Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1909-12-02

mout NIX de truck patch wuk. lax yo'
say. but dnr's odder things. aim TO
hep 50 nanny bout her chickens
an wnshln' an bOusewuk Size ain
strong lax she nOut me"
Wash dug his heels deeper into the
sand and shifted AS he heard IL n
sudden hardness came into the old
mans eyes
An dar's anudder ting" he con
unued, leaning again upon his hoe
handle aud looking straight at Wash.
i aim To chop an pile mp heap O
nice wood TO- yo' nanny. She hab
to go out un'er de trees mos cherry
any TO pick up bits O stick an bark
an chips tO kin'ie her fire. case dey
ain nurin' round de wood pile 'cepIn'
big sticks witch yo' pap brung an
Wich aim chop up. | aim TO cut hit
all an pile hit ginst de do whar hitn
be handy TO yo' nanny. No. no,
honGy. cayn't go fshin' nohow. Yo'
mus do de ishin yo'sef now"
Wash dropped his gaze to the ground.
mn unusual thing for him; but, then,
the woodcutting was one OF the chores
he so studiousIy shirked.
us gwine wuk hard wen Is big.
ger" ne muttered deprecatingly. My
nanny say boys mus make mos o.
dere playtime. Wen rs man Is
gwine wuk hard lax my pap, an'-an'
be soger." for In spite OF their an
tagonism, Wash regarded his father as
embodying all that was manly and
heroic
Vol nebber be lax yo' pap" Uncle
Nose said. "He study an wuk hard
wen he's boy. Yo' mo- lax ole rag
ged Jake Then his gaze dropped in
sudden abashed consciousness OF hnv-
ing upbraided his favOrite, and IL the
boy had waited a moment longer he
would have heard the most abject apoI.
oSy and a contrite "Dou' yo' min.
honey; hits jes' de ole man a talkin'
foS a good boy, sho' nough good
boy"
But Wash did not hear. He was
speeding toward the woods with dim
eyes and heaving breast. He like dis
reputable Jake, the soon Of the entire
community! IL his father or any OF
those who were accustomed to upbraid
him had said the words he would not
have remembered them a minute after
they were spoken, but Uncle Nose.
who had never scolded him in all his
life before and from whom a harsh
word could not be wruug except by
direful provocation.
The words were true He knew It
even while combating them I'm impo-
al 81
and dashed him TO the big tree. to his
traps, 10 a spot I'm n dense thicket
where he lay for full hour picking
vindlctively at the leaves and finally
TO his bed in the loft. He not to be
ike his father when everybody said
he was growing up big and strong and
would some time be his very image.
And this was his last thought when,
far in the night. he fell asleep with
two big tears still undried on his black
cheeks
The next morning Uncle Moses first
thought was of reconciliation with
Wash But the boy was not In his bed
nor In the kitchen below, and only
when he went to the door and heard
Il faint click-clicking from the truck
patch did he understand that Wash
was digging bait for an unusually
early start. Shutting In the direction
OF the sound, the old man stopped at
the corner OF the cow shed In sudden
incredulous amaZement, for there was
Tie boy, not digging bait, as he had
supposed, but hoelng potatoes.
Wash looked up with an odd smile
on his good natured face.
"Yo' better go hep nanny wild her
chickens, gran'pap," he commented,
not even pausing to rest on his hoe
handle as be spoke, but working Wig
prously GU Il finish desc tatcrs."
Then, as the old man opened his
mouth without seeming able TO make
a sound, the boy continued:
- t'ink bout what yo' say, gran
pap, an rs gwine be lax pap, an
ain gwino be lax ole Jake. An
reckon yo' right bout nanny. / ain
ucbber motifs befo', but dis ma wnln'
/ low she do look porely. Wen desc
taters is done rs gwine chop dat wood
an do lots odder t'ings. Now 20 bet
ter go long, gran'pap. case rs in
hurry"
This was the beginning OF big
reformation in Wash.-a reformation
brought about by the force OF exam
pie. Aud this is the origin OF all refor-
nations. Great military leaders bave
not said GO" but Follow me" The
Christian martyrs supported the In
fapt religion 10y an example that was
effective not only 1000 years ago, but
is shining light 20 millions OF Chris.
tiaus to the present day.
And so il is IN our everyday life
Uncle Nose, 1t Is true, spoke to the
boy about what be was doing, but only
TO explain why he did It, that he might
make the lesson OF his own industry
che more effective
4 week later there was not a weed
left in the truck patch, not n stick Of
wood that was uncut and not a chore
about the place that was in urgent
need Of being done
i'u0Ip Mggn tguu gluufrfr.ts q, lIvgytg