Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1922-08-03
Mr.. Peaslee Makes A Poor Job OF
Being A Martyr.

Peaslee reHectively, 81 sot out in good
faith to make martyr Of myself in a
kind OF way; but | got to countn' up
last night and some more this mornn',
and the best can fgger it out made
a poor job Of it."
Deacon Hyne, who was leading
COW home, hooked the halter over a
fence post How'd you want me to
take that about you bein' a martyr ?"
he demanded. 81 don't more'n know
what you're meanin', and don't be-
lieve you do yourself"
swell, iii tell you," said Caleb, "and
then you'll understand better, mebbe.
But I'll say now you're right about
my not knowing myself. had
wrong idea till ! come to fgger up and
reason it out.
I'D been cal'latin' for days to go to
the all-day grange meetin'; it's one
thing ! lot on and look forward to;
but yes'day mornin' when went out
to feed up found old Tom was so
lame in his off hind leg he couldn't
tech it to the foor-wrenched it in the
stall some way, | s'pose, but the how
OF il didn't matter. II was done, and
he was lame, and that was all about
il.
swell, fndin' him like that, thought
I'd use the colt and hitch him into
the light road wagon, but when | run
that out noticed one hind wheel wab-
bled so it most scraped the side of the
body; and come to find out, I'd sprung
the ex so bad it's wonder it didn't
break, and it's good days job for a
blacksmith to git it straight again.
must have done it comm into the
yard night or two back; | thought
scraped the fence post considerable hard,
but ] hadn't any notion I'd damaged
anything
well, with the hgit wagon laid up
and the other one too heavy for the
colt, there ! was; everybody was going
to the grange themselves, so | could
Mt borrer. And after I'd looked the
thing all over and found, do my best,
! was tied at home all day, started in
on foolish novel begun to pity my
self and complain inside about my hard
luck. hadn't been at il more'n ten min
utes before got to where was feelin'
about as downcast as ever git to feel;
there didn't seem to be anything !
wanted to do, and didn't have any
heart to hunt for it. | jest wanted to
90 TO that meetin', and, failin' that, there
didn't seem to be ray of comfort any
where for me. If I'd been young one,
| make no doubt I'd have ketched my
self wimperng.
"Feelin' like that, | slumped down
onto bench out by the shed and give
up to broodin'; and Ia only set there
long enough to sense how hard the
berch was before an idea come to me
that didn't understand the value of
II the minute-not till night, to be
honest with you. AS say, was settin'
there bewailin' my hard luck when all
It once happened tothink that could
1t feel much wuss, no matter what
VAS dom and that might Jest as well
10 some jobs hate doin' commonly
And I'd no more'n got the idea before
I started to carry it out.
"If there's Job Ihate wuss'n another
rs pickn' stones out Of the garden;
md there it laid in the sun, white with
stones the size of your fist or smaller.
didn't give my idea any time to cool;
! jest got a garden rake and begun on
L." Caleb waved his hand proudly and
beamed at the deacon. Don't that gar
len look pretty trig and neat?" he de-
manded, and with gruff heartiness the
deacon agreed that it did
"By the time I'd got the stones pick
ID clean" Caleb CONTINUED. at was
2ergin' close to noon, so | went into the /
house ond sot the kittle to blin', and
whilst was waitin' for that it come
0 me I'd have time to fix the hinge on .
The tieup door,-rd been putin it off .
or pretty close to a month, it bein' q
'inkerin' job don't like to do any time
and got the tools and had it fixed .
solid in twenty minutes at the outside;
and I've wasted ten times that in dread
n it and putin it off"
He paused and, gazing abstractedly
1t the deacon, enumerated on his fng-
RS. "Pickin' the garden free Of stones
vas one he said, land the hinge was
Two, and pitchin' out some hay that
moulded in the NOW made three. Put