Charlevoix county herald., 1914-04-04

Say, Sam, said the StOrekeeper
what made you leave in such a hurry
the other day after the Sand Farmer
told that story about the, queen, Big
Bill, and the little kids 2"
"Well, III tell YOU" said Sam. IL
got to thinking what worthless kind
of a cuss / was, just sittin' around
here most of the day, when | could be
feeding some kid, even if | couldn't
just the same way the queen did. Say,
but she was peach, wasn't she
Gosh, ! should have thought Big Bill
would have busted his boiler with
thankfulness, and | said to myself,
says |, Sam, you're big, lazy louJ.
You amt got no baby, but that's a
mighty good thing for the kid that
might have been, but it's no credit of
yourn. Why don't you brace up, and
be man. Well, you may have no
ticed that | had cold in my head
| after the Sand Farmer got through
with that story, but gosh, had some
thing else, too, | had an idea"
Something new for you, Sam, >
nodded the stOrekeeper.
Eyes, you bet it was, it stack, and
by all that's good, Pm going to spend
less time holding down YOU chairs,
and more time feedin kids"
The storekeeper laughed, bat he no.
ticed a new kind of look in Sans
eyes, and that his jaws locked like a
pair of magnets with a third rail cur
rent
"Well, Sam" said the storekeeper
'are you converted? Are you going
to sign the pledge, and quit smoking
and chewing, and keep the weeds out
of your ground this year,"
Il don't know what | am, or what
| am not going to do, but / am going
to join the Kings Union"
"What in the name of Beelzebub
is that Kings Union p Pm hearing
Of it from all the boys, but no one ever
says what it is"
at is just being kind and decent, +"
snapped out Sam. That's what makes
me so ashamed of myself whcr think
of what a mean, selfish cur I've BEEN"
out Sam, what does the Send Far
mer have to do with it ?"
"He is trying to live it," roared
Sam.
"He is trying to live what ?" asked
the storekeeper.
ooh, that's just it. l don't know,
but he is trying to do one kind deed
eeeh day day and and write rte I'd i down IN book.
That is the first degree-just being
kind
"He was telling lot Of the boys
at the church last night about corn.
You know his old sand farm wouldn't
raise beans when he got it, but he be-
gan asking the soil what it wanted
Just like Big Bill asking tie queen
to feed his poor little kid, and the soil
talked back to the Sand Farmer.
"He had six ears of corn. and he
said: Boys, ] want to tell you a
story and we all settled down to hear
something about the queen, or Little
Bill, but gosh-all-fish hooks, he had US
all hooked. We couldn't get away
from that story, although We kncwed
he was showing us ourselves.
"He held up beautiful ear of corn
that weighed seventeen ounces, raised
on his sand farm, by doing kind
deed for it every time he got a chance
That is, he kept the weeds out of it,
and gave the corn a chance TO grow,
and then he gave it something to eat
too.
"Well, he said, This, gentlemen
was born in Boston. His parents came
over in the Mayf1ower. He vas edu-
Gated in the schools Of Boston, which
are supported by taxes, and lie didn't
pay them. He graduated from Har-
ward university. which someone else
had founded, and was paying for and
then went home to live with ris folks,
and worked in his fathers cotton
mill.
"'He inherited lot Of morey after
his father died, and one day someon-