Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1911-08-02
Ben Hicks Mirth
By F. A. Mitchell
Copyright, 1910. by American Press
Association.

"Howdy. Benz"
''Whar' y beenT"
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. yer
store?"
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 TO 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 goln' to trust any
one"
The other cast a melancholy look at
Jim Murphy. but didn't say anything.
Ben Hicks was a short. thickset man
or. rather. boy. No one was quite sure
whether he was man or boy. He wore
a vest and a pair of trousers much too
large for him and no coat. No one
had ever seen him smile.
Yer too late, jim" he said at last
"What dye mean?" asked Jim eager
ly.
"Yer stores been entered"
Entered"
YES. the day after you left there
was two of 'em come down on wilkins
boy. turned him out n tux possession"
Jim was heartbroken. He cursed
tie day be had come west TO a coun-
try where there was neither law nor
order, he 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 his stock
of goods he could not get back to
them nor bring them to him.
Have they carted the stuff awayT
he asked.
Dunno; reckon not"
Suppose they jist Quilted 1t. carryin'
off 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 if he was going to cry.
Indeed, he seemed so melancholy that
Jim didn't like to show any more de-
spondency at the loss of his stock. 1t
seemed TO have so lugubrious an effect
on his sympathetic friend
al fof,
can't be helped. What we have TO do
in this world when we get knocked
down is to get up agin and so ahead
s if nuthin' had happened. Cheer up,
Ben. I'll bring it all around right in
time"
what v goin' to do with emp
with the robbers?"
YES"
you don't mean they're there yitT
'Yes, l do They're maxim their
selves at home"
In my house. with my things?"
Eyes"
And not neighbor has raised a fin
ger to turn 'em out?"
Mary finger
do you suppose you and. together
could tackle 'em?"
Reckon l could fix the smaller of
the two"
And the otherY
You kin manage t'other, l reckon"
What was they doin' when you
leftg"
Reckon they war flghtin'."
Don't y know?"
We'll, got quite. ways from EN-
when l heered a yell. | looked back
and the little man was a kickin' and
hollerin' n t'other one was a hittin'
of him"
What theng'
Il come away them
Jim Speers carried on this dialogue
With his friend while he walked along
homeward, the other walking beside
him. When>they came in sight of the
house Jim's eye lighted a little.
AT any rate" he remarked, they've
not burned it. Whar y goin'Y'
Reckon you kin tackle 'em alone"
",Fraid?"
But Ben made no reply TO this i'm
putation on his courage. Jim went on.
A three-year-old boy playing on the
premises was all that appeared. A
woman 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 ran to meet him.
why. Mol, how did you git hereT
Made the money SEWN"
"And the kid?"
There he is"
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:
by thunder" l never had such a
change from trouble TO happiness in
my life. 1t was all that Ben Hicks
doin's, He tole me the store had been
entered, the boy left In charge fred
and let me believe robbers had done
It."
Later when the speers family were
celebrating their reunion with good
supper a neighbor came along.
whats the matter with Ben Hicks,
JimY' he asked. 81 seen him goin'
along chucklin' about sumpin. No one
ever saw him do that before. He's
solemn as an owl. asked him what
he was chncklfn' about. and be told