The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-09-21
By F. a. Mitchell

"Howdy. Jlmg
"IIowdy, BENZ tmals'Fl
'whar' y beeni"
Down to the Corners fer TO buy
some goods fer the store"
''Been away some time, haven't yer
"A matter o four days"
"who did y leave in charge O. yeI
storer
"wilkins' boy"
"Y' find It Kind o. lonesome cavortin
around here without any o yer fam
bly,. don't W"
"You bet. ! been tryin' to make
enough 70 bring my wife n boy out
but bad debts beat me-"
"Hard lines"
"I'm goin to start out on a new
principle. I'm not goin to trust any
one"
The other cast a melancholy look at
Jim Murphy, but didn't say anything
Ben Hicks was short, thiekset man
or. rather, boy. No one was quite sure
whether he was man or boy. He wore
vest and a pair OF trousers much too
large for him and no coat. No one
had ever seen him smile.
EYER too late, jim" he said at last
what dye mean?' asked Jim eager
ly.
'Yer stores been entered"
"Enteredr
eyes, the day after you left there
was two Of 'em come down on Wilkins
boy, turned him out n TUX possession. .
Jim was beartbroken. He cursed
the day he had come west 10 coun-
try where there was neither law nor
order be lamented having separated
from his wife and child, for fate
seemed TO decree that he should re-
main separated from them. Now, since
robbers had come down on bis stock
Of goods he could not get back to
them nor bring them to him.
Have they carted the stun awayT'
he asked.
Dunno; reckon not"
Suppose they jist Quilted II. carryin'
OF what they wanted and ruined the
rest. That's the way these jayhawk-
ers do"
Ben Hicks made no reply to this
He looked as II be was going to cry.
Indeed. be seemed so melancholy that
Jim didn't like to show any more de-
spondeney at the loss OF bis stock. ii
seemed to have so lugubrious an effect
on his sympathetic friend.
''Oh. well,n said Jim, "sich things
cant be helped. What we have TO do
IN this world when we get knocked
down is TO get up ag'in and 60 ahead
8 IL nuthin' had happened. Cheer up,
Ben. III bring II all around right IN
time"
What y goin' 10 do with 'emT
with the robbersl"
Eyes"
'sYou don't mean they're there yit1"
Yes, do. They're maxim their
selves at home
"In my house, with my thingsT
yes"
And not a neighbor has raised a I'm
ger to turn EN- oatfr
Nary finger
do you suppose you and I together
could tackle emf"
Reckon l could FIX the smaller Of
the two
And the other7'
You kin manage t'other, I reckon
What was they dom when you
leftg"
Reckon they war hghtin'"
Don't " know?7
We'll. I'd got quite a ways from 'em
when heered a yell. / looked back
and the little man was kickin' and
hollerin' N tother one was hittin
of him.
what then!v
Il come away then"
Jim Speers carried on this dialogue
with his friend while he walked along
homeward, the other walking beside
him. When they came Ia sight Of the
house Jims eye lighted little.
AT any rate. he remarked, they've
not burned it. Whar v goin'Y7
Reckon you kin Tickle EN- alone"
FraidY'
But Ben made no reply to this i'm
putatlon on bis courage. Jim went on.
A three-year-old boy playing on the
premises was all that appeared A
came out Of the house and was
about to take the boy In when she
espied Jim. Shading her eyes with
her hand, she gazed on him for a mo-
ment then RIM to meet him.
why, Moll, how did you git herey
Made the money sewin'.a
"And the kids'
There he il.
She pointed to the boy before the
house Jim sprang away from her
and running to the boy, took him up
in his arms and covered him with
kisses. When the wife came up Jim
turned TO her, took both her and the
boy in one embrace and said:
sBy thunder, | never had such a
,hange from trouble to happiness IN
my life. 1t was all that Ben Hicks
loin's. He tole me the store had been
entered the boy left In charge fired
ind let me believe robbers had done
t"
Later when the Speers family were
their reunion with good
upper a neighbor came along
Whats the matter with Ben Hicks,
limp he asked. II seen him goin'
LInr,t. nhi1nl- Elm, atn,,+ el1rra.,in No nna |