The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1915-12-04

ought to know. Ye didn't know that
they'd ruther have ignorance than
charity. Ye think that you an Al
mighty God have gone in partners fer
the regeneration Of these mountains,
where no woman has ever been In
suited an no man has to bar his door
against thievery; where all We ask is
to be left alone. I reckon every day
ye're wonderin' Is my halo on
straight? It's nat'ral enough that ye
should be right scornful of a man that
some newspaper reporter has called
murderer"
His voice fell away. and Juanita
heard again the beating Of the ham
mers out in the barn.
is that sll7" she asked, but the
man shook his head and stood there
looking down on her until under the
spell OF his unusual eyes she felt like
screaming out: Talk If You want to.
but for heavens sake don't look at
me. 1 can't stand it,"
"Mebby eff ye'd stopped to think
about things" he resumed, "ye'd have
seen that didn't have no quarrel with
your plans. Mebby I mought even
have been able to help ye. I could
have told ye for one thing that
whether the ways here be right or
wrong. they've done stood fer two
hundred years Ye've got to go slow
changin' 'em. Ye can't hardly pull up
a poplar saplin' with one jerk Thar's
a tap-root underneath it thet runs
down halfway to hell
eff people hyarabouts is distrustful
| OF furrin teachers an ways, it's be-
cause Of the samples they've had. A
feller came here once from the settle
ments to teach school He was a
smart, upstandin' Teller an well
liked A man by the name OF Trevor.
when folks found out that he was
locatin' coal an buyin' their land fer
next to nothin'-robbin' them of their
birthright-it looked right smart like
somebody might kill him 1 warned
him away to save his life. Ye've got
to make folks forget about Trevor
afore We makes 'em trust you"
Thank you" said Juanita coldly
I'll try to show them that I'm not an
other Trevor. Are you warning me
away to save my life?"
I'm toTable ignorant" went on the
man, but I've read a few books, an
one OF EN- told the story of the Trojan
boss. I wanted ter see what kind OF
a critter you was a ridin' into these
hills. I come to this cabin the night
ye got here to find out"
81 thought So" she quietly answered
81 was to be inspected like an immf
grant, and the lord of the land was to
decide whether or not 1 should be sent
back"
Put it that way if we've a mind to, .
he answered. ''Ye was comm to be q
schoolteacher here. Well, I'd done
been a schoolteacher here. 1 see your
smile-ye're wonderin' what I could
teach Maybe, after all, it's a right
good idea to teach A B C's before ye
starts in with algebra an <netoric. Ye
wouldn't have me as a friend, an
reckon that won't break my heart"
Then" said the girl, looking NJ
and meeting his eyes with fash OF
challenge, 4 shall endeavor to gel
along without your favor. We could
hardly have met on common ground
at best. 1 shall teach the ten com
mandments, including Thou shalt not
kill I shall teach that to lie hidden
behind a bush and shoot an unsuspect
. ing enemy is cowardly and despicable
1 would not be willing to tell then
that they must live and die vassals II
. feudal tyranny"
, NO" he agreed, we couldn't hard
ly outrage your holy conscience b.
, tryin' to teach EN- things in a wa!
they could understand. could ye? L
Jeb had come to ye, like he came II
. me, askin' the name of the man b,
: sought to kill, ye would have said te
( him, 1T was so-and-so, but ye muslin
, harm him, because somebody writ il
a book two thousand years ago tina
kiIlin' is a sin An the hell of it ii
= ye'd low such talk would satisfy him
r "Ye couldn't do no such wicket
thing as to stop an reflect that he's
] mountain boy, an that for two hun
dred years the blood in his veins he
\ been a comm down to him full o