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diff --git a/43994-8.txt b/43994-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bb1e936..0000000 --- a/43994-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9638 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Caleb Wright, by John Habberton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Caleb Wright - A Story of the West - -Author: John Habberton - -Release Date: October 22, 2013 [EBook #43994] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CALEB WRIGHT *** - - - - -Produced by sp1nd< Emmy and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - -_CALEB WRIGHT_ - - - - -_CALEB WRIGHT_ - -_A STORY OF THE WEST_ - - _BY - JOHN HABBERTON_ - - _Author of_ - - _"HELEN'S BABIES" - "THE JERICHO ROAD" - ETC._ - - - _BOSTON - LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY_ - - - - - _COPYRIGHT, - 1901, BY - LOTHROP - PUBLISHING - COMPANY._ - - _ALL RIGHTS - RESERVED_ - - _ENTERED AT - STATIONERS' - HALL_ - - _Norwood Press - J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith - Norwood, Mass._ - - - - -_CONTENTS_ - - - _Chapter_ _Page_ - _I._ _Their Fortune_ 11 - _II._ _Taking Possession_ 25 - _III._ _Introduced_ 40 - _IV._ _Home-making_ 54 - _V._ _Business Ways_ 71 - _VI._ _The Unexpected_ 94 - _VII._ _An Active Partner_ 108 - _VIII._ _The Pork-house_ 124 - _IX._ _A Western Spectre_ 137 - _X._ _She wanted to know_ 150 - _XI._ _Caleb's Newest Project_ 163 - _XII._ _Deferred Hopes_ 177 - _XIII._ _Farmers' Ways_ 194 - _XIV._ _Fun with a Camera_ 211 - _XV._ _Cause and Effect_ 224 - _XVI._ _Decoration Day_ 242 - _XVII._ _Foreign Invasion_ 263 - _XVIII._ _The Tabby Party_ 281 - _XIX._ _Days in the Store_ 299 - _XX._ _Profit and Loss_ 316 - _XXI._ _Cupid and Corn-meal_ 332 - _XXII._ _Some Ways of the West_ 348 - _XXIII._ _After the Storm_ 366 - _XXIV._ _How it came about_ 381 - _XXV._ _Looking Ahead_ 406 - _XXVI._ _The Railway_ 428 - _XXVII._ _Conclusion_ 444 - - - - -_CALEB WRIGHT_ - - - - -I--THEIR FORTUNE - - -ALL people who have more taste than money are as one in the conviction -that people with less money than taste suffer more keenly day by day, -week by week, year by year, than any other class of human beings. - -Of this kind of sufferer was Philip Somerton, a young man who had -strayed from a far-western country town to New York to develop his -individuality and make his fortune, but especially to enjoy the -facilities which a great city offers (as every one knows, except the -impecunious persons who have tried it) to all whose hearts hunger for -whatever is beautiful, refining, and also enjoyable. - -To some extent Philip had succeeded, for he quickly adapted himself to -his new surroundings; and as he was intelligent, industrious, and of -good habits, he soon secured a clerkship which enabled him to pay for -food, shelter, and clothing, and still have money enough for occasional -books and music and theatre tickets, and to purchase a few articles -of a class over which the art editor of Philip's favorite morning -newspaper raved delightfully by the column. Several years later he -was still more fortunate; for he met Grace Brymme, a handsome young -woman who had quite as much intelligence and taste as he, and who, -like Philip, had been reared in a country town. That in New York she -was a saleswoman in a great shop called a "department store" was not -in the least to her discredit; for she was an orphan, and poor, and -with too much respect to allow herself to be supported by relatives as -poor as she, or to be "married off" for the sole purpose of securing -a home. When Philip declared his love and blamed himself for having -formed so strong an attachment before he had become financially able -to support a wife in the style to which his sweetheart's refinement -and cleverness entitled her, the young woman, who was quite as deep in -love as he, replied that in so large a city no one knew the affairs -of inconspicuous people, so there was no reason why they should not -marry, and she retain her business position and salary under the only -name by which her employers and business associates would know her, and -together they would earn a modest competence against the glorious by -and by. - -So they married, and told only their relatives, none of whom was in New -York, and out of business hours the couple occupied a small apartment -and a large section of Paradise, and together they enjoyed plays and -concerts and pictures and books and bric-à-brac as they had never -imagined possible when they were single; and when there was nothing -special in the outer world to hold their attention they enjoyed each -other as only warm-hearted and adaptive married people can. - -But marriage has no end of unforeseen mysteries for people who really -love each other, and some of these obtruded themselves unexpectedly -upon Philip and Grace, and gave the young people some serious moments, -hours, and days. At first these disturbers were repelled temporarily -by gales of kisses and caresses, but afterwards Grace's warm brown eyes -would look deeper than they habitually were, and Philip would feel as -if he had lost the power of speech. It was merely that each wished to -be more and do more for the sake of the other. Philip knew that Grace -was the sweetest, handsomest, cleverest, noblest woman in the world, -and that the world at large had the right to know it. Grace thought -Philip competent to illumine any social circle, and to become a leader -among men; but how was the world to know of it while he and she were -compelled to remain buried alive in a city in which no one knew his -next-door neighbor except by sight? In her native village deserving -young men frequently became partners of their employers, but Philip -assured her that in New York no such recognition could be expected. The -best he could hope for was to retain his position, be slowly promoted, -and some day rank with the highest clerks. - -One evening Philip, who ordinarily reached home later than his wife, -stood in the door of the apartment when Grace appeared. He quieted the -young woman with a rapturous smile, and said, with much lover-like -punctuation:-- - -"All of our troubles are ended, dear girl. We can live as we wish, -and buy everything we wish. To-night--at once, if you like--we can -afford to tell the whole world that we are no longer a mere clerk and a -saleswoman." - -Grace at once looked more radiant than her husband had ever seen her; -she exclaimed:-- - -"Oh, Phil! Tell me all about it! Quick!" - -"I will, my dear, if you'll loosen your arms--or one of them--for a -moment, so that I can get my hand into my pocket. I've inherited old -Uncle Jethro's property. I don't know how much it amounts to, but -he was a well-to-do country merchant, and here's a single check, on -account, for a thousand dollars." - -"Phil!" exclaimed Grace, placing her hands on her husband's face and -pushing it gently backward, while her cheeks glowed, and her lips -parted, and her eyes seemed to melt. - -"That makes me far happier than I was," said Phil, "though I didn't -suppose that could be possible. Your face is outdoing itself. I didn't -suppose money could make so great a difference in it." - -"'Tisn't the money," Grace replied slowly, "and yet, I suppose it is. -But we won't reason about it now. We can do what we most wish--tell the -world that we're married; for that, I'd gladly have become a beggar. -But do tell me all about it." - -Philip placed his wife in an easy chair, took a letter from his pocket, -and said:-- - -"I suppose this will explain all more quickly than I could tell it. -'Tis a lawyer's letter. Listen:-- - - "'PHILIP SOMERTON, ESQ.,-- - - "'DEAR SIR: We are charged to inform you that your - uncle, Jethro Somerton, died a few days ago, and made - you the sole beneficiary of his will, on condition that - you at once proceed to Claybanks, and assume charge of - the general store and other business interests that - were his, and that you provide for his clerk, Caleb - Wright, for the remainder of said Wright's natural - life, and to the satisfaction of the said Wright. In - the event of any of these stipulations not being met, - the entire property is to be divided among several - (specified) benevolent associations, subject to a life - annuity to Caleb Wright, and you are to retire from the - business without taking any of the proceeds. - - "'By the terms of the will we are instructed, (through - your late uncle's local attorney) to send you the - enclosed check for One Thousand ($1000) Dollars, to - provide for the expenses of your trip to Claybanks, and - to enable you to procure such things as you may wish to - take with you, the Claybanks stores not being stocked - with a view to the trade of city people; but our bank - will defer payment of the same until we are in receipt - of enclosed acknowledgment, duly signed before a notary - public, of your acceptance under the terms of your - uncle's will, a copy of which we enclose. - - "'Yours truly, - "'TRACE & STUBB, - - "'_For counsel of Jethro Somerton, deceased_.'" - -"How strange!" murmured Grace, who seemed to be in a brown study. - -"Is that all it is?" asked Phil. - -"No, you silly dear; you know it isn't. But you've scarcely ever -mentioned your uncle to me; now it appears that you must have been very -dear to him. I can't understand it." - -"Can't, eh? That's somewhat uncomplimentary to me. I suppose the truth -is that Uncle Jethro couldn't think of any one else to leave his money -to; for he was a widower and childless. My dear dead-and-gone father -was his only brother, and he had no sisters, so I'm the only remaining -male member of the family." - -"But what sort of man was he? Do tell me something about him." - -"I wish I knew a lot of pleasant things to tell, but I know little -of him except what I heard when I was a boy. Father, in whom -family affection was very strong, loved him dearly, yet used to be -greatly provoked by him at times; for uncle's only thought was of -money--perhaps because he had nothing else to think of, and he wrote -advice persistently, with the manner of an elder brother--a man whose -advice should be taken as a command. When I started East I stopped -off and tramped three miles across country to call on him, for the -letter he wrote us when father died was a masterpiece of affection and -appreciation. I had never seen him, and I'm ashamed to say, after what -has just occurred, that after our first interview I had no desire to -see him again. His greeting was fervent only in curiosity; he studied -my face as if I were a possible customer who might not be entirely -trustworthy. Then he made haste to tell me, with many details, that he -was the principal merchant and business man in the county, where he -had started thirty years before, with no capital but his muscles and -wits. He intimated that if I cared to remain with him a few months on -trial, and succeeded in impressing him favorably, I might in time earn -an interest in his business; but I thought I had seen enough of country -stores and country ways to last me for life; so I made the excuse -that as my parents were dead and my sisters married, I felt justified -in going to New York to continue my studies. When he asked me what I -was studying, I was obliged to reply, 'Literature and art,' at which -statement he sneered--I may say truthfully that he snorted--and at once -became cooler than before; so I improved my first opportunity, between -customers' visits, to say that it was time for me to be starting back -to the railway station. In justice to myself, however, as well as -to him, I could not start without telling him how greatly his letter -about my father had affected me. For a moment he was silent: he looked -thoughtful, and as tender, I suppose, as a burly, hard-natured man -could look; then he said:-- - -"'Your father was one of the very elect, but--' - -"I quickly interrupted with, 'I'm not very religious, but I won't -listen to a word of criticism of one of the elect--least of all, of my -father. Good by, uncle.' He made haste to say that the only two men -of the Somerton family shouldn't part in anger; and when he learned -that I had walked three miles through the darkness and November mud, -and intended to walk back to the station, he told a man who seemed -to be his clerk,--Caleb Wright, evidently the man mentioned in this -extraordinary letter,--to get out some sort of conveyance and drive me -over. While Caleb was at the stables, my uncle questioned me closely as -to my capital and business prospects. I was not going to be outdone in -personal pride, so I replied that, except for some mining stocks which -some one had imposed upon my father, and were down to two cents per -share, I'd exactly what he had told me he began with,--muscle and wits. -He saw that I had no overcoat,--boys and young men in our part of the -country seldom had them,--so he pressed one upon me, and when I tried -to decline it, he said, 'For my dead brother's sake,' which broke me -down. When I reached the train, I found in the overcoat pockets some -handkerchiefs, gloves, hosiery, neckwear, and several kinds of patent -medicines, which evidently he thought trustworthy; there was also a -portemonnaie containing a few small notes and some coin. I wrote, -thanking him, as soon as I found employment; but he never answered -my letter, so I was obliged to assume that he had repented of his -generosity and wished no further communication with me." - -"How strange! But the man--Caleb--who drove you to the station, and who -seems to be a life pensioner on the estate, and is to be dependent upon -us,--how did he impress you?" - -"I scarcely remember him, except as a small man with a small -face, small beard, a small gentle voice, and pleasanter eyes than -country clerks usually have. I remember that his manner seemed very -kindly,--after my experience with my uncle's,--and he said a clever -or quaint thing once in a while, as any other countryman might have -done. For the rest, he is a Civil War veteran, and about forty years of -age--perhaps less, for beards make men look older than they are." - -"And the town with the odd name--Claybanks?" - -"I saw it only in the dark, which means I didn't see it at all. I -believe 'tis the county town, and probably it doesn't differ much -from other Western villages of a thousand or two people. 'Twill be a -frightful change from New York, dear girl, for you." - -"You will be there," replied Grace, with a look that quickly brought -her husband's arms around her. "And you will be prominent among men, -instead of merely one man among a dozen in a great office. Every one -will know my husband; he won't any longer go to and from business as -unknown as any mere nobody, as you and most other men do in New York. -'Tis simply ridiculous--'tis unnatural, and entirely wrong, that my -husband's many clever, splendid qualities aren't known and put to their -proper uses. You ought to be the manager of the firm you are with, -instead of a mere clerk. I want other people to understand you, and -admire you, just as I do, but no one is any one in this great crowded, -lonely, dreadful city." - -"There, there!" said Philip. "Don't make me conceited. Besides, we've -neglected that check for at least ten minutes. Let's have another look -at it. A thousand dollars!--as much money as both of us have had to -spend in a year, after paying our rent! A tenth part of it will be more -than enough to take us and our belongings to Claybanks; with the other -nine hundred we'll buy a lot of things with which to delight ourselves -and astonish the natives,--silk dresses and other adornments for you, -likewise a piano, to replace the one we have been hiring, and some -pictures, and bric-à-brac, and we'll subscribe to a lot of magazines, -and--" - -"But suppose," said Grace, "that after reaching there you find the -business difficult or unendurable, and wish to come back to New York?" - -"Never fear for me! I'm concerned only for you, dear girl. I know -Western country places, having been brought up in one; I know the -people, and among them you will take place at once as a queen. But -queens are not always the most contented of creatures. Their subjects -may not be--" - -"If my first and dearest subject remains happy," said Grace, "I shall -have no excuse for complaining." - - - - -II--TAKING POSSESSION - - -THE ensuing week was a busy one for Philip and Grace; for to announce -an unsuspected marriage and a coming departure at one and the same -time to two sets of acquaintances is no ordinary task, even to two -social nobodies in New York. Besides, Philip had lost no time in making -the legal acknowledgment that was requisite to the cashing of his -check, and in spending a portion of the proceeds. A short letter came -from Caleb Wright, enclosing one almost equally short from the late -Jethro Somerton, which assured Philip of Caleb's honesty and general -trustworthiness, and that the business would not suffer for a few days. - -"Caleb is a far better and broader man than I," Philip's uncle had -written, "but he lacks force and push. I'm satisfied he can't help -it. He is stronger than he looks, and younger too, but he was fool -enough to take part in the Civil War, where he got a bullet that is -still roaming about in him, besides a thorough malarial soaking that -medicine can't cure. This often makes him dull; sometimes for weeks -together. But he knows human nature through and through, and if I had -a son to bring up, I'd rather give the job to Caleb than trust myself -with it. He has done me a lot of good in some ways, and I feel indebted -to him and want him to be well cared for as long as he lives. His -salary is small, and he won't ask to have it increased; but sometimes -he'll insist that you help him with some projects of his own, and I -advise you to do it, for he will make your life miserable until you do, -and the cost won't be great. I used to fight him and lose my temper -over some of his hobbies, but now I wish I hadn't; 'twould have been -cheaper." - -"That," said Philip, after reading the passage to Grace, "is about as -tantalizing as if written for the purpose of teasing me, for there's -not a shadow of hint as to the nature of Caleb's projects and hobbies. -He may be experimenting in perpetual motion or at extracting sunshine -from cucumbers. Still, as the man is honest and his freaks are not -expensive, I don't see that I can suffer greatly. By the way, when -I informed our firm that they would have to endure the withdrawal -of my valuable services, and told them the reason, they were not a -bit surprised; they said my uncle had written them several times, -asking about my progress and character, and they had been unable to -say anything to my discredit. They had been curious enough to make -inquiries, from the commercial agencies, about the writer of the -letters, and they took pleasure in informing me that Uncle Jethro's -store, houses, farms, were estimated by good judges, at--guess how -much." - -Grace wondered vaguely a moment or two before she replied:-- - -"Aunt Eunice's cousin was the principal merchant in a town of two or -three thousand people, and his estate, at his death, was--inventoried, -I think was the word--at twelve thousand dollars. Is it as much as -that?" - -"Multiply it by six, my dear, and you'll be within the mark, which is -seventy-five thousand dollars." - -"Oh, Phil!" - -"I repeat it, seventy-five thousand dollars, and that in a country -where a family with a thousand a year can live on the fat of the -land! Our firm declares that our fortune will be as much to us, out -there, as half a million would be in New York. Doesn't that make your -heart dance? I can give you horses and carriages, dress you in silks -and laces, hire plenty of servants for you; in short, make you in -appearance and luxury what you will be by nature, the finest lady in -the county. Dear woman, the better I've learned to know you, the more -guilty I've felt at having married you; for I saw plainly that you were -fit to adorn any station in the world, instead of being the wife of a -man so poor that you yourself had to work for wages to help us have a -home. At times I've felt so mean about it that--" - -Grace stopped further utterance on the subject by murmuring:-- - -"Seventy-five thousand dollars! What shall we do with it?" - -"Enjoy it, dear girl; that's what we shall do. We've youth, health, -taste, spirits, energy, and best of all, love. If all these qualities -can't help us to enjoy money, I can't imagine what else can. Besides, -Claybanks is bound to be a city in the course of a few years--so uncle -said; and if he was right, we will be prepared to take the lead in -society. 'Twon't be injudicious to have the largest, best-furnished -house, and a full circle of desirable acquaintances, against the time -when the sleepy village shall be transformed in a day, Western fashion, -into a bustling city." - -The several days that followed were spent largely in longings to get -away, and regrets at leaving New York's many new delights that were -at last within reach; but finally Philip wrote Caleb Wright that he -would arrive at Claybanks on a specified date, and asked that the best -room in the best hotel be engaged for him. The couple reached the -railway station at dawn of a dull December morning, and after an hour -of effort, while Grace remained in the single room at the station and -endeavored not to be nauseated by the mixed odors of stale tobacco, -an overloaded stove, and a crate of live chickens awaiting shipment, -Philip found a conveyance to take them to Claybanks. The unpaved road -was very muddy, and the trees were bare, the farm-houses were few and -unsightly. Philip was obliged to ask:-- - -"Isn't it shockingly dismal?" - -"Is this the road," Grace answered, "over which you walked, at night, -when you visited your uncle?" - -"The very same, I suppose, for there's never a choice of roads between -two unimportant places." - -"Then I sha'n't complain," said Grace, nestling very close to her -husband. - -The outlook did not improve as the travellers came near to the village -of Claybanks. Houses were more numerous, but most of them were very -small, many were unpainted, and some were of rough logs. The fences, -while exhibiting great variety of design, were almost uniform in -shabbiness. - -"Rather a dismal picture, isn't it?" asked Philip. "It suggests a -kalsominer's attempt to copy a Corot." - -"I'm keeping my eyes closed," Grace replied. "I'm going to defer being -impressed by the town until a sunny day arrives." - -"If you were to look about you now," said Philip, gloomily, "you'd -see the fag end of nothing--the jumping-off place of the world. How -my uncle succeeded in living here--still stranger in making money -here--passes my comprehension." - -The best room at the hotel proved to be quite clean, but as bare as a -hotel chamber could be, and also very cold. Philip begged for one with -a fire, but was told that all warmed rooms were already occupied by -regular lodgers. Fortunately breakfast was being served. It consisted -of fried pork, fried sausage, fried eggs, tough biscuits, butter of a -flavor which the newest guests neither recalled nor approved, two kinds -of pie, and coffee. - -"If this is the best hotel Caleb could find for us, what can the worst -be?" whispered Philip. - -"Perhaps we can find board in a private family," whispered Grace, in -reply. - -"How early will Somerton's store be open?" asked Philip of the -landlord, who had also served as table-waiter. - -"It's been open since daybreak, I reckon; it usually is," was the -reply. "I shouldn't wonder if you was the new boss, seein' you have the -same name. Well, I'm glad to see you. I'm one of your customers." - -"Thank you very much. Is the store far from here?" - -"Only two blocks up street. You'll find Caleb there. You know Caleb -Wright?" - -"Oh, yes; I've been here before." - -"That so? Must have put up at the other hotel, then--or mebbe you -stopped with your uncle." - -"Er--yes, for the little while I was in town. I wish there was a warm -room in which my wife could rest, while I go up to the store to see -Caleb." - -"Well, what's the matter with the parlor? Come along; let me show you." - -Philip looked into the parlor; so did Grace, who quickly said:-- - -"Do let me go to the store with you. You know I always enjoy a walk -after breakfast." - -"Pretty soft walkin', ma'am," said the landlord, after eying Grace's -daintily shod feet. "Better let me borrow you my wife's gum shoes; -she ain't likely to go out of the house to-day. You ought to have gum -boots, though, if you're dead set on walkin' about in winter." - -Grace thanked the landlord for his offer and advice, but hurried Phil -out of the hotel, after which she said:-- - -"That was my first visit to a hotel of any kind. Do they improve on -acquaintance? Oh, Phil! Don't look so like a thunder-cloud! What can -the matter be?" - -"I should have been thoughtful enough to come a day or two in advance, -and found a proper home for you. I hope Caleb will know of one. Be -careful!--the sidewalk is ending. Let me go first." - -Two or three successive planks served as continuation of the sidewalk, -and their ends did not quite join, but Philip skilfully piloted his -wife along them. Beyond, in front of a residence, was a brick walk -about two feet wide, after which was encountered soft mud for about -fifty linear feet. Philip looked about for bits of board, stone, -brick--anything with which to make solid footing at short intervals. -But he could see nothing available; neither could he see any person out -of doors, so in desperation he took Grace in his arms and carried her -to a street-crossing, where to his delight he saw a broad stick of hewn -timber embedded in the mud and extending from side to side. After this -were some alternations of brick sidewalk, mud, and a short causeway -of tan-bark, the latter ending at a substantial pavement in front of -a store over which was a weatherbeaten sign bearing the name JETHRO -SOMERTON. - -"The treasure-house of Her Majesty Grace I., Queen of Claybanks," said -Philip. "Shall we enter?" - -As Philip opened the door, a small man who was replenishing the stove -looked around, dropped a stick of wood, wiped his hands on his coat, -came forward, smiling pleasantly, and said:-- - -"Mr. Somerton, I'm very glad to see you again." - -"Thank you, Mr. Wright. Let me make you acquainted with Mrs. Somerton." - -Caleb seemed not a bit appalled as he shook hands with Grace. He held -her hand several seconds while he looked at her, and seemed to approve -of what he saw; then he said:-- - -"Your uncle told me of your marriage, and thought you'd been very -unwise. I reckon he'd change his mind if he was here, though 'twas a -hard one to change." - -Grace blushed slightly and replied:-- - -"I hope so, I'm sure. Have you had the entire work of the store since -Uncle Jethro died?" - -"Uncle--Jethro! I don't believe he'd have died if he'd heard you say -that! Well, yes, I've been alone here. Your husband wrote he'd be along -pretty soon, an' as the roads was so soft that the farmers didn't come -to town much, I didn't think it worth while to get extra help. Come -into the back room, won't you? There's chairs there, an' a good fire -too." - -"Are the farmers your principal customers?" Grace asked, as she sank -into a capacious wooden armchair. - -"Well, they're the most important ones. They take most time, too, -though some of the women-folks in this town can use more time in -spendin' a quarter an' makin' up their minds--principally the latter, -than--well, I don't s'pose you can imagine how they wait, an' fuss, an' -turn things over, an'--" - -"Oh, indeed I can," said Grace; "for once I was a country girl, and in -New York I was a saleswoman in a store, and have waited on just such -customers half an hour at a time without making a sale, though the -store was one of the biggest in the city, and its prices were as low as -any." - -"I want to know!" exclaimed Caleb, whose eyes had opened wide while -Grace talked. "You?--a country gal?--an' a saleswoman? I wouldn't have -thought it!" - -"Why not? Don't I look clever enough?" - -"Oh, that ain't it, but--" - -"Some day, when you and Philip are real busy," suggested Grace, -"perhaps you'll let me help you behind the counter." - -"Mrs. Somerton is a great joker," explained Philip, as Caleb continued -to look incredulous. - -"But I wasn't joking," said Grace. "I'll really help in the store some -day when--" - -"When your husband lets you, you said," remarked Philip. - -"Well," drawled Caleb, slowly regaining his customary expression, "I -shouldn't wonder if Mrs. Somerton's the kind that's let to do pretty -much as she likes." - -Philip laughed, and replied:-- - -"You're a quick judge of human nature, Mr. Wright. But before we talk -business I want some advice and assistance. We can't live at that -hotel; for my wife would have to sit in a cold room all day, which -isn't to be thought of. Can't you suggest a boarding place, in a -private family?" - -"Scarcely, I'm afraid," Caleb replied after a moment of thought. "I -don't b'lieve any families here ever took boarders, or would know -how to do it to your likin'. What's the matter with your takin' your -uncle's house an' livin' in it? It's plain, but comfortable, an' just -as he left it." - -"Is there a servant in it?" - -"Oh, no; there hasn't been since his wife died, an' _she_ wasn't -what you city folks call a servant. 'Helper' is what you want to say -in these parts. They're hard to get, too, an' if they're not treated -same as if they was members of the family, they won't stay. About your -uncle,--well, you see he took his meals at the hotel, an' done his own -housework, which didn't amount to much except makin' his bed ev'ry -mornin' an' makin' fire through the winter. S'pose you take a look at -it, when you're good and ready. It's on the back of the store-lot, and -the key is in the desk here. Your furniture an' things, that come by -rail, I had put in the warehouse behind the store, not knowin' just -what you'd want to do." - -Philip and Grace looked at each other, and exchanged a few words about -possible housekeeping. Caleb looked at both with great interest, and -improved the first moment of silence to say:-- - -"An' she's--you've--been a shop-girl!" Philip frowned slightly, and -Caleb hastened to add, "I ort to have said a saleswoman. But who would -have thought it!" - -"Caleb is a character," Grace said as soon as she and her husband left -the store. "I'm going to be very fond of him." - -"Very well; do so. I'll promise not to be jealous. He's certainly -hearty, and 'tis good for us that he's honest; for we and all we have -are practically in his hands and will remain there until I get a grip -on the business. But I do wish Uncle Jethro hadn't been so enragingly -non-committal about the chap's peculiarities. I shall be on pins and -needles until I know what the old gentleman was hinting at. Besides, he -may have been entirely mistaken. A mind that could imagine that this -out-of-the-world hole-in-the-ground must one day become a city could -scarcely have been entirely trustworthy about anything." - - - - -III--INTRODUCED - - -THE house in which the late Jethro Somerton had lived was a plain -wooden structure, entered by a door opening directly into a room which -had been used as a sitting room. Behind this was a kitchen, beside -which was a bedroom, while in front, beside the sitting room, was a -"best room" or parlor. There was a second floor, in which were four -rooms, some of which had never been used. The ceilings throughout the -house were so low that Philip, who was quite tall, could touch them -with his finger-tips when he stood on tiptoe. The walls of the sitting -room and parlor were hard-finished and white; all the other walls were -rough and whitewashed. - -"This is quite out of the question, as a home," said Philip. "No hall, -no--" - -"Why not make believe that the sitting room is a square hall?" Grace -asked. "They're the rage in the swell villages around New York." - -"But there's no bath room." - -"We can make one, on the upper floor, where we've rooms to spare." - -"Perhaps; but 'tis very improbable that the town has a water service." - -"Then have a tank, fed from the roof or by a pump, as Aunt Eunice -has in her cottage, smaller than this and in a town no larger than -Claybanks." - -"No furnace, of course, to warm the house, and--ugh!--I don't believe -the town knows of the existence of coal, for both stoves at the store -are fed with wood." - -"So they were, and--oh, I see! Here are fireplaces in the -sitting-room--or hall, I suppose I should say--and in the parlor! Think -how unutterably we longed for the unattainable--that is, an open wood -fire--in our little flat in the city!" - -"But, dear girl, a fireplace grows cold at night." - -"Quite likely; but don't you suppose the principal merchant in town -could economize on something so as to afford enough quilts and blankets -to keep his family from freezing to death while they sleep?" - -"You angel, you've all the brains of the family. Where did you learn so -much about houses? And about what to do when you don't find what you -want in them? And who taught you?" - -"I suppose necessity taught me," Grace replied, with a laugh, "and -within the past few minutes, too. For, don't you see, we must live in -this house. There seems to be no other place for us. And I suppose -'tis instinct for women, rather than men, to see the possibilities of -houses, for a woman has to spend most of her life indoors." - -Then she walked slowly toward the kitchen, where she contemplated the -stove, two grease-spotted tables, and four fly-specked walls. Philip -followed her, saying:-- - -"What a den! Money must be spent here at once, and--oh, Grace! You're -crying? Come here--quick! I never before saw tears in your eyes!" - -"And you never shall again," Grace sobbed. "I don't see what can be the -matter with me; it must be the cold weather that has--" - -"This forlorn barn of a house and this shabby, God-forsaken town have -broken your heart!" exclaimed Philip. "I wish I too could cry. I assure -you my heart has been in my boots, though I've tried hard to keep it -in its proper place. Don't let's remain here another hour. I'll gladly -abandon my inheritance to the benevolent societies. We'll hurry back to -the city and let our things follow us." - -"But we can't, Phil, for we've burned our bridges behind us. We can -take only such money as will get us back, and we would not be certain -of employment on reaching the city. Besides, we told our acquaintances -of our good fortune, but not of its conditions; if we go back, they -will suspect you and pity me." - -"You're right--you're right!" said Philip, from behind tightly closed -jaws. "Why hadn't I sense to get leave of absence for a week, and look -at the gift before accepting it? Still, we're alive; we have the money, -and the first and best use of it is to make you comfortable. I'll get -Caleb to get me some men at once,--one of them to make fires, and the -others to bring over and unpack our goods. In the meanwhile, you shall -at least keep warm in the office of the store. You'll have only barrels -of molasses and vinegar and bales of grain-sacks for company, but--" - -"But my husband won't be farther away than the next room," Grace said, -"and the door between shall remain open." - -Then Philip kissed the tears from her eyes, and Grace called herself an -unreasonable baby, and Philip called himself an unpardonable donkey, -and they returned together to the store, entering softly by the back -door, so that Caleb should not see them and join them at once. But -dingy though the back windows of the office were, Caleb, standing -behind one of them, said to himself:-- - -"Rubbin' her face with her handkerchief!