Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1916-02-04

ought to know. Ye didn't know hAA
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 ell we ash is
to be left alone. | reckon every day
ye're wonderin' Is my halo on
straight It's nat'ral enough that ye
should be right scornful Of q man that
some newspaper reporter has called a
murderer"
His voice fell away. and Juanita
heard again the beating Of the ham
mers out In the barn.
rs that all?" 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 II you want to.
but for heavens sake don't look at
me. I can't stand IT,"
"Mebby Of ye'd stopped to think
about things he resumed, "ye'd have
seen that | didn't have no quarrel with
your plans. Mebby l mought even
have been able to help ye, could
have told ye for n 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' EN-. Ye can't hardly pull up
a poplar saplin' with n jerk. Thar's
a tap-root underneath 1t tibet runs
down halfway to hell.
III people hyarabouts is distrustful
Of Turin teachers an ways, it's be-
cause Of the samples they've had. A
Teller came here once from the settle
ments to teach school. He was o
smart. u~pstandin' 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--lt looked right smart like
somebody might kill him. | warned
him away to save his life. we've got
to make folks forget about Trevor
afore ye 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 tol'able ignorant" went on the
man, but I've read a few books, an
one Of 'em told the story of the Trojan
boss. l wanted ter see what kind or
a crltter you was a ridin' into these
hills. | come to this cabin the night
ye got here to find out"
II thought So" she quietly answered.
II was to be inspected like an immi-
grant, and the lord Of the land was to
decide whether or not I should be sent
back"
Y Put II that way II we've a mind TO-"
he answered. "Ye was comm to be a
4 schoolteacher here. Well, I'd done
been a schoolteacher here. see your
a smile-ye're wonderin' what l could
O teach. Maybe, after all. It's q right
good idea to teach A B C's oerury . d,
q starts In with algebra an rhetoric. Y,
wouldn't have me as q friend. an
k reckon that won't break my heart"
Then" said the girl, looking VI
and meeting his eyes with a flash o.
8 challenge, II shall endeavor to gel
o along without your favor. We coule
hardly have met on common grount
n at best. I shall teach the ten com
mandments, including Thou shalt moi
d kill | shall teach that to lie bidder
behind q bush and shoot On unsuspect
0 ing enemy Is cowardly and d~esDicable
d l would not be willing to tell then
that they must live and die vassals te
o feudal tyranny"
O mo-" he agreed, "ye couldn't hard
ly outrage your holy conscience BY
q tryin' to teach EN- things In a way
they could understand. could ye? II
a Jeb had come to ye. like he came tc
mo, askin' the name Of the man hi
o sought to kill, ye would have said tel
him, 1t was so-and-so, but 20 mustn'
harm him, because somebody writ IL
a book two thousand years ago tina
KILN Is a SIM An the hell OF 1t Il
@ ye'd low such talk would satisfy him
n "Ye couldn't do no such wicked
thing as to stop an reflect that he's 1
d mountain boy, an that for two hun
dred years the blood In his veins he'
n been a comm down to him full o