The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-05-31
THE TWO
LEGACIES
By M QUAD
Copyright, 1911, by Associated Lit
erary Press.

and worked in a grist mill In the VII
lage of Coburn. He was not an edu-
Gated man, and he had no ambitions
In the same village lived Miss Anna
Green, old maid She had the only
millinery store in the place. She was
also unassuming and uneducated. Nei-
Their had she any ambitions. She just
wanted to be milliner and dress
maker. How Ii came about that Pc
ter Day and Anna Green became ae-
quainted and engaged to be married
was matter that many people could
not understand, but 1t was known that
they intended TO get married-some
time.
One day two important letters reach
ed the postoffice at Coburn. One was
for Miss Green 1t was from law
yer in Indiana, who stated that her
maiden sister, who had been living in
that state, was dead and that she had
left her all to Anna. That sister had
not been heard from in Ten years. The
other letter was for Peter Day. 1t
was also from a lawyer An uncle or
his in Vermont had died and left him
his all. The receipt of those two let
tiers was to make a sudden and great
change In two lives.
Peter Day had not had a holiday in
thirteen years. He had been as steady
as an old clock, He had scarcely read
that letter, however, when he went to
his boss to say
"You can take your old mill and go
to grass with it. Pm not going to be
anybody's slave after this"
And Peter almost paralyzed the town
by dressing up and loahng around and
actually entering a saloon and calling
for beer.
Miss Green had always been very
humble to her customers. She had
felt 1t her duty to abase herself. She
would no more have dared to dun one
Of them for bill year old than to
have put her hand in lions mouth.
And now what a change! Within six
hours after receiving that letter she
was saying to Mrs. Adams:
IF you don't like that hat you
needn't take it, and you'd better be
paying something on that old bill or
quit coming here"
When Peter Day went sparkling his
habit was to slip into the house as II
he expected to be kicked out again.
He didn't stand up or sit down or
cross his feet or drop his hat with
out asking to be excused for the same.
Those two letters had reached town
of Monday morning Sunday even
ing came before Peter called on Anna.
He had been thinking, and so had
she. that there should be no slipping or
sliding. but a bold gait and bold
front He sat down without being
asked to, and he held his position like
d man in possession. Instead Of saying
that the long drought was killing the
corn he opened with:
"See here. Anna, there's cast In
your left eyer
"What-what on earth do you mean,
sir!''
"And you've hump to the middle of
your noser'
"Peter-Mr. Day"
"And I don't like the color Of your
hairt''
"Sir! Sirl'
eAnd you don't know nuthin' about
grammar and you can't sing for
shucks. I'm here to say our engage
ment is OFF,
'Ive been left legacy" he explain
ed I'm goln' to take my place up at
the head"
you got legacy! And want you
to understand that I've got one too!
was waiting for you to call that
might tell you few things. Peter Day,
you are as ignorant as an OK. You can
scarcely write your own name!'
Miss Green, don't talk to me that
wayI"
You are humpbacked bowlegged
and deaf in one ear"
Miss Green
"You haven't enough ambition about
YOU to throw a stone at gander.
Grammar! Why. you never even saw
one. You can't speak five words with
out blunder. can't sing, eh? Well,
what does 1t sound like when you try
It? And the color of my hair don't
please you. What's the color of that
on your own head? And I've got a
cast in my eyer Yes, know, and I've
got that eye on you. Why, | wouldn't
marry you If you was the last man
critter on the face Of the earth"
II don't ask you to-"
'rll marry man as far above you
as the eagle is above the crow. III be
riding in my auto while you are slop-
ping through the mud. Get out of my
sight, sirr'
In each case the lawyers had been
instructed to settle up things and rem
der an account. 1t didn't take them
long. Three weeks did the business.
The "all" that had been left them
amounted in the one case to S1I.45
and in the other to $3218. Queeriy
enough, those two letters also arrived
on the same day. Peter Day sat on
the. tavern steps. as he .ree.d.. his. He