--that means she's been cryin'. -Well, I should think she would, if city houses are anythin' like the -picture-papers make 'em out to be." - -Caleb retired to the store, where Phil joined him after a few moments, -and said:-- - -"We shall live in the old house, Mr. Wright. My wife and I have been -looking it over, and we see how it can be made very comfortable." - -"You do, eh?" Caleb replied; at the same time his face expressed so -much astonishment that Philip laughed, and said:-- - -"You mustn't mistake us for a pair of city upstarts. My wife, as she -told you, was a country girl; she went to New York only a few years -ago, and 'twas only four years since I passed through here on my way to -the city. We're strong enough and brave enough to take anything as we -find it, if we can't make it better. That reminds me that the old house -can be bettered in many ways. Is there a plumber in the town?" - -"No, sir!" replied Caleb, with emphasis, and a show of indignation such -as might have been expected were he asked if Claybanks supported a -gambling den. "We've read about 'em, in the city papers, an' I reckon -one of 'em would starve to death if he come out here, unless the boys -run him out of town first." - -"H'm! I'm going to beg you to restrain the boys when I coax a plumber -here from the nearest city, for a few days' work in the house. And -I've another favor to ask; you know people here, and I don't, as yet. -Won't you find me two or three men, this morning--at once--to unpack -my things that came from the city, and put them into the house? When -they're ready to move them, I wish you'd make some excuse to coax -my wife out here, so that I can slip down to the house, without her -knowledge, and prepare a surprise for her by placing all our belongings -about as they were in our rooms in the city." - -"Good for you! Good for you!" exclaimed Caleb, rubbing his hands. "If -you're that kind o' man, I reckon you're deservin' of her. Most men's -so busy with their own affairs, or so careless, that women comin' to a -new country have a back-breakin' time of it, an' a heart-breakin' too. -I dunno, though, that I can keep her away from you long enough. From -her ways,--the little I've seen of 'em,--I reckon she's one o' the kind -o' wives that sticks to her husband like hot tar to a sheep's wool." - -"Oh, you'll have no trouble, for she already has taken a great liking -to you." - -"I recippercate the sentiment," said Caleb, again rubbing his hands. -"I don't know much, but a man can't work in a country store about -twenty year or more without sizin' up new specimens of human nature -powerful quick, an' makin' mighty few mistakes at it. You'll find out -how it is. All of a sudden, some day, a new settler, that you never -saw before, 'll come in an' want to be trusted for goods--sca'cely any -of 'em has any cash, an' you have to wait for your pay till they can -raise some kind of produce, an' bring it in. If you can't read faces, -you're likely to be a goner, to the amount of what you sell, an' if -you refuse, you may be a thousan' times wuss a goner; for if the man's -honest, an' also as proud as poor folks usually be, he'll never forgive -you, and some other storekeeper'll get all his trade. Or, a stranger -passin' through town wants to sell a hoss; you don't know him or the -hoss either, or whether they come by each other honestly, an'--But this -ain't what you was talkin' about. I'll stir about and see what help I -can pick up. I reckon you won't have no trouble in the store while I'm -gone; prices is marked on pretty much everythin'. Want to get settled -to-day?" - -"Yes, if possible." - -"Reckon I'll see to makin' fires in the house, then, so's to warm -things up. If any customer comes in that you don't quite understand, -or wants any goods that bothers you, try to hold him till I get back. -'Twon't be hard. Folks in these parts ain't generally in a drivin' -hurry." - -"All right. I used to lounge in the stores in our town; I know their -ways pretty well, and I remember many prices." - -"That's good. Well, if you get stuck, get your wife to help you. -There's a good deal in havin' been behind a counter, besides what Mrs. -Somerton is of her own self." - -Then Caleb turned up his coat-collar and sauntered out. - -"Grace," shouted Philip, as soon as the door had closed, "do come -here! Allow me to congratulate you on having made a conquest of Caleb -Wright. He kindly tolerates me, but 'tis quite plain that he regards -you as the head of the family. I was going to replace that shabby old -sign over the door, but now I fear that Caleb will demand that the new -one shall read 'Mrs. Somerton & Husband.'" - -Grace's face glowed as merrily as if it had not been tear-stained half -an hour before, and she replied:-- - -"I've not seen a possible conquest--since I was married--that would -give me greater pleasure; for I am you, you know, and you are me, and -the you-I would be dreadfully helpless if we hadn't such a man to -depend upon." - -"'You-I'! That's a good word--a very good one. You ought to be richly -paid for coining it." - -"Pay me, then, and promptly!" Grace replied. - -Some forms of payment consume much time when the circumstances do -not require haste: they also have a way of making the payer and -payee oblivious to their surroundings, so Philip and Grace supposed -themselves alone until they heard the front door close with a loud -report, and saw a small boy who seemed to consist entirely of eyes. -Grace quickly and intently studied the label of an empty powder keg on -the counter, while Philip said:-- - -"Good morning, young man. What can we do for you?" - -"Wantapoundo'shinglenails," was the reply, in nasal monotone. - -Philip searched the hardware section of the store, at the same time -searching his memory for the price, in his native town, of shingle -nails. The packing of the nails, in soft brown paper, was a slow and -painful proceeding to a man whose hands in years had encountered -nothing harder or rougher than a pen-holder, but when it was completed, -the boy, taking the package, departed rapidly. - -"He forgot to pay for them," said Grace. - -"Yes," Philip replied. "I hope his memory will be equally dormant in -other respects." - -But it wasn't; for little Scrapsey Green stopped several times, on the -way home, to tell acquaintances that "up to Somerton's store ther -was a man a-kissin' a woman like all-possessed, an' he wasn't Caleb, -neither." - -The aforesaid acquaintances made haste to spread the story abroad, -as did Scrapsey's own family; so when Caleb returned, an hour later, -the store was jammed with apparent customers, and Philip was behind -one counter, and Grace behind the other, and the counters themselves -were strewn and covered with goods of all sorts, at which the people -pretended to look, while they gazed at the "man and woman" of whom they -had been told. - -"You must be kind o' tuckered out," said Caleb, softly, behind Grace's -counter, as he stood an instant with his back to the crowd, and -pretended to adjust a shelf of calicoes. "Better take a rest in the -back room. I'll relieve you." - -Grace responded quickly to the suggestion, while Caleb, leaning over -the goods on the counter, said, again softly, to the women nearest -him:-- - -"That's the new Mr. Somerton's wife--an' that's him, at t'other -counter." - -"Mighty scrumptious gal!" commented a middle-aged woman. - -"Yes, an' she's just as nice as she looks. Clear gold an' clear grit, -an' her husband's right good stuff, too." - -Within two or three minutes Caleb succeeded in signalling Philip to the -back room; five minutes later the store was empty, and Caleb joined the -couple, and said:-- - -"Sell much?" - -"Not a penny's worth," Grace replied, laughing heartily. "We've been -comparing notes." - -"Sho!" exclaimed Caleb, although his eyes twinkled. "I met Scrapsey -Green up the road, with a pound of shingle-nails that he said come -from here, an' I didn't s'pose Scrapsey would lie, for he's one o' my -Sunday-school scholars." Philip and Grace quickly reddened, while Caleb -continued, "Well, might's well be interduced to the gen'ral public -one time's another, I s'pose, 'specially if you can be kept busy, -so's not to feel uncomfortable. Besides," he said, after a moment of -reflection, "if a man hain't got a right to kiss his own wife, on his -own property, whose wife has he got a right to kiss, an' where'bouts?" -Then Caleb looked at the account books on the desk, and continued: -"Reckon you forgot to charge the nails. Well, I don't wonder." - - - - -IV--HOME-MAKING - - -"I WISH the Doctor would stop in," said Caleb, in a manner as casual as -if his first call that morning had not been on Doctor and Mrs. Taggess, -whom he told of the new arrivals, declaring that Philip and Grace were -"about as nice as the best, 'specially her, an' powerful in need of a -cheerin' up," and begging Mrs. Taggess to invite Grace to midday dinner -at once, so that Philip might be free to prepare his surprise for Grace. - -"The Doctor?" Grace echoed. "Why, Mr. Wright, which of us looks ill?" - -"Neither one nor t'other, at present," Caleb replied; "but this -country's full of malary, an' forewarned is forearmed. Besides, our -doctor's the kind to do your heart good, an' his wife's just like him. -They're good an' clever, an' hearty, an' sociable, an' up to snuff in -gen'ral. Fact is, they're the salt of the earth, or to as much of it -as knows 'em. Sometimes I think that Claybanks an' the round-about -country would kind o' decay an' disappear if it wasn't for Doc Taggess -an' his wife. Doc's had good chances to go to the city, for he's done -some great cures that's got in the medical papers, but here he stays. -He don't charge high, an' a good deal of the time it don't do him no -good to charge, but here he sticks--says he knows all the people an' -their constitutions, an' so on, an' a new doctor might let some folks -die while he was learnin' the ropes, so to speak. How's that for a -genuine man?" - -"First-rate," said Philip, and Grace assented. Caleb continued to tell -of the Doctor's good qualities, and suddenly said:-- - -"Speak of angels, an' you hear their buggy-wheels, an' the driver -hollerin' 'Whoa!' I think I just heard the Doctor say it, out in front." - -A middle-aged couple bustled into the store; Grace hastily consulted a -small mirror in the back room, and Caleb whispered to Philip:-- - -"If they ask you folks to ride or do anythin', let your wife go, an' -you make an excuse to stay. There's a powerful lot of your New York -stuff to be fixed, if you expect to do it to-day. Come along! Doctor -an' Mrs. Taggess, this is my new boss, an' here comes his wife." - -"Glad to meet you," said the Doctor, a man of large, rugged, earnest -face, extending a hand to each. - -Mrs. Taggess, who was a motherly-looking woman, exclaimed to Grace:-- - -"You poor child, how lonesome you must feel! So far from your home!" - -"Oh, no,--only the length of the store-yard," Grace replied. - -"Eh? Brave girl!" said the Doctor. "That's the sort of spirit to have -in a new country, if you want to be happy. Well, I can't stop more -than a minute,--I've a patient to see in the back street. I understand -you're stopping at the hotel, and as, for the reputation of the town, -we shouldn't like you to get a violent attack of indigestion the first -day, we came down to ask you to dine with us at twelve. Mrs. Somerton -can ride up now and visit with my wife, and her husband can come up -when he will. Caleb can give him the direction." - -"So kind of you!" murmured Grace, and Philip said:-- - -"I shall be under everlasting obligations to you for giving my wife a -view of some better interior than that of a store or that dismal hotel, -but I daren't leave to-day. Caleb has arranged for several men to see -me." - -"Well, well, I'll catch you some other day," said the Doctor. "I must -be going; hope you'll find business as brisk as I do. You may be sure -that Mrs. Taggess will take good care of your wife, and see that she -gets safely back. Good day. I'll drop in once in a while. Hope to know -you better. I make no charge for social calls." - -So it came to pass that within ten minutes Philip was furnishing his -new home with the contents of the old. The possible contents of a New -York flat for two are small, at best; yet as each bit of furniture, -upholstery, and bric-à-brac was placed in position in the Jethro -Somerton house, the plain rooms looked less bare, so Philip was -correspondingly elated. True, he had to use ordinary iron nails to -hang his pictures, and was in desperation for some moments for lack -of rods for portières and curtains, but he supplied their places with -rake-handles from the store and rested them in meat-hooks. He worked -so long, and hurried so often into the store for one makeshift after -another, that Caleb became excited and peered through the windows of -the store's back room at his first opportunity, just in time to see the -upright piano moved in. Unable to endure the strain of curiosity any -longer, he quickly devised an excuse, in the shape of a cup of coffee -and some buttered toast, all made at the stove in the back room of the -store. Coaxing a trustworthy but lounging customer to "mind store" for -him a minute or two, Caleb put the refreshments in a covered box and -timed himself to meet Philip as the latter emerged from the warehouse -with an armful of books. - -"Didn't want to disturb you, but seein' that you let the hotel -dinner-hour pass an' was workin' hard, I thought mebbe a little snack" -(here Caleb lifted the lid of the box) "'d find its way to the right -place." - -"Mr. Wright, you're a trump! Would you mind bringing it into the house -for me, my hands being full?" - -"Don't want to intrude." - -"Nonsense! Aren't we friends? If not, we're going to be. Besides, I -really want some one to rejoice with me over the surprise I'm going to -give my wife. Come right in. Drop the box on this table." - -"Well!" exclaimed Caleb, after a long suspiration, "I reckon I done -that just in time! A second more, an' I'd ha' dropped the hull thing -on this carpet--or is it a shawl? Why, 'taint the same place at all! -Je-ru-salem! What would your Uncle Jethro say if he could look in a -minute? Reckon he'd want to come back an' stay. I dunno's I ought to -have said that, though, for I've always b'lieved he was among the -saved, an' of course your house ain't better'n heaven, but--" - -"But 'twill be heaven to my wife and me," said Philip. - -"Well, I reckon homes was invented 'specially to prepare folks for -heaven,--or t'other place, 'cordin' to the folks." - -"Come into the parlor," said Philip, toast and coffee in hand. For a -moment or two Caleb stood speechless in the doorway; then he said:-- - -"Je-ru-salem! This reminds me to take off my hat. Why, I s'posed you -folks wasn't over-an'-above well fixed in the city, but this is a -palace!" - -"Not quite," said Philip, although delighted by Caleb's comments. -"Thousands of quiet young couples in New York have prettier parlors -than this." - -"I want to know!" Then Caleb sighed. "I reckon that's why young people -that go there from the country never come home again. I've knowed a -lot of 'em that I'd like to see once more. Hello! I reckon that's a -pianner; I've seen pictures of 'em in advertisements. A firm in the -city once wanted your uncle to take the county agency for pianners." -Caleb laughed almost convulsively as he continued, "Ye ort to have seen -Jethro's face when he read that letter!" - -"Do you mean to say that there are no pianos in this county?" asked -Philip. - -"I just do. But there once was an organ. Squire Pease, out in Hick'ry -Township, bought one two or three years ago for his gals. He was -runnin' for sheriff then, an' thought somethin' so new an' startlin' -might look like a sign of public spirit, an' draw him some votes. But -somehow his gals didn't get the hang of it, an' the noises it made -always set visitors' dogs to howlin', an' to tryin' to get into the -house an' kill the varmint, whatever it was, an' Pease's dogs tried to -down the visitors' dogs, an' that made bad feelin'; so Pease traded the -organ to a pedler for a patent corn-planter, an' he didn't get 'lected -sheriff, either. I allers reckoned that ef anybody'd knowed how to play -on it, that organ might ha' been a means of grace in these parts, for -I've knowed a nigger's fiddle to stop a drunken fight that was too much -for the sheriff an' his posse." Caleb looked the piano over as if it -were a horse on sale, and continued:-- - -"Don't seem to work with a crank." - -"Oh, no," replied Philip, placing a chair in front of the instrument -and seating himself. "This is the method." He indulged in two or three -"runs," and then, with his heart on Grace, he dashed into the music -dearest to him and his wife--perhaps because it was not played at their -own very quiet marriage,--the Mendelssohn Wedding March. - -"Je-ru-salem!" exclaimed Caleb. "That's a hair-lifter! What a blessin' -such a machine must be to a man that knows the tunes!" - -Rightly construing this remark as an indication that Caleb longed to -hear music with which he was acquainted, Philip searched his memory for -familiar music of the days when he was a country boy, and which would -therefore be recognized by Caleb. Suddenly he recalled an air very dear -to several religious denominations, although it has been dropped from -almost all modern hymnals, probably because its vivacity, repetitions, -and its inevitable suggestion of runs and variations had made it -seem absolutely indecorous to ears that were fastidious as well as -religious. Philip had heard it played (by request) as a quick march, by -a famous brass band, at the return of troops from a soldier's funeral -in New York; so, after playing a few bars of it softly, he tried to -recall and imitate the march effect. He succeeded so well that soon he -was surprised to see Caleb himself, an ex-soldier, striding to and fro, -singing the hymn beginning:-- - - "Am I a soldier of the Cross?" - -When Philip stopped, Caleb shouted:-- - -"Three cheers for the gospel! Say! I wish--" - -"Well?" - -"Never mind," replied Caleb. "I was only thinkin' that if our church -could hear that, there'd be an almighty revival of religion. Reckon I'd -better git back to the store. Say, you've been so full of palace-makin' -that you've let the fires go out. I'll just load 'em up again for you; -afterwards, if you chance to think of 'em, there's lots of good dry -hick'ry in the woodshed, right behind the kitchen." - -Philip continued to make hurried dashes into the store for necessities -and makeshifts. When finally he entered for candles, Caleb remarked:-- - -"I'll call you in when your wife comes; but if you don't want her to -smell a rat, you'd better shut the front shutters. There's already -been people hangin' on the fence, lookin' at them lace fixin's in -the winders, an' women are powerful observin'. An' say, here's a new -tea-kettle, full of water; better set it on the kitchen stove. Pianners -are splendid,--I never would have believed there could be anythin' like -'em,--but the singin' of a tea-kettle's got a powerful grip on most -women's ears. I didn't see no ev'ryday dishes among your things. Don't -you want some?" - -Philip thought he did not, and he hurried to the house. He was soon -summoned to the store, and through the coming darkness of the sunset -hour he saw at the back door his wife, who said:-- - -"Oh, Phil! Mrs. Taggess is the dearest woman! We were of the same age -before I'd been with her an hour." - -"Eh? You don't look a moment older." - -"But she looked twenty years younger. When she's animated, she--oh, I -never saw such a complexion." - -"Not even in your mirror?" - -"No, you silly dear! And her home is real cosey. There's nothing showy -or expensive in it; but if ever I get homesick, I'm going to hurry up -there, even if the mud is a foot deep." - -"Good! Perhaps you got some ideas of how to fix up our own dismal barn -of a house. Come down and look about it once more." - -Together they started. As they reached the front door, and Philip threw -it open, Caleb, with his eye at the back window of the store, saw Grace -stop and toss up her hands. As the door closed, Caleb jumped up and -down, and afterward said to himself:-- - -"There are times when I wish, church or no church, that I'd learned how -to dance." - -"Phil! Phil! Phil!" exclaimed Grace, dashing from one room to another, -all of which were as well lighted as candles could make them. "How -did you?--how could you? No woman could have done better! Oh! -home!--home!--home! And a few hours ago, right here, I was the most -disheartened, rebellious, wicked woman in the world! Come here to -me--this instant!" - -There are times when manly obedience is a natural virtue. For a few -moments a single easy chair was large enough for the couple, who -laughed, and cried, and otherwise comported themselves very much as -any other healthy and affectionate couple might have done in similar -circumstances. A knock at the door recalled them to the world. - -"Don't like to disturb you," said Caleb, "but Doc Taggess has dropped -in again an' asked for Mr. Somerton, an' as his time's not all his own, -mebbe you'd--" - -"Do tell him how I enjoyed my day with his wife," said Grace. "I tried -to, when he brought me down, but I don't feel that I said half enough." - -Philip hurried to the store; Caleb lingered and said to Grace:-- - -"Reckon you've had a little s'prise, hain't you? Your husband showed me -'round a little." - -"Little surprise? Oh, Mr. Wright! 'Twas the greatest, dearest surprise -of my life. But 'twas just like Phil; he's the thoughtfullest, smartest -man in the world." - -"Is, eh? Well, stick to that, an' you'll always be happy, even if you -should chance to be mistaken. But say,--'what's sauce for the goose is -sauce for the gander,' as I reckon you've heard. Don't you want to give -your husband a pleasant s'prise?" - -"Oh, don't I!" - -"Well, I'm kind o' feared to ask you, after seein' all these fine -things; but you said you was brought up in the country. Can you cook?" - -"Indeed I can! I've cooked all our meals at home since we were -married--except those that Phil prepared." - -"Good! Well, there's self-raisin' flour an' all sorts o' groceries in -the store, an' eggs an' butter in the store cellar, an' alongside of -the warehouse there's an ice-house, with three or four kinds o' meat. -We have to take all sorts o' things in trade from country customers, -an' some of 'em won't keep without ice. Now, if you was to s'prise your -husband with a home-made supper, he wouldn't have to go down to the -hotel, an' mebbe your own heart wouldn't break not to have to eat down -there again." - -"Oh, Mr. Wright! You're a genius! I wonder whether I could manage the -kitchen stove." - -"Best way to find out's to take a look at it." - -Grace followed the suggestion. Caleb explained the draught and dampers, -and took Grace's orders, saying, as he departed:-- - -"Doc'll keep him in the store till I get back,--that's what he's there -for,--an' I'll keep him afterwards. When you want him, pull this rope: -it starts an alarm in my room, over the store, an' I'll hear it." - -Doctor Taggess gave Philip some health counsel, at great length. -Claybanks and the surrounding country was very malarious, he said, and -newcomers, especially healthy young people from the East, could not -be too careful about diet, dress, and general habits until entirely -acclimatized. Then he got upon some of his hobbies, and Philip thought -the conversation might be very entertaining if Grace and the new home -were not within a moment's walk. No sooner had the Doctor departed than -Caleb insisted on a decision regarding an account that was in dispute, -because the debtor was likely to come in at any moment, and the matter -was very important. He talked details until Philip was almost crazed -with impatience, but suddenly a muffled whir caused Caleb to say -abruptly:-- - -"But it's better for him to suffer than for your wife to do it; an' if -you don't be ready to start her for supper the minute the hotel bell -rings, you won't get the best pickin's." - -Philip escaped with great joy, and a minute later was in his new -sitting room and staring in amazement at a neatly set table, with Grace -at the head of it, and upon it an omelette, a filet of beef, some crisp -fried potatoes, tea-biscuits, cake, and a pot of coffee. After seating -himself and bowing his head a moment, he succeeded in saying:-- - -"'How did you?--how could you?' as you said to me." - -"How could I help it," Grace replied, "after the delicate hint you left -behind you,--the kettle boiling on the stove?" - -"My dear girl, like little George Washington, I cannot tell a lie. -Caleb was responsible for that tea-kettle; he brought it from the -store, and said something poetical about the singing of a kettle being -music to a woman's ear." - -"Caleb did that?" exclaimed Grace, springing from her chair. "Set -another place, please!" Then she dashed through the darkness, into the -store, and exclaimed:-- - -"Mr. Wright, I shan't eat a single mouthful until you come down and -join us. Lock the store--quick--before things get cold." - -"Your word's law, I s'pose," said Caleb, locking the front door, "but--" - -"'But me no buts,'" Grace said, taking his hand and making a true "home -run." Caleb seated himself awkwardly, looked around him, and said:-- - -"Hope you asked a blessin' on all this?" - -"I never ate a meal without one," Philip replied. - -"Reckon you'll get along, then," said Caleb, looking relieved and -engulfing half of a tea-biscuit. - - - - -V--BUSINESS WAYS - - -PHILIP engaged a plumber from the nearest city and had one of his -upper chambers transformed into a bath-room, and Caleb, by special -permission, studied every detail of the work and went into so brown a -study of the general subject that Philip informed Grace that either the -malarial soaking, mentioned in Uncle Jethro's letter, had reached the -point of saturation, or that the Confederate bullet had found a new -byway in its meanderings. - -But Caleb was not conscious of anything out of the usual--except the -bath-room. By dint of curiosity and indirect questioning he learned -that in New York Philip and his wife had bathed daily. Afterward he -talked bathing with the occasional commercial travellers who reached -Claybanks--men who seemed "well set up," despite some distinct signs of -bad habits, and learned that men of affairs in the great city thought -bathing quite as necessary as eating. He talked to Doctor Taggess on -the subject, and was told in reply that, in the Doctor's opinion, -cleanliness was not only next to godliness, but frequently an absolute -prerequisite to cleanly longings and a clean life. - -So one day, after a fortnight of self-abstraction, he announced to -Philip that a bath-room ought to be regarded as a means of grace. - -"Quite so," assented Philip, "but I wish it weren't so expensive at the -start. Do you know what that bath-room, with its tank, pump, drain, -etc., has cost? The bill amounts to about a hundred and fifty dollars, -and it can't be charged to my account for six months, like most of our -purchases for the store." - -"That so?" drawled Caleb, carelessly, though in his heart he was -delighted; for Philip had also engaged from the city a paper-hanger, -and he had employed a local painter to do a lot of work; and Caleb, who -knew the business ways of country stores, had trembled for the bills, -yet doubted his right to speak of them. "Well, have you got the money -to pay for it?" - -"Yes, but not much more; and in the two weeks I've been here the store -has taken in about forty dollars in cash." - -"That's about it, I b'lieve. Well, realizin'-time is comin'; it's -right at hand, in fact, an' I've wanted a chance to have a good long -talk with you 'bout it. When I was a boy I used to lie on my back in -the woods for hours at a time, catchin' backaches an' rheumatiz for -the sake of watchin' the birds makin' their nests an' startin' their -house-keepin'. Watchin' you an' your wife gettin' to rights has made -me feel just like I did in them days--except for the backaches and -rheumatiz. I wouldn't have pestered the birds for a hull farm, an' I -hain't wanted to pester you, but the quicker you can give more 'tention -to the business, the better 'twill be for your pocket." - -"Why, Mr. Wright--" - -"Call me Caleb, won't you? Ev'rybody else does, 'xcept you an' your -wife, an' I can talk straighter when I ain't 'mistered.'" - -"Thank you, good friend, for the permission. I'll take it, if you'll -call me Philip." - -"That's a bargain," said Caleb, with visible signs of relief. "Well, -as I was sayin', the more time you can give the business, the better -'twill be for your pocket. Your uncle kept first place in this town -an' county, an' you need to do the same, if you want to keep your mind -easy about other things. I've said all sorts of good things about you -to the customers, though I haven't stretched the truth an inch. They -all think you bright, but you need to show 'em that you're sharp too, -else they'll do their best to dull you. Business is business, you know; -likewise, human nature's human nature." - -"Correct! Go on." - -"Well, I'm doin' my best to keep an eye on ev'rythin' an' ev'rybody, -but I'm not boss. Besides, it took two of us to do it all when your -uncle was alive, though he was about as smart as they make 'em. There's -one thing you won't have no trouble about, an' that's beatin' down. -This is the only strictly one-price store in the county, an' it saves -lots o' time by keepin' away the slowest, naggiest traders. It might -ha' kept away some good customers, too, if your uncle hadn't been a -master hand at gettin' up new throw-ins." - -"Throw-ins? What are they?" - -"What? You brought up in the country, an' not know what a 'throw-in' -is? Why, when a man buys somethin', he gen'rally says, 'What ye goin' -to throw in?' That means, 'What are you goin' to give me for comin' -here instead of buyin' somewhere else?' When it's stuff for clothes, -there's no trouble, for any merchant throws in thread and buttons to -make it up if it's men's goods, or thread an' hooks an' eyes if it's -women's. Up at Bustpodder's store they throw in a drink o' whiskey -whenever a man buys anythin' that costs a quarter or more, an' it draws -lots o' trade; but your uncle never worked for drinkin' men's trade, -unless for cash, so we've never kept liquor, but that made him all the -keener to get other throw-ins. One year 'twas wooden pipes for men, an' -little balls of gum-camphor for women. Then 'twas hair-ile for young -men an' young women. Whatever 'twas, 'twas sure to be somethin' kind o' -new, an' go-to-the-spotty. Shouldn't wonder if your wife, havin' been -in a big store, might think of a lot o' new throw-ins for women-folks. -But that's only a beginnin'." - -"H'm! Now tell me everything I ought to do that I haven't been doing." - -"Well, in the first place, when you meet a customer, you want to get -a tight grip on him, somehow, 'fore he leaves. Then you want to get -into your mind how much each one owes you, an' ask when he's goin' to -begin to bring in his produce. None of the men on our books mean to be -dishonest; but if you don't keep 'em in mind of their accounts at this -time o' year, some of 'em may sell their stuff to somebody else for -cash, an' country folks with cash in their pockets is likely to think -more of what they'd like to buy than what they owe. I reckon, from some -things I've heerd, that some city folks are that way too." - -"Quite likely. Well?" - -"Well, if say a dozen of your biggest country customers sell for cash -an' don't bring you the money, you'll find yourself in a hole about -your own bills, for some of your customers are on the books for three -or four hundred apiece. Your uncle sold 'em all he could, for he knew -their ways an' that he could bring 'em to time." - -"H'm! Suppose they fail to pay after having been trusted a full year, -isn't the law good for anything?" - -"Oh, yes; but sue a customer an' you lose a customer, an' there ain't -any too many in this county, at best. Now, your uncle made sure, -before he died, about all of 'm whose principal crop was wheat; but -the wheat's then brought in an' sold, an' most of the money for it, -after his own bills were paid, was in the check the lawyers sent you. -The rest of the customers raised mostly corn an' pork,--most gen'rally -both, for the easiest way to get corn to market is to put it into pork; -twenty bushels o' corn, weighin' over a thousan' poun's, makes two -hundred pound o' pork, an' five times less haulin'; besides, pork's -always good for cash, but sometimes you can't hardly give corn away. -Queer about corn; lot's o' folks that's middlin' sensible about a good -many things seems to think that corn's only fit to feed to hogs an' -niggers. Why, some o' 'em's made me so touchy about it that I've took -travellin' business men up into my room, over the store, an' give 'em a -meal o' nothin' but corn an' pork, worked up in half a dozen ways, an' -it seemed as if they couldn't eat enough, but I couldn't see that the -price o' corn went up afterwards. I'd like to try a meal o' that kind -on you an' your wife some day. If the world took as easy to corn when -it's ground into meal as when it's turned into whiskey, this section o' -country would get rich." - -"I shouldn't wonder if it would. But what else?" - -"Well, you must get a square up-an'-down promise from each o' your -customers that their pork's to come to you, you promisin' to pay cash, -at full market price, for all above the amount that's owed you. You -must have the cash ready, too." - -"But where am I to get it?" - -"Why, out of the first pork you can get in an' ship East or South. You -must be smart enough to coax some of 'em to do their killin' the first -week the roads freeze hard enough to haul a full load. They'll all put -it off, hopin' to put a few more pounds o' weight on each hog, an' that -mebbe the price'll go up a little." - -"But how am I to coax them?" - -"Well, there's about as many ways as customers. I'll put you up to the -nature of the men, as well as I can, an' help you other ways all I -can, but you must do the rest; for, as I said before, you're boss, an' -they're all takin' your measure, agin next year an' afterwards. As to -ways o' coaxin',--well, the best is them that don't show on their face -what they be. Your uncle held one slippery customer tight by pertendin' -to be mighty fond o' the man's only son, who was the old fellow's idol. -Your uncle got the boy a book once in a while, an' spent lots o' spare -moments answerin' the youngster's questions, for your uncle knew a lot -about a good many things. There was another customer that thought all -money spent on women's clothes was money throwed away--p'raps 'twas -'cause his wife was more'n ordinary good-lookin', an' liked to show -off. One year, in one of our goods boxes from the East, was a piece -of silk dress-goods that would have put your eyes out. Black silk -was the only kind that ever came here before, and it had always been -satisfyin'. Next to plenty o' religion and gum-camphor, a black silk -dress is what ev'ry self-respectin' woman in the county hankers for -most. Well, your uncle never showed that blue an' white an' yaller an' -purple an' red silk to nobody till about this time o' year; he told -me not to, too, but one day, when the feller's wife was in town, an' -warmin' her feet at the backroom stove, your uncle took that silk in -there an' showed it, an' he see her eyes was a-devourin' it in less -than a minute. - -"'There's only enough of it for one dress,' said he, 'an' I ain't sure -I could get any more like it. You're the style o' woman that would set -it off, so you'd better take it before somebody else snaps it up.' - -"'Take it?' said she, lookin' all ways to once; 'why, if I was to have -that charged, my husband would go plum crazy, or else he'd send me to -an asylum.' - -"'Not a bit of it!' said your uncle. 