The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-03-18
A Choice Between
Two Roads
By F. A. Mitchell

ROAlS over the IOuIC L DlOkOSeu " IdhSs
and when l offered him good pay to
take me with him he accepted the prop
Osition.
We hadn't got far on our route wheR
we came to a house standing beside
the road, and a girl carrying a carpet
bag-tt was an old timer, really made
of carpet-came out of the house, evi-
IDENTITY to meet the wagon. She was
dressed up"-that is, she had on hel
best clothes instead of the calico dress
and sunbonnet of the typical southern
country girl.
JOSH, she said Il reckon I'll go With |
yo'"
"All right, Sairy. Climb up we're"
There was room for three on the seat !
but since my driver-Saunders was his
| name-and the girl seemed inclined to
be spoony l removed myself to soft
bale of some kind of goods in the wag
on behind them, saying that / would
/ have a smoke.
/ Josh and Sairy, as they called each
| other. were evidently enjoying the trip
! together Neither gave me any infOr
nation as TO their relationship or how
/ the girl knew that he would pass the
house where she joined us at that day
and hour.
Having nothing to do, l amused my
self trying to work out the relation
ship between them. While they said
nothing directly to indicate it, they
said great deal indirectly. At one
time the girl would chat about GER
tain farm, mentioning all sorts OF de
vices for making the house on it attraC-
tive. She would put up some curtains
she had that would fit very nearly
and paper several Of the rooms her
self-she had done papering before
and line the porch with flowers, and
make a lot Of improvements besides.
} Josh assented to all this every time she
stopped long enough to give him an OPP
portunity, saying: Just so, That
would look mighty fne-beautifuI." But
1t seemed to me that he was listening
u to a story rather than facts. If she
> were picturing q future home in which
he was to participate he gave me the
idea that he considered the girl to be
q rainbow chaser,
Striking a crossroad, we found a man
sitting on a fence whiting a stick. He
took no notice of us till we came op
Z. pOsite then he said;
- 'Howdy. Josh? Howdy, Sairy?"
Y "Hovdy, MART" said Josh, pull
j ing up.
''Whar yo' goin':" asked Mart.
Were goin' to Jasper"
What yo gotn' to do thar-get mar
ried?"
Josh looked at the girl. but since sht
N did not seem inclined to make a reply
X he did so himself We allowed W,
10 might get married if we can find a pa
20 son to marry us
IS Il reckOned so. That's the reason
= jist thought Id wait 70 70 we're"
~ / changed my position so that couI,
% see the girls face. All the light heart
~ ednesS had gone out of her | inferred
% that the man sitting on the fence wa
10 a claimant for her himself, but he wa
DO a red headed, freckIed. loose jointet
disagreeable looking fellow. and
- didn't see bow he could have an
~ chance with Josh, who was quite goo
n looking and otherwise attractive Ne
NJ Their Josh nor Sairy made any con
08 ment on Mart's last statement. an
IA presently he drawled
OS "See here, Sairy. this has been goil
90 on long enough. Yo' see the sig1
~ boards pointin' the way? The roa
0000 you're goin' leads to Jasper, tothe
on one to Chattanoogy. Air yo' goin' t
10 Jasper with Josh or air yo' goin
Chattanooga with me-"
There being no immediate reply I
Az this. there was a dead silence 1t wa
- evident that the two men were wal
- ing for the girl to decide betwee
IN them. Presently Mart added:
tx This ends the foolin' YO' go
II Jasper or to Chattanooga, and whic
90 ever way yO' go you stay. There
55 no go back"
90 Half a minute elapsed before the d
10 cision came and then not in word
e Josh must have seen it in the girl
30 face, for l saw him reach down und
" the seat, take out Sairy's carpetb;
l90 and hand it to her. At the same tin
$50 Mart approached and handed h
80 down on to the road. Then Josh dro
So on. Looking back, l saw Mart al
~ Sairy trudging along on the road
80 Chattanooga.
20 Taking the seat l had vacated in I
20 20 vor of the girl. handed Josh a cigar
20 "SmOke?"
* Reckon I will"
- what does all this mean?" l ask
Is when he had lighted up.
II "Waal, there's some wimmen hes
rs powerful influence over some men a
10 some men over some wimmen. TIL
2oo gal hes been wantin' to marry me
w a long spell, but that Teller wouldI
let her. Did yo' hear her talkin' abe
20 the house we was to live in arter
20 was married? I'd heerd all that afo
35 | knowed it didn't mean nothin'.
020 knowed Mart was a-watcbfn' her q
$50 had his snies ont on bnr on5 :
DIG u,opIdD,+ oat far aforo bo,d s+on bor