Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1915-12-02

Ssse<ezR iiAEssfSNAaAHT
~You Have Taken the soy-Vsry Well,
Mean to Take the Girl"
Teller came here once from the settle
ments to teach school. He was q
smart, upstandin' Teller an we'll
liked A man by the name of Trevor.
When folks found out that he was
tocatin' coal an buyin' their land fer
next TO nothin Robin them Of their
birthright-it looked right smart like
somebody might kill him / warned
him away to save his life. Ye've got
to make folks forget about Trevor
afcre ye makes EN- trust you
Thank YOU said Juanita coldly,
"I'll try to snow them that I'm not an
other Trevor. Are you warning me
away to save my ltfe?'
I'm tol'able ignorant" went on the
man, but I've read lew books. an
one of EN- told the story Of the TrojaH
boss. | wanted ter see what kind OF
q critter you was a rid1n' into these
hills. / come to this cabin the night
we got here to And out
al thought 80. she quietly answered
"I was to be inspected like an 1mm1
grant, and the lord Of the land was to
decide whether or not | should be sens
back
Put it that way II we've mind to-
he answered Eye was comm to be q
schoolteacher here. Wen, I'd done
been schoolteacher here [ see your
smiie-ye're wonderin' what / could
teach. Maybe, after ali. it's q right
good idea to teach A B C's before We
starts in with algebra an rhetoric. Ye
wouldn't have me as a friend an /
reckon that won't break my heart"
Then" said the girl, looking up
and meeting his eyes with q fash of
challenge, Il shall endeavor to get
along without your favor. We could
hardly have met on common ground
at best, / shall teach the ten com
mandments, including Thou shalt not
kill l shall teach that to lie hidden
behind bush and shoot an unguspect
Ing enemy Is cowardly and despicable.
would not be willing to tell them
that they must live and die vassals to
feudal tyranny"
NO." he agreed, 'ye couldn't hard
ly outrage your hot conscience by
tryin' to teach EN- things In a way
they could understand. could We? II
Jeb had come to we, like he came to
me, askin' the name of the man he
sought to kill. ye would nave said ter
him, 1t was so-gnd-so, but ye mustn't
harm him, because somebody writ in
book two thousand years ago that
KILN Is sin. An the hell of 1t is
ye'd low such talk would satisfy him.
"Ye couldn't do no such wicked
thing as to stop an reflect that he's
mountain boy, an that for two hun
dred years the blood in his veins hes
been a comm down to him full of
grudge-nursin' an hate. Ye couldn't
make allowances for the fact that he
wasn't Matched in a barnyard to peck
at corncobs an berries, but in an
eagles nest-that he's a bird of prey.
Ye couldn't consider the fact that the
KILN instinct runs in the current of
his blood an was drunk in at his moth
er's breast Ye'd just teach barnyard
lessons to young eagles, an that's why
re might as well go home"
I'm grateful for this teachers
course" said Juanita holly, "and I'm
not going home
Anse Havey went on:
But I know that boy. I know that
IL I'd talked thataway he'd just about
have gone out in the la'rel an got
somebody. Hit might not a been the
right Teller, and he might have found
that out later. / reckon ye never had
a father murdered, did yer"
Hardly" answered the girl with
scornful toss Of her head You see,
wasn't reared among gun-hghters."
Well, l have" responded the man
Il was in the legislature down at
Frankfort when 1t happened, a-helpin'
to make the laws that govern this
state. was fer them laws in theory
with Republican, SOS not to lose my
vote On the floor, an come back here
to these hills an got that Teller. I
reckon I ought to be ashamed to tell
ye that, but I'm so plumb ign'rant that
can't feel 1t. / knew how Jeb felt
an so held him off with promise to
wait OF course ye couldn't accept thu
help Of man like that"
He turned and withdrew his hands
from his pockets.
I'm through" he added, "an' I'm
obleeged to ye fer hRrkenin' to me-"
There is something in your point |
Of view, Mr.. Havey," she acknowi- |
edged. But 1t is all based on twisted |
and distorted principle.