'Tell you what I'll do; I'll lay -that silk away, an' not show it to anybody till your husban' brings me -in his pork an' we have our settlement. You come with him, an' I'll -wrap up the silk for you, an' if he objects to payin' for it--oh, I -know his ways, but I tell you right here, that if he objects to payin' -for it, I'll make you a present of it, an' you can lay all the blame on -me, sayin' I pestered you so hard that you had to take it.' Well, your -uncle got the pork; the wife gave the man no peace till he promised to -fetch it here, an' she got the dress, an' her husband--Hawk Howlaway, -his name was,--was so tickled that he told all the county how he got -the best of old Jethro." - -"Pretty good--for one year, if the dress didn't cost too much." - -"It only cost seventy cents a yard, an' there was fifteen yards of it. -The pork netted more'n four hundred dollars. But that wa'n't the end of -it. The woman hadn't wore the dress to church but one Sunday when her -husband came into the store one day an' hung 'round a spell, lookin' -'bout as uneasy as a sinner under conviction, an' at last he winked -your uncle into the back room, an' says Howlaway, says he:-- - -"'Jethro, you've got me in a heap o' trouble, 'cause of that silk dress -you loaded on to my wife. She looks an' acts as if my Sunday clothes -wasn't good enough to show alongside of it, an' other folks looks an' -acts so too. So, Jethro, you've got to help me out. I've got to have -some new clothes, an' they've got to be just so, or they won't do.' -Your uncle said, 'All right,' an' got off a line from an advertisement -in a city paper, about 'No fit, no pay.' Then he wrote to a city -clothin' store for some samples of goods, an' for directions how to -measure a man for a suit of clothes. Oh, he was a case, your uncle was; -why, I do believe he'd ha' took an order from an angel for a new set of -wing-feathers an' counted on gettin' the goods some way. I don't say he -made light of it, though. I never see him so close-minded as he was for -the next two weeks. One day I chaffed him a little about wastin' a lot -o' time on a handsome hardware-goods drummer that hadn't much go, an' -whose prices was too high anyway; but your uncle said:-- - -"'He's just about the height and build of Hawk Howlaway, an' he knows -how to wear his clothes.' Then I knowed what was up. Well, to make a -long story short, the clothes come, in the course o' time, and on an -app'inted day Howlaway come too, lookin' about as wish-I-could-hide as -a gal goin' to be married. Your uncle stuck up four lookin'-glasses on -the back room wall, one over another, an' then he turned Howlaway loose -in the room, with the clothes, an' a white shirt with cuffs an' collar -on it, an' told him to lock himself in an' go to work, an' to pound -on the door if he got into trouble. In about ten minutes he pounded, -an' your uncle went in, an' Hawk was lookin' powerful cocky, though he -said:-- - -"'There's somethin' that ain't quite right, though I don't know what -'tis.' - -"'It's your hair--an' your beard,' said your uncle. 'Now, Hawk, -you slip out o' them clothes, an' go down to Black Sam, that does -barberin', an' tell him you want an all-round job: 't'll only cost a -quarter. But wait a minute,' an' with that your uncle hurried into the -store, took out of the cash-drawer a picture that he'd cut out of a -paper that he'd been studyin' pretty hard for a week, took it back, an' -said, 'Take this along, an' tell the barber it's about the style you -want.' - -"Well, when Hawk saw his own face in the glass after that reapin', -he hardly knowed himself, an' he sneaked into the store by climbin' -the fence an' knockin' at the back door, for fear of havin' to be -interdooced to any neighbors that might be hangin' 'round the counters. -Then he made another try at the clothes, an' called your uncle in -again, and said:-- - -"'They looked all right until I put my hat on, an' then somethin' went -wrong again.' - -"'Shouldn't wonder if 'twas your hat,' said your uncle, comin' back for -a special hat an' a pair of Sunday shoes, all Howlaway's size, that -he'd ordered with the clothes. He took 'em in an' said:-- - -"'When you start to dress like a gentleman, to stand 'longside of a -lady, you want to go the whole hog or none.' - -"Well,--I didn't know this story was so long when I begun to tell -it,--Hawk sneaked the clothes home, an' it come out in the course o' -time that when on Sunday mornin' he dressed up an' showed off to his -wife, she kissed him for the first time in three year, which sot him -up so that he had the courage to go to church without first loadin' up -with whiskey, as he'd expected to, to nerve him up to be looked at in -his new things, an' when hog-killin' an' settlement time came round -again, Hawk brought his pork to us, an' when he found his wife's silk -dress hadn't been charged to him, he said in a high an' mighty way -that he reckoned that until he was dead or divorced he could afford to -pay for his own wife's duds, hearin' which, your uncle, who'd already -socked the price of the dress onto the price of Hawk's own clothes, -smiled out o' both sides of his mouth, an' all the way round to the -back of his neck. An' since then, Hawk's always brought his pork to -us, an' got a new silk dress ev'ry winter for his wife, an' new Sunday -clothes for himself, an' nobody would he buy of but your uncle. Let's -see; what was we talkin' 'bout when I turned off onto this story?" - -"We were talking of ways of cajoling customers into paying their year's -bills," said Philip. "Apparently I ought, just as a starter, to know -how to coddle customer's boys, and supply hair-cutting and shaving -plans to the village barber, and to play wife against husband, and -learn to measure a man for clothes, like a--" - -"That's so," said Caleb, "an' you can't be too quick about that, -either, for Hawk'll want a new suit pretty soon." - -"Anything else? By the way: what you said about the need of ready money -reminds me of some questions I've been intending to ask, but forgotten. -There are some mortgages in the safe on which interest will be due on -the first of the year,--only a fortnight off. 'Twill aggregate nearly a -thousand dollars." - -"Yes,--when you get it, but interest's the slowest pay of all, in -these parts, unless you work an' contrive for it. They know you won't -foreclose on 'em; for while the security's good enough if you let it -alone, there ain't an estate in the county that would fetch the face of -its mortgage under the hammer. Besides, a merchant gen'rally dassent -foreclose a mortgage, unless it's agin some worthless shack of a man. -Folks remember it agin him, an' he loses some trade." - -"Then those mortgages are practically worthless?" - -"Oh, no. The money's in 'em, principal an' int'rest in full,--but the -holder's got to know how to git it out. That's the difference between -successful merchants and failures." - -"H'm--I see. Apparently country merchants should be, like the -disciples, as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves." - -"That's it in a nutshell. I reckon any fool could make money in the -store business if there was nothin' to do but weigh an' measure out -goods an' take in ready cash for 'em. But there ain't no ready money -in this county, 'xcept what the merchants get in for the produce -they send out. There ain't no banks, so the store-keepers have to be -money-lenders, an' have money in hand to lend; for while there's some -borrowers that can be turned off, there's some it would never do to say -'No' to, if you wanted further dealin's with 'em, for they'd feel as if -they'd lost their main dependence, an' been insulted besides. Why, some -of our customers come in here Saturdays an' get a few five an' ten cent -pieces, on credit like any other goods, so's their families can have -somethin' to put in the plate in church on Sunday." - -"But there are rentals due from several farms, and from houses in -town. Are they as hard to collect as interest on mortgages?" - -"Well, no--oh, no. The rent of most of the farms is payable in produce; -there's ironclad written agreements, recorded in the county clerk's -office, that the renters shan't sell any of their main crops anywhere -else until the year's rent is satisfied. One of 'em pays by clearin' -five acre of woodland ev'ry winter, an' gettin' it under cultivation in -the spring, and another has to do a certain amount of ditchin' to drain -swampy places. You'll have to watch them two fellers close, or they'll -skimp their work, for there's nothin' farmers hate like clearin' an' -ditchin'. I don't blame 'em, either." - -"And the houses in town?" - -"Oh, they're all right. The man in one of 'em, at two dollars a month, -cuts all the firewood for the store an' house; that about balances his -bill. Another house, at three thirty-three a month, has a cooper in -it; he pays the rent, an' all of the stuff he buys at the store, in -barrels for us in the pork-packin' season. The three an' a-half a month -house man works out his rent in the pork-house durin' the winter, an' -the four dollar house has your insurance agent in it; there's always a -little balance in his favor ev'ry year. The--" - -"Caleb!" exclaimed Philip, "wait a minute; do you mean to tell me that -houses in Claybanks rent as low as four dollars, three and a half, -three and a third, and even as low as two dollars a month?" - -"That's what I said. Why, the highest rent ever paid in this town was -six dollars a month. The owner tried to stick out for seventy-five -a year, but the renter wouldn't stand the extra twenty-five cents a -month." - -Philip put his face in his hands, his elbows on his knees, and said:-- - -"Six dollars a month! And in New York I paid twenty-five dollars a -month for five rooms, and thought myself lucky!" - -"Twenty--five--dollars--a month!" echoed Caleb. "Why, if it's a fair -question, how much money did you make?" - -"Eighty dollars a month, with a certainty of a twenty per cent increase -every year. 'Twasn't much, but I was sure of getting it. From what -you've been telling me, I'm not absolutely sure of anything whatever -here, unless I do a lot of special and peculiar work--and after I've -earned the money by delivering the goods." - -"Well, your uncle averaged somethin' between three an' four thousan', -clear, ev'ry year, an' he come by it honestly, too, but there's no -denyin' that he had to work for it. From seven in the mornin' to nine -at night in winter; five in the mornin' till sundown in summer, to say -nothin' of watchin' the pork-house work till all hours of the night -throughout the season--a matter o' two months. He always went to sleep -in church Sunday mornin', but the minister didn't hold it agin him. -That reminds me: your uncle was a class-leader, an' the brethren are -quietly sizin' you up to see if you can take the job where he left off. -I hope you'll fetch." - -"Thank you, Caleb," said Philip, closing his eyes as if to exclude -the prospect. "But tell me," he said a moment later, "why my uncle -did so much for so little. Don't imagine that I underrate three or -four thousand dollars a year, but--money is worth only what it really -brings or does. That's the common-sense view of the matter, isn't it?" - -"Yes; I can't see anythin' the matter with it." - -"But uncle got nothing for his money but ordinary food, clothes, and -shelter, and seems to have worked as hard as any overworked laborer." - -"Well, I reckon he was doin' what the rest of us do in one way or -other; he was countin' on what there might be in the future. He -b'lieved in a good time comin'." - -"Yes,--in heaven, perhaps, but not here." - -"That's where you're mistaken, for he did expect it here--right here, -in Claybanks." - -Philip looked incredulous, and asked:-- - -"From what?" - -"Well, he could remember when Chicago was as small as Claybanks is now, -an' had a good deal more swamp land to the acre, too--an' now look at -it! He'd seen St. Paul an' Minneapolis when both of 'em together could -be hid in a town as big as Claybanks--but now look at 'em!" - -"But St. Paul and Minneapolis had an immense water-fall and -water-power to attract millers of many kinds." - -"Well, hain't we got a crick? They calculate that with a proper dam -above town, we'd have water-power nine months every year, an' there -ain't nothin' else o' the kind within fifty mile. Then there's our clay -banks that the town was named after; they're the only banks of brick -clay in the state; ev'rywhere else folks has to dig some feet down for -clay to make bricks, so we ought to make brick cheaper'n any other -town, an' supply all the country round--when we get a railroad to haul -'em out. They're not as red as some, bein' really brown, but they're a -mighty sight harder'n any red brick, so they're better for foundations -an' for walls o' big buildings. Chicago didn't have no clay banks nor -water-power, but just look at her now! All that made her was her bein' -the first tradin' place in the neighborhood; well, so's Claybanks, an' -it's been so for forty year or more, too, so its time must be almost -come. Your uncle 'xpected to see it all in his time, but, like Moses, -he died without the sight. Why, there's been three or four railroads -surveyed right through here--yes, sir!" - -"Is there any Western town that couldn't say as much, I wonder?" Philip -asked. - -"Mebbe not, but they hain't all got clay banks an' a crick; not many of -'em's got eleven hundred people in forty year, either. An' say--it's -all right for you to talk this way with me--askin' questions an' so on, -an' wonderin' if the place'll ever 'mount to anythin', but don't let -out a bit of it to anybody else--not for a farm. You might's well be -dead out here as not to believe in the West with all your might, an' -most of all in this part of it." - -"Thank you; I'll remember." - -Then Philip went out and walked slowly about the shabby village until -he found himself in the depths of the blues. - - - - -VI--THE UNEXPECTED - - -"THE nicer half of the You-I seems buried in contemplation this -morning," said Philip at his breakfast table, the Saturday before -Christmas. - -"The home-half of the You-I," Grace replied, after a quick rally from -a fit of abstraction, "was thinking that it saw very little of the -store-half this week, except when she went to the store to look for it. -Was business really so exacting, or was it merely absorbing?" - -"'Twas both, dear girl," said Philip, wishing he might repeat to her -all that Caleb had said to him as recorded in the preceding chapter, -and then scolding himself for the wish. - -"I wonder," Grace said, "whether you know you often look as if you were -in serious trouble?" - -"Do I? I'm sorry you noticed it, but now that it's over, I don't object -to telling you that if a single money package had arrived six hours -later than it did, the principal general store of this county would -have taken second or third place in the public esteem." - -"Phil! Was it so large a sum?" - -"Oh, no; merely two hundred dollars, but without it I would have had to -decline to buy two or three wagon-loads of dressed hogs." - -"'Dressed hogs'! What an expression!" - -"Quite so; still, 'tis the meatiest one known in this part of the -country. I can't say, however, that 'tis an ideal one for use when -ladies are present, so I beg to move the previous question. What was -it?" - -"'Twas that I've seen very little of you this week except when I've -been to the store to look for you. Won't the business soon be easier, -as you become accustomed to it, so we may have our evenings together -once more?" - -"I hope so," said Philip. - -"You didn't say that as if you meant it." - -"Didn't I? Well, dear girl, to-morrow will be Sunday, and you shall -have every moment of my time, and 'I shall bathe my weary soul in seas -of heavenly rest,' as Caleb frequently sings to himself." - -"You poor fellow! You need more help in the store, if you don't wish to -become worn out." - -"I don't see how any one could assist me. Caleb is everything he should -be, but he has given me to understand that everything really depends -upon the proprietor, and the more I learn of the business, the more -plainly I see that he is right." - -Grace asked a few questions, and after Philip had answered them he -exclaimed:-- - -"You artful, inquisitive, dreadful woman! You've dragged out of me a -lot of things that I'd determined you shouldn't know, for I've always -had an utter contempt for men who inflict their personal troubles upon -their wives. But you can imagine from what I've told you that no one -but a partner could relieve me of any of my work." - -"Then why not teach your partner the business?" - -"'Twill be time to do that when I get one." - -"Don't be stupid, Phil," Grace said, rising from her chair, going to -her husband, and bestowing a little pinch and a caress. "Don't you know -who I mean?" - -"Dear girl," said Philip, "you're quite as clever as I,--which is no -compliment,--and everybody adores you. But the idea of your dickering -by the hour with farmers and other countrymen--and dickering is simply -the soul of our business--is simply ridiculous." - -"I don't see why," Grace replied, with a pout, followed by a flash in -her deep brown eyes. "Some of the farmers' wives 'dicker,' as you call -it, quite as sharply as their husbands. Am I stupider than they?" - -"No--no! What an idea! But--they've been brought up to it." - -"Which means merely that they've learned it. What women have done woman -can do. I hope I'm not in the way in the store when you're talking -business?" - -"In the way! You delicious hypocrite!" - -"Well, I've listened a lot for business' sake, instead of merely for -fun. Besides, I do get dreadfully lonesome in the house at times, -in spite of a little work and a lot of play--at the piano. Oh, that -reminds me of something. Prepare to be startled. A great revival effort -is to begin at the church to-morrow night, and a committee of two, -consisting of Caleb and Mr. Grateway, the minister, have been to me to -know--guess what they wanted." - -"H'm! I shouldn't wonder if they wanted you to promise to sit beside -the minister, so that all the susceptible young men might be coaxed to -church and then shaken over the pit and dragged into the fold. Caleb -and the minister have long heads." - -"Don't be ridiculous! What they ask is that you'll have our piano moved -to the church, and that you'll play the music for the hymns. There's to -be a lot of singing, and the church hasn't any instrumental music, you -know, and Caleb has been greatly impressed by your playing." - -"Well, I'll be--I don't know what. Old fools! I wish they'd asked me -direct! They'd have got a sharp, unmistakable 'NO!'" - -"So they said; that was the reason they came to me." - -"And you said--" - -"That I'd consult you, and that if for any reason you felt that you -must decline, I would play for them." - -"Grace--Somerton!" - -"Why shouldn't I? I often played the melodeon for the choir in our -village church before I went to New York." - -"Did you, indeed? But I might have imagined it, for there seems to be -nothing that you can't do, or won't attempt. But let us see where we -are. You've promised, practically, that they shall have the music; if -I decline to play, they'll think I'm stuck up, or something of which, -for business' sake, I can't afford to be suspected. Besides, when I -married you I made some vows that weren't in the service, and one of -them was that I never would shift any distasteful duty upon my wife. On -the other hand, these Methodists are a literal lot of people. They've -wanted me to become a class-leader because Uncle Jethro was one. I -believe the duties are to inflict spiritual inquisition every Sunday -upon specified people in the presence of one another. I escaped only -by explaining that I was not a member of their denomination. But give -them an inch and they'll take an ell. If I play for them that night, -they'll expect me to do it the next, and again and again, probably -every Sunday, and I certainly shan't have our piano jogged once a week -over frozen roads, with the nearest tuner at a city seventy-five miles -away." - -"Then let me tell them that you won't allow them to be disappointed, -but that as you've not been accustomed to play for church singing, and -I have, that I will play for them." - -"That means that every one in the church will stare at you, which -will make your husband feel wretchedly uncomfortable. Aside from -that, you'll distract attention from the minister; so although I know -that you personally are a means of grace--Grace, itself, indeed, ha, -ha!--the effect of the sermon won't be worth any more than a bag of -corn-husks." - -"Oh, Phil! don't imagine that everybody sees me through your eyes. -Besides, except while playing I shall sit demurely on a front bench, -with my back to the congregation." - -So Caleb and the minister were rejoiced, and spread the announcement -throughout the town, and Grace rehearsed the church's familiar airs to -all the hymns on the list which the minister gave her, though some of -them she had to learn by ear, by the assistance of Caleb, who whistled -them to her. Soon after dark on Sunday night six stalwart sinners, -carefully selected by Caleb, exulted in the honor of carrying the -little upright piano to the church, where they remained so as to be -sure of seats from which to hear the music. - -The Methodist church edifice in Claybanks could seat nearly three -hundred people and give standing room to a hundred more. Seldom had -it been filled to its extreme capacity; but when the opening hymn was -"given out" on the night referred to, the building was crowded to -the doors and a hundred or more persons outside begged and demanded -that windows and doors should remain open during the singing. Pastor -Grateway, who had been in the ministry long enough to make the most of -every opportunity, improved this occasion to announce that according to -custom in all churches possessing instruments, the music of each hymn -would be played before the singing began. Grace, quite as uncomfortable -as her husband would have been in her place, was nevertheless familiar -with the music and the piano, and the congregation rose vociferously -to the occasion. Even the sinners sang, and one back-seat ruffian, who -had spent a winter in a city and frequented concert saloons, became so -excited as to applaud at the end of the first hymn, for which he was -promptly tossed through an open window by his more decorous comrades. - -The hymn after the prayer was equally effective, so the minister -interpolated still another one after the scripture reading called the -"second lesson." He, too, had been uplifted by the music--so much -uplifted that he preached more earnestly than usual and also more -rapidly, so as to reach the period of "special effort." At the close of -the sermon he said:-- - -"As we sing the hymn beginning 'Come, ye Sinners, Poor and Needy,' let -all persons who wish to flee from the wrath to come, and desire the -prayers of true believers, come forward and kneel at the mourners' -bench." - -The hymn was sung, and two or three persons approached the altar -and dropped upon their knees. As the last verse was reached, Caleb -whispered to the minister, who nodded affirmatively; then he whispered -to Grace, who also nodded; then he found Philip, who was seated -near the front, to be within supporting distance of his wife, and -whispered:-- - -"Give your wife a spell for a minute; play 'Am I a Soldier of the -Cross' the way you did the other day for me. That'll fetch 'em!" - -Philip frowned and refused, but Caleb snatched his hand in a vise-like -grasp and fairly dragged him from his seat. Half angry, half defiant, -yet full of the spirit of any man who finds himself "in for it," -whatever "it" may be, Philip dropped upon the piano stool which Grace -had vacated, and attacked the keys as if they were sheaves of wheat and -he was wielding a flail. He played the music as he had played it to -Caleb, with the accent and swing of a march, yet with all the runs and -variations with which country worshippers are wont to embroider it, and -the hearers were so "wrought up" by it that they began the hymn with a -roaring "attack" that was startling even to themselves. Grace, seeing -no seat within reach, and unwilling to turn her back to the people, -retired to one end of the piano, under one of the candles, from which -position, on the raised platform in front of the pulpit, she beheld -a spectacle seldom seen in its fulness except by ministers during a -time of religious excitement--a sea of faces, many of them full of the -ecstacy of faith and anticipation, others wild with terror at the doom -of the impenitent. - -Like most large-souled women, Grace was by nature religious and -extremely sympathetic, and unconsciously she looked pityingly and -beseechingly into many of the troubled faces. Her eyes rested an -instant, unconsciously, on those of one of the stalwart sinners who -had brought the piano to the church. In a second the man arose, strode -forward, and dropped upon his knees. Grace looked at another,--for the -six were together on one bench,--and he, too, came forward. Then a -strange tumult took possession of her; she looked commandingly at the -others in succession, and in a moment the entire six were on their -knees at the altar. - -"Great hell!" bellowed the ruffian who had been tossed through the -window, into which he had climbed halfway back in his eagerness to hear -the music. Then he tumbled into the church, got upon his feet, and -hurried forward to join the other sinners at the mourners' bench, which -had already become so crowded that Caleb was pressing the saints from -the front seats to make room for coming penitents. - -The hymn ended, but Philip did not know it, so he continued to play. -Grace whispered to him, and when he had reached the last bar, which -he ended with a crash, he abruptly seated himself on the pulpit steps -and felt as if he had done something dreadful and been caught in the -act. Grace reseated herself at the instrument; and as the minister, -with the class leaders, Sunday-school teachers, and other prominent -members of the church were moving among the penitents, counselling and -praying, and the regular order of song and prayer had been abandoned or -forgotten, she played the music of the hymns that had been designated -by the minister on the previous day. Some of the music was plaintive, -some spirited, but she played all with extreme feeling, whether the -people sang or merely listened. She played also all newer church music -that had appealed to her in recent years, and when, at a very late -hour, the congregation was dismissed, she suddenly became conscious of -the most extreme exhaustion she had ever known. As she and her husband -were leaving the church, one of the penitents approached them and -said:-- - -"Bless the Lord for that pianner--the Lord an' you two folks." - -"Amen!" said several others. - -Philip and Grace walked home in silence; but when they were within -doors, Philip took his wife's hands in his, held them apart, looked -into Grace's eyes, which seemed to be melting, and exclaimed:-- - -"Grace Somerton--my wife--a revivalist!" - -"Is Saul also among the prophets?" Grace retorted, with a smile which -seemed to her husband entirely new and peculiar. "It was your music -that started the--what shall I call it?" - - - - -VII--AN ACTIVE PARTNER - - -THE piano remained at the church several days, for the revival effort -was too successful to be discontinued. Night after night Grace played -for saints and sinners, and the minister, who was far too honest -to stretch the truth for the sake of a compliment, told her that -the playing drew more penitents than his prayers and sermons. Caleb -remained faithful to his duties at the store every day, but the sound -of the church bell in the evening made him so manifestly uneasy, and -eager to respond, that Philip volunteered to look after all customers -and loungers who might come in before the customary time for closing. -But customers and loungers were few; for the church was temporarily the -centre of interest to all of the good and bad whose evenings were free. -There was no other place for Philip himself to go after the store was -closed, for was not his wife there? Besides, the work soon began to -tell on Grace; for the meetings were long, and the air of the tightly -packed little church became very stifling, so Philip sometimes relieved -Grace so that she might go to the door for fresh air. - -"Do you know what you two have done, with your pianner-playin'?" asked -Caleb, when the revival concluded. "You've not only snatched a lot of -sinners that have been dodgin' ev'rybody else for years, but folks is -so grateful to you that four or five customers of other stores are -goin' to give you their trade the comin' year. I was sure 'twould work -that way, but I didn't like to tell you." - -"I'm glad you didn't; for if you had, the music would have stopped -abruptly. There are places to draw the line in advertising one's -business,--my business,--and the church is one of them." - -"Good! That's just the way I thought you'd feel, but I'm mighty glad to -know it for sure. Church singin' 'll be mighty dismal, though, when you -take that pianner back home." - -As Caleb spoke, he looked beseechingly at Philip, who utterly ignored -the look and maintained an impassive face. Then Caleb transferred his -mute appeal to Grace, who looked troubled and said:-- - -"There ought to be some way out of it." - -"Where there's a will, there's a way," Caleb suggested. - -Philip frowned, then laughed, and said:-- - -"Suppose you think up a way--but don't let there be any delay about -getting the piano back to the house." - -"Well, it's a means of grace at the church." - -"So it is at home, and I need all the means of grace I can get, -particularly those that are nearest home, while I am breaking myself in -to a new business." - -Caleb had the piano brought back to the parlor, but he reverted to it -again and again, in season and out of season, until Philip told Grace -that there was no doubt that his uncle was right when he wrote that -Caleb would sometimes insist on being helped with projects of his own. - -"That wasn't all," Grace replied. "He wrote also that he advised -you to give Caleb his way at such times, or your life would be made -miserable until you did, and that the cost of Caleb's projects would -not be great." - -"H'm! I wonder if uncle knew the cost of a high-grade upright piano? -Besides, I need all my time and wits for the business, and Caleb's -interruptions about that piano are worrying the life out of me. To -make matters worse, there's a new set of commercial travellers coming -in almost every day--this is the season, while country merchants are -beginning to get money, in which they hope to make small sales for -quick pay, and they take a lot of my time." - -"You ought to have a partner--and you have one, you know--to see those -people for you; and she will do it, if you'll let her." - -"My partner knows that she may and shall do whatever she likes," said -Philip, "but, dear girl, 'twould be like sending a sheep among wolves -to unloose that horde of drummers upon you." - -"I've had to deal with men, in some city stores in which I worked," -Grace replied, "and some of them reminded me of wolves--and other -animals; but I succeeded in keeping them in their places. I know the -private costmarks on all of our goods, and I know the qualities of many -kinds of goods better than you or Caleb, and both of you will be within -call for consultation whenever I'm puzzled; so let me try. 'Twill give -me an excuse to spend all of my spare time in the store; so whenever a -drummer comes in, you can refer him to me. Say I'm the buyer for the -concern. 'Twill sound big; don't you think so?" - -"Indeed I do! I wonder where a young woman got such a head for -business." - -"Strange, isn't it," Grace replied, with dancing eyes which had also -a quizzical expression, "as she's been several years behind counters, -great and small, and listened to scores of buyers and drummers haggle -over fractions of a cent in prices?" - -"And for about that much time," said Philip, reminiscently, "her -husband was a mere clerk and correspondent, yet thought himself a -rising business man! Have your own way, partner--managing partner, I -ought to say." - -The next day was a very busy one, yet Caleb found time to say something -about instrumental music as a means of grace in churches, and to get a -sharp reply. Several commercial travellers came in and were astonished -at being referred to a handsome, well-dressed young woman. Grace -disposed of them rapidly and apparently without trouble. When husband -and wife sat down to supper, Philip said:-- - -"How did the managing partner get along to-day?" - -"I bought very little," Grace replied. - -"You saved Caleb and me a lot of time. I've never seen Caleb so active -and spirited as he has been this afternoon. It made me feel guilty, -for I was rude to him this morning for the first time. Just when I was -trying to think my hardest about something, he brought up again the -subject of the church and the piano." - -"Poor Caleb! But he won't do it again, for I've settled the matter." - -"You've not been tender-hearted enough to give up the piano?" - -"Oh, no, but I--we, I mean--have taken the county agency for a -cabinet-organ firm." - -"I see--e--e! And you're going to torment the church into buying one, -and you and Caleb are going to get up strawberry festivals and such -things to raise the money, and the upshot will be that I'll have to -subscribe a lot of cash to make up the deficiency. Ah, well, peace will -be cheap at--" - -"Phil, dear, don't be so dreadfully previous. The bargain is that the -firm shall send us, without charge, a specimen instrument, which I've -promised to display to the best advantage, and I've also promised to -give elementary instruction to every one who manifests interest in it." - -"Grace Somerton! The house will be full from morning till night. -Country people will throng about such an instrument like children about -a hand-organ. 