The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1910-03-18
BEING A HERO,
BY NJ. QUAD.


Ebenezer Schermerhorn, a farmers |
hired man. was in love with the Wild |
ow Tompkins. whose farm adjoined |
that Of his boss on the west. Ebene-
ger was twenty -four years old. plain of |
face and ungainly of form and without |
500 worth of property. The widow
was less than forty and well Off Ebe-
nezer was rated as good hearted. but
rather dull. One evening as he drop
ped in to see the widow about borrow
ing some farm implements next day he
found her reading love story. She
read few chapters to him and after
ward acknowledged that she had al
ways been romantic and that ii she
ever married again it would be to
hero. The farmers hired man didn't
| rush right of that night apd try to be
| q hero. but sat down to think.
Three or four days after Ebenezers
thinking bee a tramp came along the
road and. seeing the young man hoe
Ing corn just over the fence. halted
for word or two. Ordinarily Ebene-
yer would have leaped the fence and
run the wayfarer half mile. but or
/
the corn and sat down with him for a
confidential conversation. The result
of that conversation was that at
O'Clock that evening the tramp ap-
| peared before the Widow Tompkins
and made threats of what he would
do if she didn't set out victualS. hunt
up old clothes and come down with
dollar in cash. Ebenezer was not far
away. just far enough to come run
ming up and knock the tramp head
over heels and rescue the widow. But
as he started to come running he fell
down and got tangled up with the
bushes. and before he could get away
the widow had broomsticked the tramp
into fight. She didn't say she was
glad that the would be hero was so
near at hand. What she did say was
that she wasn't afraid of any old
tramp walking the roads.
EbeneZer's first try was failure.
but within a fortnight he was ready
for another. Behind the farms ran a
river. The widow had skiff on the
water and often rowed herself up and
down. One night the farmers hired
man took some tools down to the
landing and was busy for an hour.
Two evenings later. just at sundown
he saw the widow making across the
field for the river. and he was not long
in following her. He expected to hear
cries for help. but they did not come
He expected to find woman clingins
to a swamped boat. but he didn't. She
was wading ashore when he arrived
on the bank and dashed in. and all ht
got out of it was good sousing and ;
cold in the head.
A cold in the head casts man dOwI
for a few days. but if there be an,
hero about him be rallies and becomes
more daring than ever. Ebeneze
rallied Two or three farmhouses il
the township had been robbed ana
this fact became the basis for his thirt
plan. One night at midnight he lief
his bed descended to earth by way Q
window. and. armed with club. b
became a guard for the widows house
He circled around it and patrolled til
garden and the orchard, and he fel
that he would give year of his life
a robber would appear. He would frs
fell him and then arouse the hous
and when the widow came TO knoN
that he had been guarding her for low
her heart would melt toward him. Bu
no robber came. Instead OF that ~
footsteps awoke the widow and' pee
ing out, she saw some one walkln
about. and she got out shotgun an
raised window ana blazed away. IL
gun was loaded with bro shot 10 sho'
hawks that might come swoopin
down on chickens, but in this cas-
they answered just as well for ma
Ebenezer received about twenty
them and ran two miles to doctor
have them picked out. He also had
vacation from work for a week und'
the excuse that BE had spralneu
back turning over III bed.
Ninety nine cut of hundred Wou
be heroes Nou3d have given up the j