The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1934-08-23

peoples business, always shooting
his mouth off. Ike was mostly
set against Steve because Steve
had girdled the birches along the
line fence whose roots spread out
into Steve's fields and stopped his
blowing. Steve had asked Ike to
get together about it time and
again.
"Sure, Jesse old boy, help your
self. My place is full of rocks and
trees. I'll borrow your cornplanter
or make up for it one way or the
other"
Again the men went into the
woods. Not word from Ike about
his leg. They logged thru snow
drifts, woods, fence gaps. They
stumbled under a frozen butt of
moon to chores and then to fall
asleep over warmed over spuds and
coffee. And when the thaw came,
they had to fight rain, pillow and
rezet potatoes that the worms had
got en-, worry about apples nipped
by the cold, and then turn to hay
ing. 1t wasn't until the dog days
in August they could get to the
poles again.
The light company used derricks
attached to trucks to set the poles.
The Shermans had to use hand
pixies and the steady old mare with
pulleys and chain to raise the 30
foot poles, and have them slip into
J the holes 6 feet deep the two men
! and Toss had dug in the ravine,
swamp and pasture. The pas ure
was alive with ground bees and
yellow jecKets. That didn't stop
them. They stuck handpikes into
the chestnut pole. The old mare
obeyed Toss cluck like chick.
Toss grabbed a pike. The mare
reared suddenly and bolted. A blast
of yellowjacks. The ches nut soa'- ed
and swung around. Jesse slipped
Ike sank to his knees. His pike
bent like the egg needle of an in
chenumon fly. The pole crashed.
His eyes goggled. They rolled
the log off. They laid him across
the mare. Toss held his feet and
Jesse his head.
Ida was near the cookstove. She
mouthed her hands. Toss had to
hold her. Jesse dragged the body
like a great dripping sack upstairs
! The doctor said the stroke in
side him was worse than the crash
He was numb in the lower quar-
tiers like frost had set in. The
doctor set leeches ON his SWOLLEN
eyes. He'd make them drop off by
snrinklinP salt on heir heads. The
bleedin~ helped.
Hearing about the accident, Pie
Johnson drove up with ice cream
They wouldn't let him in the sick
room. Johnson said: "Now there's
Ike yelling upstairs he won't pay
me a brass plug longs he lives.
can get the deputy down and sci
the whole herd for the money he
owes me. 1t amt my funeral thai
things are tight all over the coun.
try. ] sunk money into this. I'm
going to take it ou'. l don't have
to wait until lights is in to ask fol
all. If Ike's so Christ unreason,
able, he'll lose his last shirt"
Toss drew Ida into the next
room. Ida shook her head vigor
ously. But the girl brought on /;
. roll of bills wound up in a sock
She faltered and thrust $75 int,
Johnson's hands. Pie saluted will
two fingers and was gone. Jess
said bitterly, "Bet you he's ever
whistling through his tail at us
now"
Couple of weeks later Ike drag
ged himself out of bed. He go
hold of a rushbottomed chair anC
nailed it down to the stoneboat. H,
hitched the mare and drove around
He would show Johnson he coulC
ctill fiGht him The poles Law il
the field. Ard so ano her darl
winter faced them.
They were like four cats in
bag beaten with stick. Endless
: ouarrele Milk d~onped arothe
cant Toss got cnu"ht. Sho Ia,