The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-05-07
CHAPTER XII.
Having Time.

~ y E-AA ApOO1 iurnlNeFUOt0, EQGe-
I'D wood. AIiliken's Mills. Spruce
1 swamp, Duck Pond aud Mod
GRAFTON was "haying." There
was perfect frenzy OF haying, for it
was the Monday after the Fourth. tho
precise date in July when the Maine
farmer said soodby to repose and
"hqyed3 desperately and increasingly
until every spear OF green in his sec
ton was moved down aud safely un-
der cover
II man had grass of his own he
cut 1t, and It lie had none he assisted
in cutting that OF some other man. tor
Ito hay" although an unconventional
verb, was, and still is, very active
one and in common circulation, al
though not used by the grammarlnns.
Whatever your trade and whatever
your profession. it counted as naught
In good weather. The fish man stop
ped selling fish. the meat man ceased
to bring meat, the cobbler as well as
the judge forsook the bench, and even
the doctor made fewer visits than
usual. The wage for work in the hay
fields was a high one, and every man,
boy and horse in u village was pressed
into service.
When Ivory NBoynton had finished
with his own small crop he commonly
went at once TO Lawyer Wilson. who
had the largest acreage OF hay land in
the township. Ivory was always in
great demand. for he was d mighty
worker in the field and very giant at
pitching. being able 10 pick up a
fair sized haycock at one stroke of
the fork and ding it on to the cart as
if it were a feather.
Lawyer Wilson always took a hand
himself If signs Of rain appeared, auu
Mark occasionally visited the scene of.
action when a crowd in tlle~field made
n general .iolliGcation or when there
was an impending thunderstorm.
In such cases even women and girls
Joined the workers and all hands bent
together TO the task of getting load
into the barn and covering the rest.
Deacon Baxter was wont to call
Mark Wilson a worthless, whey faced,
lily handed whelp." but the descrip-
tlon, though picturesque. was decided
~ exaggerated. Mark disliked manual
Nlabor; but, having imbibed enough
knowledge of lawNin his fathers office
to he an excellent clerk, he much pre-.
ferred travelling about, settling the de-
tails of small eases, collecting rents
and bad bills. to any form of work on
a farm. This sort of life, on stage.
coaches and railway trains or on long
driving trips with his own fast "trot-
ter suited his adventurous DISPOSE
ton and gave him i sense of impur-
lance that was very necessary to his
peace OF mind. He was not especially
intimate with Ivory Boynton, who
studied law with his father during all
vacations and in every available hour
Of leisure during term time. as did
many another young New England
schoolmaster
Marks fathers praise OF Iyory's
legal ability was little too warm to
please his son, as was the commenda-
tion of one of the county court judges
on Ivory's preparation OF brief in a
certain case in the Wilson office.
Ivory had drawn it up at Mr.. Wilson's
request merely to show how fur he I'M
derstood the books and cases he was
studying. and he had 10 idea that it
differed in any way from the work of
any other student All the same,
Marks own efforts in like direction
had never received any special men
ton.
When he was in the bayfield, he also
kept as far as possible from Ivory, be.
cause there, too, he felt a superiority
that made him for the moment tribe
disconnected. 1t was no particular
pleasure for him TO see Ivory plunge
his fork deep into the heart OF hay
cock. take firm grasp of the handle,
thrust forward his foot TO steady him
self and then raise the great fragrant
heap slowly and swing it up to the
waiting hay cart amid the applause of
the crowd. .
Rodman would be there, too, helping
the man. on top of the load and getting
nearly buried each time as the mass
descended upon him. but doing his
slender best TO distribute and tread it
down properly, while his young heart
glowed With pride at Cousin Irory's
prnwess.
Ito be cOntlnued.)