The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1914-10-09
The Farmer S
Daughter
By JOHN Y. LARNED

L was peddiing tinware on the MAS
Aachusetts coast, driving a Palr u
horses attached to a wagon on Whlch
| carried my merchandise. stopped
ut a farmhouse at noontime and e&-
changed some kitchen utensils Tor a
dinner, The farmers wife did the
cooking. and his daughter waited on
the table. Another stranger besides
myself partOok of the meal-a SNORT
thickset man with u bushy beard.
We peddlers are usually gifted with
a good deal of talk. which we find es-
sential in selling goods. l rattled
on at the farmer, and, he appearing to
be taciturn. l let fly ut the stranger.
who sat opposite me. asking where ne
had come from, where he was gong.
what business he followed and other
questions usually attributed to the curl
GUS New Englanders. But this idiosyn'
Grassy was assumed. l having been born
and bred in Maryland. The truth Is
I began by asking him which way he
was going. thinking that if his dlrec-
ton and mine were the same would
give him a lift for company's sake. He
seemed to be averse to telling me
of his movements. and l noticed that
his reluctance interested the farmers
daughter. who at the time was stand
ing behind him. On her account ! pur-
sued my questions till the man abrupt
ly arose and left the table. A few
minutes after this. losking through q
window. l saw him riding on horse
back the same way l intended to go.
Having finished my dinner and turn
ed over in payment to the farmers
wife u washboard and a dozen tin pie
plates, l got into my wagon and drove
on. About a half hour after starting
[ heard the sound of a horses hoofs be-
hind me and, looking back, saw the
farmers daughter coming. She was
so intent on her own thoughts as she
passed me that she was not conscious
that l had dined at her home. Her gait
being faster than mine, l. jogging along
behind a pair of horses drawing a
heavy load. was soon left in her rear.
AS l drove on l was thinking about
the man l had questioned and the girls
interest in his answers. or want of
and wondered if her coming
had anything to do with him. The
anxious look on her face both in the
farmhouse and on the road caused me
to think that he might be bent on
something she wished he wouldn't do.
saw nothing more of either of them
during the afternoon. l stopped at
several houses. plying my trade. and
about dark, reaching a point where the
road passed within a hundred feet Of
the ocean. | came upon a house in
which l thought l would ask for lodg-
ing during the night. But. unfortu-
nately. I found it closed. was about
to drive on when it occurred to me
to see if I could effect an entrance
to the barn. | pulled out a rusty sta
pie, thereby opening the barn door, and.
driving my team in. unhitched the
horses. fed them and went to the
house.
had no more difficulty in getting
into the house than the barn.
was awakened in the middle of
the night by Il shot. I listened and
heard another and another. the sec
ond and third seeming to come from
directly above me. Then there was
another from the outside. Next l
heard the sound of a pair of heavy
boots. followed by a pair of light ones.
rapidly descending Il staircase from
the second floor and continuing down
into the cellar. Soon after this the
front door Of the house was smashed
in. and several men rushed into the
room where l lay and flashed a bulls
eye on my face.
by %thunder!' exclaimed one of
them. 'If it isn't that COMPOUNDED
Yankee peddler!!'
I recognized the voice of the man l
had questioned so closely at dinner
the previous day.
care ycu one of the gang?" he
asked.
What Sang?"
He told me that smuggling had been
going on at some point near where we
ere. and they had located it in the
house we were in. l told him how l
happened to be there, and he believed
me. Then he explained to me that my
questions had annoyed him because
he wished to keep the object of his
presence in the neighborhood a secret.
Then it occurred to me that the farm
er's daughter was interested in the
smugglers, had suspected the mans err
rand and had ridden on to warn them.
I hurriedly told him of my having
heard footsteps going downstairs. and
the party rushed to the cellar expect
ing to find her quarry.
We found a lot of goods. but no liv-
ing person. Opening a door. we stood
in a tunnel which We followed and
came to a recess in the rocks on the