'Twill be the end of your coming into the store to talk -to the drummers, or even to see me." - -"Oh, Phil! Where are your wits? I'm going to have the organ kept at -the church, and let the most promising would-be learners and possible -buyers do their practising there. The organ firm sells on instalments; -we'll guarantee the instalments, for I'll select the buyers--who will -want only smaller instruments--from among women who bring us chickens -and butter and eggs and feathers and such things. So the church will -be sure of an instrument more appropriate to congregational singing -than a piano, and our piano won't be coveted, and we will make a little -money, and by the time the next revival season arrives there will be at -least a few people who can play, and perhaps some who are accustomed to -closed windows and stuffy air, and won't get splitting headaches and -lose five pounds of weight in a week, as I did." - -"Allow me to catch my breath!" said Philip. "Give me some tea, please, -quick!--no milk or sugar. I hope 'tis very strong. You've planned all -this, yet there you sit, as natural and unassuming as if you'd never -thought of anything but keeping house and being the sweetest wife in -the world!" - -"Thank you, but shouldn't sweetness have any strength and character? -And what is business for, I should like to know, but to enable women -to keep house--and keep their pianos, if they have any?" - -"Caleb," said Philip, on returning to the store, "I want to apologize -for answering you rudely this morning about that enraging piano. I was -in a hard study over--" - -"Don't mention it," said Caleb, with a beatific smile. "Besides, -'Providence tempers the wind to the shorn lamb,' as the Bible says in -hundreds of different ways. I s'pose your wife's told you what she's -done about music for the church? Je--ru--salem! Ain't she a peeler, -though?" - -"She is indeed--if I may assume that a 'peeler' is an incomparable -combination of goodness and good sense." - -"That's about the meanin' of it, in my dictionary." Then Caleb fixed -his eyes inquiringly upon Philip's face and kept them there so long -that Philip asked:-- - -"What now, Caleb?" - -"Nothin'," said Caleb, suddenly looking embarrassed. "That is, nothin' -that's any o' my business." - -"If 'twas mine, you needn't hesitate to mention it. You and I ought to -be fair and frank with each other." - -"Well," said Caleb, counting with a stubby forefinger the inches on a -yardstick, "I was only wonderin'--that is, I want to say that you're a -good deal of a man, an' one that I'm satisfied it's safe to tie to, an' -I'm mighty glad you're in your uncle's place, but--for the land's sake, -how'd you come to git her?" - -Philip laughed heartily, and replied:-- - -"As most men get wives. I asked her to marry me. First, of course, I -put my best foot forward, for a long time, and kept it there." - -"Of course. But didn't the other fellers try to cut you out?" - -"Quite likely, for most men have eyes." - -"Wa'n't any of 'em millionnaires?" - -"Probably not, though I never inquired. As she herself has told you, -Mrs. Somerton was a saleswoman. Millionnaires do their courting in -their own set, where saleswomen can't afford to be." - -"That was great luck for you, wasn't it? Are there any women like her -in their set?" - -"I don't doubt they think so. Mrs. Somerton says there are plenty of -them in every set, rich and poor alike. As for me,--'There's Only One -Girl in the World'--you've heard the song?" - -"Can't say that I have," Caleb replied, suddenly looking thoughtful, -"but the idea of it's straight goods an' a yard wide. Well, sir, it's -plain to me, an' pretty much ev'rybody else, that that wife o' yourn is -the greatest human blessin' that ever struck these parts. Good women -ain't scarce here; neither is good an' smart women. I s'pose our folks -look pretty common to you, 'cause of their clothes, but they improve on -acquaintance. Speakin' o' clothes--ev'rybody, even the best o' folks, -fall short o' perfection in some particular, you know. The only way -Mis' Somerton can ever do any harm, 'pears to me, is by always bein' so -well dressed as to discourage some other women, an' makin' a lot of the -gals envious an' discontented. She don't wear no di'monds nor gewgaws, -I know, but for all that, she looks, day in an' day out, as if she -was all fixed for a party or Sunday-school picnic, an'--But, say, 'I -shouldn't wonder if I was on dangerous ground,' as one of our recruits -remarked to me at Gettysburg after most of our regiment was killed or -wounded." - -"Aha!" exclaimed Philip, when he rejoined his wife after the store -closed for the day. "'Pride must have a fall'--that is, supposing -you were proud of silencing Caleb concerning the piano. He has a -torment in preparation for you, personally. He thinks you dress too -handsomely--wear party clothes every day, and are likely to upset the -heads of the village girls, and some women old enough to know better." - -"Nonsense!" exclaimed Grace, flushing indignantly. "I've absolutely no -clothes but those I owned when we were poor. I thought them good enough -for another season, as no one here would have seen them before, and -none of them was very badly worn." She arose, stood before the chamber -mirror, and said:-- - -"This entire dress is made of bits of others, that were two, three, or -four years old, and were painfully cheap when new." - -"Even if they weren't," said Philip, "they were your own, and earned -by hard work, and if ever again Caleb opens his head on the subject, -I'll--" - -"No, you won't! I don't know what you were going to do, but please -don't. Leave Master Caleb to me." - -"You don't expect to reason him into believing that you're less -effectively dressed than you are?" - -"I expect to silence him for all time," Grace replied, again -contemplating herself in the mirror, and appearing not dissatisfied -with what she saw. The next day she asked Caleb which, if any, of the -calicoes in the store were least salable; the cheapest, commonest stuff -possible, for kitchen wear. Caleb "reckoned" aloud that the best calico -was cheap enough for the store-owner's wife, but Grace persisted, so -she was shown the "dead stock,"--the leavings of several seasons' -goods,--from which she made two selections. Caleb eyed them with -disfavor, and said:-- - -"That purple one ain't fast color; the yaller one is knowed all over -the county as the Scare-Cow calico. We might 'a' worked it off on -somebody, if the first an' only dress of it we sold hadn't skeered a -cow so bad that she kicked, an' broke the ankle of the gal that was -milkin' her." - -"Never mind, Caleb; the purple one can afford to lose some of its -color, and--oh, I'll see about the other." - -Three days later Grace, enveloped in a water-proof cloak, hurried -through a shower from the house to the store, and on entering the -back room, threw off the cloak. Caleb, who was drawing vinegar from a -barrel, arose suddenly, with a half-gallon measure in his hands, and -groaned to see his employer's wife, "dressed," as he said afterward, -"like a queen just goin' onto a throne, though, come to think of it, -I never set eyes on a queen, nor a throne, either." More deplorable -still, she looked proud, and conscious, and as if demanding admiration. -There was even a suspicion of a wink as she exclaimed:-- - -"Be careful not to let any of that vinegar run over and splash near me, -Caleb! You know the purple isn't fast color!" - -"Je--ru--salem!" exclaimed Caleb, dropping the measure and its -contents, which Grace escaped by tripping backward to the shelter of a -stack of grain-sacks. When she emerged, with a grand courtesy followed -by a long, honest laugh, Caleb continued:-- - -"Well, I've read of folk's bein' clothed in purple an' fine linen, but -purple an' Scare-Cow knocks me flat! Dressed in 'dead stock,' from -head to foot, an' yit--Hello, Philip! Come in here! Oh! You're knocked -pretty flat, too, ain't you? Well, I just wanted to take back what I -said the other day about some folk's clothes. I don't b'lieve a dress -made of them grain-sacks would look common on her!" - -"How stupid of me!" Grace exclaimed. "Why didn't I think of the -grain-sacks? I might have corded the seams with heavy dark twine, or -piped them with red carpet-binding." - -"I don't know what cordin' an' pipin' is," said Caleb, "but after what -I've seen, I can believe that you'd only need to rummage in a big -rag-bag awhile to dress like a queen--or look like one." - - - - -VIII--THE PORK-HOUSE - - -COLD weather and the pork-packing season had arrived, and the lower -floor of Somerton's warehouse was a busier place than the store. At -one side "dressed" hogs, unloaded from farmers' wagons, were piled -high; in the centre a man with a cleaver lopped the heads and feet -from the carcasses, and divided the remainder into hams, shoulders, -and sides, which another man trimmed into commercial shape; a third -packed the product in salted layers on the other side. At the rear -of the room two men cut the trimmings, carefully separating the lean -from the fat, and with the latter filled, once in two or three hours, -some huge iron kettles which sat in a brick furnace in the corner. At -similar intervals the contents of the kettles were transferred to the -hopper of a large press, not unlike a cider press, and soon an odorous -wine-colored fluid streamed into a tank below, from which it was ladled -through tin funnels into large, closely hooped barrels. The room -was cold, despite the furnace; the walls, windows, and ceiling were -reminiscent of the dust and smell of many pork-packing seasons. Early -in the season Philip had dubbed the pork-packing floor "Bluebeard's -Chamber," and warned his wife never to enter it. After a single glance -one day, through the street door of the warehouse, Grace assured her -husband that the prohibition was entirely unnecessary. She also said -that she never had been fond of pork, but that in the future she would -eschew ham, bacon, sausage, lard, and all other pork products. - -When the sound of rapid, heavy hammering was audible in the Somerton -sitting room and parlor, and when Grace asked where it came from, -Philip replied, "The pork-house;" the cooper was packing barrels of -sides, hams, or shoulders for shipment, or tightening the hoops of -lard-barrels which were inclined to leak. When Grace wondered whence -came the great flakes of soot on table-linen which had been hung out -of doors to dry, Philip replied, "The pork-house;" probably the fire -in the furnace was drawing badly and smoking too much. Frequently, -when she went to the store and asked Caleb where her husband was, the -reply would be, "The pork-house." If Philip reached home late for a -meal, and Grace asked what had kept him, he was almost certain to -reply, "The pork-house," and if, as frequently occurred later in the -season, he retired so late that Grace thought she had slept through -half the night, he groaned, in answer to her inevitable question, "The -pork-house." - -Then came a day when Grace detected an unfamiliar and unpleasing odor -in the house. She suspected the napkins, then the tablecloth, and -examined the rug under the dining-room table for possible spots of -butter. Next she inspected the kitchen, which she washed and scoured -industriously for a full day. Occasionally she detected the same odor -in the store, as if she had carried it with her from the house, so she -examined her dresses minutely, for the odor was reminiscent of cookery -of some kind, although she had but a single dress for kitchen wear, -and never wore it out of the house. She mentioned the odor to Philip, -but he was unable to detect it in the air. One day it inflicted itself -upon her even in church, and became so obnoxious that she spoke of it, -instead of the sermon, as soon as the congregation was dismissed. - -"I'm very sorry, dear girl, that you're so tormented," said Philip. "I -wish I could identify the nuisance; then possibly I could find means -to abate it. I know an odor is hard to describe, but do try to give me -some clew to it." - -"It reminds me somewhat of stale butter," Grace replied slowly, "and -of some kinds of greasy pans, and of burned meat, and of parts of some -tenement-house streets in the city, and some ash-cans on city sidewalks -on hot summer mornings--oh, those days!--and of--I don't know what -else." - -"You've already named enough to show that 'tis truly disgusting and -dreadful, and I do wish you and I could exchange the one of the five -senses which is affected by it, for I never had much sense of smell." - -By this time they were at home. Philip was unclasping his wife's cloak -when Grace exclaimed suddenly:-- - -"There it is!" - -"There what is?" - -"That dreadful odor! Why, Phil, 'tis on your coat-sleeve! What, in the -name of all that's mysterious--" - -"That was my best coat in the city last winter, and I've never worn it -here, except on Sundays." - -"Then it must have taken the odor from some other garment in your -closet." - -Philip hurriedly brought his ordinary weekday coat to the sitting -room, Grace moved it slowly, suspiciously, toward her nose, and soon -exclaimed:-- - -"There it is--ugh! But what can it be?" - -At that instant a well-known knock at the door announced Caleb, who had -been invited to Sunday dinner. - -"Don't be shocked, Caleb," said Philip; "we're not mending clothes on -Sunday. 'Twill scarcely be an appetizer, apparently, but won't you pass -this coat to and fro before your face a moment, and detect an odor, if -you can, and tell us what it is?" - -Caleb took the coat, did as requested, touched the cloth with his nose, -and replied:-- - -"The pork-house." - -"What do you mean?" Philip asked, while Grace turned pale. - -"It's the smell of boilin' fat, from the lard-kettles. It's powerful -pervadin' of ev'rythin', specially woollen clothes, an' men's hair, -when the pork-house windows an' doors are shut. It makes me mortal sick -sometimes, when the malary gets a new grip on me; at such times I know -a pork-house worker when I pass him in the street in the dark. To save -myself from myself I used to wear an oilcloth jacket an' overalls when -I worked in the pork-house--your uncle an' I used to have to put in a -good many hours there. There was somethin' else I used to do too, when -I got to my room, though I never dared to tell your uncle, or he'd -never ha' stopped laughin' at me." - -"What was it? Tell me--quick!" said Philip. - -"Why, I bought a bottle of Floridy water out of the store,--it's a -stuff that some of the gals use,--an' I sprinkled a little ev'ry day, -mornin' an' evenin', on the carpet." - -Philip hurried to a bed-chamber, and came back with Grace's -cologne-bottle, the contents of which he bestowed upon the rug under -the dining table. - -"That ort to kill the rat," said Caleb, approvingly. - -The dinner was a good one, but Grace ate sparingly, though she talked -with animation and brilliancy unusual even for her, Philip imagined. -For himself, he felt as he thought a detected criminal, an outcast, -must feel. Excusing himself abruptly, he relieved his feelings somewhat -by throwing out of doors the offending coat and the garments pertaining -to it; then he threw out all the woollen garments of his wardrobe. -Caleb was not due at Sunday school until three o'clock, but he excused -himself an hour early. As he started, he signalled Philip in a manner -familiar in the store, to follow him, and when both were outside the -door, he said:-- - -"I reckon she needs quinine, or somethin'. Touchiness 'bout smells is a -sign. I'd get Doc Taggess to come down, if I was you." - -Philip thanked him for the suggestion; then he hurried to the -bath-room, washed his hair and mustache, and exchanged his clothes -for a thinner suit which he exhumed from a trunk. It was redolent of -camphor, which he detested, but it was "all the perfumes of Araby" -compared with--the pork-house. Then he rejoined Grace and made haste to -officiate as assistant scullion, and also to ejaculate:-- - -"That infernal pork-house!" - -"Don't talk of it any more to-day," Grace said, with a piteous smile. - -"How can I help it, when--" - -"But you must help it, Phil dear. Really you must." - -Philip made haste to change the subject of conversation, and to cheer -his wife and escape from his own thoughts he tried to be humorous, and -finally succeeded so well that he and Grace became as merry in their -little kitchen as they ever had been anywhere. Indeed, Grace recovered -her spirits so splendidly that of her own accord she recalled the -pork-house, and said many amusing things about "Bluebeard's Chamber," -and told how curious and jealous Philip's prohibition had made her, and -Philip replied that it contained more trunkless heads than the fateful -closet of Bluebeard, and that it was a treasure-house besides; for -through it passed most of the store's business that directly produced -money. Then he dashed at the piano and played a lot of music so lively -that it would have shocked the church people had they heard it, and -Grace lounged in an easy-chair, with her eyes half closed, looking the -picture of dreamy contentment. Later she composed herself among the -pillows of a lounge, and asked Philip to throw an afghan over her, -and sit beside her, and talk about old times in the city, and then -to remind her of all their newer blessings, because she wished to be -very, fully, reverently grateful for them. Philip was not loath to -comply with her request; for though the month's work had been very -exacting and hard, he had been assured by Caleb, within twenty-four -hours, that it was the largest and most profitable month of business -that the Somerton store had ever done, and that beyond a doubt the new -proprietor had "caught on," and held all the old customers, and of his -own ability secured several new ones, which proved that the people of -the town and county "took to" him. - -All this Philip repeated to Grace, who dreamily said that it was very -good, and a satisfaction to have her husband prominent among men, -instead of a nobody--a splendid, incomparable, adorable one, but still -really a nobody, among the hundreds of thousands of men in New York. -Then both of them fell to musing as the twilight deepened. Musing, -twilight, and temporary relief from the strain of the week's work -combined to send Philip into a gentle doze, from which he suddenly -roused himself to say:-- - -"What are you laughing at, Miss Mischief?" - -"I'm--not--laughing," Grace replied. - -"Crying? My dear girl, what is the matter?" - -"I'm--not--crying. I'm--merely--shivering. I'm cold." - -"That's because you've a brute of a husband, who has been so wrapped -up in his affairs and you that probably he has let the fire go out." -He made haste to replenish the stove and to throw over his wife a -traveller's rug. Then he lighted a shaded candle, looked at the -thermometer, and said:-- - -"How strange! The mercury stands at seventy-two degrees." - -But Grace continued to shiver, and, stranger still, she felt colder as -the fire burned up and additional covers were placed upon her. Finally -she exclaimed:-- - -"Oh, Phil! I'm frightened! This is something--different from--ordinary -cold. It must be some--something like--paralysis. I can't move my arms -or feet." - -"I'll run for Doctor Taggess at once!" said Philip; but as he started -from the room, Grace half screamed, half groaned:-- - -"Don't leave me, if you--love me! Don't let me--die--alone!" - -"At least let me go to the door and raise a shout; some one will hear -me, and I'll send him for the Doctor." - -As he opened the door he saw a light in the window of Caleb's room, -over the store. Quickly seizing the cord of the alarm signal, of which -Caleb had previously told him, he pulled several times, and soon Caleb, -finding the door ajar, entered the room. - -"Won't you get the Doctor, Caleb--quick?" said Philip. "We're awfully -frightened; my wife has a strange, dreadful attack of some kind. It -acts like paralysis." - -Caleb, glancing toward the lounge, saw the quivering covers and Grace's -face. - -"Poor little woman!" he said, with the voice of a woman. "But don't be -frightened. 'Tisn't paralysis. It's bad enough, but it never kills. I -know the symptoms as well as I know my own right hand, an' Doctor'll do -more good later in the evenin' than now." - -"But what is it, man?" - -"Malary--fever an' ager. She's never had a chill before, I reckon?" - -"No--o--o," said Grace, between chattering teeth. - -"Don't wonder you was scared, then. If religion could take hold -like an ager-chill, this part of the country would be a section o' -kingdom-come. The mean thing about it is that it takes hardest hold -of folks that's been the healthiest. Try not to be scared, though; -it won't kill, an' 'twon't last but a few minutes. Then you're likely -to drop asleep, an' wake pretty soon with a hot fever an' splittin' -headache; they ain't pleasant to look forward to, but they might seem -worse if you didn't foresee 'em. I'll go for Doc Taggess right off; -if he ain't home, his wife'll send him as soon as he comes. Taggess -himself is the best medicine he carries; but if he's off somewhere, -I'll come back an' tell your husband what to do. Don't be afeared to -trust me; ev'ry man o' sense in this section o' country knows what to -do for fever and ager; if he didn't, he'd have to go out o' business." - -Caleb departed, after again saying "Poor little woman!" very tenderly. -As for Philip, he took his wife's hands in his own and poured forth -a torrent of sympathetic words; but when the sufferer fell asleep, -he went out into the darkness and cursed malaria, the West, and the -impulse which had made him become his uncle's heir. He cursed many -things else, and then concentrated the remainder of his wrath into an -anathema on the pork-house. - - - - -IX--A WESTERN SPECTRE - - -AFTER her fever had subsided, Grace went to sleep and carried into -dream-land the disquieting conviction that she was to have a long -period of illness, and be confined to her bed. Philip had given her -the medicines prescribed and obtained by Caleb, for Doctor Taggess had -gone far into the country and was not expected home until morning. -Then Philip had lain awake far into the night, planning proper care -for his precious invalid; finally he decided to get a trained nurse -from New York, unless Doctor Taggess could recommend one nearer home. -He would also get from the city a trained housekeeper; for, as already -explained, there was no servant class at Claybanks, and of what use -was "help" when the head of the house was too ill to direct the work? -He would order from the city every cordial, every sick-room delicacy, -that he could think of, or the Doctor might suggest. Expense was not -to be thought of; there was only one woman and wife in the world--to -him, and she had been cruelly struck down. She should be made well, at -whatever cost. Meanwhile he would write the firm by which he had been -employed in New York, and beg for his old position, for the reason that -the climate of Claybanks was seriously undermining his wife's health; -afterward, as soon as Grace could be moved, he would take her back -to the city, and give up his Claybanks property, with its train of -responsibilities, privations, and miseries. - -When he awoke in the morning, he slipped softly from the room, which -he had darkened the night before, so that the morning light should -not disturb the invalid, and he moved toward the kitchen to make a -fire--a morning duty with which he had charged himself and faithfully -fulfilled since his first day in his uncle's house. To be in the store -by sunrise, as was the winter custom of Claybanks merchants, compelled -Philip to rise before daylight, and habit, first induced by an alarm -clock, had made him wake every winter day at six, while darkness was -still deep. - -He was startled, therefore, when he tip-toed into the dining room, to -be welcomed by a burst of sunlight. Evidently his wakefulness of the -previous night had caused him to oversleep. Hurrying to the kitchen, -he was again startled, for breakfast was cooking on the stove, and at -the table, measuring some ground coffee into a pot, stood Grace, softly -singing, as was her custom when she worked. - -"What?" he exclaimed, rubbing his eyes. "Was it I who was ill, instead -of you, or have I been bereft of my senses for a fortnight or more?" - -"Neither, you poor, dear boy," Grace replied, though without looking -up. "Yesterday I was more scared than hurt; to-day I feel as well as -ever--really, I do." - -Philip stepped in front of her, took her head in his hands, and -looked into her face. The healthy glow peculiar to it had given place -to a sickly yellow tint; her plump cheeks had flattened--almost -hollowed, her eyes, always either lustrous or melting, were dull and -expressionless, and her lips, usually ruddy and full, were gray and -thin. As her husband looked at her, she burst into tears and hid her -face on his shoulder. - -"I could have endured anything but that," she sobbed. "I don't think -I'm vain, but it has always been so delightful to me that I could be -pretty to my husband. I wasn't conceited, but I had to believe my -mirror. But now--oh, I'd like to hide my face somewhere for a--" - -"Would you, indeed?" murmured Philip, tenderly. "Let me hide it -for you, a little at a time; I promise you that not a bit shall be -neglected." - -"Do let me breathe, Phil. I don't see how you can kiss a scarecrow--and -continue at it." - -"Don't you? I could kiss a plague-patient, or the living skeleton, if -Grace Somerton's heart was in it. I don't understand your reference to -a scarecrow. Your mirror must have been untruthful this morning, or -perhaps covered with mist, for--see!" - -So saying, he detached the late Mr. Jethro Somerton's tiny mirror from -the kitchen wall and held it before his wife, whose astonishment and -delight were great as she exclaimed:-- - -"Phil, you're a witch! Now I'm going to make believe that there was no -yesterday, and if yesterday persists in coming to mind, I shall scold -myself most savagely for having been a frightened, silly child." - -"You really were a very sick woman," Philip replied. "I was quite as -frightened at you while the chill had possession of you, and you had -a raging fever afterward. You've had headaches in other days, but -yesterday's was the first that made you moan." - -"'Tis very strange. I feel quite as well to-day as ever I did. Perhaps -'tis the effect of Caleb's medicine. Poor Caleb! When he saw me, I -really believe he suffered as much as I." - -"So it seemed to me," said Philip. "I wonder how a little, sickly, -always-tired man can have so much sympathy and tenderness?" - -"You forget that he, himself, is malaria-poisoned, as your uncle's -letter said. Probably he's had just such chills as mine. Let's make -haste to thank him." - -After a hurried breakfast, husband and wife went together to the store, -and found Caleb awaiting them at the back door. He had already seen -Grace's figure at the window of the sitting room. - -"Je--ru--salem!" he exclaimed, looking intently at Grace. "I never saw -a worse shake than yourn, which is sayin' a mighty lot, considerin' -I was born an' raised in the West. But you look just as good as new. -Well, there's somethin' good in ev'rythin', if you look far enough for -it--even in an ager-chill." - -"Good in a chill, indeed!" Philip exclaimed. - -"Yes; its good p'int is that it don't last long. Havin' a chill's like -bein' converted; if somethin' didn't shut down on the excitement pretty -quick, there'd be nothin' left o' the subject. Well, seein' you're -here, I reckon I'd better take a look in the pork-house." - -"He has sprinkled the floor with Florida water!" said Grace, as she -entered the store. "Evidently he didn't doubt that I'd be well this -morning, and he remembers yesterday." - -Within an hour Doctor Taggess and his wife bustled into the store, and -Mrs. Taggess hurried to Grace, and said:-- - -"I'd have come to you yesterday, my dear, if I hadn't known I could be -of no use. Chills are like cyclones; they'll have their own way while -they last, and everything put in their way makes them more troublesome." - -The Doctor consulted Philip, apart, as to what had been done, approved -of Caleb's treatment, and gave additional directions; then he turned -upon Grace his kind eyes and pleasant smile, which Caleb had rightly -intimated were his best medicines, and he said:-- - -"Well, has Doctor Caleb found time to give you his favorite theory, -which is that a chill or any other malarial product is a means of -grace?" - -"Caleb values his life too highly to advance such a theory at present," -Philip answered for his wife. - -"Just so, just so. Well, there's a time for everything, but Caleb isn't -entirely wrong on that subject. There are other and less painful and -entirely sufficient means of grace, however, from which one can choose, -so chills aren't necessary--for that particular purpose, and I hope you -won't have any more of them. I'm afraid you forgot some of the advice -I gave you, the first time we met, about how to take care of yourself -until you had become acclimated." - -Philip and Grace looked at each other sheepishly, and admitted that -they had not forgotten, but neglected. They had felt so well, so -strong, they said. - -"Just so, just so. Malaria's just like Satan, in many ways, but -especially in sometimes appearing as an angel of light. At first it -will stimulate every physical faculty of a healthy person like good -wine, but suddenly--well, you know. I had my suspicions the last time I -noticed your splendid complexion, but between mending broken limbs and -broken heads, and old people leaving the world, and young people coming -into it, I'm too busy to do all the work I lay out for myself. You may -have one more chill--" - -"Oh, Doctor!" - -"'Twon't be so bad as the first one, unless it comes to-day. They have -four different and regular periods--every day, every other day, once -in three days, and once in seven days, and each is worse than all of -the others combined--according to the person who has it. I'll soon cure -yours, whichever kind it may be, and after that I'm going to get Mrs. -Taggess to keep you in mind of the necessary precautions against new -attacks, for I've special use for you in this town and county. I wonder -if Caleb has told you that you, too, are a means of grace? No? Well, -he's a modest chap, but he'll get to it yet, and I'll back him up. This -county has needed a visible standard of physical health for young women -to live up to, and you entirely fill the bill." - -"I shouldn't wonder, Doctor," said Philip, while Grace blushed, "that, -religious though you are, you sometimes agree with the sceptic who -said that if he'd been the Creator of the world he'd have made health -catching, instead of disease." - -"No, I can't say that I do. Heaven knows I'm sick enough of sickness; -no honest physician's bills pay him for the miseries he has to see, and -think of, and fight; but health's very much like money--it's valued -most by those who have to work hardest to get it: those who come by -it easily are likely to squander it. I can't quite make out, by the -ordinary signs, how your wife came by her own. I wonder if she'd object -to telling me. I don't ask from mere curiosity, I assure you." - -"I'm afraid 'twill stimulate my self-esteem to tell," Grace replied, -with heightening color, "for I'm prouder of my health than of anything -else--except my husband. I got it by sheer hard, long effort, through -the necessity for six years, of going six days in the week, sick or -well, rain or shine, to and from a store, and of standing up, for nine -or ten hours a day while I was inside. To lose a day or two in such a -store generally meant to lose one's place, so a girl couldn't afford to -be sick, or even feeble." - -"Aha! Wife, did you hear that? Now, Mrs. Somerton, Claybanks and -vicinity need you even more than I'd supposed. But--do try to have -patience with me, for I'm a physician, you know, and what you tell me -may be of great service to other young women; I won't use your name, if -you object. Did you have good health from the first?" - -"No, indeed! I was a thin, pale, little country girl when I went -to the city; I'd worked so hard at school for years that all my -vitality seemed to have gone to my head. Work in the store was cruelly -hard,--indeed, it never became easy,--and I had headaches, backaches, -dizzy times--oh, all sorts of aches and wearinesses. But in a great -crowd of women there are always some with sharp eyes, and clear heads, -and warm hearts, and sometimes the mother-feeling besides. I wasn't the -only chronically tired girl in the place; most of the others looked -and felt as I did. Well, some of the good women I've mentioned were -perpetually warning us girls to be careful of our health, and telling -us how to do it." - -"Good! Good! What did they say--in general?" - -"Nothing," said Grace, laughing, and then remaining silent a moment, -as she seemed to be looking backward. "For each said something in -particular. All had hobbies. One thought diet was everything; with -another it was the daily bath; others harped on long and regular -sleep, or avoidance of excitement, or fresh air while sleeping, or -clothes and the healthiest way to wear them, or exercise, or the proper -position in which to stand, or on carrying the head and shoulders high, -or deep breathing, or recreation, or religion, or avoidance of the tea, -cake, and candy habit." - -"Well, well! Now tell me, please, which of these hobbies you adopted." - -"All of them--every one of them," Grace replied, with an emphatic toss -of her head. "First I tried one, with some benefit, then another, and -two or three more, and finally the entire collection." - -"Hurrah!" shouted the Doctor. "You can be worth more to the women -hereabouts than a dozen doctors like me, if you will--and of course -you will. Indeed, you must. One more question,--positively the last. -You couldn't have been the only woman who profited by the advice you -received?" - -"Oh, no. In any of the stores in which I worked there were some