The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1923-10-18
CHAPTER XVIII
Old Man simms Speaks.

Young McGeehee Simms was loiter
ing along the snowy way to the school
house bearing a brightly secured tir
pail two-thirds full of water. He hat
been allowed to act as water super
intendent of the Woodruff school as q
reward of merit-safd merit being an
essay on which he received credit In
both language and geography on liar.
vesting Wheat in the Tennessee Noun.
tains." This had been Of vast inter.
est to the school in view Of the fact
that the Simmses were the only pupils
In the school who had ever seen In
use that supposedly-obsolete harvest.
Ing implement, the cradle. Buddy's
essay had been passed over to the
class in United States history as the
evidence of an eyewitness concernina
farming conditions In our GRANDPA.
Tiers times.
The surnameless Pete, Colonel
W~oodruff's hired man, halted Buddy
at the door.
Mr.. Simms, I believer he said.
Il reckon you must be lookin' fol
my brother, Raymond, suh," said
Buddy.
II am a-lookin'," said Pete impress
sively, "for Mr.. McGeehee Simms."
THAT'S me- said Buddy. 'but |
hain't been dom nothin' wrong, sub y"
81 have a message here" said Pete,
"for Professor James E. Irwin. He's
what-ho within, there, amt hep
Hes inside, I reckon" said Buddy.
"Then will you be so kind and con
descendin' as to stoop so low as to
jump so high as to give him this let
ter?" asked Pete.
Buddy took the letter and was con-
sidering of his reply to this remarkable
speech, when Pete, gravely saluting,
passed on, rather congratulating him.
self on having staged a very good
burlesque of the dignified manners of
those queer mountaineers, the Simmses.
The note was from the colonel:
please come to the meeting tonight,
and when you come, come prepared to
hold the district up. If we can't meet
the Pottawatomie county standard OF
wages, we ought to lose you. Every
body in the district will be there.
Come late, Sc you won't near yourself
talked about should recommend
nine-thirty and war-paint."
1t was a crisis, no doubt of that
and the responsibility of the situation
rather sickened Jim of the task OF
teaching. Only one thing kept him
from lodging the whole issue and re-
naming at home-the colonel's mat
ter-of-fact assumption that Jim had
become master of the situation. How
could he flee, when this old soldier was
fighting so valiantly for him in the
trenches? SO Jim went to the meet
ing.
How could he impose conditions on
the whole school district! How could
the colonel expect such a thing of him
And how could anyone look for any.
thing but scOrn for the upstart field,
hand from these men who had for SC
many years made him the butt of
their g~ood-natured but none the less
contemptuous ridicule? Who was he,
anyway, to lay down rules for these
substantial and successful men-he
who had beer for all the years Of his
life at their command, subservient to
their demands for labor-their under
The season was nearing spring, and
t was a mild thawy night. The win
of the schoolhouse were filled
With heads, evidencing the presence
# a crowd of almost unprecedented
ize, and the sashes had been thrown
10 for ventilation and GOODNESS. AS
i'm climbed the back fence of the
he heard a burst of ap-
,lause, from which he judged that
ONE speaker had just finished his re-
marks. There was silence when he
anne alongside the window at the
light Of the chairman's desk, a silence
by the voice of Old Man Simms,
aging "Mistah Chairman /"
'1The chair" said the voice of Ezra
recognizes Mr.. Simms."
Jim halted in indecision. He was
OF expected Wh1le the DEBATE was IN
There is no rule of
r morals, however, forbidding eaves- /;
ropping during the proceedings of a
ublic meeting. Therefore he listened
0 the first and last public speech of
I'D Man Simms.
"Ah amt no speaker" said Old
fan Simms, but All CANT set here
nd be quiet an go home an face my
lie woman an my boys an gyuhls
ithouten sayin' a word fo' the best
any family evan had, Mr.. Jim
(Applause.) Maybe AhH be
fought forrard to speak hyah, bein'
s All Amt no learnin' an some may
mink Ah don't pay no taxes; but
eein' as how we've tool e Blanch-