The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1909-05-01


sloping piece of ground back of the
church edifce. One of our shed:
was on the upper and the other or
the lower side of this enclosure.
when wheels were used the choice
ofsheds was no great matter, although
the upper shed was even then the
favorite. But to back a steel shod
cutter-or what was far more diff.
cult, a set of double sleighs-up out
of the down hill she'd, as we called
it, was job that required a steady
team, and even then careful manage.
ment. Double sleighs especially had
trick of 'buckling' that was won
derfully disconcerting. The ste e
shoes would grip the gravel floor Of
the down hill sheds in a way that
sent many an otherwise staid old
horse into a 'tantrum, and decided
tangle was not infrequent.
1.-The older boys usually drove the
vehicles to church, and as might be
expected, many sharp contests for
the coveted upper shed resulted.
Grandfather shook his head at this,
and out at the horse barn one day he
told the boys that one of them must
take the down-hill shed, which one
they could decide between themselves,
the decision to be for the entire sea-
son. think he fully expected Cyrus
would volunteer, for steady old Ma
poleon with the cutter was far better
adapted to deal with the disagreeablc
shed than the half-broken colts with
the sleighs. If he did, he was soon
undeceived. Perhaps Cyrus was still
sore at the loss of the colts.
"Both the boys hesitated when it
became apparent that grandfather
would not decide the matter. Dan.
no doubt, hastily considering the
disagreeable possibilities he b d
never yet hitched the colts in the
down hill shed-that might result
and shrewdly calculating Cyrus,
doubtless turning several things has
tily in his mind. Presently Cyrus
face frightened, and he said in the
apparently frank way he could always
easily assume: Let's draw cuts for
first choice, Dan that's fair for both
of us, certainly"
"'All right 7 agreed unsuspecting
Dan, readily. Cyrus sharp penknife
was already in his hand. Here he
called with his gay smile, stepping
to the neatly piled bundles of rye
straw bedding, 'I'll fix couple of
cuts in a jiffy.'
"'All right 7 said Dan again, turn
ing to grandfather. He thought Frisk
was not shod properly. The colt in
terfered little occasionally, and he
wanted grandfather's opinion. In
moment both were intently discuss
ing the colts hind shoes.
"I pretended to be interested in the
shoeing, but cast a furtive glance at
Cyrus. It seemed to take him long
time to fix those cuts
"'Here you are, Dan 7 he ex-
claimed, presently. ALREADY; take
your choice. Long wins. He held
up his hand, two bright straws be-
tween his thumb and finger.
"Dan promptly drew. Aha, you
lose ? said Cyrus, triumphantly ex-
hibiting the much longer straw left
in his own hand, which he tossed up
in view and caught again dextrously.
"'Take all the time you want for
the down-hill shed, Danny boy you II
need a plenty And with a tanta-
lizing laugh he tossed the cut into the
straw pile and left the barn. Dan
said nothing, but he grinned a little
ruefully, and presently went off to
his work.
"It was not my business in par
ticular, but I was not satisfied. I
noticed the exact spot where Cyrus
cut fell in the straw, and, when quite
alone, went and looked for it, and,
after a short search, found it. As |
had surmised, two short straws had
been skilfully fitted together, par
TALLY telescoping each other. 1t was
a nice job-one that would pass any
where unless closely scrutinized. Of
course Dan was bound to lose any
way. 1t was plain enough. AS l
held the doctored cut in my hand l
heard slight noise and turned hastily.
1 supposed grandfather had left the
barn, but he was watching me in
tently, and with grave, panied ex-
preston on his kind old face. Not
word was said, but I knew he under
stood.
"There was a sociable in the viii
lage the next night, which all the
young people attended. Dan and
Cyrus were out, each with his rig.
Both Harvey and myself knew what
that meant-a trip home a-foot for
Violet Medbury would be there and
both boys would be sure to aspire to
the honor of taking the young lady
home-a supposition which proved
correct in every particular.
"The evening passed pleasantly
enough, though 1 fancied I caught
Dan and Cyrus glaring at each other
occasionally. At the first sign Of
breaking up, Cyrus, taking time by
the forelock, was confidently on hand
with his best bow. Even as he prof
fered his request, however, he turned
angrily at the sound of familiar
voice by his side. Quiet Dan did not
always stay in the background. The
young fellows had made their re-
quests exactly together.
"The humor of the situation ap-
pealed to the girl, and she laughed
outright-then sobered instantly at
her sudden dilemma. Kind-hearted
always, she did not wish to pain or
offend, least of all in that conspicu-
Gus way. There was moment of
suspense tn a t passed awkwardly
enough for all three. Both Dan and
Cyrus flushed somewhat, but they
eyed each other de6antly, each stub
bornly maintaining his ground. Then
the quick -witted girl saw way out
without necessarily offending.
sT'11 po with the one who is first