The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1911-03-28
"A Cornfeld
Talk
By DONALD ALLEN


cr's hired ran in more instances
than happen outside. Why not? BE
is on the spot. His education and
intelligence may be equal to, II not
above, hers. He can make every
night a sparkling night. There is
the farmer to say:
"Never had hired man to beat
him. Wakes himself up in the
morning at five o'clock and works
till eight at night. tell you when
he gets farm Of his own he'll make
things sum-"
And there is the mother to re-
mark:
anyone nigh know Jason was
good and kind and tender hearted
by the way he don't wear out the
sheets and pillow slips and towels
and rugs. He's a man who will be
good to his wife. / never knew it
to fail. Oh, Jason is all right. He
never asks me to put patch on his
trousers unless he actually needs it,
while some hired men are always
hollering for patches"
And Jason goes at it and hoes two
acres Of corn in day and almost
breaks his back and the neighbors
drop in to say to the farmer.
1.-TWO acres, you say? And didn't
miss q weed? Wall, I'll be hanged !
He'll own the best farm in this
county yet"
And what is the farmers daugh-
ter to do but fall in love with Jason
and say yes when he proposes? Nine
teen times out of twenty it's hap
py match.
Things were going harmoniously
with Farmer Belden's household.
Abe Saunders, his hired man, was a
hustler, and his daughter, Jennie.
wasn't threatening to run away and
90 on the stage. She and Abe had
exactly fallen in love, but they were
sparkling. That is, they were sitting
up to pare and quarter apples and
get them ready for drying after the
old folks had gone to bed. If they
didn't pare apples then they popped
corn or cracked hickory nuts. 1t
about month more Abe would have
made a declaration of his love, but
an aunt in distant town wanted
Jennie to come and live with her
and 60 to school and she went away.
Abe, however, looked upon the mat
rimonial affair as favorably settled.
He could wait her return.
A year and half later Miss Jen-
ME returned. Abe drove over to the
village and the depot to meet her.
He advanced to throw his arms
around her, but she retreated. He
looked for kiss, but got none.
When he stood back and gazed at
her ne saw great change. She
called him Abe, but in distant
way.
On the way home, when he tried
to call up the sparkling days, she
warned him not to be silly. She
took very little interest in the pigs
and hens and when he Dragged of
digging three acres Of potatoes in a
day she didn't seem to think it
amounted to much.
On, yes, there was change and it
was bad one fer Abe. There was
no more sparkling; no more talk of
matrimony. There we're times when
she addressed him as Mr.. Saunders.
Abe was no fool. He realized that
a gulf had opened and he set him
self to solve the problem. He got
the wrong end of it, just as other
smart men have. He came to the
conclusion that there was fellow in
the case-one Of those town fellows
and something soon happened to
corroborate his idea.
a cousin arrived. He was a fell
low. He wore good clothes and was
educated. He could talk we'll and
sing well.
That was it. He was rival. He
was a dastard-a villain. He had
stolen Miss Jennie's affections. They
were probably engaged. They
would be married and he would b.
left to die Of broken heart. The
whole case was as plain as the rain
barrel at the kitchen door. jealousy
in the breast of the farmers hired
man is the same as in the breast Of
any other sort. First jealousy; Their
murderous thoughts.