Willmar tribune., 1915-06-02
A Village I ale
BY M. QUAD
Copyright, 1915. by. the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.
By NJ. QUAD

1t was when Uncle Ebenezer David
son was postmaster at Hopeville that
Silas Thompson and Ben Goodheart
met at the postoftice one evening, and
as they sat around and whitfield and
waited for the mail to come In Silas
lazily queried: @
''Eben, you've been to Cat Hill a
hundred times, reckon, and jest how
far do you call it from Hopeville?"
"Jest as far as it is" answered Eben
after thinking for about three minutes.
"And that's ten miles:''
"Who said it was?'
II say so. l carried the mail on that
road fur three long years. and l reck-
on l know the distance purity we'll.
asked you because some one said you
call it only nine and u half miles"
"And that's what I'm sayin' this
mint. It's nine miles and a half to an
inch"
Say, Eben, didn't you measure it
with a purity short tapelineY' asked
Silas as he whitfield away.
"It's jest nine and a half" answered
Eben in dogged way.
'1t's exactly ten"
mot an inch over nine and half::'
mot an inch under ten miles,
"Silas. are you crazy or Il born fool?''
asked Eben as his hair began to curl.
II amt big nuff fool to call it nine
miles and half to Cat Hill"' yelled
Silas in reply.
They jawed about it half an hour
longer, and they parted bad friends.
In the course Of two or three days
Eben put up sign reading. ''Cat Hill
Nine and Half Miles," and as soon
as Silas heard of it he put up another
reading, "Cat Hill-Ten Miles," That
made things worse, and a half dozen
families were mixed up in the quarrel.
Almost every night in the year the two
men met at the postofice, and, though
they wouldn't notice each other, they
had their ways of hurting each others
feelings. Silas would look around to
Ezra Billings and giggle and chuckle
and say:
did you hear that Cat Hill had
moved inland half mile, Ezra? She
used to be ten miles from Hopeville,
but she moved up to nine and a half
to accommodate sartin smart folks
Eben would be hurt and want to
get even. and he'd look at Jabez White
and say:
Heard about that escaped lunatic.
Jabez? They say he's measurin' the
road from here to Cat Hill with a tow
string and that it keeps him crazy be.
cause he can't make but nine and a
half miles of it,
| The two men never came to blows,
but they never met without trying to
hurt each others feelings. If one IA
vored anything the other opposed it
and they were contrary In politics, re-
ligion and all public improvements
One day Eben got buried in his well
by cave-in. and though Silas helped
to dig him out the chance was one to
say:
"Mebbe this narrow escape from
death will make him turn to the truth
in the future and admit it's ten miles
to Cat HILL"
It wasn't four weeks after that wher
Silas had saw log roll over him. and
as he lay there all flattened out Eben
came up and looked on him and said:
HE seems to be goner. but If the
Lord let's him live it will be that be
may take half a mile off the distance
to Cat Hill and save his soul from per-
dition."
Folks thought the dispute might
wear itself out in year or two. but
it didn't 1t kept right on for twenty
long years and never grew cold. Eben
would have gone to Indiana to live. but
he didn't want to leave Silas behind tC
crow over him. and Silas would not
60 to Syracuse to run n sawmill fol
the same reason. At length Eben lay
on his dying bed. and just the minute
the doctor told him his case was hope
less he sat up and said:
"Then l want you to send for Silas
Tompkins I've got something want
to say to him before l die"
Silas didn't hang back about coming
and after he'd arrived and said he was
sorry Eben said to him:
"Silas, how fur is it to Cat Hill?"
Its Jest ten miles. Eben. jest ten"
But I'm dyin' man."
"Yes, know. but it's jest ten miles. y
Its only nine and half. Silas, and
you are as big fool as you was TWEEN
ty years ago!"
'Ten miles,
'Nine and a half!'
Silas went away, and Eben died.
and a year later Silas was called to
CO. When he realized it he said to bis
wife:
Martha, don't let anybody blun you
when I'm gone. It's ten miles to Cat
Hill, and you stick to it IL you have to
live on cold taters."
"Ill do it. Silas," she answered.
In day or two be was dead and
buried. and as the usual crowd met at
the postoff1ce in the evening the talk
was all about the two men and their
lifelong dispute. Some said one was
right. and some said the other. There
was stranger present. and by and by