strong, -wholesome, grand women who had literally fought their way up to what -they were, for small pay and long hours, and weariness at night, and -many other things combined to make any special effort of self-denial -very, very hard--too hard for some of the girls, I verily believe. -I don't think I'm narrow or easily satisfied; sometimes I've been -fastidious and slow in forming acquaintances, but among all the other -women I've seen, or heard of, or read about, there aren't any for whom -I'd exchange some of my sister--shopgirls." - -"Saleswomen, if you please," said Philip. - -"Well, well!" drawled the Doctor, who had been looking fixedly at -Grace. "I don't wonder that you're what you are. Come along, wife." - -As Doctor and Mrs. Taggess departed, Grace said to her husband:-- - -"That is the highest compliment that I ever had." And Philip replied:-- - -"I hope 'tis good for chills." - - - - -X--SHE WANTED TO KNOW - - -GRACE'S malarial attack was soon repulsed, but the memory of -that Sunday chill remained vivid. So Grace followed the Doctor's -instructions as carefully as if she were an invalid on the brink of the -grave, and she compelled Philip also to heed the counsel of precaution -which Doctor Taggess had given to both. From that time forward she -took personal sympathetic interest in all malarial victims of whom -she heard, especially in those who purchased from the great stock of -proprietary medicines in Somerton's store. Not infrequently a farmer -or villager would be seized by a chill while talking or transacting -business in the store, and Grace, despite her own experience in a warm -room and under many woollen coverings, could scarcely help begging him -to accept the loan of heavy shawls from the store's stock, and to sit -undisturbed by the fire in the back room. When she planned a Sunday -dinner, at which Doctor Taggess and his wife were to be guests, it -was partly for the purpose of questioning the Doctor about the origin -of malaria, and of its peculiarities, which seemed almost as numerous -as cases; but Philip assured her that busy doctors, like other men of -affairs, hated nothing so much as to "talk shop" out of business hours. - -Fortunately she gradually became too busy to have time in which to -become a monomaniac on malaria. The specimen organ arrived, and -was placed in the church, to the great edification of the people. -Grace was for a time the only performer, but to prepare relief for -herself, improve the quality of the congregational singing, and not -without an eye to business, she organized an evening music class, -and quickly trained several young women to play some of the simpler -hymn-tunes,--and also to purchase organs on the instalment plan. - -From music lessons to dress-making is a far cry, but the fame of the -purple and "Scare-Cow" dress had pervaded the county, and all the -girls wanted dresses like it, which was somewhat embarrassing after the -stock of the two calicoes had been exhausted. Then there arose a demand -for something equally lovely, pretty, nice, sweet, or scrumptious, -according to the vocabulary of the demander, and Eastern jobbers of -calicoes and other prints and cheap dress-goods were one day astonished -to receive from "Philip Somerton, late Jethro Somerton," a request for -a full line of samples--the first request of the sort from that portion -of the state. To be able to ask in a store, "How would you make this -up?" and to get a satisfying answer, was a privilege which not even the -most hopeful women of Claybanks had ever dared to expect, so the "truck -trade" of the town and county--the business that came of women carrying -eggs, butter, chickens, feathers, etc., to the stores to barter for -goods--drifted almost entirely to Somerton's store, and caused John -Henry Bustpodder, a matter-of-fact German merchant on the next block, -to say publicly that if his wife should die he would shut up the store -and leave it shut till he could get to New York and marry a shopgirl. - -By midspring Grace had quite as few idle moments as her husband -or Caleb; for between housekeeping, music-teaching, talking with -commercial travellers, and selling goods, she seldom found time to -enjoy the horse and buggy that Philip had bought for her, and she often -told her husband, in mock complaint, that she worked longer hours than -she had ever done in New York, and that she really must have an advance -of pay if he did not wish her to transfer her abilities and customers -to some rival establishment. Yet she enjoyed the work; she had a keen -sense of humor, which sharpened the same sense in others, and when -women were at the counter, she frequently found excuse to start a -chorus of laughter. To her husband, a customer was merely a customer; -to Grace he was frequently a character, and she had seen so few -characters in the course of her New York experiences that she rejoiced -in the change. She was sympathetic, too, so the younger women talked to -her of much besides "truck" and goods. When one day a country matron -rallied her on being without children, another matron exclaimed, "She's -second mother to half the gals in the county"--a statement which Grace -repeated to Philip in great glee, following it with a demure question -as to the advisability of living up to her new dignity by taking to -spectacles and sun-bonnets. - -But in her sober moments, and sometimes in the hurry of business, -a spectre of malaria would suddenly intrude upon her thoughts. -Occasionally she saw cases of rheumatism, rickets, helpless limbs, -twitching faces, and other ailments that caused her heart to ache, -and prompted her to ask the cause. The answers were various: -"malary"--"fever an' ager"--"malarier"--"chills"--"malaria," but the -meanings were one. One day she burst in an instant from laughter into -tears at seeing a babe, not a year old, shaking violently with a chill. -Straightway Grace went to the minister--poor minister!--and demanded -to know how the Lord could permit so dreadful an occurrence. One day, -after engaging Doctor Taggess in general conversation, she abruptly -said, despite Philip's reminder that physicians dislike "shop talk":-- - -"I wish you would tell me all about malaria; what it is, and where it -comes from, and why we don't get rid of it." - -"My dear woman," the Doctor replied, "ask me about electricity, of -which no one knows much, and I can tell you something, but malaria is -beyond my ken. I know it when I see it in human nature; that is, I -treat almost all diseases as if they were malarial, and I seldom find -myself mistaken, but, beyond that, malaria is beyond my comprehension." - -"But, Doctor, it must be something, and come from somewhere." - -"Oh, yes. 'Tis generally admitted that malaria is due to an invisible -emanation from the soil, and is probably a product of vegetation in a -certain stage of decay. It seems to be latent in soil that has not been -exposed to the air for some time,--such as that thrown from cellars -and wells in process of excavation,--and all swamps are believed to be -malaria breeders; for when the swamp land of a section is drained, the -malarial diseases of the vicinity disappear." - -"Then why aren't all swamps drained?" - -"Because the work would be too expensive, in the sections where the -swamps are, I suppose. Look at this township, for example: while all -the ground is open,--that is, not frozen,--the farmers and other people -have all they can do at planting, cultivating, harvesting, etc. Swamp -land makes the richest soil, after it has been drained, but who's going -to drain his own swamp when he already has more good land than he can -cultivate? Some of the farmers work at it, a little at a time, but it -is slow work,--discouragingly slow,--besides being frightfully hard and -disgustingly dirty." - -"Then why doesn't the government do it?" - -"I thought you'd come to that, for every woman's a socialist at heart -until she learns better. Still, so is every man. Well, governments have -no money of their own; all they have is taken from the people, in the -form of taxes, and any increase of taxes, especially for jobs as large -as swamp drainage in this state, would be too unpopular to be voted. -Besides, while it would be of general benefit to the many, it would -specially and greatly benefit the owners of the swamp land, which would -start a frightful howl. Private enterprise may be depended upon to -banish swamps and malaria; but first there must be enough population, -and enough increase in the value of land, to justify it. I wish 'twould -do so in this county and in my day. 'Twould lessen my income, but -'twould greatly increase my happiness, for doctors have hearts. By the -way, have you yet heard from Caleb on malaria as a means of grace? -There's a chance to learn something about malaria--to hear something -about it, at least; for Caleb talks well on his pet subjects. Poor -fellow, I wish I could cure his chronic malarial troubles. I've tried -everything, and he does enjoy far better health than of old, but the -cause of the trouble remains. That man came of tall, broad-shouldered -stock on both sides--you wouldn't imagine it, would you, to look at -him? He's always been industrious and intelligent; everybody likes him -and respects him; but at times it's almost impossible to extract an -idea or even a word from him--all on account of malaria. Again, he'll -have the clearest, cleverest head in town. Seems strange, doesn't it?" - -Grace improved an early opportunity to say to Caleb that perhaps she -had done wrong in recovering so quickly from her attack of chills, for -she had been told that he regarded malaria as a means of grace. - -"Well, yes, I do--'bout the same way as some other things--air, an' -light, an' food, an' money, for instance. Anythin' that helps folks -to make the most of their opportunities can be a means of grace; when -it isn't, the folks themselves are the trouble. Reckon nobody'll -dispute that about good things. But when it comes to things that ain't -popular,--like floods, an' light'nin'-strokes, an' malary,--well, folks -don't seem to see it in the same light, and they suspect the malary -most, 'cause it's far an' away the commonest. I've been laughed at so -often for my notions on the subject that I've got hardened to it, an' -don't mind standin' it again." - -"Oh, Caleb! Please don't say that! You don't believe I would laugh at -anything you're earnest about, do you?" - -"Well, I don't really b'lieve you would, an' I'm much 'bliged to you -for it. You see, my idee is this. You remember what's said, in one -of the psalms, about they that go down to the sea in ships, and what -happens to them when a big wind comes up--how they are at their wit's -end, because they're in trouble too big for them to manage, so they -have to call unto the Lord?--somethin' that sailors ain't b'lieved -to be given to doin' over an' above much, judgin' by their general -conversation as set down in books an' newspapers. Well, malary's like -the wind, an' the spirit that's compared with it; you can't tell where -it's comin' from, or when, or how long it's goin' to stay, or what -it'll do before it goes. It puts a man face to face with his Maker, an' -just when the man can't put on airs, no matter how hard he tries. I -think anythin' that kicks a man into seein' his dependence on heaven is -a means of grace, even if the man's too mean to take advantage of it. -When a man's shakin' with a chill that's come at him on the sly, as a -chill always does, an' finds all his grit an' all the doctor's medicine -can't keep him from shakin'--snatches him clean away from his own grip, -which is the awfullest feelin' a man can have--" - -"You're entirely right about it, Caleb," said Grace, with a shudder. - -"Thank you, but 'taint only the shake. It's not knowin' how the thing -is goin' to come out, or how helpless it's goin' to make one, or in -what way it's goin' to upset all his plans an' calculations--why, it -teaches absolute dependence on a higher power, an' 'tisn't only folks -that make most fuss 'bout it in church that feels it. After one gets -that feelin', he's lots more of a man than he ever was before. I think -malary has been the makin' of human nature out West here, an' in some -parts of the East too. Why, do you know that almost every one of our -greatest Presidents was born or brought up in malary-soaked country? -Washington was, I know; for I had chills all over his part of Virginia, -in war time, an' more'n a hundred thousand other men kept me comp'ny -at it. Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, was some of the other Presidents that -knowed malary better than they afterwards knowed their own Cabinets. As -to smaller men, but mighty big, nevertheless--all the big cities of the -land's full of 'em. Look up the record of a city's great business man, -an' I'm told you'll find he never was born an' raised there, but in the -back country somewhere, generally out West, an' nine times in ten can -tell you more 'bout his ager spells than you care to hear. Still, such -cases don't bear on the subject o' means o' grace, though they come -from the same causes. Out in these parts malary does more'n ministers -to fill the churches. So long as men feel first-rate, they let the -church alone mighty hard, but just let 'em get into a hard tussle with -malary an' they begin to come to meetin'. The worse it treats 'em, the -more they come, which is just what they need. That's the way the church -got me; though that ain't particularly to the p'int, for one swaller -don't make a summer. But I've been watchin' the signs for twenty year, -an' I'm not gettin' off guess-work when I say that malary's been one -of the leadin' means o' grace in this great Western country, an' of -pretty much ev'rythin' else that's worth havin'; the states that have -most of it produce more good people to the thousan' than any other -states, besides more great men, an' great ideas, an' first-class -American grit. Now you can laugh if you feel the least bit like it." - -"I don't, Caleb. But do answer me one question. If malaria has done so -much good, and is doing it, do you think it ought to be preserved,--say -as an American institution?" - -"Well," said Caleb, "ev'rythin' an' ev'rybody, from Moses an' manna to -Edison an' electricity, has had a mission, an' when the work was done, -the mission took a rest an' gave somethin' else the right o' way. When -malary's accomplished its mission, I, for one, would like to assist in -layin' it away. I think I'm entitled to a share in the job, for malary -an' me has been powerful close acquaintances for a mighty long time." - - - - -XI--CALEB'S NEWEST PROJECT - - -"ALONG about now," said Caleb to Philip and Grace one morning in -midspring, "is the easiest time o' year that a merchant ever gets in -these parts; for, between the earliest ploughin' for spring wheat to -the latest ploughin' for corn, the farmers that 'mount to anythin' are -too busy to come to town when the weather's good; when the rain gives -'em a day off from work, they've got sense enough to take a rest as -well as to give one to the hosses. I thought I'd mention the matter, in -case you'd had anythin' on your mind to be done, an' hadn't found time -to do it." - -"H'm!" said Philip, rubbing his forehead, as if to extract some special -mental memoranda. - -"Thank you, Caleb, for the suggestion," Grace said, "but I believe -every foot of our garden ground is fully planted." - -"Yes, so I've noticed. Twill be a big advertisement, too, if the things -turn out as good as the pictur's an' readin' matter in the plant -catalogues you got; for there ain't many things in them boxes of plants -you bought that was ever seen or heerd of in these parts. How'd you -come to know so much about such things?" - -"Oh, I kept window-gardens in the city all summer, and indoor gardens -in winter." - -"I want to know! What give you that idee?" - -"The beauty of flowers, I suppose--and their cheapness," Grace replied. -"Besides, flowers in the winter were a good test of the air in our -rooms, for air that kills plants is not likely to be good enough for -human beings." - -"Je--ru--salem! I must tell that to Doc Taggess, so that word about it -can get to some of our country folks. Some of them keep their houses -so tight shut in winter that the folks come out powerful peaked in the -spring, just when they need all the stren'th they can get. But ain't -you got nothin' else on your mind to do, besides exercisin' your hoss -once in a while?" - -As he asked the question his eyes strayed from Grace to Philip, and -an amused expression came over the little man's face, so that Grace -asked:-- - -"What is so funny in Philip's appearance?" - -"Nothin'," said Caleb, quickly pretending to arrange the goods on a -shelf. - -"Don't say 'Nothing' in that tantalizing way, when your every feature -is saying that there is something." - -"Out with it, Caleb," said Philip. "I promise that I shan't feel -offended." - -"Well, the fact is, I was thinkin' o' somethin' I overheard you tell -your uncle, first time you came here. He asked you what you was goin' -to the city for. 'To continue my studies,' says you. 'What studies?' -says he. 'Literature an' art,' says you. Then Jethro come pretty nigh -to bustin' hisself. After you was gone he borried some cyclopeedy -volumes from Doc Taggess, an' in odd moments he opened 'em at long -pieces that was headed 'Literature' an' 'Art.' I watched him pretty -close, to know when he was through, so I could pump him about 'em, for -his sake as well as mine; for I've most generally found that a man -ain't sure of what he knows till he has to tell it to somebody else. -But Jethro would most generally drop asleep 'long about the second or -third page, an' one day he slapped one of the books shut an' hollered, -'Dog-goned nonsense!' Like enough he was wrong about it, though, for -afterwards I dipped into the same pieces myself, a little bit at a -time, and 'peared to me there was a mighty lot of pleasant things in -the subjects, if one could spend his whole life huntin' for 'em." - -"You're quite right as to the general fact," said Philip, "and also as -to the time that may be given to it." - -"Am, eh? Glad I sized it up so straight. Well, then, I reckon you -didn't finish the job in the city, an' that you're still peggin' away -at it." - -Philip looked at Grace, and both laughed as he replied:-- - -"I don't believe I've opened any book but the Bible in the past month." - -"I want to know! Then the hundreds of books in your house are about -like money that's locked up in the safe instead o' bein' out at -interest, or turnin' itself over in some other way, ain't they?" - -"Quite so." - -Caleb went into a brown study, and Philip and Grace chatted apart, and -laughed--occasionally sighed--over what they had intended to buy and -read, when they found themselves well off. Suddenly Caleb emerged from -his brown study and said:-- - -"Ain't them books like a lot of clothes or food that's locked up, doin' -no good to their owner, while other folks, round about, are hungry, or -shiverin'?" - -"Caleb," said Philip, after a long frown in which his wife did not -join, although distinctly invited, "my practised eye discerns that you -think our books, which are about as precious to us as so many children -might be, ought to be lent out, to whoever would read them." - -"Well, why not? Ev'rybody else in these parts that's got books lends -'em. Doc Taggess does it, the minister does it, an' a lot of others. -The trouble is that a good many families has got the same books. Once -in a while some book agent with head-piece enough to take his pay in -truck has gone through this county like a cyclone--an' left about as -much trash behind him as a cyclone usually does." - -"Aha! And yet you'd have me believe that the people who have bought -such trash would enjoy the books which my wife and I have been -selecting with great care for years?" - -"Can't tell till you give 'em the chance, as the darkey said when he -was asked how many watermelons his family could tuck away. I don't -s'pose you knowed there was the makin' of a first-class country -merchant in you, did you, till you got the chance to try? Besides, as I -reckon I've said before, you mustn't judge our people by their clothes. -I don't b'lieve they average more fools to the thousan' than city -folks." - -"Neither do I, Caleb; but tastes differ, even among the wisest, and to -risk my darling books among a lot of people who might think me a fool -for my pains--oh, 'tis not to be thought of. Next, I suppose, you'll -suggest that I take my pictures from the walls and lend them around, -say a week to a family." - -"No; I wouldn't be so mean as that. Besides, pictures, an' bang-up -ones, are plentifuller than books in these parts, for people that like -that sort o' thing." - -"Indeed? I wouldn't have thought it. Well, 'Live and learn.' Do tell me -what kind of pictures you refer to, and who has them?" - -Caleb looked embarrassed for a moment; then he assumed an air of -bravado, and replied:-- - -"Well, I haven't missed a sunrise or sunset in nigh onto twenty year, -unless I was too busy or too sick to see 'em. An' I've put lots o' -other folks up to lookin' at 'em, an' you'd be astonished to know how -many has stuck to it." - -"Bravo, Caleb! Bravo!" Grace exclaimed. - -"Much obliged; reckon you enjoy 'em, too. As Doc Taggess says, when you -look at that kind o' pictur', you don't have to hold in until you can -hunt up a book an' find out if the painter was first-class. But there's -plenty more pictur's in the sky an' lots o' other places out doors, -for folks that like 'em. To be sure, you can't always find 'em, as if -they was in frames on a wall, but they show up often enough to keep -'emselves in mind. But books--well, books are different." - -"Caleb, I weaken. I'm willing to compromise. I promise you that I will -set apart a certain number of my books--volumes that ought to be of -general interest--to be loaned to customers!" - -"Good! I knowed you'd see your duty if 'twas dumped right before your -face. But what's the matter with doin' somethin' more? I've had a -project for a long time, that--" - -Caleb suddenly ceased speaking and looked hurt, for he detected a -peculiar interchange of glances between Philip and Grace. - -"Go on," said Philip. - -"Never mind," Caleb replied. - -"Please go on, Caleb," Grace begged. - -"I may be a fool," said Caleb, "but it does gall me to be laughed at -ahead of time." - -"Really, Caleb, we weren't laughing at you. Both of us chanced to -think, at the same time, of something--something that we had read. Some -husbands and wives have a way of both getting the same thought at an -unforeseen instant. Do go on; haven't we proved to you that we think -your projects good?" - -"Sorry I made a baby of myself," apologized Caleb. "Well, I've read -in newspapers that books never was so cheap as they are now, an' from -some of the offers that come to us by letter I should say 'twas so. I -know more'n a little about the names o' books an' o' their writers, an' -some of the prices o' good ones look as if the printers stole their -paper an' didn't pay their help. Now, we don't make much use o' the -back room o' the store. S'pose you fetch in there your cyclopeedy, an' -dictionary, an' big atlas, to be looked at by anybody that likes. Then -buy, in the city, a couple of hundred books,--say a hundred dollars' -worth,--not too wise, an' not too silly, an' let it be knowed that at -Somerton's store there's a free circulating library." - -"For Somerton's customers only," added Philip. - -"No, for ev'rybody--not only for the sake o' the principle, but to draw -trade. The first man that does that thing in this town won't ever be -forgot by folks whose hearts are in the right place--not unless I'm all -wrong on human nature." - -"Which is as unlikely as the wildest thing ever dreamed," said Philip. -"I don't doubt that you're entirely right about the advertising value -of your project. My atlas, dictionary, and cyclopedia will serve me -quite as well in the back room as if in the house, and the cost of the -other books will be repaid by the first new farmer-customer we catch by -means of the library." - -"Then the thing is to be a go?" - -"Certainly it is." - -"When?" - -"Now--at once--as soon as my books can be brought from the house and -the others bought in the city." - -"And I," Grace added, "am to be a librarian, and to select the new -books. I remember well the names of all the most popular books in -the public library of the little town I was born in, and all the -best--never mind the worst--that my fellow-shopgirls used to read, -and I know the second-hand bookshops in New York, where many good -books may be had at a quarter of their original price; so if a hundred -dollars is to be spent, I'll engage to get three or four hundred -volumes, instead of two hundred. Meanwhile, don't either of you men -breathe a word of Caleb's project, until the books are here; otherwise -some other merchant may get ahead of us." - -"That's sound business sense," said Caleb, "but I wish you hadn't--I -mean I wish one of us had said it instead of you." - -"Oh, Caleb! Do you think that my interest in the business of the store -is making me sordid--mercenary--grasping?" - -"Well, I never saw any signs of it before, but--" - -"Nor have you seen them to-day. You'll have to take to eye-glasses, -Caleb, if only in justice to me. The only reason I don't wish any one -else to start the library is that I think the laborer is worthy of -his hire. You were the laborer--that is, you devised the plan,--and I -wouldn't for anything have you deprived of your pay, which will consist -of your pleasure at seeing your old acquaintances supplied with good -reading matter. Honor to whom honor is due. Now do you understand?" - -Caleb's small gray face grew rosy, albeit a bit sheepish, and to hide -it, he tiptoed over to Philip, who was staring into vacancy, apparently -in search of something, and said:-- - -"As I b'lieve I've said before, ain't she a peeler?" - -"Yes; oh, yes," Philip answered mechanically. - -"You don't seem so sure of it as you might be," complained Caleb. "Have -you struck a stump?" - -"No; oh, no." - -"What is the matter, Mr. Owl?" asked Grace, moving toward the couple. - -"I'm puzzled--that's all, yet 'tis not a little," Philip replied. "I -don't think I'm a fool about business. Even Caleb here, who is too true -a friend to flatter, says I've done remarkably well, and increased the -number of our customers and the profits of the business, yet 'tis never -I who devise the new, clever plans by which the increase comes. This -matter of the free circulating library is only one of several cases -in point; they began months ago, with the use of our piano in church. -I don't believe I'd have done them solely with a view to business, but -I couldn't have helped seeing that they would have that effect in the -end, so I wonder why I, myself, shouldn't have thought of them. Perhaps -you can tell me, Caleb; don't be afraid of hurting my feelings, and -don't be over-modest about yourself; 'tis all between friends, you -know." - -Caleb leaned on the counter, from which he brushed some imaginary dust; -then he contemplated the brushed spot as if he were trying to look -through the counter, as he replied:-- - -"Mebbe it's because we have different startin'-places. In a book -of sermons I've got up in my room--though 'tain't by one o' our -Methodists--there's a passage that tells how astronomers find certain -kinds o' stars. It 'pears that they don't p'int their telescopes here, -there, an' ev'rywhere, lookin' for the star an' nothin' else, but they -turn the big concern on a rather dark bit o' sky, somewhere near where -the star ought to be, an' they work it 'round, little by little, -lookin' at ev'rythin' they can see, until they've took in the whole -neighborhood, so to speak, an' what stars of ev'ry kind is around, an' -what all of 'em is doin', an' so workin' in'ard, little by little, -they stumble on what they was really lookin' for. Well, that's 'bout -my way in business. First, I think about the neighborhood, the people, -an' what they're doin', an' what ought to be done for 'em, an' all of -a sudden they're all p'intin' right at the business, like the little -stars for the big one, and couldn't keep from doin' it if they tried -their level best. Now, p'raps you don't work that way, but try the -other, 'cause--well, p'raps 'cause it's the quickest. P'raps I ought to -say that mebbe my way ain't the best, but--" - -"Don't say it," interrupted Philip, "because I shan't believe it, nor -shall I believe that you yourself thought there was any possibility of -its not being the better way of the two." - - - - -XII--DEFERRED HOPES - - -THE library arrived, and the books were covered, labelled, numbered, -and shelved before the probable beneficiaries knew of their existence; -then Master Scrapsey Green was employed to walk through the village -streets, ringing a bell, and shouting:-- - -"Free--circulating--library--now--open--at--Somerton's--store!" - -Notices to the same effect had already been mailed to all possible -readers in the county. The self-appointed librarian had not believed -that more than one in four of the inhabitants of the town or county -would care to read, but neither had she taken thought of the consuming -curiosity of villagers and country-folk. Within an hour the back room -of the store was packed to suffocation, although Grace pressed a book -on each visitor, with a request to make way for some one else. - -After several hours of issuing and recording, Grace found herself -alone; so she gladly escaped to the store proper to compare notes with -Philip and Caleb, who had taken turns at dropping in to "see the fun," -as Philip called it, and to announce, at the librarian's request, that -only a single book a week would be loaned to a family, and to request -the borrowers to return the books as soon as read. - -On entering the store, Grace found herself face to face with Doctor and -Mrs. Taggess and Pastor Grateway, all of whom greeted her cordially, -and congratulated her on the successful opening of the Somerton Library. - -"That's a cruel proof of the saying that one sows and another reaps," -she replied; "but please understand in future that this is not the -Somerton Library. It is the Caleb Wright Library." - -"Je--ru--salem!" exclaimed Caleb, "an' I didn't put a cent into it!" - -"You devised it," Grace replied. "'Twas like Columbus making the egg -stand on end; any one could do it after being told how." - -About this time some responses, in the forms of half-grown boys and -girls on foot, began to arrive from the farming district, and Grace -had occasionally to leave the store. As she returned from one of these -excursions, Mrs. Taggess took her hands and exclaimed:-- - -"What a good time you must have had!" - -"Oh, wife!" protested the Doctor. "Is this the place for sarcasm? The -poor girl looks tired to death." - -"Nevertheless, Mrs. Taggess is entirely right," said Grace. "It was -a good time, indeed. How I wish I could sketch from memory! Still, I -shall never forget the expression of some of those faces. What a dear -lot of people there are in this town!" - -"Hurrah!" shouted the Doctor. "I was afraid that, coming from the city, -you mightn't be able to find it out. I apologize with all my heart." - -"'Tis high time you did," said his wife. "The idea that a doctor, of -all men, shouldn't know that a woman's heart rules her eyes." - -"Yes," said the Doctor, affecting a sigh. "It's dreadful to be a man, -and know so much that sometimes an important bit of knowledge gets -hidden behind something else at the very time it's most needed. How -many books have you remaining, to satisfy the country demand, Mrs. -Somerton?" - -"Not enough, I fear. We ought to have bought one or two hundred more -volumes." - -"Which means," said Philip, with a pretence at being grieved at having -been forgotten during the congratulations, "that they will have to be -purchased at once, and paid for, by the mere nobody of the concern." - -"Nobody, indeed!" exclaimed Grace, with a look which caused the -Taggesses to exchange delighted pinches, and the minister to say:-- - -"I don't think any one need go far to find a proof of the blessed -mystery that one and one need make only one, if rightly added." - -"No, indeed," said the Doctor, "but at least one-half of the one in -question is so tired that it ought to get some rest, which it won't and -can't while we visitors stay here to admire and ask questions. Come -along, wife; we'll find some better time to talk her and these other -good people to death about what they've done. I've only to say that -if Brother Grateway doesn't give you his benediction in words, he will -leave one for you all the same, and there'll be two others to keep it -company--eh, wife?" - -"Phil," Grace said, as soon as the visitors had departed, "I've a new -idea. 'Tis not as good as Caleb's which has made this library, but -'twill give no end of surprise and satisfaction to people, as well -as lots of fun to me and bring some business to the store. I want a -camera. I don't see how we were so stupid as not to bring one with us -from New York." - -"A camera?" said Caleb. "What sort of a thing is it?" - -"A contrivance for taking photographs. There are small cheap ones that -any amateur can use. Two or three girls in our store in New York had -them, and took some very fair pictures." - -"I want to know! Well, if any gals done it, I reckon you can." - -"You shall see. I want one at once, Phil; order it by the first mail, -please, and with all the necessary outfit." - -"Your will is law, my dear, but I shall first have to learn where to -send the order and exactly what to get." - -"Let me attend to it. I can order direct from the store in which I -worked; they sold everything of the kind." - -"There'll be no mail eastward till to-morrow. Won't you oblige your -husband, at once, by going to the house, and making a picture of -yourself, on a lounge, with your eyes shut?" - -"Yes--if I must. But oh, what lots of fun I shall have with that -camera!" - -Caleb's eyes followed Grace to the door; then he said:-- - -"Been workin' about four hours, harder'n I ever see a Sunday-school -librarian work, looked tired almost to death, an' yet full to the eyes -with the fun she's goin' to have. Ah, that's what health can do for -human nature. I wonder if you two ever know how to thank Heaven that -you are as you are--both well-built an' healthy? 