The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-03-20

in other ways, Jack" she replied
softly. 81 guess, Jack, I've changed
my standards, else I'd given out long
ago."
81 may not say lot, Mary dear,
but /. but l haven't forgotten
and I-I-appreciate-"
He drew her closer to him and
crushed her suddenly. In the dining
room Richard, age eight was busy on
the red table cloth with Frederick,
age eleven, disemboweling a clock
which would never run again. Jack
would later find many of the cog
wheels on the carpet in his stocking
feet. Richard CHANGED to glance up
and was hypnotized.
"Lookit" he exclaimed to his
brothers watching the process of
clock surgery, paws kissin' maww
The small Templeton boys came in
after supperto play until eight o'clock
with the Purse young ones. Mary
sent them, ruined clock, muddy boots,
handfuls Of cog-wheels and all-into
the back kitchen.
whats the matter, Jack" she ask
ed her husband when the boys were
out of ear-shot. els it the ochre OPP
ton that's worrying your"
eyes. Old man Osgood was in this
afternoon shopping in Paris. He said
Joel Sibley has made him cash offer
for the farm and wanted to know if
I cared to exercise my option"
'tJaek,'' said the wife, "-you must
MT make yourself ill over this bust
ness. You're half-dead now with
worry and overwork and keeping
such hours as you've been doing
lately"
He rubbed his hands over tired
eyes-eyes that. felt like two holes
burned in a wooden blanket.
81 know it," he admitted. "But
this ochre bed looks like such good
chance, and I've read up so much on
it and know just how to go about do
ing it working it up into a big
business that I'm about crazy to
see it slip away as other business pro-
positions have had to go by the board
because | didn't have the money"
"Jack,-this time why do you let
it go by the board. Why don't you
raise the money"
"But how can | raise the money
when I've got nothing to raise it on?
4 th1c Y1loan IUnIIIHn' f.
let two hundred dollars. The bank
lad one stiff lesson with it"
az mean if you can't raise the
money out of your own resources, use
someone else's."
"Who for instance? l did think
If asking Sam Hold"
"Jack, I've been thinking; why
lon't you go see Mr.. Ezekial. You
Know who 1 mean, :. the old man
Who comes up to the place on Preston
aill summers. He's got loads of cash
you know that"
And knows how to hang on to
.tp' declared Jack grimly, what
chance would I stand going up to him
and trying to interest him in a little
ielly-bean ochre bed like this when
he could buy all of Foxboro and Paris
put together and never miss it from
his account? And even if he did put
in the cash,-even if l did interest
him,-how could | with nothing, keep
control?"
az don't know. But don't believe
old man Ezekial is anything like what
gossip paints him. / can't under
stand how a man who really was all
that people claim him to be could
have such an awful nice daughter.
I've met Martha Ezekial several
times at Ladies Aid meetings you
know; she's just common and ordln-
airy like other folks, only she's potter
and kinder and softer spoken-sort
of finer-grained."
"She's real aristocracy," declared
Jack, "to distinguish from Mibb Tru-
mann's brand"
"Why not go to old Mr.. Ezekial
and tell him honestly just what you
We found and what you think you
could do, and ask him to assist you"
Because" said Jack, "-I'm too
wise. Because l know how business
is done and how men like Old Zeke
-as they call him-are pestered to
death every day of their lives with in
dustrial propositions of this kind"
"Jack dear, you don't know-you
can't be certain,-until you've tried.
And isn't it worth-the trial?"
"The cowardiee of wisdom, Mary
the man cried, leaning forward in his
battered morris chair, makes it
appear ridiculous" He arose angrily
and paced the floor.
For Jack knew that deep in his
heart he lacked the courage to go up
to Old Zeke's fine home, on Preston
hill and beard the old money bear in
/ hir dax1 ard +7sxy RI