The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1917-03-03
FORCED TO OWN UP
Mr.. PEAsLEE TELLS OF DOWN.
FALL OF STUBBORN MAN.
OF Course Jonas Might Have Thought
the Window Was Open, but II Is
Certain That the Shoe Came
Through II.

THAT Jonas Ebbitt," observed Caleb
Peaslee as he leaned upon his hoe and
addressed Obed Quincy, sis the stub
bornest nan in Dilmouth. / wouldn't
be s'prised If he was the s~tubbornest
one In Maine"
Mr.. Quincy nodded his head in con-
frmation. "Ebbitt is sot," he conceded
mildly, "but what fetched him into
your mind right at this minute?'
"Oh, I jest got to thinkin'," Mr.. Peas
lee replied. Last night Jone had a
chance to show how 'sot' he could be,
and l happened to be there when he
done It,"
"Jest what shape did his sotness
takeT' Mr.. Quincy wanted to know;
and Caleb chuckled.
He'd come down to the post Office
by way of the beach road" he began,
'and he'd got gravel into both of his
shoes. Stead of takin' off one shoe
and dumpin' the gravel out of that and
then putin it back on again, he took
'em both off. L d'know why. l pre-
sumo likely he done it to be different.
when he went to put 'em on again
to put 1t onto his right foot. Mebbe
he'd have shifted it to the other foot II
Lem Piper'd KEEP his mouth shut but
Lem amt gifted that way.
"That's the wrong shoe you're tryin'
to put on that foot, Ebbitt,' Lem says,
and Jones mouth came together like a
trap.
at guess l know full's much bout
my shoes and feet as you do, Lem
Piper he snapped out, and less ii
makes some greet difference to you, I'm
goin' to put these shoes on to suit my
selfp So Lem, knowing that talkin'
wouldn't change him, jest watched him,
and so did the rest of us.
swell, by workin' and twistin' he
managed to get the left shoe onto his
right foot, and hen he started on the
other one, and by the time he'd got
that one on I don't b1ieve a days work
would have tired him more. His fore
head was all of a sweat, and they must
have hurt him like time, but he never
showed a sign of changing ZEN.
"He sot there a spell, to make it ap-
pear that he hadn't been doin' anything
out of the common, and then he said
he'd got to be gittin' long home.
my way laid along with his, so l
started with him. / wanted to get
home, of course, and besides that 1
wanted to see how he'd make out to
cripple home with them shoes on the
wrong feet. He didn't act very tickled
to have me along, and only grunted
when l told him I'd bear him company.
81 mistrust that if / hadn't been with
him them shoes would have come off
bout as soon as he got round the fust
turn; but with me there he couldn't
shift 'em without givin' in hat he was
wrong, and / guess he'd ruther lose a
foot than do that.
eff a half a mile ever seemed long to
any man, that piece of road between
the post office and Ehbitt's place must
have seemed long to him. 1t must
have bout killed him to walk it, but
he tried not to make any sign of it.
Once or twice he'd step on a stone
that'd roll, or on an oneven place
in the road, and it'd fairly fetch a
groan out of him but he tried TO turn
1t off that he was kind of singin' or
hummin' onder his breath.
"We fn1y fetched up at his place,
and Jone didn't waste any time in
sayin' good night TO me. He jest hob
bled up that path to his door, walkin'
on the sides of his feet and groanin'
every time he sot foot on a hubble. He
fairly fell into the door, and for what
took place afterwards-well, I dessay
Jonas thought the winder was open."
"'Winder was open'?" repeated Mr..
Quincy, wonderingly. and Caleb nod
ded.
st hadn't taken more'n a dozen
steps," he explained, when l heard
the sound of glass breakin', and some
thing struck within ten feet of me in
the road. / took pains to go and pick
1t up, and 1t was a shoe-'bout such a
shoe as I'd seen Jonas put on to wear
home.
"And from the way ii come out
through the winder there so spiteful, -
Mr.. Peaslee concluded dryly, II thought
that Jonas had sort of give in for once
that he was wrong."-Youth's Com
panion.