The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-08-07
RAISING
THE WIND
BY M. QUAD
Copyright. 1912. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

| Echermerhorn found himself worth less
than 500.
! Mr.. Schermerhorn had never spent
much time thinking and planning of
things outside his daily work. He was
carpenter, and that settled that. lie
could earn $3.50 per day when he had
work, and that settled that. He never
allowed himself to have dreams of
riches and ease. Perhaps 1t was for
this reason and because he was no
talker and didn't mix up with politics
that he came to be looked upon as q
rather dull man.
On his fiftieth birthday the carpen-
ter, being out of work, sauntered of
into the woods and sat down to have
! his first real think. Hard work was
already beginning to tell on him, and
after about Eve years more what was
to become of him? He was frightened
at the thought. When he could no
longer earn wages 1t must be the poor
house for him, as he had no relatives
to help him out. For three long hours
Amos kept his brains at work. and as
he walked back to the village people
noticed a change in him. AS Deacon
Riker afterward remarked:
why. he looked an altogether diff
ferent man to me, and be talked right
up as brisk as lighting rod man. l
couldn't help but wonder IL he had
found dollar In the road"
Next day Amos Schermerhorn packed
his clothes in satchel and headed for
village thirty miles away. He enter
ed it on the second day. There had
been two or three recent robberies,
and the constables were on the alert.
A mile from the village and directly
In front OF farmers barn Amos sat
down to rest. The farmer saw him
and came out and asked questions and
finally ordered him to move on and
helped him with kick. He did more.
He followed the wayfarer into the vii.
lage and pointed him out as n sus-
picious person and had him arrested.
Amos made no Kick and was arraign-
ed. convicted and sent to jail for thirty
days with great celebrity. The con-
stable slapped his mouth when he
started TO protest. the judge said he
looked like an unhung villain, and the
jailer slammed him into a cell with so
much violence that he was thrown
down and had finger broken.
Amos Schermerhorn served his thirty
days In Jail and was then warned to
leave town within half an hour. He
made straight for the office Of law
yer instead. and before night there was
something to be talked of. The farmer
" no had kicked him was arrested for |
assault and battery. the constable who |
had run him in was arrested for false |
imprisonment. the judge got sum- |
mons for defamation of character, and /
the jailer was arrested on the same |
charge as the farmer.
The judge had been Judge for |
fifteen years, and he had always
thought It within his province to call
a prisoner son of gun or any other
old thing he happened TO think of.
He now learned that his legal duties
ceased with pronouncing sentence. He |
had DETAINED the character of a good
man. and he had to pay for 1t. Amos
had $3.50 in his hind pocket when he
moved on. and he hadn't put in an
hour at hard work. He had another
village In mind. and he headed for 1t.
It was farmer again that gave him
away. He was plodding along the
dusty road when accosted with:
n |
few days work.
How much a dayr' ,iS1Sf
Fifty cents and board" 'Fs faah
~ can do better"
"Oh, you can? What ails you is that
you don't want work at any price
Your kind just want to tramp and beg.
By John. there ought to be Jail big
enough to hold you alll'
II am not tramp" mildly replied
mos.
"Oh. you are gentleman, mebbe!"
'Well. can pay my way"
And the carpenter dug down and
brought out his roll and held it up to
view and walked Off.
''Goshr' exclaimed the farmer to
himself. But he's a highway robber
,r l never saw one! Like enough he
broke into house last night. Well, I'll
settle his hash mighty suddeng
And he went into the house and tele-
)boned the constable at the village that
here was a suspicious character head ]
ID that way, and Amos was collared as
Ioon as be showed up. He refused to
yive his name or to tell where he got
he money found on him. The charge
tut against him was suspected rob- ,
,ery. and he was sent to jail and held
or ten days in hopes his victim might
,e heard from. At the end of that time
le was sentenced for ten days for be-
ng a vagabond.
When his sentence was up it was a
all on a lawyer again. The defend
nts could prove nothing whatever
gainst the plaintiff when it came to a
while he could show that
he three OF them had acted illegally
nd that he had a fourth case against
he farmer Mr.. Schermerhorn got $500 d
or his share and walked on TO play the /
anne game elsewhere. When he re- v
urned to his home Deacon Rider was !
he first man to shake hands with him 7
nd to say: =
dr. htIf hon AArNIa ~ 1A -