The Glenwood post., 1912-11-23
Blasted
Ambition

B4t VI = NhAA AA0SA ~ - AihAS Os
SINNERS grocery, with his feet on the
head of q barrel and his head noddins
With drovsiness. Colonel Harper, who
had come into town and left his mule
hitched In front Of the posto6ce, came
along on his way to ths drug stsre
and halted to say:
That 20, Abe! dsclsr to good.
ness but I didn't know ~ st Arst
sight Powerful hot day b tsvn."
elainsd Abe in reply. - - slowly
lovered his legs to give ths colonel
the benefit Of the barrel. 4 Vas ~
s-thinkin about yo'. kurnel-jest D
thinkin' and a-pondering. How's con
a-getting on this weathery
"Ought to be q little mo- rain, meb
be. but con isn't looking tail bad"
And nevis hold their own. reck
on to consider?"
'Jest about hold their own. Abe;
Jest about"
That's good, kurnel. II can't hold
ny own I'm still glad to ses other
folks do It,. Things are looking up .
bit for me, however. These yere
Pike county scandalixers seem TO have
got tired of throwing me down and
jumping on my head. and mebbe I'll
get q chance to draw a long breath.
Dawg gone folks who amt willing for
other folks to get along!"
"Scandalize amt right" said the
colonel as he moved his hat to mop
his forehead.
"of co'se 1t amt: OF co'se not Can't
make q man better by scandalizina
him-can't possibly do n. Cant put
ambition into . mans soul BY throw.
ing him down every week Or tvo. He's
got to be encouraged II yo' want him
TO do his best. Have I been encour
aged in this town. kurnel? Has Pike
county ever extended her haA1 to help
me climb up?"
Reckon not. Abs."
NO. sub; NO. sub. 'cept ~ ess soli.
tary human being. whose na0s 10 Kur'
mel Harper. You run to co'a and
nevis. and yo' work - men on yo'r
plantation the year round. but that
don't prevent you from seeing and
realizing all sorts OF situations. First
~. went into the late wah as . prt
vate soldier. I came out the same
thing. Drat their resky hides. but
they were making captains and ma
jahs and kurnels. while was pouring
out my blood for love Of country-that
is. was willing to pour. which IL
the same thing. I take It."
"'Bout the same. Abe" paternally
| replied the colonel, except that the
bullets don't hit yo'."
when the wah ended I run for Of.
nce. same as all the rest. They swed
me an ONCE for having laid down my
life for my country, but what was my
reward? Kurnel Harper. reckon yo'
can remember that was knocked out
-h'isted 20 feet high-snowed under
TIL yo' couldn't see the top Of my hat.
That's the way Pike county encour-
aged me to grab hold with both hands
and climb to the top"
Yes. remember about that"
unused the colonel, as he watched .
dog rolling over and over in the dusty
Street.
"Then I turned to law" continued
Abe a. he hitched the chair over to
get . brace for his feet on q post Of
the veranda. "Kurnel Harper. nobody
on the face Of this big earth will ever
know how I pinched and saved and
starved and worked to get that Law
business down to n fine point. Did
anybody encourage me? Not q critter.
Not q pesky varmint had kind word
for me. II I'd known yo' during them
Ctrvu~O1inD vN'@ -
man to open yo'r wallet and hand me
out $50 or SO. and tell me to pay It
back in my own good time. Yes, that
would have been yo. kurnel.'
Yes, mebbe,' doubtfully replied the
colonel
wall, got to be lawyer. Then
what? I wanted practice. I finally
got a case and went into court with
It. but the resky jury was lying in am
bush to throw me down. Yes. sub
had the purtiest. incest, cleanest ease
yo- ever heard tell Of. and that Jury
was bound by law and evidence to
bring in verdict for me, but got the
cold flop instead. They brought my
client in guilty of stealing a hawg
when he was 80 miles away at the
time. at the bedside of his dying
mother. Do yo' call that encouraging
. young man. kurnel? Was that Civ.
ing me . show to climb up?
Cant skassly call It that. Abe. but
II I remember right, they found frssA
pork In yo'r clients house"
They found neat there. Of co.'s.
but was 1t the meat Of that yere haws
or some other? They never stopped
te consider. kurnel-jest throwed tAs
verdict aein me in order TO crush me
out. Same way in the second case
and tho third and fo'th. No matter
how many witnesses had or bow
plain made my case. NO Pike county
Jury would ind for me. How many
times have 20 to mop 4 young man.
Kurnel Harper. to kill on his ambi-