The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1922-11-17

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w. e. Henley.
DHE town Of Willow Creek lies
at the junction of a rivulet OF
Il that name, with the Big Mud
dy. But the people of that commu-
nifty being born scoffers, have changed
the name of the Big Muddy in COM
mon parlance to Mud Crick," and,
transformed by the alchemy of popu-
lar depreciation, the name of the town
itself has shriveled into "Willer
Creek" 1t might have been some
thing of a town, as towns go in the
West, but instead of pulling with his
neighbors for the success Of the town,
each Of it's founders spent his time
making fun of the pretensions of 9TH,
ers. When there was talk. on the part
of "Old man" Mead, the primeval post
master, of securing the government
land office for Willow Creek, the In,
dian trader, and the saloonkeeper, and
the blacksmith, made great sport of
the old mans ambition. A few years
later, when civilization had crowded.
in with a hotel, a lumber yard, new
saloon, and barber shop, someone
spoke of starting newspaper; but
the laugh that went up from Willow
Creek was the only unanimity that
greeted Editor McCray when his back
was turned. But the newspaper came,
and so did the people, and they kept
coming until, when the "boom" of the
Ia+O oil or. ~ found
Willow Creek with about two thou,
sand scoffing inhabitants.
But, In one way or another, the
"boom" seemed to bring wealth to
Willow Greek. And with wealth,
came some attempts at the organi-
cation Of polite society. There were
innumerable young real estate agents,
young doctors, young lawyers, and
clerks, all from the East, In the viii
lage; and these, with the daughters of
the early settlers and such friends as
they CHANGED to make in the high
school, constituted the aristocracy Of
the town. 1t was a vulnerable aris-
tocracy, and the scoffers made sad
havoc with it.
It was said Of Flora McCray, who
went to boarding school and came
back, timid, retiring, and distinctly
unsocial, that, "She needn't hold her.
self so high. If her father would only
pay back the money he stole in the
school land fraud she would be as
common as anybody" But the girl
paid no heed to these rumors, If she
heard them. She quietly filed her
small sphere, bounded on one side by
her meek-voiced mother and her busy
father, on another side by her church
and her "church social" on a third
side by a very brief glimpse of very
big world and her memory Of 1t, and
on the fourth side by occasional day
dreams and night thoughts, pretty
much the same as those which come
to any young girl of good health, good
spirits, and twenty-one years, who has
never had a sweetheart.
As the reaction, caused by the de-
cadence of real estate prices set In,
Willow Greek became poorer. AS the
young men, who paid for the orches-
LTdS, anu hoWClS,
left town, the young women, who for
merly frequented receptions, parties,
and balls, were seen more and more
often at the "church socials." After
two years Intellectual struggle Will
low Creek gave Il up. the town could
no longer support two branches Of
society, and the "church crowd" and
the dance crowd" merged into one.
When 1t was announced that the
entire social body Of Willow Creek
was going out to Robinson's for a.
''taffy pull" one Saturday night, the
rest of Willow Creek laughed. The
town people sneered at the young wom-
en- who had planned the party, and In
timated that the night ride out to Rob
insons and back was heroic meas
ure and they laughed at old man
Robinson and his family for tolerating
people who would snub them If they
came to town, and lastly they laughed
at the young men who would have TO
pay the livery bills.
Saturday morning, John Howard,
Mr.. McCray's partner In the stock
business, came up from the farm on
Dry Creek, and after going over some
details of business McCray asked his
partner to Sunday dinner, as was his
custom, when the young man was in
town, and the invitation was accepted.
During the boom" Howard had made
money. He had mingled with what Is
known as the swell set" Of Willow
Creek, and though not favorite at
the flood of the BOOM" the very fact
that he had the social instinct, made
him a necessity in society at Its ebb.
Soon after leaving his partners Of
fee, he had learned of the plans for
the "taffy pull" that evening. He was
urged to go, and finding that all the
rigs" were full, and that all the girls
of his "set' we're provided with es-
corts, in a moment of despairing In
spiration the young man sent a note
to his partners daughter, asking for
"the pleasure of her company" 70 His
invitation was accepted. and late that
afternoon, Flora McCray stepped into