Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-10-06
CHAPTER XVII.
Bill Dale LauQhs.

Dill OuIe SAT thinking OI Wudl AC
had done there in the Big Pine cOun-
try. From the stOne-and-clay Chin
Deys of the cabins of the Littlefords on
the other side of the river the bowling
wind snatched sprays of blue wood
smoke. The Morelands had gone to
farms lying around Cartersville in the
lowland, on each of which a fair-siZed
first payment had been made. the bor-
Towed capital was to remain borrowed
| for another Year. The Morelands were
| already losing their outlandishness
and growing into universal respect.
David Moreland's dream was at last
being realized.
Then Dale frowned heavily. IL only
he could do as much for Babes peo-
| pie! But he couldn't. The men Of the
Littlefords still worked the coal mine.
They received almost twice the custom
| ary wages, but even that wouldn't buy
! them farms and educate their children.
Under his eyes lay two unanswered
letters from his parents. He found
| little pleasure in answering their let
| ters, for he was Still somewhat bitter
toward them-toward his father be-
cause of his fathers i'll treatment of
| David Moreland and David Moreland's
people; toward his mother because she
| had let him go hungry for mother-lOve
as baby, as q child, as boy, and as
a man; toward them both because he
had been reared dO-nothing.
The door opened suddenly, and By
Heck came stamping in with a gust of
cold air at his back. He carried in
one hand the mail satchel in the other
was his ever-present rifle. After throw
ing the satchel to the floor at Dale's
feet, he turned to the glowing wood
stove.
'Tm dang nigh friz, Bill" he chat
tered. my gosh, couldn't be no cold
er'n what / EN- eff I'd ha' clim' the
nawth pole neck-ed. Say, Bill why'n't
We burn coal std O. wood? Igod, it's
hotter"
Goal is worth money. Wood isn't"
Dale ran through the mail hastily.
He threw aside letter from the Alex
Rnder Crayfeld Coal corporation, which
an extraordinary figure, and picked up
letter which bore the postmark of his
home city.
1t was from Babe Littleford Since
he paid so little attention to the letters
of his parents, they had requested her
to write to him-they wanted him to
come home for Christmas dinner
Wouldn't he come?
He arose and paced the office floor
for two or three minutes, then he sat
down at his desk and dashed off a let
ter that contained only two sentences
BY Heck sat beside the stove and
watched his god with thoughtful eyes.
He understood, he believed. How any
woman on earth could turn down a
man like Bill Dale was utterly beyond
him. By Heck was a great deal like a
good-natured dog. ..
If Bill would only laugh, it would be
good for him. 1t had been so long since
he had heard Bill laugh. By Heck de-
cided that he would make Bill Dale
laugh.
"Old boyw
"Well?"
do We want me to tell We a funny
ta1e?" drawled Heck He barely heard
the answer:
II guess / don't mind, By"
Heck's sympathy made him gulp.
But he swallowed the lump that came
up in his throat and began bravely:
Zone time the was feller named
Smith. Odd name, Bill, amt it? FHoss-
fly Smith, they called him, cause ii
was said at he could easy shoot a
hosshy often hOsss ear and never
break hide on the animile. He was a
hellion, too. One time Hossfiy, he was
a-tryin' to git app'inted the chairman
o. some sort o politics doin's. and on
that same day he was a-drinkin' sort
o. torable heavy. They agreed to
make him the temp'rary chairman, but
Hossfiy, he didn't want that. So he
hops right up in the middle O the meet.
in, and he hollers out and says:
"'Feller citizens he says. I want
to be the permanent chairman! amt
a-goin' to act in the capacity of q
burned temp'rary chairman; / abso.
d-n-lutely amt!
His old inemy, Eb Wright, he yells
back and says smart-like: Set down
thar, Hosstiy,' says Eb-'you're drunk
and you don't know the difference a.
tween temp'rary and permanent!
"Well, they knowed Eb had It a
comm to him right then, and they lis
tened fo' it. Hossf1y, he addresses the
whole meetin', and this here is wha
Hosshy says:
"'Feller citizens says he, Ell
Wright thar lows don't know the diff
ference atween temp'rary and perma
nent. I'll prove to you that l do know
: the difference. Eb Wright says Tn
drunk. l am. That's temp'rary. Ell
; Wright is a poke-nosed idjit That.
permanent ?
Heck finished with a lazy laugh
"Haw, haw, haw! Hee-haw, hee-haw =
''That story" Dale said wearily
has been told on dozens of politicians
1t has become part of the history O.
this state"
"Well, my gosh ~ moaned By Heck
He thought deeply for a moment, de
cided that Bill Dale wouldn't laugh a
the story of Tom Jones pig-whicl
had drank all of a gallon-pail of but
termllk and then gone to sleep In tn,
selfsame pail-and went on:
Here's one, by Jake, at amt beel
, told on dozens o. politics men. Ant
every word of il is the solemn dyin