'Pears to me that if I -was either of you, I'd be wicked enough, about a hundred times a day, -to put up the Pharisee's prayer an' thank Heaven that I was not like -other men." - -"No man can be everything, Caleb," said Philip. "I don't doubt that -there are thousands of men who'd gladly exchange their health for your -abilities." - -"Well, I s'pose it's human nature, an' p'r'aps divine purpose too, that -folks should hanker most for what they haven't got; if it wa'n't so, -ev'rybody'd be a stick-in-the-mud all his life, an' nobody'd amount to -much; but I do tell you that for a man to spend most of his grown-up -years in makin' of himself as useful a machine as he can, an' not -especially with a view to Number One either, an' all the time bein' -reminded that he hain't got enough steam in his b'iler to work the -machine except by fits an' starts, an' there don't seem to be any way -of gettin' up more steam except by gettin' a new b'iler, which ain't -possible in the circumstances, why, it's powerful tough, an' that's a -fact." - -"We can't all run thousand-horse-power engines, Caleb," said Philip, -hoping to console his friend. "If we could, I'm afraid a great lot -of the world's necessary work would go undone. Watches, worked with -what might be called half-mouse-power, are quite as necessary and -useful in their way as big clocks run by ton weights; and a sewing -machine, worked by a woman's foot, can earn quite as much, over running -expenses, as a plough with a big horse in front and a big man behind -it." - -"Like enough. But the trouble with me is that the machine I've been -makin' o' myself is the kind that needs an awful lot o' power, an' the -power ain't there an' can't be put there." - -"There are plenty more machines with exactly the same defect, old -chap," said Philip, with a sigh, "so you've no end of company in your -trouble. I could tell you of a machine of my own that lacks the proper -power--sufficient steam, as you've expressed it." - -"I want to know! An' you the pictur' of health!" - -"Oh, yes. Health is invaluable, so far as it goes, but 'tisn't -everything. Going back to steam for the sake of illustration, you -know it comes of several other things--water, a boiler, some fuel, -and draught, each in proper proportion to all the others. I don't -doubt there's a similar combination necessary to human force, and its -application, and that I haven't the secret of it, for I know I've -failed at work I've most wanted to do, and succeeded best at what I -liked least." - -"Reckon you must have hated storekeepin' then, for you've made a -powerful go of it." - -"Thank you; I'm not ashamed to confess to you that 'tis the last -business in the world that I'd have selected." - -"Well, as to that, there's no difference of opinion between us, an' -yet, here I've been storekeepin'--an' not for myself either--'most -twenty year." - -"And doing it remarkably well, too. As to not doing it for yourself, -you may change your position and have an interest in the business -whenever you wish it. I'm astonished that my uncle didn't say the same -to you." - -"But he did--after his fashion. He meant fair, but I said 'No,' for I -hadn't given up hopes of what I'd wanted to do, so I didn't want to -give the store all my waking hours, as an owner ought to do most of the -time." - -"Indeed he ought. If it isn't an impertinent question, what had you -selected as your life's work?" - -"The last thing you'd suspect me of, I s'pose. Long ago--before the -war--I set my heart on bein' a great preacher, an' on beginnin' by -gettin' a first-class education. I don't need to tell you that I missed -both of 'em about as far as a man could. I wasn't overconceited about -'em at the start, for about that time there was a powerful movement -in our denomination for an educated ministry. We had a few giants in -the pulpit, but for ev'ry one of 'em there was dozens of dwarfs that -made laughin'-stocks of 'emselves an' the church. Well, I was picked -out as a young man with enough head-piece to take in an education an' -with the proper spirit an' feelin' to use it well after I'd got it. -Just then the war broke out, an' I went to it; when I got back I had a -crippled leg, an' a dull head, an' a heavy heart--afterwards I found -'twas the liver instead of the heart, but that didn't make me any the -less stupid. The upshot was that I was kind o' dropped as a candidate -for the ministry, an' that made me sicker yet, an' I vowed that I'd get -there in the course o' time, if I could get back my health an' senses. -Once in a while, for many years, I had hopes; then again I'd get a -knock-down--an extry hard lot o' chills an' fevers, or some other turn -of malary that made my mind as blank an' flat as a new slate. I tried -to educate myself, bein' rather old to go to school or college, an' I -plodded through lots o' books, but I had to earn my livin' besides, -an'--well, I reckon you can see about how much time a man workin' in a -store has for thinkin' about what he's read." - -"Oh, can't I!" - -"An' you know, now, what losin' health an' not findin' it again has -been to me." - -"Indeed I do, and you've my most hearty sympathy. Perhaps good health -would have seen you through; perhaps not. Your experience is very -like mine, in some respects. I didn't start with the purpose of being -a preacher, but I was going to become educated so well that whenever -I had a message of any sort to give to the world,--for every man -occasionally has one, you know,--I should be able to do it in a manner -that would command attention. I was fortunate enough to get into a -business position in which my duties were almost mechanical, so at -night my mind was fresh enough for reading and study. My wife's tastes -were very like my own, so we read and studied together; but my message -has never come, and here I am where the only writing I'll ever do will -be in account books and business correspondence. As to my art studies--" - -"They help you to arrange goods on the shelves in a way that attracts -attention; there can't be any doubt about that," Caleb interrupted. - -"Thank you, Caleb. That is absolutely the first and only commendation -that my art education has ever earned for me, and I assure you that I -shall remember and prize it forever." - -"I'm not an art-sharp," said Caleb, "but I shouldn't wonder if I could -show you lots more signs of what you've learned an' think haven't come -to anythin'. Same way with literature; nobody in this town, but you an' -your wife, could an' would have got up that circulatin' library, an' -knowed the names o' three hundred good books for it. Other towns'll -hear of it, an' men there'll take up the idea--" - -"Which was yours--not ours." - -"Never mind; ideas don't come to anythin' till they're froze into -facts. Other merchants'll hear of the library an' write you for names -o' books an' other p'ints, an' the thing'll go on an' on till it'll -amount to more than most any book that was ever writ. Bein' set -on makin' a hit in literature an' art an' fetchin' up at dressin' -store-shelves an' settin' up a circulatin' library reminds me of Jake -Brockleband's steam engine. You hain't met Jake, I reckon?" - -"I don't recall the name." - -"He's in the next county below us, near the mouth of the crick. He -goes in these parts by the name of the Great American Traveller, for -he's seen more countries than anybody else about here, an' it all came -through a steam engine. It 'pears that years ago Jake, who was a Yankee -with a knack at anythin' that was mechanical, was picked out by some -New Yorkers to go down to Brazil to preserve pineapples on a large -scale for the American market: he was to have a big salary and some -shares of the company's stock. Part of his outfit was a little steam -engine an' b'iler an' two copper kettles as big as the lard kettles -in your pork-house. Well, he got to work, with the idee o' makin' his -fortune in a year or two, an' pretty soon he started a schooner load -o' canned pineapples up North; but most o' the cans got so het up on -the way that they busted, an' when the company found how bizness was, -why, 'twas the comp'ny's turn to get het up an' bust. Jake couldn't get -his salary, so he 'tached the engine an' kettles, an' looked about for -somethin' to do with 'em. He shipped 'em up to a city in Venezuela, -where there was plenty of cocoanut oil and potash to be had cheap, -and started out big at soap-makin', but pretty soon he found that the -Venezuelans wouldn't buy soap at any price: they hadn't been educated -up to the use of such stuff. But there wa'n't no give-up blood in Jake, -so he packed the engine an' soap over to a big town in Colombia--next -country to Venezuela,--an' started a swell laundry, I b'lieve he called -it,--a place where they wash clothes at wholesale. He 'lowed that as -Colombia was a very hot country, an' the people was said to be of old -Spanish stock an' quite up to date, there'd be a powerful lot o' -stockin's an' underclothes to be washed. Soon after he'd hung out his -shingle, though, he heerd that no Colombians wore underclothes, an' -mighty few of 'em wore socks. - -"Well, 'Never say die' was Jake's family brand, so he built a boat -with paddle-wheels an' fitted the steam engine to it, an' started -in the passenger steamboat business on a Colombian river; the big -copper kettles he fixed, one on each side, with awnin's over 'em, to -carry passengers' young ones, so they couldn't crawl about an' tumble -overboard. He did a good business for a spell, but all of a sudden the -revolution season come on an' a gang of the rebels seized his boat, an' -the gov'ment troops fired on 'em an' sunk it. - -"But Jake managed to save the engine an' kettles, an' thinkin' 'twas -about time to go north for a change, he got his stuff up to New -Orleans, where he got another little boat built to fit the engine, an' -started up-stream in the tradin'-boat business. He got along an' along, -an' then up the Missouri River; but when he got up near the mouth of -our crick he ran on a snag, close inshore, that ripped the bottom an' -sides off o' the boat an' didn't leave nothin' that could float. - -"That might have been a deadener, if Jake had been of the dyin' -kind, but he wasn't; an' as he was wrecked alongside of a town an' a -saw-mill, he kept his eye peeled for business, an' pretty soon he'd -put up a slab shanty, an' got a little circular saw, for his engine to -work, an' turned out the first sawed shingles ever seen in these parts, -an' when folks saw that they didn't curl up like cut shingles, he got -lots o' business an' is keepin' it right along. - -"''Tain't makin' me a millionnaire,' he says, 'an' the sight o' -pineapples would make me tired, but at last I've struck a job that me -an' the engine fits to a T, an' an angel couldn't ask more'n that, if -he was in my shoes.'" - -"That story, Caleb," said Philip, "is quite appropriate to my case. -But see here, old chap, didn't it ever occur to you to apply it to -yourself?" - -"Can't say that it did," Caleb replied. "What put that notion into your -head?" - -"Everybody and everything, my own eyes included. You started to be a -preacher--not merely for the sake of talking, but for the good that -your talk would do. I hear from every one that for many years you've -been everybody's friend, doing all sorts of kind, unselfish acts for -the good of other people. Mr. Grateway says that your work does more -good than his preaching, and Doctor Taggess says you cure as many sick -people as he. It seems to me that your disappointments, like Jake -Brockleband's, have resulted in your finding a place that fits you to a -T." - -"I want to know! Well, I'm glad to hear it--from you. Kind o' seems, -then, as if you an' me was in the same boat, don't it?" - - - - -XIII--FARMERS' WAYS - - -AS the spring days lengthened there was forced upon Grace a suspicion, -which soon ripened into a conviction, that the West was very hot. She -had known hot days in the East; for is there in the desert of Sahara -any air hotter than that which overlies the treeless, paved streets, -walled in by high structures of brick, stone, and iron, of the city of -New York? But in New York the wind, on no matter how hot a day, is cool -and refreshing; at Claybanks and vicinity the wind was sometimes like -the back-draught of a furnace, and almost as wilting. To keep the wind -out of the house--not to give it every opportunity to enter, as had -been the summer custom in the East--became Grace's earnest endeavor, -but with little success. At times it seemed to her that the heat was -destroying her vitality; her husband, too, feared for her health -and insisted that she should go East to spend the summer; but Grace -insisted that she would rather shrivel and melt than go away from her -husband, so Philip appealed to Doctor Taggess, who said:-- - -"Quite womanly, and wifely, and also sensible, physiologically, for no -one can become climate-proof out here if he dodges any single season. -If your wife will follow my directions for a few months, she will be -able to endure next season's heat well enough to laugh at it. Indeed, -it might help her through the coming summer to make excuses to laugh at -it: she's lucky enough to know how to laugh at slight provocation." - -But the dust! Grace could remember days when New York was dusty, and -any one who has encountered a cloud of city dust knows that it is -of a quality compared with which the dust of country roads is the -sublimation of purity. Nevertheless, the dust at Claybanks had some -eccentric methods of motion. For it to rise in a heavy, sullen cloud -whenever a wagon passed through a street was bad enough, especially if -the wind were in the direction of the house. Almost daily, however, -and many times a day, it was picked up by little whirlwinds that came -from no one knew where, and an inverted cone of dust, less than a foot -in diameter at the base, but rapidly increasing in width to the height -of fifty or more feet, would dash rapidly along a street, or across -one, picking up all sorts of small objects in its way--leaves, bits -of paper, sometimes even bark and chips. At first Grace thought these -whirlwinds quite picturesque, but when one of them dashed across her -garden, and broke against the side of the house, and deposited much of -itself through the open windows, the lover of the picturesque suddenly -began to extemporize window-nettings. - -With the heat and the dust came a plague of insects and one of -reptiles. One day the white sugar on the table seemed strangely -iridescent with amber, which on investigation resolved itself into -myriads of tiny reddish yellow ants. Caleb, who was appealed to, placed -a cup of water under each table leg, which abated the plague, but the -cups did not "compose" with the table and the rug. Bugs of many kinds -visited the house, by way of the windows and doors, until excluded by -screens. At times the garden seemed fuller of toads than of plants, and -not long afterward Grace was frightened almost daily by snakes. That -the reptiles scurried away rapidly, apparently as frightened as she, -did not lessen her fear of them. She expressed her feelings to Doctor -Taggess, who said:-- - -"Don't let them worry you. They're really wonderfully retiring by -disposition. This country is alive with them, but in my thirty years of -experience I've never been called to a case of snake-bite." - -"But, Doctor, isn't there any means of avoiding the torment of--snakes, -toads, bugs, and ants?" - -"Only one, that I know of--'tis philosophy. Try to think of them as -illustrations of the marvellous fecundity of the great and glorious -West." - -"How consoling!" - -"I don't wonder you're sarcastic about it. Still, they'll disappear in -the course of time, as they have from the older states." - -"But when?" - -"Oh, when the country becomes thoroughly subdued and tilled." - -"Again I must say, 'How consoling!'" - -Besides the wind, and dust, and insects, and reptiles, there was the -sun, for Jethro Somerton had never planted a tree near his house. -Tree-roots had a way of weakening foundations, he said; besides, -trees would grow tall in the course of time, and perhaps attract the -lightning. Still more, trees shaded roofs, so the spring and autumn -rains remained in the shingles to cause dampness and decay, instead of -drying out quickly. - -But her own house seemed cool by comparison with some which she entered -in the village and in the farming districts: houses such as most new -settlers in the West have put up with their own hands and as quickly as -possible; houses innocent of lath and plaster, and with only inch-thick -wooden walls, upon which the sun beat so fiercely that by midday the -inner surface of the wall almost blistered the hand that touched it. -Not to have been obliged to enter such houses would have spared Grace -much discomfort, but it was the hospitable custom of the country to -hail passers-by, in the season of open doors and windows, and Grace, -besides being bound by the penalties peculiar to general favorites -everywhere, was alive to the fear of being thought "stuck up" by any -one. - -Quickly she uprooted many delicate, graceful vines which she had -planted to train against the sides of her own house, and replaced them -with seeds of more rampant varieties. For days she made a single room -of the house fairly endurable by keeping in it a large block of ice, -brought from the ice-house by Philip in mid-morning; but the season's -stock of the ice-house had not been estimated with a view to such -drafts, so for the sake of the "truck" in cold storage she felt obliged -to discontinue the practice. Wet linen sheets hung near the windows -and open doors afforded some relief; but when other sufferers heard of -them and learned their cost, and ejaculated "Goodness me!" or something -of similar meaning, Grace was compelled to feel aristocratic and -uncomfortable. She expressed to Caleb and to Doctor Taggess her pity -for sufferers by the heat, and asked whether nothing could be done in -alleviation. - -"My dear woman, they don't suffer as much as you imagine," the Doctor -replied. "In the first place, they are accustomed to the climate, as -you are not; most of them were born in it. Another cooling fact is -that neither men nor women wear as much clothing in hot weather as you -Eastern people. They, or most of them, are always hard at work, and -therefore always perspiring, which is nature's method of keeping people -fairly comfortable in hot weather. I don't doubt that I suffer far more -as I drive about the county, doing no harder work than holding the -reins, than any farmer whom I see ploughing in the fields." - -"I'm very glad to hear it, for their sakes, though not for your own. -But how about the sick, and the poor little babies?" - -"Ah, this is a sad country for sick folks, and for weaklings of any -kind. Stifle in winter--roast in summer; that is about the usual way. -Imagine, if you can, how an honest physician feels when he's called to -cases of sickness in some houses that you've seen." - -"Caleb," Grace said, "was it as hot in the South, during the war, as it -is out here?" - -"No," said Caleb, promptly, "though the Eastern men complained a great -deal." - -"What did the soldiers do when they became sick in hot weather?" - -"They died, generally, unless they was shipped up North, or to some of -the big camps of hospitals, where they could get special attention." - -"But until then were there no ways of shielding them from the heat of -the sun?" - -"Oh, yes. If the camp hospital was a tent, it had a fly--an extra -thickness of canvas, stretched across it to shade the roof an' sides. -Then, if any woods was near by, and usually there was,--there's more -woodland in old Virginia than in this new state,--some forked sticks -an' poles an' leafy tree-boughs would be fetched in, an' fixed so that -the ground for eight or ten feet around would be shady." - -"Do you remember just how it was done?" - -"Do I? Well, I reckon I was on details at that sort o' work about as -often as anybody." - -"Won't you do me a great favor? Hire a man and wagon to-morrow--or -to-day, if there's time--and go to some of our woodland near town, and -get some of the material, and put up such a shade on the south and west -sides of our house; that is, if you don't object." - -"Object? 'Twould be great fun; make me feel like a boy again, I reckon. -But I ought to remind you that the thing won't look a bit pretty, two -or three days later, when the leaves begin to fade. Dead leaves an' -a white house don't 'compose,' as I heard you say one day to a woman -about two calicoes that was contrary to each other. Besides, 'tain't -necessary, for double-width sheetin', or two widths of it side by side, -an' right out of the store here, would make a better awnin', to say -nothin' o' the looks, an' you can afford it easy enough." - -"Perhaps, but there are other people who can't, and I want to show off -a tree-bough awning to some who need contrivances like it." - -"I--see," said Caleb, departing abruptly, while Doctor Taggess -exclaimed:-- - -"And here I've been practising in some of those bake-ovens of houses -for thirty years, and never thought of that very simple means of -relief! Good day, Mrs. Somerton; I'll go home and tell my wife what -I've heard, then I think I'll read some of the penitential Psalms and -some choice bits of Proverbs on the mental peculiarities of fools." - -The arbor was completed by dark, and on the next day, and for a -fortnight afterward, almost every woman who entered the store was -invited to step into the garden and see how well, and yet cheaply, -the house was shaded from the sun. All were delighted, though some -warned the owner that the shade would kill her vines, whereupon Doctor -Taggess, who spent parts of several hours in studying the structure, -suggested that if the probable copyists were to set their posts and -frameworks securely, they might serve as support for quick-growing -hardy vines that might be "set" in the spring of the following year, -and clamber all over the skeleton roof before the hottest days came. -Thereupon Grace volunteered to write a lot of nursery men to learn what -vines, annual or perennial, grew most rapidly and cost least, and to -leave the replies in the store for general inspection. - -"Doctor," Grace asked during one of the physician's visits of -inspection, "where did the settlers of this country come from, that -they never think of certain of their own necessities? Don't scold me, -please; I'm not going to abuse your darling West; besides, 'tis my -West as well as yours, for every interest I have is here. But Eastern -farmers and villagers plant shade trees and vines near their houses, -unless they can afford to build piazzas,--and perhaps in addition to -piazzas. They shade their village streets, too, and many of their -highways. Aren't such things the custom in other parts of the United -States?" - -"They certainly are in my native state, which is Pennsylvania," the -Doctor replied, "and some of the handsomest villages and farm-houses -I've seen are in Ohio and Kentucky. But I imagine the work was done by -the second or third or fourth generation; I don't believe the original -settlers could find the time and strength for such effort. As to our -people, they came from a dozen or more states--East, West, and Middle, -with a few from the South. I honestly believe they're quite as good as -the average of settlers of any state, but I shouldn't wonder if you've -failed to comprehend at short acquaintance the settler or the farmer -class in general. In a new country one usually finds only people who've -been elbowed out of older ones, either by misfortune or bad management, -or through families having become too large to get a living out of -their old homesteads, and with no land near by that was within reach -of their pockets. There are as many causes in farming as in any other -business for men trying to make a start somewhere else, but a starter -in the farming line is always very poor. Almost any family you might -name in this county brought itself and all its goods and implements -in a single two-horse wagon. Your things, Caleb told me, filled the -greater part of a railway car. Quite a difference, eh?" - -"Yet most of the things were ours, when we thought ourselves very poor." - -"Just so. So you can't imagine the poverty of these people. They lived -in their wagons until they had some sort of roof over their heads; -a man who could spend a hundred dollars for lumber and nails and -window-sash passed for one of the well-to-do class. Some of them had no -money whatever; their nearest neighbors would help them put up a log -house, but afterward they had to work pretty hard to keep the wolf from -the door until they could grow something to eat and to sell. They had -hard times, of so many varieties, that now when they are sure of three -meals a day, some cows, pigs, and chickens, credit at a store, and a -crop in the ground, they think themselves well off, no matter how many -discomforts they may have to endure." - -"But, Doctor, they're human; they have hearts and feelings." - -"Yes, but they have more endurance than anything else. It has become -second nature to them; so some of them would long endure a pain or -discomfort rather than relieve it. Doubt it, if you like, but I am -speaking from a great mass of experience. I've heard much of the -endurance of the North American Indian, but the Indian is a baby to -these farmer-settlers. Endurance is in their every muscle, bone, and -nerve, and they pass it down to their children. Eastern babies would -scream unceasingly at maladies that some of our youngsters bear without -a whimper. Many of the Presidents of the United States were born of -just such stock; of course they were examples of the survival of the -fittest, for any who are weak in such a country must go to the wall in -a hurry, if they chance to escape the grave--and the graveyards are -appallingly full." - -"And 'tis the women and children that fill them!" Grace said. - -"Yes," assented the Doctor. "If I could have my way, no women and -children would be allowed in a new section until the men had made -decent, comfortable homes, with crops ready for harvest, all of which -shows what an impracticable old fool a man of experience may become." - -"But a little work, by the men of some of these places, would make the -women and children so much more comfortable!" - -"Yes, but the women and children don't think to ask it, and the men -don't notice the deficiency." - -"But why shouldn't they? Many men elsewhere are perpetually contriving -to make their families more comfortable." - -"Yes, but seldom unless the necessity of doing so is forced to -their attention in some way. Besides, to do so, they must have the -contriving, inventive faculty, which is one of the scarcest in human -nature!" - -"Oh, Doctor! I've often heard that we Americans are the most inventive -people in the world." - -"So we are, according to the Patent Office reports, though the patents -don't average one to a hundred people, and not more than one in ten of -them is worth developing. I am right in saying that invention--except, -perhaps, of lies--is among the rarest of human qualities. It requires -quick perception and a knack at construction, as well as no end of -adaptiveness and energy, all of which are themselves rare qualities. -Countless generations ached seven or eight hours of every twenty-four, -until a few years ago, when some one invented springy bottoms for beds. -Countless generations of men had to cut four times as much wood as -now, and innumerable women smoked their eyes out, cooking over open -fires, before any one thought of making stoves of stone or of iron -plates. Almost every labor-saving contrivance you've seen might have -been perfected before it was, if the inventive faculty hadn't been so -rare. Why, half of the newest contrivances of the day are so simple and -obvious, that smart men, when they see them, want to shoot themselves -for not having themselves invented them." - -"So, to come back to what we were talking of--the prospect of country -women and children being made more comfortable is extremely dismal." - -"Not necessarily; country people have their special virtues, though -many of them have about as little inventive capacity as so many cows. -Still, they're great as copyists. For instance, my wife told me that -every girl in the county wanted a dress exactly like one you made of -two bits of dead-stock calico. They're already copying, I'm glad to -say, your brushwood shade for the sides of the house. So, if you'll go -right on inventing--" - -"But I didn't invent the brushwood shade; you yourself heard Caleb tell -me of it." - -"Oh, yes, after you'd dragged it out of his memory, where it had been -doing nothing for almost a quarter of a century." - -"I'm sure I didn't design the combination of calicoes; the idea was far -older than the calicoes themselves." - -"Perhaps, but you adapted it, as you did Caleb's army hospital shade. -Don't ever forget that most so-called inventors, including the very -greatest, are principally adapters. 'Tis plain to see that you have the -faculty, so don't waste any time in pitying those who haven't; just go -on, perceiving and inventing--or adapting, if you prefer to call it so. -Try it on everything, from clothes and cookery to religion, and you may -depend on most of the people hereabouts to copy you to the full measure -of their ability. There! I don't think you'll want to hear the sound of -my voice again in a month. Caleb isn't the only man who finds it hard -to get off of a hobby." - - - - -XIV--FUN WITH A CAMERA - - -FOR some days after Grace's camera arrived there were many customers -and commercial travellers who had to wait for hours to see the one -person with whom they preferred to transact business in the store, for -a camera is procrastination's most formidable rival in the character -of a thief of time. Grace made "snap-shots" at almost everything, and -John Henry Bustpodder, the most enterprising of Philip's competitors, -took great satisfaction in disseminating the statement that he reckoned -the new store-keeper's wife was running to seed, for she'd been seen -chasing a whirlwind and trying to shoot it with a black box. - -But the Somerton customers regarded the general subject from a -different standpoint, for Grace surprised some of them with pictures -taken, without their knowledge, of themselves in their wagons, or in -front of their houses, or on the way to church. They were not of high -quality; but as the best the natives had previously seen were some -dreadful tintypes perpetrated annually by a man who frequented county -fairs, they were doubly satisfactory, for she would not accept pay -for them. She surprised herself, also, sometimes beyond expression, -by some of her failures, which were quite as dreadful as anything she -had dreamed after almost stepping on snakes--people without heads, or -with hands larger than their bodies, or with other faces superimposed -upon their own. She also made the full quantity and variety of other -blunders peculiar to amateurs, and she stained her finger-tips so -deeply that Philip pretended to suspect her of the cigarette habit; but -she persisted until she succeeded in getting some pictures which she -was not ashamed to send to her aunt and to some of her acquaintances in -the city. - -Caleb, who endeavored to master everything mechanical and technical -that came within his view, took so great interest in the camera, even -begging permission to see the developing process, that Philip one day -said to him:-- - -"Caleb, if your interest in that plaything continues, I shan't -be surprised if some day I hear you advance the theory that even -photography is a means of grace," and Caleb cheerily replied:-- - -"Like enough, for anythin's a means o' grace, if you know how to use it -right." - -"Even snakes?" Grace asked, with a smile that was checked by a shudder. - -"Of course. The principal use o' snakes, so far as I can see, is to -scare lots o' people almost to death, once in a while, an' a good scare -is the only way o' makin' some people see the error o' their ways." - -"H'm!" said Philip. "That's rather rough on my wife, eh?" - -"Oh, no," said Caleb. "Some folks--mentionin' no names, an' hopin' -no offence'll be took, as I once read somewhere--some folks are so -all-fired nice, an' good, an' lucky, an' pretty much everythin' else -that's right, that I do believe they need to be scared 'most to death -once in a while, just to remind 'em how much they've got to be thankful -for, an' how sweet it is to live." - -Grace blushed, and said:-- - -"Thank you, Caleb; but if you're right, I'm afraid I'm doomed to see -snakes frequently for the remainder of my natural life." - -"Speakin' o' snakes as a means o' grace," said Caleb, "p'r'aps 'twould -int'rest you to know that some awful drunkards in this county was -converted by snakes. Yes'm; snakes in their boots scared them drunkards -into the kingdom." - -"In--their--boots?" murmured Grace, with a wild stare. "How utterly -dreadful! I didn't suppose that the crawling things--" - -"Your education in idioms hasn't been completed, my dear," said Philip. -"'Snakes in their boots' is Westernese for delirium tremens." - -"Oh, Caleb! How could you? But do tell me how photography is to be a -means of grace." - -"I'll do it--as soon as I can find out. I'm askin' the question myself, -just now, an' I reckon I'll find the answer before I stop tryin'. There -don't seem to be anythin' about your camera that'll spile, an' I've -read that book o' instructions through an' through, till I've got it -'most by heart. Would you mind lettin' me try to make a pictur' or two -some day?" - -"Not in the least. You're welcome to the camera and outfit at almost -any time." - -Meanwhile Grace continued to "have lots of fun" with the camera. She -resolved to have a portrait collection of all the babies in the town; -and as she promised prints to the mothers of the subjects, she had -no difficulty in obtaining "sittings." To the great delight of the -mothers, the pictures were usually far prettier than the babies, for -Grace smiled and gesticulated and chirruped at the infants until she -cajoled some expression into little faces usually blank. Incidentally -she got some mother pictures that impressed her deeply and made her -serious and thoughtful for hours at a time. - -Her greatest success, however, according to the verdict of the people, -was a print with which she dashed into the store one day, exclaiming to -her husband and Caleb:-- - -"Do look at this! I exposed the plate one Sunday morning, weeks ago, -and then mislaid the holder, so that I didn't find it until to-day." - -It was a picture of the front of the church, taken a few moments before -service began--the moments, dear to country congregations, in which -the people, too decorous to whisper in church, yet longing to chat -with acquaintances whom they had not met in days or weeks, gathered in -little groups outside the building. The light had been exactly right; -also the distance and the focus, and the people so well distributed -that the picture was almost as effective as if its material had been -arranged and "composed" by an artist. - -"Je--ru--salem!" exclaimed Caleb. "Why, the people ain't much bigger -than tacks, an' yet I can pick out ev'ry one of 'em by name. Well, -well!" - -He took the print to the door and studied it more closely. When he -returned with it, he continued:-- - -"That's a great pictur'. It ought to have a name." - -"H'm!" said Philip, winking at his wife, "how would this do: 'Not -exactly a means of grace, but within fifteen minutes of it'--eh?" - -"It's a mighty sight nigher than that," said Caleb, solemnly, "besides -bein' the best 'throw-in' that's come to light yet. Give copies of -that away to customers that don't ever go to church, an' they'll -begin to go, hopin' they'll stand a chance o' bein' took in the next; -an' if they get under the droppin's of the sanctuary, why, Brother -Grateway an' the rest of us'll try to do the rest. Grateway needs some -encouragement o' that kind, for he's sort o' down in the mouth about -nothin' comin' of his efforts with certain folks in this town. He's -dropped warnin's and exhortations on 'em, in season an' out o' season, -for quite a spell, but he was tellin' me only yesterday that it seemed -like the seed in the parable, that was sowed on stony ground. An' -say--Je--ru--salem!