The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-08-11
OLD FEB WHITE
He Tells Story About a Cantankerous
Man
By M. QUAD
Copyright, 1915, by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.

critter of the lot was named rom
Smith. He didn't hev no family, but
Test sorter hung around at the coners.
He was powerful on the brag, but he
could fight fur all that, and bimeby
everybody got skeered o him. He went
about with chip on his shoulder and
blood in his eye till sum men moved
away to git cl'ar O him. Fur sum
reason he didn't bother me fur long
time. but one day when l went down
to the co'ners to sell sum possum pelts
Tom was outer sorts and opened on
me. He looks at me long time with
a glare in his eye. Then he throws
down his hat and jumps on 1t and
yells:
"'Whoopee! Zeb White, behold the
Jumper from Jumpersville! I'll bet my
rife agin them possum pelts / kin out
Jump yo' by six inches. If 20 ar a
man with legs under yo' cum out and
try on mel
II seed he was tryin' to pick quar-
REL" said Zeb, land so talked soft to
him and tried to git away.
II was in mighty pore health ex-
planned Zeb, land no match fur SIGH
man, and so / had to crawfish. Ev-
erybody said / orter shoot him down,
but / couldn't shed blood that way. 1t
hurts me to this day to remember that
i went home like whipped cur. leavin'
that critter crow over me, but my mind
was made up to tackle him as soon as
/ felt like q man ag'in. When | got
home / was cryin', and the old woman
sez to me, SEE she:
"Zeb, has the wah broke out aginY
"'No.'
"'Then what's the matterr
"T've bin bluffed.'
"D'ye mean that Tom Smith has
erowed over yo'Y
""That's jest what he has, and I'm so
pesky weak in the knees that l had to
git away from him
"Jest backed yo' down, did hep
"He did. It's the fust time in my
life / ever crawfished fur any human
critter.'
"'Reckon 1t is, Zeb. l knows how 20
feel But yo' couldn't help it, If 20
tackled him he'd hev broke yo' in two.
I'll go right at it and nurse yo' up.
and In TO weeks yo'll be fitten to whop
Tom Smith till he can't boot. IL 20
hain't, I'll put ON yo'r clothes and
whop him myself
II felt better arter that" said Zeb.
Though / couldn't get over the hurt to
my feelin's. One evenin', about two
weeks arter the fuss and when was
gainin' on it, but not feelin' much bet
ter, | was sittin' right yere when i
cotched sight of bar across the road
by them rocks. Plenty of bars around
we're them days. as nobody had been
home to kill 'em off. About the time
i cotched sight of the bar Tom Smith
showed up. Tom saw me a-sittin'
yere, and e stopped right by that
tree and throwed down his hat and
yelled, .Zeb White. ar that 70 a-sot-
tin thar
"It arr
ADO yo' call yo'self manr
"'Not a well man. If yo'll gin me
To- weeks mo- I'll run 20 outer the
kentry'
WAL" sighed the old man, he
talked that way till got mad and riz
up to go, but Jest as | did so that bar
waltzed across the road on his hind
feet and fetched him cum which
knocked him ten feet. Tom thought
I'd got out thar without his seem me,
and he was tickled 10 death as he riz
up and went fur the BIER We beard
him sayin':
"'Zeb White, / said yo' wasn't a
man. but | take It all back. ! didn't
believe yod stand up to me. and my
heart was nigh breakin''
II reckon Tom must hev bin half
drunk not to know a bar from man,
but he thought II was me fur shore,
and he soon had a surprise party on
hand. The bar didn't seem hankerin'
nrter meat. but he did want sum fun.
The bar knocked him down and rolled
him about a dozen times. and he got
many q good lick In on the bar but
ut length the fout was over. and Tom
Smith was a whopped man. He hol-
Tered out that he'd got plenty. and !
reckon IL was the same with the bar.
ns he suddenly made on into the
woods. when Tom got over bein'
dszed he got up and said 10 me;
"'zeb White. I'm a-beggin' Of yor
pardin. I thought yo' was a coward
and dasn't stand up 20 me. but yo've
whopped me IN a fair f0utr
WAS he badly used upf' I asked, ss
the story seemed 90 be finished.
He hadn't skassly a bit O clothin'
left on him" replied Zeb. "and be was
bruises and bites and claw marks from
head 70 heel reckon be might hev
got wei from them. but hts heart was
broke He kn0wed I was On poor
health. and when he realized that he'd
TIN wborped BY a sick man DO tosk 70
his Rod and died IN two weeks ne
sent fur me the day he died. and an
hour hefo' he hreathed his last he
reached fur ny hand and whispered.
zeb white. ] emit make ont bow
70 ala II. bot 20 dun rnade me hoiief
o. tbs frxi time IN my NE. and Tn
r.rnvin' fur death - rum I've kintsE
fhonrhf 70 might hex had buzzsa-s
Yasfeued - ro'r hsnds and feef. hut
fhst waulfnt - srin 20 ard f,enr
r,a rruare Gogdhv Pei ] hrrr ~
rrrrt 20 n the fothsr land and hsv
srsfhp- fgu, - sas ~.hs ar the hszt