Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1912-01-18
A JUGFUL
OF BEANS
By M. QUAD
Copyright. 1911, by Associated Lit
erary Press.

scratching to get up q building that
stopped short at the roof. There was
neither spire nor belfry, but the people
were we'll satisfied with things as they
were until a tin peddler drove into the
village one day and raised a ~dissension.
He got hold Of Uriah Goodspeed and
Deacon Sparrow and others and said:
I'm telling you that nothing makes
me feel like telling the truth and leav-
Ing off swear words as the sound Of q
church bell. It's the same with lots Of
other men. You want a bell on a
church just as much as a man wants ].
a hat on his head. If you don't have a
bell you might as well put your preach
er in a stable to preach"
The peddler went his way, and there
was talk and talk. After three or -four
days he came back, and there was more
talk. Everybody had decided that it
would be a good thing to get a bell,
but no n knew just how to go to
work to raise the money. It was for
the peddler to show the way.
ut can be done as easy as falling of
a log" he explained, "and you al
have some fun over it at the same
time. I'm going to lay up here for a
couple Of weeks while 1 paint my
wagon, and I'll see you through" q,
His plan vas to get a gallon jug and
put q lot of beans into it. No one else
should know how many. Everybody
should pay - 'ents to guess, and the
r w' 'nl . nearest the number
d 10y back, and the
resi- Of IN =: ii go for a bell.
w or the p. the deacons hung off a
little, thinking the plan looked like a
Lottery. but after a day or two the
thing was a go. Indeed, Deacon Hos
mer: who was always considered a
lucky man, planked down 50 and re-
corded four guesses, and the ball was
started rolling. Inside of four days
every man in Swan Creek had paid for
at least one guess, and inside of a
weez most of the farmers for five miles
around had caught the spirit. The ped
dler had charge of the money as well
as the beans, and every evening there
was a gathering at the postofice to
talk the thing over.
After two weeks there were no more
guesses to come in, and a meeting
was arranged to count the money and
the beans and send a committee up
to Troy to buy the bell. Everybody
turned out to the meeting. Deacon
Hosmer took charge. He didn't ex-
ac-ly know whether to open with a
Fourth of July grafton or the singing
Of a hymn, but upon a hint from Silas
W1gfall, who had just got over the
measles and was feeling happy, he
recited a poem and gave Christopher
Columbus a certificate of character
for sobriety.
Then the meeting waited for the
peddler to show up, and while it
waited Fearnaught Pilgrim got up
and started to eulogize George Wash
ington. ae had been sorting I'VE po-
tatoes that day and had got things
mixed. He said Washington and Nero
had gone down in history together
and that the Father of His Country
and Captain Kidd would never be
forgotten while the fires Of patriotism
continued to burn. Just about that
time Lish Billings came sauntering in.
1t had been whispered around that he
was the only man in Swan Creek 70
hadn't come with a guess, but noyou'
had dared to ask him. AS soon us
Deacon Hosmer caught sight of him
he said:
81 observe that Mr.. Billings has just
entered the hall. May l ask him to
give us some information on the sub
ject of church bells?"
"You may answered Lish. You
are going to buy a bell for the meet
ing house, but I don't understand where
you are going to hang it. Will it be on
a fence or q post? There's NO tower
or belfry. Why didn't some Of you
thick headed people think of that?"
eyes, why didn't hep shouted q
dozen voices in chorus.
ct wasn't my fault" explained the
deacon. Il was bossing the bell, and
I supposed some Of you would look out
for the other things. It's no use to get
a bell until we get a belfry."
perhaps the tin peddler can help us
out" suggested some one, and there
were shouts of "Peddler, peddler!"
from all over the hall. AS he did not
stand up in response Deacon Hosmer
held up his hand and said:
perhaps Mr.. Billings will be kind
enough to act as q committee of one to
step across to the paint shop and bring
the peddler over"
at wouldn't be any use," replied
Lish, with a grin. "He left town half
an hour ago, and he had a gait Of ff-
teen miles an hour on him when he
ratified over the bridget"
The people were benumbed for thirty
seconds. Then they broke loose with a
yell and began humping one another,
and it took some of them four weeks to
get rid of their black eyes and skinned
noses. Deacon Hosmer lost three front
teeth and most Of his chin whiskers,
and F%earnaught Pilgrim had his nose
knocked out Of plumb and his ear bit
Ton Nirht o1ocoI dawn IN q Soono of