--when did you say you took that?" - -"Two or three weeks ago," Grace replied. - -"An' you didn't develop it till to-day?" - -"Not until to-day." - -"An' the pictur' has been on the plate all that time?" - -"In one way, yes. That is, the plate had been exposed at the subjects, -and they had been impressed upon it by the light, although it still -looked plain and blank, until the developing fluid was poured upon it." - -"How long would it stay so, an' yet be fit to be developed?" - -"Oh, years, I suppose. Travellers in Africa and elsewhere have carried -such plates, and exposed them, and not developed them until they -returned to civilization, perhaps a year or two later." - -"I want to know! Got any other plate as old as the one this pictur' was -made from?" - -"Yes, one; it was in the other side of the same holder." - -"Would you mind developin' it to-night, in your kitchen, before -company? Nobody that's fussy--only Brother Grateway." - -"You know I'll do anything to oblige you and him, Caleb." - -"Hooray! Excuse me, please, while I go off an' make sure o' his comin'." - -"What do you suppose is on Caleb's mind now?" Grace asked, as Caleb and -the picture disappeared. - -"I give it up," Philip replied, "though I shan't be surprised if 'tis -something relative to a camera being a means of grace." - -"I can't imagine how." - -"Perhaps not, but let's await--literally speaking--developments." - -"He'll be here," said Caleb, a few moments later; he looked gleeful as -he said it, and shuffled his feet in a manner so suggestive of dancing -that Grace pretended to be shocked, at which Caleb reddened. During the -remainder of the afternoon he looked as happy as if he had collected -a long-deferred bill, or given the dreaded "malary" a new repulse. He -hurried Philip and Grace home to supper, so that the kitchen might -sooner be free for photographic purposes, and dusk had scarcely lost -itself in darkness when he closed the store and appeared at the house -with Pastor Grateway, who expressed himself exuberantly concerning the -picture of his church and congregation; but Caleb cut him short by -saying:-- - -"Ev'rythin' ready, Mis' Somerton? Good! Come along, Brother -Grateway--you, too, Philip." - -While the trays and chemicals were being arranged, Caleb explained -to the pastor that photographs were first taken on glass plates, -chemically treated, and that the picture proper was made by light -passing through a plate to the surface of sensitized paper. When the -red lamp was lighted, Caleb continued:-- - -"Now, when Mis' Somerton lays a plate in that tray, you'll see it's -as blank as a sheet o' paper, or as the faces o' some o' the ungodly -that you've been preachin' at an' laborin' with, year in and year out. -You can't see nothin' on it, no matter if you use a hundred-power -magnifyin' glass. But the pictur' 's there all the same; it was took -weeks ago; might ha' been months or years, but it's there, an' yet the -thing goes on lookin' blank till the developer is poured on it--just -like Mis' Somerton's doin' now. Now keep your eye on it. It don't -seem to mind, at first--goes on lookin' as blank as the faces o' -case-hardened sinners at a revival meetin'. But bimeby--pretty soon--" - -"See those spots!" exclaimed the minister. "Eh? Why, to be sure. Well, -a photograph plate is a good deal like measles an' religion--it first -breaks out in spots. But keep on lookin'--see it come!" - -"Wonderful! Wonderful!" exclaimed the minister. - -"Seemed miraculous to me, first time I see it," said Caleb. "I'd have -been skeered if Mis' Somerton hadn't said 'twas all right, for no magic -stories I ever read held a candle to it. But keep on lookin'. See one -thing comin' after another, an' all of 'em comin' plainer an' stronger -ev'ry minute? Could you 'a' b'lieved it, if you hadn't seen it with -your own eyes? An' even now you've seen it, don't it 'pear 'bout as -mysterious as the ways o' Providence? I've read all Mis' Somerton's -book tells about it, an' a lot more in the cyclopeedy, but it ain't no -less wonderful than it was." - -"Absolutely marvellous!" replied the minister. - -"That's what it is. Now, Brother Grateway, that plate was just like -the people you was tellin' me 'bout yesterday, that you was clean -discouraged over. You've been pilin' warnin's an' exhortations on 'em, -an' they didn't seem to mind 'em worth a cent--'peared just as blank -as they ever were. But the pictur' was there, an' there 'twas boun' -to stay, as long as the plate lasted--locked up in them chemicals, -to be sure, but there it was all the same, an' out it came when the -developer was poured on an' soaked in. An' so, John Grateway, all that -you've ever put into them people is there, somewhere--heaven only -knows where an' how, for human natur' 's a mighty sight queerer than -a photograph plate, an' to bring out what's in it takes about as many -kinds o' developer as there are people. Mebbe you haven't got the right -developer, but it's somewhere, waitin' for its time--mebbe it'll be -a big scare, or a dyin' wife, or a mother's trouble. Religious talk -rolled off o' me for years, like water from a duck's back, till one -day I fell between two saw-logs in the crick, an' thought 'twas all up -with me--that was the developer I needed. So when you say your prayers -to-night, don't forget to give thanks for havin' seen a photograph -plate developed, an' after this you go right on takin' pictur's, so to -speak, with all your might, an' when you find you can't finish them, -hearten yourself up by rememberin' that there's Somebody that knows -millions of times as much about the developin' business as you do, an' -gives His entire time an' attention to it." - -"Photography is a means of grace, Caleb," said Philip, and Grace joined -in the confession. - - - - -XV--CAUSE AND EFFECT - - -"EVER have any trouble with your bath-tub arrangements?" Caleb asked -Philip one day when both men were at leisure. - -"No," said Philip, somewhat surprised at the question. - -"Think the man that put 'em in did the work at a fair price?" - -"Oh, yes. But what's on your mind, Caleb? It can't be that you're going -to start a plumber in business here? I don't know what cruder revenge a -man could take on his worst enemies." - -"No," said Caleb. "Heapin' coals o' fire on a man's head, accordin' to -Scriptur', is my only way o' takin' revenge nowadays. It most generally -does the other feller some good, besides takin' a lot o' the devil -out o' yours truly. But about bathin'--well, I learned the good of -it when I was a hospital nurse for a spell in the army, an' I've been -pretty particular 'bout it ever since, though my bath-tub's only an -army rubber blanket with four slats under the edges, to keep the water -from gettin' away. I've talked cleanliness a good deal for years, an' -told folks that there wa'n't no patent on my kind o' bath-tub; but it -ain't over an' above handy, an' most folks in these parts have so much -to do that they put off any sort o' work that they ain't kicked into -doin'. So, the long an' short of it is that I'm goin' to back a bathin' -establishment, for the use of the general public." - -"You'll have your labor for your pains, Caleb." - -"Don't be too sure o' that. Besides, I'm dead certain that bathin's a -means o' grace. Doc Taggess says so, too, an' he ought to know, from -his knowledge o' one side o' human nature. He knows a powerful lot -about the other side, too, for what Taggess don't know about the human -soul is more'n I ever expect to find out. Taggess is a Christian, if -ever there was one." - -"Right you are, but--have you thought over this project carefully?" - -"Been thinkin' over it off an' on, ever since your contraption was put -in. You see, it's this way. I own a little house that I lent money on -from time to time, till the owner died an' I had to take it in--the -mortgages got to be bigger than the house was worth. It's framed -heavy enough for a barn, so the upstairs floor'll be strong enough -to hold a mighty big tank o' water, an' the well is one o' the deep -never-failin' kind. Black Sam, the barber, used to be body-servant to -a man down South, an' knows how to give baths--I've had him take care -o' me sometimes, when the malary stiffened my j'ints so I couldn't use -my arms much. Well, Sam's to have the house, rent free, an' move his -barber shop into it. He don't get more'n an hour or two o' work a day, -so he'll have plenty o' time to 'tend to bath-house customers that -don't know the ropes for themselves, an' we're to divide the receipts. -I'm goin' to advertise it well. How's this?" and Caleb took from under -the counter a cardboard stencil which he had cut as follows:-- - - A BATH FOR THE PRICE OF A DRINK AND A CIGAR, AND IT - WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER THAN BOTH OF THEM. - -"That's a good advertisement, Caleb--a very good advertisement. But I -thought five cents was the customary price of a drink or a cigar out -here?" - -"So 'tis--ten cents for both; but I've ciphered that it'll pay, an' -Black Sam's satisfied. You see, fuel's cheap; besides, in summer time -the upstairs part of that house, right under the roof, is about as hot, -'pears to me, as the last home o' the wicked, so if the tank's filled -overnight, the water'll be warm by mornin'." - -"You've a long head, Caleb. Still, I've my doubts about your getting -customers. 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him -drink'--you've heard the old saying?" - -"Often, but some folks in this country would go through fire--an' even -water--for the sake o' somethin, new. I've cal'lated to make a free -bath a throw-in' to some o' our customers that I could name, but first -I'm goin' to try it on some old chums. I'm goin' to have the grand -openin' on Decoration Day, an' try it on all the members of our Grand -Army post. The boys'll do anythin' for an old comrade, specially if -he's post commander, as I be. There was all sorts in the army, an' -sometimes it's seemed to me that the right ones didn't get killed, nor -even die afterwards. There's three or four of 'em in this county that -makes it a p'int o' gettin' howlin' drunk on Decoration Day, which kind -o' musses up the spirit o' the day for the rest of us. They're to have -the first baths; I'm goin' to 'gree with 'em that if a bath don't make -'em feel better than a drink, I'll supply the liquor afterwards; but -if it does, why, then they're not to touch a drop all day. Black Sam -reckons that by bein' spry he can curry 'em down, so to speak, at the -rate of a man ev'ry ten minutes, an' there's only seventeen men in the -post. I reckon that them that don't drink'll feel just as good after -bein' cleaned up, as them that do drink, an' I'm goin' to get 'em to -talk it up all day, so's to keep the rummies up to the mark. The tank -lumber's all ready; so's the carpenter, an' I reckon I'll write that -plumber to-day." - -Philip told Grace of Caleb's new project, and Grace was astonished and -delighted, and then thoughtful and very silent for a few minutes, after -which she said:-- - -"Some of the New York baths have women's days, or women's hours. I -wonder if Black Sam couldn't teach the business to his wife?"--a remark -which Philip repeated to Caleb, and for days afterward Caleb's hat was -poised farther back on his head than usual, and more over one ear. - -"This enterprise of Caleb's," Grace said to her husband, "has set me -wondering anew what Caleb does with his money. He has no family; his -expenses are very small, for he is his own housekeeper and pays no -rent, and you pay him three hundred dollars a year." - -"That isn't all his income," Philip replied, "for he gets once in -three months a pension check of pleasing size. Still, you would be -astonished to know how little cash he draws on account, and how great -a quantity of goods is charged to him from month to month. I've been -curious enough about it, at times, to trace the items from the ledger -back to the day-book, and I learned that his account for groceries, -food-stuffs generally, and dry goods is far larger than our own. As for -patent medicines, he seems to consume them by the gallon--perhaps with -the hope of curing his malaria. I've sometimes been at the point of -asking him what he does with all of it; if he weren't so transparently, -undoubtedly honest, I should imagine that he was doing a snug little -private business on his own account; for, as you know, he pays only -original cost price for what he buys." - -"There is but one explanation," Grace said after a moment or two of -thought. "It is plain that he is engaged in charitable work, and is -living up to the spirit of the injunction not to let his left hand -know what his right hand is doing. And oh, Phil, long as we've been -here,--almost half a year,--we've never done any charitable work -whatever." - -"Haven't we, indeed! You are continually doing all sorts of kindnesses -for all sorts of people, and as you and I are one, and as whatever you -do is right in your husband's eyes, I think I may humbly claim to be -your associate in charity." - -"But I've done no charities. Everything I do seems to bring more -business to the store. I've no such intention, but the fact remains. I -never give away anything, for I never see an opportunity, but it seems -that Caleb does." - -"Ah, well, question him yourself, and if your suspicions prove correct, -don't let us be outdone in that kind of well-doing." - -"Caleb," Grace asked at her first opportunity, "aren't there any -deserving objects of charity in Claybanks?" - -"Well," Caleb replied, "that depends on what you mean by deservin', -an' by charity--too. I s'pose none of us--except p'r'aps you--deserve -anythin' in particular, an' as you seem to have ev'rythin' you want, -there ain't any anyhow. But there's some that's needy, an' that'll get -along better for a lift once in a while." - -"Do tell me about some of them. I don't want any one to suffer if my -husband and I can prevent it." - -"That sounds just like you, but I don't exactly see what you can do. -Fact is, you have to know the folks mighty well, or you're likely to do -more harm'n good, for the best o' folks seem to be spiled when they get -somethin' for nothin'. But there's some of our people that's had their -ups an' downs,--principally downs,--an' a little help now an' then does -'em a mighty sight o' good. There's women that's lost their husbands, -an' have to scratch gravel night an' day to feed their broods. Watchin' -the ways of some of 'em's made me almost b'lieve the old yarn about the -bird that tears itself to pieces to feed its young." - -"Oh, Caleb!" - -"Fact. There's no knowin' what you can see 'till you look for it good -an' hard." - -"But food is so cheap in this country that I didn't suppose the poorest -could suffer. Corn-meal less than a cent a pound, flour two cents, meat -only four or five--" - -"Yes, but folks that don't have grist-mills, nor animals to kill, -would put it the other way; they'd say that dollars an' cents are -awfully dear. Why, Mis' Somerton, when some folks, that I could name, -comes into the store with their truck to trade for things, an' I see -'em lookin' at this thing, an' that, an' t'other, that shows what -they're wantin,' and needin,' an' can't get,--oh, it brings Crucifixion -Day right before my eyes--that's just what it does. I've seen lots o' -sad things in my day--like most men, I s'pose. I've seen hundreds o' -men shot to pieces, an' thousands dyin' by inches, but you never can -guess what it was that broke me up most an' longest." - -"Probably not; so, that being the case, do tell me." - -"Well, one day I'd just weighed out a pound o' tea, with a lot of other -stuff that Mis' Taggess was goin' to call for, an' a widder woman that -had been tradin' two or three pound o' butter for some things, picked -up the paper o' tea, an' looked at it, an' held it kind o' close to her -face, an' sniffed at it. She was as plain-featured a woman as you can -find hereabouts, which is sayin' a good deal, but as she smelled o' -that tea her face changed, an' changed, an' changed, till it reminded -me of a picture I once saw in somebody's house--'Ecstacy' was the name -of it; so I said:-- - -"'I reckon you're a judge o' good tea' (for Mis' Taggess won't have any -but the best) 'an' that you kind o' like it, too?' - -"'Like it?' says she, wavin' the paper o' tea across her face an' then -puttin' it down sharp-like, 'I like it about as much as I like the -comin' o' Sunday,' which was comin' it pretty strong, for I didn't know -any woman that was more religious, or that had better reason to want -a day of rest. An' yet she was just the nervous, tired kind, to which -a cup o' good tea is meat an' drink an' newspapers an' a hand-organ -besides; so I says:-- - -"'Better buy a little o' this, then, while we've got it. I'm a pretty -good judge o' tea myself, an' we never had any to beat this.' - -"'Buy it?' says she. 'What with?' - -"'Well,' says I, knowin' her to be honest, 'if you've traded out all -your truck, I'll charge it, an' you can settle for it when you bring -in some more, or mebbe some cash.' - -"'Buy tea!' says she, lookin' far-away-like. 'I hain't been well enough -off to drink tea since my husband died, though there's been nights when -I haven't been able to sleep for thinkin' of it.' - -"Think o' that! An' there was me, that's had two cups or more ev'ry -night for years, an' thought I couldn't live without it! I come mighty -nigh to chokin' to death, but I done up another pound as quick as I -could, an' some white sugar too, an' I shoved 'em over to her, an' says -I:-- - -"'Here's a sin-offerin' from a penitent soul, an' I don't know a better -altar for it than your tea-kettle.' - -"She was kind of offish at first, but thinkin' of her goin' without -tea made me kind o' leaky about the eyes, an' that broke her down, an' -she told me, 'fore she knowed what she was doin', about the awful hard -time she an' her young ones had had, though before that nobody'd ever -knowed her to give a single grunt, for she was as independent as she -was poor. After that I often gave her a lift, in one way or other. She -kicked awful hard at first; but I reminded her that the Bible said that -part o' true religion was to visit the fatherless an' widders in their -'fliction, so she oughtn't to put stumblin'-blocks in the way of a man -who was tryin' to live right; an' as I didn't have no time for makin' -visits myself, it was only fair to let me send a substitute, in the -shape of comfort for her an' the young ones, an' she 'greed, after a -spell, to look at it in that light." - -"Caleb, are there many more people of that kind in the town?" - -"No--no--not quite as bad off as she was, in some ways, and yet in -other ways some of 'em are worse. I mean drunkards' families. How a -drunkard's wife stays alive at all beats me; the Almighty must 'a' put -somethin' in women that we men don't know nothin' about. After lots o' -tryin', I made up my mind the only way to help a drunkard's family is -to reform the drunkard, so I laid low, an' picked my time, an' when -the man had about a ton o' remorse on him, as all drunkards do have -once in a while, I'd bargain with him that if he'd stop drinkin' I'd -see his family didn't suffer while he was makin' a fresh start. I made -out 'twas a big thing for me to do, for they knowed I was sickly and -weak, an' if I saved my money, instead o' layin' it out on 'em, I could -go off an' take a long rest, an' p'r'aps get to be somethin' more than -skin an' bones an' malary. It most gen'rally fetched 'em. It's kept me -poor, spite o' my havin' pretty good pay an' nobody o' my own to care -for, but there was no one else to do it, except Doc Taggess an' his -wife: they've done more good o' that kind than anybody'll know till -Judgment Day." - -"There'll be some one else in future, Caleb. Tell me whom to begin -with, and how, and I shall be extremely thankful to you." - -"Just what I might 'a' knowed you would 'a' said, though seems to me -you're already helpin' ev'rybody in your own way." - -"But I'm spending no money. As a great favor tell me who it is for whom -you're doing most, and let me relieve you of it, if only that you may -use your money in some other way." - -"That's mighty hearty o' you, but I reckon it wouldn't work. You see -it's this way. You remember One-Arm Ojam, from Middle Crick township?" - -"That tall, dashing-looking Southerner?" - -"Exactly. Well, you see he lost his arm fightin' for the South--lost -it at Gettysburg, where I got some bullets that threw my machinery out -o' gear considerable, besides one that's stuck closer'n a brother ever -since. Well, he don't draw no pension,--'tain't necessary to state the -reasons,--but I get a middlin' good one. He was grumblin' pretty hard -one day 'bout how tough it was on a man to fight the battle o' life -single-handed, an' says I to him, knowin' he drank pretty hard:-- - -"'It must be, when with t'other hand he loads up with stuff that -cripples his head too.' - -"He 'lowed that that kind o' talk riled him, an' I said I was glad it -did, an' we jawed along for a spell, like old soldiers can when they -get goin', till all of a sudden he says:-- - -"'A man that gets a pension don't have to drink to keep him goin'.' - -"'Well, Ojam,' says I, 'if that's a fact, an' I don't say it ain't, you -can stop drinkin' right now, if you want to.' - -"'What do you mean?' says he. - -"'Just what I say,' says I. 'My pension's yours, from this on, so -long's you don't drink.' - -"'I ain't goin' to be bought over to be a Yank,' says he. - -"'I don't want you to be a Yank,' says I. 'You're an American, an' -that's the best thing that any old vet can be. I want to buy you over -to be a clear-headed man. I've got nothin' to make by it, but it'll be -the makin' o' you.' - -"Well, he went off mad, an' he told his wife an' young ones, an' in a -day or two he came back, an' says he:-- - -"'Caleb, I ain't a plum fool; but if you're dead sot on bein' one, why, -I'll take that pension o' yourn, the way you said.' - -"So I shelled out the last quarter's money at once, an' then began the -hardest fight One-Arm Ojam ever got into. He 'lowed afterwards that -'twas tougher than Gettysburg, an' lasted 'bout a hundred times as -long. 'Fore that, when he hankered for a drink, he'd shell a bushel -o' corn by hand, an' bring it in to Bustpodder's store, an' trade it -for a quart, but now he had money enough to buy 'most a bar'l of the -sort of stuff that he drank. There's a tough lot o' fellows up in his -section,--'birds of a feather flock together,' you know,--an' they made -fun o' him, an' nagged him most to death, till one day he owned up to -me that he was in a new single-handed fight that was harder'n the old -one. - -"'You idjit,' says I, 'when you got in a hot place in the war you -didn't try to fight single-handed, did you? You got with a squad, or a -comp'ny, or regiment, didn't you, so's to have all the help you could -get, didn't you?' - -"''Course I did,' says he. - -"'Then,' says I, 'what's the matter with your j'inin' the Sons o' -Temperance, an' j'inin' the church, too?' Well, ma'am, that knocked him -so cold that he turned ash-colored, an' his knees rattled; but says I, -'I've got my opinion of a man that charged with Pickett at Gettysburg -an' afterwards plays coward anywhere else.' - -"That fetched him. He j'ined the Sons, an' he j'ined the church, an' -rememberin' that the best way to keep a recruit from desertin' is to -put him in the front rank at once, an' keep him at it, some of us egged -him on until he became a local preacher an' started a lodge o' Sons o' -Temperance in his section. He's offered two or three times to give up -the pension, for he's got sort o' forehanded, spite o' havin' only one -hand to do it with, but as I knowed he was spendin' all of it, an' more -too, on men that he's tryin' to straighten up an' pull out o' holes, I -said, 'No.' For, you see, I'd been wonderin' for years what a man that -had had his heart sot on doin' good in the world, as mine was before -the war, should 'a' been shot most to pieces at Gettysburg for, but -now I'd found out; for if I hadn't got shot, I wouldn't 'a' got the -pension that reformed One-Arm Ojam, an' is reformin' all the rest o' -Middle Crick Township. 'God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to -perform;' but I s'pose you've helped sing that in church?" - - - - -XVI--DECORATION DAY[1] - - -SELDOM does any community have the good fortune to have two great -events fall upon a single day, but on May 30, 188-, Claybanks and -vicinity palpitated from centre to circumference over the celebration -of Decoration Day and the opening of the Claybanks Bath-house. The -public buildings did not close; neither did the stores, for the entire -community flocked to the town, and the stores were the only possible -lounging-places. Grace had learned, to her great regret, which was -shared by Caleb, that the local Grand Army post never paraded in -uniform, for the reason that the members found it too hard to supply -themselves with sufficient clothing, for every day and Sunday use, to -afford a suit to be worn only a single day of the year, and she had -told Caleb that it was a shame that the government did not supply its -old soldiers with uniforms in which to celebrate their one great day, -and Caleb had replied that perhaps if it did, the Southerner Ojam, who -had charged with Pickett at Gettysburg, and who always marched with the -"boys" to decorate the graves, might feel ruled out, and then Grace had -unburdened her heart to Philip, and given him so little peace about it -that finally he became so interested in the Grand Army of the Republic -that he studied all the local members as intently as if he were looking -for a long-lost brother. - -But when the sun of Decoration Day arose, the centre of interest was -the bath-house. The veterans who had been selected for the opening -ceremonies approached the place as tremblingly as a lot of penitents -for public baptism; some of them were so appalled at the prospect that -they approached the house by devious ways, even by sneaking through -various back yards and climbing fences. Caleb himself was somewhat -mystified by a request from Black Sam that he would remain out of -sight until the ordeal had ended; and as the store filled early with -customers, and Philip was obliged to be absent for an hour or two, -Caleb was compelled to comply with the request, after sending word -to the non-drinking members to keep the others from the vicinity of -Bustpodder's store and all other places where liquor was sold. The -caution did not seem to be necessary, however; for not a man emerged -from the bath-house to answer the questions of the multitude that was -consuming with curiosity, and from which arose from time to time sundry -cheers and jeers that must have been exasperating in the extreme. - -Suddenly Philip appeared in the store, and said:-- - -"Caleb, you're wanted at the bath-house. Better go up there at once. -No, nothing wrong; but go." - -Business went on, and Grace did her best to attend to a score of -feminine customers at one and the same time; but suddenly the entire -crowd hurried out of the store, for the sound of the G. A. R.'s fife -and drum, playing "We'll Rally Round the Flag," floated through the -open doors and windows. - -"I suppose we, too, may as well look at the procession," said Philip, -moving toward the door. - -"Oh, Phil!" exclaimed Grace, looking up the street, "they have guns, -and they're in uniforms. How strange! Caleb told me they hadn't any." - -"True, but Caleb is a great man to bring new things to pass." - -"They're all in uniform but three," said Grace, as the little -procession approached the store. "The fifer and drummer and the man -with the flag haven't any. What a--" - -"The fifer and drummer were not soldiers. The man with the flag is -One-Arm Ojam, who was in Pickett's great charge at Gettysburg, and he's -in full Confederate gray." - -So he was, even to a gray hat, with the Stars and Bars on its front, -and a long gray plume at its side, and the magnificent Southern swagger -with which he bore the colors was--after the flag itself--the grandest -feature of the procession. The multitude on both sides of the street -applauded wildly, but the old soldiers marched as steadily as if they -were on duty, for the uniforms and muskets were recalling old times in -their fulness. Suddenly, as the procession reached the front of the -store, Post-Commander Caleb Wright, sword in hand, shouted:-- - -"Halt! Front! Right--dress! Front! Present--arms!" - -To the front came the muskets, Caleb's sword-hilt was raised to his -chin, Ojam drooped the flag, and Philip doffed his hat. - -"Why did they do that, I wonder?" asked Grace. - -"Oh, some notion of Caleb's, I suppose," Philip replied. - -"Shoulder--arms!" shouted Caleb. "Order--arms! Three cheers for the -uniforms!" - -Eighteen slouch hats waved in the air, an eighteen-soldier-power roar -arose, the fife shrieked three times, the drummer rolled three ruffles. -Then One-Arm Ojam, the flag rested against his armless shoulder, waved -his gray hat picturesquely, and roared:-- - -"Three cheers for the giver of the uniforms!" - -When a second round of cheering ended, a man in the ranks shouted -"Speech!" and the word was echoed by several others. Then Philip, while -his wife's lips became shapeless in wide-mouthed wonder, removed his -hat and said:-- - -"Fellow-Americans, the uniforms weren't a gift. They're merely a -partial payment, on my own account, for what you did for mine and me -when I was very young. This is one of the proudest days of my life; -for though I took the measure of each of you by guess-work, no man's -clothes seem a very bad fit." Then he returned abruptly into the store, -followed by his wife, who exclaimed:-- - -"You splendid, dreadful fellow! You were letting me believe that Caleb -did it!" - -"So he did, my dear. 'Twas your telling me the story of Caleb's pension -that set me thinking hard about the old soldiers and what they did, and -of how little consideration they get. Besides, I'm always wishing to do -something special to please Caleb, and this was the first chance I'd -seen in a long time. His fear of One-Arm Ojam being estranged if the -Post got into uniform troubled me for a day or two, but I seem to have -taken Ojam's measure--in both senses--quite well." - -Suddenly Grace began to laugh, and continued until she became almost -helpless, Philip meanwhile looking as if he wondered what he had said -that could have been so amusing. - -"If your Uncle Jethro could have been here!" she said as soon as she -could. - -"To be horrified at the manner in which a lot of his money has been -spent? If I'm not mistaken, 'twill have been the cheapest advertising -this establishment ever did, though I hadn't the slightest thought of -business while I was planning it." - -"That isn't what I meant," Grace said. "I was thinking of your uncle's -disgust when he learned that one of your reasons for wishing to live -in New York was that you might study art. Your studies never went -far beyond sketching the human figure, poor boy; but if he were here -to-day, and you were to tell him that your art studies, such as they -were, had enabled you to guess correctly the proportions of eighteen -suits of men's clothes, imagine his astonishment--if you can." - -Then the laughter was resumed, and Philip assisted at it, until Caleb -entered the store and said:-- - -"We've been comparin' notes,--the boys an' me, an' we've agreed that it -beat any surprises we had in the war; for there, we always knowed, the -surprises was layin' in wait for us a good deal of the time. How you -managed it beats me." - -"Phil, didn't even Caleb know what was going on?" - -"Not until he left the store about half an hour ago." - -"Oh, you splendid, smart--" - -"Spare my blushes, dear girl. As to the things, Caleb, I had them -addressed to Black Sam, whom I let into the secret, and I had them -wagoned at night from the railway to the bath-house, where he unpacked -them and hid them in one of his rooms." - -"I want to know! But what put you up to thinkin' o' doin' the greatest -thing that--" - -"'Twas a story my wife told me, about the way you dispose of your -pension. 'Twas all of your own doing, after all, you see." - -Caleb looked sheepish, said something about the "boys" becoming uneasy -unless the march was resumed, and made haste to rejoin his command, but -stopped halfway to the door, and said:-- - -"Mebbe 'tain't any o' my business, but as I'm Commander of the Post, -an' yet you've been managin' it most o' the mornin', an' I hadn't time -to ask the why an' wherefore o' things,--how did you get Ojam to carry -our flag?" - -"Oh, I dared him." - -"An' he, bein' a Southerner, wouldn't take a dare?" - -"On the contrary, it needed no dare. He said he'd been longing for such -a chance for many years; for you'd reminded him one day that he was an -American, and that plain American was good enough for you. 