern Tennessee, who made a tol'able
good Twin fr a consid'able spell stealth
bosses.
I sed 10 run EN- over t Alabam' nights
an get fair prices for 'em, bein' as he
was knowed over there.f'r a hoss trader.
Made considerable dif'rence to him after
we got onto it. There was a gray mule
a. mine what | cd never get paid for
outen tn estate
Proves what l said" returned old man
Greenl.ut promptly. FIN what you tell
this here Teller must "a bungled his job.
Bein' a mountaineer in eastern Tennessee,
lust nachully he took to stealth bosses,
n more n likely chickens too.
III he'd been any ways slick about it
Ireckon he'd We averaged up nigh about
even with his neighbors. an that's about
all any ordinary man en- expect. Bein'
as he made a botch on t / reckon more'n
likely he was ~lynched."
.He sure was, like a boss thief al'ays is
in eastern Tennessee" said Mr.. Owen
Pepper with angry emphasis.
"Yes. ! reckon So" said the old man
with an ~aggravating drawl, "when they're
awk'ard enough to get caught. II they
was to lynch them t amt caught I
reckon it'd thin out the population
almighty much"
'Oh, l don't know" said Mr.. Owen
Pepper, but what more he was about to
say, and he was angry enough to say a
good deal, was drowned in a shout of
laughter from the others in the room.
who had been lettering with interest.
anxious for the discontinue of one of the
speakers, but entirely indifferent as to
which it should be.
\ reckon the drinks is on you, Pepper"
said Joe Bassett. stepping up toward the
bar.
'Oh, l don't know" said Mr.. Pepper.
'Il stand the drinks. all right, but |
don't see g I'm called on to listen to %
such wrybald talk about"
-Whiskey for mine said Jake Winter
bottom.
Same here" said Jim Blaisdell.
Me too chimed in Sam Pearsall, and
as Bassett thought he would take a little
Of the same old man Greenhut set out
a single bottle and half a dozen glasses.
not bothering to ask Mr., Pepper as to
his choice.
Shows how foolish It's f'r mar to set
up fer to know more'n the Cookbook.
Don't it say in the Scripter DO whatever
y'r hand findeth to do. but do it almighty
we'll?
This whitening observation. delivered
by old man Greenhut with fine scorn.
served not only as an absolute preventive
against any further Interruptions by Mr.
wen Pepper but also as notice to his
hearers hat he was about to relate one
Of the many curious tales with which
he was O to beguile such intervals
in business hours as would otherwise
have been proftless.
Notice being thus served. he proceeded
toward the narration with characteristic
elaboration. Opening a fresh box of
cigars, he selected with great care the
cigar that looked the blacklist and fat
test, and after eating the tip thereof
he lighted it with equal care.
Then walking around to his favorite
chair by the window he seated himself
and placed his feet on the sill, fitting
the chair back to a comfortable angle.
> ne looked intently outdoors and smoked
for a time in silence. while the others,
knowing well from experience what
they had to expect, consumed their to-
bacco also in silence.
90 course he said at length. "a man
what has good horse sense II take some
pains to pick out su'thin' what he's liable
for TO do better'n su'thin' else afore he
makes up his mind fer to foller it steady.
If he's built fr a prize fighter he amt
goin' to make a preacher outen hisself,
not 'thouten he's a ass; an similar, il
he's got SIGH talents as is required for to
make a poker player faint likely I he'll
waste his time studyin' law.
We'll that reminds me o. Jim Ramsey.
He were a young Teller that growed up
with me in Greenville what come to be a
excellent 'xample O. what I'm tryin'
to tell you uns. He made his mistakes
like most on US does afore he got started
right, but when he seen the right thing
TO do he done it like a man an it were the
makin's OF him. He come to be one O.
the leadin' citizens o. Vicksburg just from
havln' hoss sense enough for TO see as it
was up to him to do the one thing t he
cd do best.
Just nachully a man'll make mistakes.
'Tain't everybody t knows first of
whether he'll do better as a burglar or n
p'liceman. He's liable for to start wrong
frequent an il he does it's all a question
O. luck whether he'll find out in time how
he's wrong and how to get right.
That's where Jim Ramsey had luck,
an havin' that he had a heap more. That
was the moral courage to start over
again. bein' careful to start right the
second time.
You see Jim vas what you mought
call brung up two ways. His old man
was a spot, an more OF less OF a hellyon
at the same time. Feared like he van
never RELY happy 'thouten he was into
SOM trouble.
An when he was RELY in trouble
he want never satisfied 'thouten he got
outen il, leavin' 'tother Teller in wuss
trouble n he'd been in. They called
him the most talented man in Greenville
in his day. bein' as he cd outride.
Outshnot outdrink an OutCuRs any other