Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1925-05-20

1.-Two dollars !' Pervus DeJong.
"And ten Johannes Ambuuls eau
tious bid.
1.-TWO and a quarter" Barend De-
Roo.
'Two-tifty!" Pervus DeJong.
Three dollarsw The high voice of
the boy. 1t cracked little on the last
syllable, and the crowd laughed.
"Three-three-three-t three three three
three. Three once"
"And half" Pervus DeJong.
'Three sixty"
'Four!" DeRoo.
"And ten"
The boys voice was heard no more.
II wish they'd STOP" whispered
Selma.
"Five!" Pervus DeJong.
"Six!" DeRoo, his face very red.
"And ten"
Severn
ITS only jelly sandwiches" said
Selma to DeJong, in a panic.
Eighth Johannes Ambuul, gone
mad
Nine ! DeR00.
mine! Nine I'm bidl Nine-nine-
nine! Who'll make it"
let him have it. The cup cakes
fell little. Don't"
"Ten" said Pervus DeJong.
Barend DeRoo shrugged his great
shoulders.
'Ten-ten-ten. Do I hear eleven? Do
L hear ten-ffty. Ten-ten-ten tententen-
tentententen Gents Ten once. Ten
twice! Gone-for ten dollars to Per
vus DeJOng. And a bargain" Adam
Ooms mopped his bald head and his
cheeks and the damp spot under his
chin.
Ten dollars. Adam Ooms knew, as
did all the countryside, this was not
the sum Of ten dollars merely. No
basket of food, though 1t contained
nightingales' tongues, the golden apple
of Atalanta, wines OF rare vintage,
could have been adequate recompense
for these ten dollars. They represented
sweat and blood; toll and hardship;
hours under the burning prairie sun at
midday; work doggedly carried on
| through the drenching showers Of
spring; nights of restless sleep snatched
/ an hour at a time under the sky in
the Chicago market place; miles of
weary travel down the rude corduroy
road between High Prairie and ChiOa-
go, now up TO the hubs in mud, now
blinded by dust and blowing sand.
A sale at ChriStie's, with a miniature
going for million, could not have met
with deeper hush, more dramatic
babble following the hush.
They ate their lunch together In one
corner of Adam OOms' hall. Selma
| opened the box and took out the
deviled eggs, and the cup cakes that
had fallen a little, and the apples and
the sandwiches sliced very, very thin.
The coldly appraising eye of all High
Prairie, Low Prairie, and New Haar-
lem watched this sparse provender
emerge from the ribbon-tied shoe box
| She offered him a sandwich. 1t looked
inf1nitesimal in his great paw. Sud
denly all Selina's agony of embarrass-
ment was swept away, and she was
laughing, not wildly or Historically,
but joyously and girlishly. She sank
her little white teeth into one of the
absurd sandwiches and looked at him,
expecting to find him laughing, too.
But he wasn't laughing. He looked
very earnest, and his blue eyes were
fixed hard on the bit of bread in his
hand, and his face was very red and
clean-shaven. He bit into the sand
witch and chewed 1t solemnly. And
Selma thought: "Why, the dear
thing The great big dear thing And
he might have been eating breast of
duck. Ten dollarsI" Aloud she
said, what made you do it7"
He seemed not to hear her; bit
ruminantly into one of the cup cakes.
Suddenly: 81 can't hardly write at
all, only TO sign my name and like
that"
"Read?"
"Only to spell OUT the words. Any
ways 1 don't get time for reading. But
figuring wish I knew. 'Rithmetic.
I can figger some, but those fellows In
Haymarket they are too sharp for me.
They do numbers in their head-lIke
that, so quick"
Selma leaned toward him. "T'll
teach you. I'll teach you"
How do you mean, teach mel"
Evenings"
He looked down at his great cal
loused palms. then up at her what
would you take for pay?"
"Payl | don't wa t any pay" She
was genuinely shocked.
His face lighted up with a sudden
thought. Tell you what I could
start for you the fra. mornings, in the
school And thaw the pump and bring
in pail Of water. This month, and
January and February and part OF
March. even now I don't go to market