The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1913-06-17
"A YOUNG MANS
SCHEME
B, M. QUAD


O"us uu'H u0S PICtuEcs Uut IOve
herr
The young man who uttered the
words was at work in the t3eld, and he
Strengthened up to rest his weary back
and mutter:
"And I'll make her love me before
I'm through with her. She may think
don't amount to shucks. but all
want is chance to prove that l do.
Durn farm workl Durn widders! Durn
love! Durn everythingr'
He kicked the fence to show his dis
gust and wearily resumed work. Ebe-
nezer Schermerhorn. hired man. was
In love with the Widow Tompkins,
whose farm adjolned that Of his boss
on the west. Ebenezer was twenty
four years old, plain Of face and un-
calmly Of form and without hundred
dollars worth Of property.
One evening as he dropped in to see
the widow about borrowing some farm
implement next day he found her read
ing love story. She read few chap
ters to him and afterward acknowl-
edged that she had always been ro-
mantle and that II she ever married
again II would be to hero.
The farmers hired man didn't rush
right of that night and try TO be a hero.
but sat down and did some thinking.
Three or four days after Ebenezer's
thinking bee tramp came along the
road and. seeing the young man hoeing
corn just over the fence. halted for a
word or two. Ordinarily Ebenezer
would have leaped the fence and run
the wayfarer half mile, but on this
occasion he invited him over to the
corn and sat down with him for con-
| fidential conversation. The result Of
that conversation was that at 8
o'clock that evening the tramp appear
ed before the Widow Tompkins and
made threats of what he would do II
she didn't set out victuals. hunt up old
clothes and come down with dollar
In cash.
Ebenezer was not far away-just far
enough to come running up and knock
| the tramp head over heels and rescue
| the widow. But as he started to come
running he fell down and got tangled
up with the bushes, and before he
could got away the widow had broom
sticked the tramp into flight. She
didn't say she was glad that the would
be hero was 30 near at hand. What
she did say was that she wasn't afraid
Of any tramp walking the roads.
Ebenezer's first try Was failure,
but within q fortnight he was ready
for another. Two or three farmhouses
in the township had been robbed, and
this fact became the basis for his Sec
ond plan. One night ut midnight he
left bis bed. descended. to earth by
way of window. and. armed with .
club. he became guard for the wid.
ow's house. He circled around It and
patr0lled the garden and the orchard.
! and he felt that he would give year
Of his life II rObber would appear.
He would frst fell him and then arouse
the house, and when the widow came
| to know that he had been guarding her
for love her heart would melt toward
him.
| But no robber came Instead Of that
1
peering out. she saw some one walking
about, and she got shotgun and raised
a window and blazed away. The gun
was loaded with bird shot to shoot
hawks that might come swO0ping down
on chickens, but in this case they an
swered just as well for man. Eben-
ezer received about twenty of them
! nj nd txs,r IN % d vyD
them picked out He also had va
cation from work for week under
the excuse that he had spraincd his
back turning over In bed.
Ninety-nlne out OF every hundred
would be heroes would have dven up
right here. but Ebenezer was man
to hang ON. 1t was while he was limp
ing around on his vacation and doing
q lot Of standing up and wandering
over the fields that he came upon the
widow fishing In the river ut certain
point. He did not show himself. but
fifty feet from where she sat under q
tree be discovered bumblebees' nest
In the grass. 1t was q large and lib
eral nest and II gave him q thought.
| LUG ucco WOuiuu OOtuog ouyOOOy ~
long as they were let alone. II stirred
up they would look for meat.
There was haystack not far away.
and Ebenexer had matches In hil
pocket. He retired behind the stack
and collected q hatful Of stones from
the plowed land. These he threw one
by one at the spot where the bees
were pursuing the even tenor Of their
ways. The plot thickened. You can
thicken a bumbIebee plot In Z very
short time. All you've got to do II to
tread on their coattails. When the In
sects found the rocks dropping on their
heads they swarmed ont OF the grass
to look for the enemy. They should
have seen the widow and descended
upon her, and At her hrst shriek Eb-
eneser wowld come charging down
with . wisp Of tighted hay In either
hand. But things went wrong. The
bees then went for him alone. They