'Twas a case -exactly like that of the uniforms, Caleb; 'twas you that did it--not I." - -Again Caleb looked sheepish, and this time he succeeded in rejoining -his command and marching it toward the cemetery, followed by the entire -populace. - -"We may as well go, too," said Philip, closing the store. - -"But not empty-handed," Grace said, snatching a basket from a hook and -hurrying into her garden, where she quickly cut everything that showed -any color or bloom, saying as she did so:-- - -"Perhaps they don't use flowers here, but 'twill do no harm to offer -them." - -"I'll get out the horse and buggy; that basket will be very heavy," -said Philip. - -"Not as heavy as the veterans' guns--and some widow's memories," Grace -replied; "so let us walk." - -Together they hurried along the dusty road and joined the irregular -procession of civilians that followed the veterans. The Claybanks -"God's acre" bore no resemblance to the park-like cemeteries which -Grace had seen near New York, nor did it display any trace of the -neatness which marked the little enclosure in which rested the dead of -Grace's native village. A man with a scythe had been sent in on the -previous day, to make the few soldiers' graves approachable; but weeds -and brambles were still abundant near the fence, and Grace shuddered -when she saw that most of the graves were marked only by lettered -boards instead of stones, and that tiny graves were numerous. Evidently -Claybanks was a dangerous place for infants. - -Soon she saw that the usefulness of flowers on Decoration Day was not -unknown at Claybanks, and, as the "Ritual of the Dead" had already been -read and as the veterans were informally passing from grave to grave, -she made her way to Caleb, and said reproachfully:-- - -"Why didn't you ask me for some flowers?" - -"I 'lowed that I would," Caleb replied, looking at Grace's basket, -"but Mis' Taggess came to me, an' says she, 'Don't you do it, or -she'll cut everything in sight,' an' from the looks o' things I reckon -that's just what you've done. It's a pity, too, for we hain't got many -soldier-dead, an' their graves is pretty well covered." - -"In the paht of the Saouth that I come from," ventured One-Arm Ojam, -"ev'rybody's graves has flowers put on 'em on Memorial Day, an' the -women an' children do most of it." - -"You Grand Army men won't feel hurt if the custom is started here, will -you?" Grace asked of Caleb. - -"Not us!" was the reply; so Grace begged the women and children to -assist her, and within a few moments every grave in the cemetery had a -bit of bloom upon it, and the women had informally resolved that the -custom should be followed thereafter on Decoration Day. - -Then the Grand Army Post was called to order, and marched back to the -town, led by the fifer and drummer and followed by the people. - -"Is that all?" Grace asked, when the store had been reopened, and Caleb -entered, unclasped his sword-belt, and gazed affectionately at the -sword. - -"All of what?" - -"All of the day's ceremonies." - -"In one way, yes, but we vets have a sort o' camp-fire; we get together -in my room, after dark, an' swap yarns, an' sing songs, an' have -somethin' to eat an' drink, an' manage to have a jolly good time." - -"I hope you'll leave the windows open while you sing." - -"We'll have to all the time, I reckon, the weather bein' as hot as -'tis, but I know the boys'll be pleased to hear that you asked it." - -"Oh, wouldn't I like to be a mouse in the corner to-night!" Grace said -after she had laid away the very last of the supper dishes and dropped -into a hammock-chair on the coolest side of the house. "A mouse in the -corner, and hear the war-stories those veterans will tell! They looked -so unlike themselves to-day." - -"Possibly because of Caleb's bath-house," Philip suggested, "although -I don't doubt that Caleb would be gracious enough to hint that the new -uniforms also had some transforming effect." - -"What do you suppose they will have to eat and drink in Caleb's room? -I wish I dared make something nice and send it in. Let me see; we've -a lot of the potted meats and fancy biscuits and other things that -I ordered from the city a week or two ago, to abate the miseries -of summer housekeeping. I could make half a dozen kinds of biscuit -sandwiches in ten minutes, and I could give them iced tea with lemon -and sugar, and oh--" - -"Well?" - -"There's been so much excitement to-day that I entirely forgot the -grand surprise I'd planned for some of the farmers' wives. I declare -'tis too bad! Our ice-cream freezer came last week, you know, and this -morning I made the first lot, and I was going to serve saucers of it -to some of the women who came to the store--it seems that ice-cream is -unknown in this country. But your surprise, of putting the Grand Army -men into uniforms, put everything else out of my mind for the day. -Let's bring it from the ice-house, and send it over to Caleb's room to -the veterans!" - -"My dear girl, the cream will keep till to-morrow, so do try to possess -your soul in peace, and leave those veterans to their own devices. Old -soldiers are reputed to be willing to eat and drink anything or nothing -if they may have a feast of war-stories." - -"When do you suppose they'll begin to sing?" - -"Not having been a soldier, I can't say. Perhaps not at all, if Caleb's -plan of keeping the drinking men from liquor has succeeded." - -"Phil, don't be so horrid. Oh!--what is that?" - -It was the beginning of a song--not badly sung, either--"'Tis a Way We -Have in the Army." Some of the words were ridiculous, but there could -be no criticism of the spirit of the singers. Advancing cautiously, -under cover of semi-darkness and the brushwood arbor, Grace saw so many -figures near the front of the house that she could not doubt that the -Grand Army Post was tendering her or her husband the compliment of a -serenade, so she applauded heartily. Another song, "There's Music in -the Air," followed, and yet another, both in fair time and tune. - -"I'm going to find out whom those leading voices belong to," Grace -said. "Light the lamps, won't you?" Then she stepped from the arbor, -and said:-- - -"Thank you very much, gentlemen, but my husband and I are real selfish -people, so we won't be satisfied until you come into the house and sing -us all the army songs you know." - -Two or three veterans started to run, but they were stopped by others. -Grace heard them protesting that they were not of the singers, so she -hurried out and declared that she would forego the anticipated pleasure -rather than break up their own party; so within a moment or two the -entire Post, with One-Arm Ojam, were in the parlor, where some stared -about in amazement, while others looked as distressed as cats in a -strange kitchen. But host and hostess pressed most of them into seats, -and Caleb stood guard at the door, having first whispered to Grace:-- - -"The pianner'll hold 'em--but don't play 'Marchin' through Georgy,' -please; we take pains not to worry One-Arm Ojam." - -Grace whispered to Philip, who left the room; then she seated herself -at the piano and rattled off "Dixie" with fine spirit. Soon she -stopped, looked about inquiringly, and asked:-- - -"Can't any of you sing it? Now!" - -Again she attacked the piano. Some one started the song, -darkey-fashion, by singing one bar, the others joining vociferously -in the second; this was repeated, and then all gave the chorus, and -so the song went on so long as any one could recall words. This was -followed, at a venture, by "Maryland, my Maryland," for which the Union -veterans had one set of words, and Ojam another, although the general -effect was good. The ice was now broken, and the men suggested one song -after another, for most of which Grace discovered that she knew the -airs--for while the war created many new songs, it inspired little new -music. - -The singing continued until the guests became hoarse, by which time -Philip entered with iced lemonade made with tea, and Grace followed -with sandwiches and biscuits and cake, which prompted some of the -men to tell what they did not have to eat in the army. From this to -war-stories was but a short step, and as every veteran, however stupid, -has at least one war-story that is all his own, the host and hostess -enjoyed a long entertainment of a kind entirely new to them. Meanwhile -Grace was pressing refreshments on the men individually, but suddenly -she departed. When she returned, in a few moments, she bore a tray -covered with saucers of ice-cream, and the astonishment which the -contents produced, as it reached the palates of the guests, made Grace -almost apoplectic in her endeavors to keep from laughing. - -"What is it?" whispered a veteran who had not yet been served to one -who was ecstatically licking his spoon. - -"Dog my cats if I know!" was the reply, as the man took another -mouthful. "It tastes somethin' like puddin'--an' custard--an' -cake--an' like the smell of ol' Mis' Madden's vanilla bean,--an'--" but -just then the questioner was given an opportunity to taste for himself, -after which he said:-- - -"It beats the smell o' my darter's hair-ile--beats it all holler." - -"I reckon," said Caleb, who had inspected the freezer on its arrival, -and had been wildly curious as to its product, "I reckon it's -ice-cream." - -"What? That stuff that there's jokes about in the newspapers -sometimes,--jokes about gals that's too thin-waisted to hug, but can -eat barl's of it?" - -"Yes; that's the stuff." - -"The dickens! Well, ef I was a gal, I'd let out tucks all day long an' -durn the expense, if my feller'd fill my bread-basket with stuff like -that. Must be frightful costly, though." - -"Not more'n plain custard, Mis' Somerton says." - -"Wh-a-a-a-a-at? Say, Caleb, I'm goin' to j'in the church, right -straight off. No more takin' any risks o' hell for me, thank you, for -it stands to reason that they can't make ice-cream down there." - -When the contents of the freezer were exhausted, Philip, who never -smoked, opened a box of fine cigars which he had ordered from the -East, with a view to business with visiting lawyers in the approaching -"Court-week." Then the joy of the veterans was complete; the windows -were opened, for, as Caleb said, no mosquito would venture into such a -cloud, and it was not until midnight that any one thought to ask the -time. - -"I'm afeared," said Caleb, after all the other guests had departed, -"that you'll have a mighty big job o' dish-washin' to-morrow, but--" - -"But 'twas richly worth it," Grace said, and Philip assented. - -"That's very kind o' you, but 'tain't what I was goin' to say, which -was that I'll turn in and help, if you'll let me, an' another thing is, -you've put an end to any chance of any of the boys takin' a drink of -anythin' stronger than water to-night, an' you've made sure of some new -customers, too." - -"Oh, Caleb!" Grace said, "can't we do anything hearty for its own sake, -without being rewarded for it?" - -"Nary thing!" Caleb replied. "That's business truth, an' Gospel truth, -too." - -FOOTNOTE: - - [1] In most states of the American Union the 30th of - May is a legal holiday called Decoration Day, the - purpose being to honor, by various means, the memory - of the soldiers who died in defence of the Union in - the great Civil War of 1861-65. More than a quarter - of a million survivors of the Union army are members - of a fraternal society called the Grand Army of the - Republic, which is divided into about seven thousand - local branches called Posts. The organization is - military in form, each post having a body of officers - with military titles and insignia. All posts carry the - national colors in their parades, and are expected to - be uniformed in close imitation of the service dress - of the army of the United States. A few posts bear - arms, and each member of the order wears a medal made - by the national government from cannon captured from - the enemy. The posts always parade on Decoration Day, - and at cemeteries where soldiers of the Union army - have been interred they read their "Ritual of the - Dead" and decorate the graves with flags and flowers. - In recent years the order has decorated the graves - of dead Confederates also, and there have been many - friendly interchanges of civilities and hospitalities - between the Grand Army of the Republic and the Southern - survivors' organization known as The United Confederate - Veterans--an order which has about fifty thousand - members. - - - - -XVII--FOREIGN INVASION - - -"WELL, Caleb," said Philip, on the day after Decoration Day, "how did -the bath-house opening-day pan out?" - -"First-rate--A 1," Caleb replied, rubbing his hands, and then laughing -to himself a long time, although in a manner which implied that the -excitement to laughter was of a confidential nature. But this merely -piqued curiosity, so Philip said:-- - -"Do you think it fair to keep all the fun to yourself, you selfish -scamp? Don't you know that things to laugh at are dismally scarce -at this season of the year? As the boys say when another boy finds -something, 'Halves.'" - -"Well," said Caleb, "the fact is, some of the customers was scared -to death, Black Sam says, for fear they'd catch cold after the bath. -I'd expected as much of some of our G. A. R. boys,--mentionin' -no names,--so I'd took down to the house a dozen sets o' thin -underclothin' that I'd ordered on suspicion. I always wear it--I -learned the trick from one of our hospital doctors in the army, an' it -gives me so much comfort that I talked it up to other men, but 'twas a -new idee 'round here, an' ev'rybody laughed at me. The baths, though, -scared a lot o' the boys into tryin' it. All day long they were kind o' -wonderin', out loud, whether it was the cleanin' up or the underclothes -that made 'em feel so much better'n usual; so I says to 'em, 'What's -the matter with both? No one thing's ev'rythin', unless mebbe it's -religion, an' even that loses its holt if you squat down with it an' -don't do nothin' else.' 'But,' says some of 'em, 'what's to be did when -the underclothes gets dirty?' 'Put on some clean ones,' says I, 'or -wash the old ones overnight, 'fore you go to bed--that's what I done -ev'ry night, when I was so poor that I couldn't afford a change.' Well, -some of 'em'll do it, 'cause they're too poor to buy, but you'd better -telegraph for a stock o' them thin goods; for when they don't find -thick shirts an' pants stickin' to 'em all day, while they're at work, -they'll be so glad o' the change that they'll want to stock up. They'll -find out, as I've always b'lieved, that underclothes, an' plenty of -'em, is a means o' grace." - -"More business for the store, as usual," said Philip. - -"Yes," said Caleb, "but 'twon't be a patch to the run there'd be on -ice-cream machines--if there was plenty of ice to be had. Some o' the -boys from the farmin' district stopped with me last night, thinkin' it -was better to get some sleep 'fore sun-up than go out home an' wake -their folks up halfway between midnight and daylight, to say nothin' o' -scarin' all the dogs o' the county into barkin', and tirin' out hosses -that's got a day's work before 'em. Well, 'fore turnin' in, they said -lots o' nice things--though no nicer than they ought--about the way -they had been treated at your house, an' 'bout the way you both acted, -as if you an' them had been cut from the same piece, but--" - -"Don't make me conceited, Caleb." - -"I won't; for, as I was goin' to say, they come back ev'ry time to the -friz milk, as they called it, an' how they wished their wives knew how -to make it, an' what a pity 'twas there wa'n't ice-houses all over the -county. Well--partly with an eye to business, knowin' that most any of -'em could stand the price of a freezer, an' the others could do it, -too, if they'd save the price o' liquor they drink in a month or two--I -says:-- - -"'Well, why don't you make 'em? You could do it o' slabs you could -split out o' logs from your own woodland, an' the crick freezes ev'ry -winter, when you an' your hosses has got next to nothin' to do. Besides -havin' ice-cream from milk that you've all got more of than you know -what to do with, you could kill a critter once in a while in the -summer, an' keep the meat cool; you could have fresh meat off an' on, -instead o' cookin' pork seven days o' the week in hot weather, when it -sickens the women an' children to look at it.' They 'lowed that that -was so, an' they jawed it over for a while, an'--well, three or four -ice-houses are goin' up, between farms, next winter, an' we'll sell -some freezers, an' some men'll let up on drinkin'; for the worst bum -o' the lot 'lowed that he'd trade his thirsty any time, an' throw in -a quart o' Bustpodder's best to boot, for a good square fill o' friz -milk." - -"So even ice-cream is a means of grace, Caleb--eh?" said Philip. - -"That's what it is, an' I notice, too, that you don't laugh under your -mustache, like you used to do, when mention's made o' means o' grace." - -But what rose is without its thorn? In the course of a few days the -word went about, among the very large class to whom everything is fuel -for the flame of gossip, that a lot of the Grand Army men had been -taken into the Somerton house, and found it a palace, the things in -which must have cost thousands of dollars, and that it was a shame -and an outrage that money should have been made out of the poor, -overworked country people to support two young stuck-ups from the city -in more luxury than Queen Elizabeth ever dreamed of; for who ever read -in history books of Queen Elizabeth having ice-cream? and didn't the -history books say that she had only rushes on her floors, instead -of even a rag carpet, to say nothing of picture carpets like the -Somertons'? - -When the rumor reached the store, Philip ground his teeth, but Grace -laughed. - -"I believe you'd laugh, even if they called your husband a swindler," -said Philip. - -"Indeed I would, at anything so supremely ridiculous," Grace said. -"Wouldn't you, Caleb?" - -"I reckon I would. Anyhow, it sounds a mighty sight better than the -noise Philip made; besides, it's healthier for the teeth. It shows 'em -off better, too." - -"Now, Mr. Crosspatch, how do you feel?" - -"Utterly crushed. But what are you going to do about it?" - -"I'm going to make those gossips ashamed of themselves." - -"How?" - -"By refurnishing the parlor for the summer. The dust is ruining our -nice things, so the change will be an economy. I'll do it so cheaply -that almost any farmer in the county can afford to copy it, to the -great delight of his wife, as well as himself. Let--me--see--" and -Grace dropped her head over a bit of paper and a pencil, and Caleb -looked at her admiringly, and winked profoundly at Philip, and then -hurried into the back room so that his impending substitute for an -ecstatic dance should not disturb the planner of the coming parlor -decorations. - -For some reason--perhaps excitement over the bath-house, or surprise -at the uniforming of his Grand Army command, or the heat, or the -debilitating effect of old wounds--Philip pretended to believe it -was the effect of Grace's ice-cream upon a system not inured to such -compounds--Caleb suddenly became disabled by a severe malarial attack -with several complications. He did not take to his bed, but his -movements were mechanical, his manner apathetic, and his tongue almost -silent. He did not complain; and when questioned, he insisted that he -suffered no pain. Philip and Grace endeavored to tempt his appetite, -for he ate scarcely anything, and they tried to rally him by various -mental means, but without effect. He noted their solicitude, and its -sincerity impressed him so deeply that he said one day:-- - -"The worst thing about this attack is that I can't get words to tell -you how good you both are bein' to me. But I'm the same as a man that's -been hit with a club." - -Then Philip and Grace insisted that Doctor Taggess should do something -for Caleb, and the Doctor said nothing would give him more pleasure; -for anything that would restore Caleb to health would probably be -serviceable in other cases of the same kind, of which there were -several on his hands. After listening to much well-meant but worthless -suggestion, the Doctor said:-- - -"There's a new treatment of which I've heard encouraging reports, but -it is quite costly. It is called the sea treatment. It is said, on good -authority, that a month at sea, anywhere in the temperate zone, will -cure any chronic case of malaria, and that the greater the attack of -sea-sickness, the more thorough will be the cure." - -"Caleb shall try it, no matter what the cost," said Philip. - -The Doctor smiled, shook his head doubtfully, and said:-- - -"What if he won't? He is so bound up in you and your business, and his -own many interests and duties, that he will make excuses innumerable." - -"Quite likely, but I ought to be ingenious enough to devise some way of -making it appear a matter of duty." - -"I hope you can, and that you'll begin at once, if only for my sake, -professionally, so that I may study the results." - -Then, for a day, Philip became almost as silent as Caleb, and Grace -assisted him. The next morning, he said:-- - -"Caleb, I want to start a new enterprise that will revolutionize this -part of the country and part of Europe, too, if it succeeds, but it -won't work unless you join me in it." - -"You know I'm yours to command," Caleb replied, at the same time -forcing a tiny gleam of interest. - -"That's kind of you, but this project of mine is so unusual that I -almost fear to suggest it. You know that the farmers of this section -plant far more corn than anything else." - -"Yes, 'n always will, I reckon, no matter how small the price of what -they can't put into pork. The idee o' corn-plantin' 's been with 'em -so long that I reckon it's 'petrified in their brain structure,' as a -scientific sharp I once read about, said about somethin' else." - -"Quite so, and we can't hope to change it unless labor and horses -should suddenly become cheaper and more plentiful. Now I propose -that we take advantage of this state of affairs by making some money -and getting some glory, besides indirectly helping the farmers, by -increasing the future demand for corn. You yourself once told me that -if the people of Europe could learn to eat corn-bread, 'twould be -money in their own pockets, relieve corn-bins here of surplus stock, -and perhaps lessen the quantity of the corn spoiled by being made into -whiskey." - -"That's a fact," said Caleb. - -"Very well. Corn never was cheaper here than it is now,--so I'm -told,--nor were the mills ever so idle. I can buy the best of -corn-meal, barrelled, and deliver it in London or Liverpool, freight -paid, at less than two dollars per barrel, and I can buy all I want of -it on my note at six months. If you'll go into the enterprise with me, -every barrel shall be labelled 'Claybanks Western Corn-Flour: trademark -registered by Philip Somerton.'" - -"Hooray for Claybanks! Hooray for the West!" shouted Caleb, becoming -more like his old self. - -"Thank you. But as I've quoted to you about your bath-house project, -'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.' Meal -has often been sent to the English market, and some dealers have even -sent careful cooking and bread-making directions. The different methods -of making good food from corn-meal must, I am satisfied, be shown, -practically, before the eyes of possible consumers. So my plan is this: -to send over, say, two hundred barrels to London; hire for a month -a small shop in a district thickly inhabited by people who know the -value of a penny saved, cook in various forms--hasty pudding, hoe-cake, -dodgers, muffins, corn-bread, etc., at the rate of a barrel of meal a -day, or as much as can be sold, or even given away as an advertisement -of the 'Claybanks Western Corn-Flour'--meanwhile persuading grocers -in the vicinity to keep the meal for sale to persons who are sensible -enough to appreciate it. And finally, as you know how to make all sorts -of good things of corn-meal, I'd like you to go over to England and -manage the entire business." - -"Wh-e-e-e-e-e-ew!" - -"That's somewhat non-committal, isn't it?" - -"Well!" said Caleb, "I reckon the malary's knocked plumb out o' me!" - -"I hope so; but if it isn't, it will be; for Doctor Taggess says that -a month at sea is the newest treatment prescribed for malaria, and -that is said to be a sure cure. The trip over won't take a month, but -a week or ten days of the ocean ought to make a beginning, and show -you how 'twill act, and if the enterprise makes a hit, I'll show my -appreciation by standing the expense of a trip up the Mediterranean and -back by direct steamer to the United States. By the way, while you're -up the Mediterranean, you might join one of Cook's tourist parties, -and see the Holy Land. How does the entire plan strike you?" - -"How--does it--strike me?" drawled Caleb. Then he pulled himself -together and continued: "Why, it's struck me all of a heap. Say, -Philip, you've got a mighty long head--do you know it? I ain't sayin' -that I can't do the work middlin' well, though I have heard that it -takes a pickaxe an' a corkscrew to get any new idee into the commoner -kinds of the English skull. An' a trip through the Holy Land! But -say--who'd look after my Sunday-school class while I was away?" - -"Oh, I will, if you can't find a better substitute. You've been doing -your best to get me into church work--you know you have, you sly scamp. -Now's your chance." - -"To break you into that sort o' work," said Caleb, slowly, "I'd be -willin' to peddle ice in Greenland, an' live on the proceeds. But -there's my other class--though I s'pose I could farm that out for a -spell. Then there's a lot o' folks that's been lookin' to me for one -thing an' another so long that--" - -"That perhaps 'twould do them good to be obliged to depend upon -themselves for a few weeks." - -"Phil dear, don't be heartless! Caleb, couldn't you trust those people -to a woman for a little while?" - -"Oh, couldn't I! An' I thank you from the bottom of my heart besides. -London! Then I could see Westminster Abbey, an' the Tower o' London, -an' go to John Wesley's birthplace, an'--" - -"Yes," said Philip, "and you could run over to Paris, too." - -"No, sir!" exclaimed Caleb. "When I want to see Satan an' his kingdom, -I won't have to travel three thousan' mile to do it. But--" - -"But me no more buts, Caleb--unless you would rather not go." - -"Rather not, indeed! If I was dyin' as hard of malary as I'm dyin' to -see some things in England, I guess I'd turn up in kingdom-come in -about three days, almanac-time. What I was 'buttin'' about was only -this: are you plumb sure that I'm the right man for the job?" - -"Quite sure; for you're entirely honest, industrious, and persistent; -you're as corn-crazy as any other Western man; you've taught my wife -and me how to work a lot of unsuspected delicacies out of corn-meal; -and, more important than all else, for this purpose, you've the special -Western faculty of taking a man's measure at once and treating him -accordingly. If that won't work with the English,--and the worst of -them can't be any stupider than certain people here,--nothing will. -So the matter is settled, and you're to start at once--to-morrow, if -possible; for first I want you to buy me a lot of goods in New York. My -wife and I have determined to carry a larger stock and more variety, -and--" - -"Start to-morrow!" interrupted Caleb, incredulously. - -"Yes; the longer you wait, the longer 'twill take you to get away. -Besides, I want to keep the corn-meal enterprise a secret, and you're -so honest that it'll leak from you if you don't get off at once." - -"But I can't get--" - -"Yes, you can, no matter what it is. And while you are attending to -business in New York you must sleep down by the seaside, so that the -sea air shall begin its fight with the malaria as soon as possible. -I shall engage a room for you by telegraph to-day; you can reach it -by rail within an hour from any part of the city, and return in the -morning as early as you like." - -"But, man alive, you haven't got the corn-meal yet." - -"I shall have a lot of it on the rail by a week from to-day; the rest -can follow. You'll need a fortnight in New York, to do the buying -and see the sights, for the town is somewhat larger than Claybanks. -Besides, no self-respecting American should go abroad until he has -seen Niagara Falls, Independence Hall, Bunker Hill Monument, and the -National Capital. The Falls are directly on your route East, Washington -is a short and cheap trip from New York, with Philadelphia between -the two cities, and you can take a steamer from Boston. Now pack -your gripsack at once--there's a good fellow, and don't say a single -good-by. I'm told they're dreadfully unlucky. After you've started, -I'll explain to every one that you've gone East to buy some goods -for me. At present I'll settle down to making you a route-book, with -information about all sorts of things that you may wish, after you're -off, that you'd asked about." - -Caleb retired slowly to his room over the store; Philip and Grace -took turns for an hour in watching the street for Doctor Taggess and -in sending messengers in every direction for him, and when the Doctor -arrived, they unfolded to him, under injunctions of secrecy, the entire -plan regarding Caleb. The Doctor listened with animated face and -twinkling eyes, until the story ended; then he relieved himself of a -long, hearty laugh, and said:-- - -"What would your Uncle Jethro say to such an outlay of money?" - -"If he's where I hope he is," Philip replied, "he knows that Caleb -richly deserves it in addition to his salary, for his many years of -service. Besides, we've earned the money, in excess of any previous -half-year of trade; so even if the commercial project fails I shall be -out only three or four hundred dollars." - -"And without doubt," said the Doctor, "'twill be the remaking of Caleb." - -"I hope so," Philip replied, "for he has been remaking me." - - - - -XVIII--THE TABBY PARTY - - -ALL of Grace's spare hours for a fortnight after Caleb's departure -were spent in recalling and applying the makeshift furniture devices -of her native village and those described in back numbers of "Ladies' -Own" papers and magazines, as well as all the upholstery and other -decorative methods of her sister-saleswomen in the days when she -and they had far more taste than money. Chairs and lounges were -extemporized from old boxes and barrels, cushioned with straw or -corn-husks, and covered with chintz. A roll of cheap matting, ordered -from the city, drove the rugs from the sitting room and parlor, and -the cheapest of hangings replaced the lace curtains at the windows. -All of the framed pictures were sent upstairs, and upon the walls were -affixed, with furniture tacks, many borderless pictures, plain and -colored, from the collection which Philip and Grace had made, in past -years, from weekly papers and Christmas "Supplements." - -The vases, too, disappeared, though substitutes for them were found. -Dainty tables, brackets, etc., were replaced by some made from -fragments of boxes, the completed structures being stained to imitate -more costly woods, and instead of the couple's darling bric-à-brac -appeared oddities peculiar to the country--some birds and small animals -stuffed by Black Sam, birds'-nests, dried flowers, a mass of heads -of wheat, oats, rye, and sorghum arranged as a great bouquet, some -turkey-tail fans, and so many other things that had attracted Grace in -her drives and walks that there seemed no room on mantel, tables, and -walls for all of them. - -"There!" Grace exclaimed, as she ushered her husband into the parlor at -the end of a day expended on finishing touches. "What do you think of -it?" - -"Bless me!" Philip exclaimed. "Absolutely harmonious in color, besides -being far fuller than it was before. 'Tis quite as pretty, too, in -general effect. Don't imagine for a moment, however, that your selected -list of old cats will appreciate it." - -"I _shall_ imagine it, and I don't believe I shall be disappointed. All -human nature is susceptible to general effect. Besides, Mrs. Taggess -is to be here, and all of them are fond of her, and she will say many -things that I can't. I shall boast only when they tell me that they -suppose my husband did most of the work--if any of them are clever -enough to detect the difference between what is here and what the G. A. -R. men and other guests have reported." - -The invitations were given informally, though long in advance, to a -midday dinner on the first day of "Court-week,"--a day set apart by -common consent in hundreds of counties, for a general flocking to town. -The guests selected were--according to Caleb, who was consulted when -the plan was first formed--the ten most virulent feminine gossips in -the county. Black Sam's wife had been employed to assist for the day -at cooking and serving, and among the dishes were many which would -be entirely new to the guests. At one end of the table sat Grace, -"dressed," as one of the guests said afterwards, "as all-fired as a -gal that was expectin' her feller, an' was boun' to make him pop the -question right straight off." At the other end of the table was Mrs. -Taggess, plainly attired, except for her habitual smile, and at either -side sat five as differing shapes--except for sharp features and -inquiring eyes--as could be found anywhere. One wore black silk with -much affectation of superiority to the general herd, but the others -seemed to have prepared for a wild competition in colors of raiment and -ribbons, and one had succeeded in borrowing for the day the original -and many-colored silk of Mrs. Hawk Howlaway, described in an early -chapter of this narrative. - -The guests did full justice to the repast. One by one they became -mystified by the number of courses, for they had expected pie or -pudding to follow the first dish. Some began to be apprehensive of the -future, but with the fine determination characteristic of "settlers," -good and bad alike, they continued to ply knife and fork and spoon. -For some time the efforts of the hostess and Mrs. Taggess to encourage -conversation were unrewarded, though some of the guests exchanged -questions and comments in guarded tones. All acted with the apparent -unconcern of the North American Indian; but curiosity, a tricky -quality at best, suddenly compelled one gaunt woman to exclaim, as she -contemplated the dish before her and raised it to her prominent nose:-- - -"What on airth is that stuff, I'd like to know?" - -"That is lobster salad," Grace replied. - -"Oh! I couldn't somehow make out what kind of an animile the meat come -off of." - -"Nuther could I," said her vis-à-vis, with a full mouth, "but I'm goin' -to worry my ole man to raise some of 'em on the farm, for it's powerful -good, an' no mistake." - -A buzz of assent went round the table; the ice was broken, so another -guest said:-- - -"Mis' Somerton, I've been dyin' to know what that there soup was made -of that we begun on. I never tasted anythin' so good in all my born -days." - -"Indeed? I'm very glad you liked it. 'Twas made of crawfish." - -A score of knives and forks clattered upon plates, and ten women -assumed attitudes of amazement and consternation. Finally one of them -succeeded in gasping:-- - -"Them little things that bores holes 'longside the crick? the things -that boys makes fish-bait of?" - -"The same, though only millionnaires' sons could afford to use them -for bait in the East. Crawfish meat in New York costs as much as--oh, -a single pound of it costs as much as a big sugar-cured ham. I never -dreamed of buying it--I never dared hope that I might taste it--until I -came out here." - -The appearance of a new course checked conversation on the subject, but -one of the guests eyed suspiciously a tiny French chop, the tip of its -bone covered with paper, and said to the woman at her right:-- - -"Don't appear to know what we're bein' fed with here. Wonder what this -is? It's little enough to be a side bone o' cat. Must be all right, -though; Mis' Taggess is eatin' hern." - -A form of blanc-mange was another mystery. Said one woman to another:-- - -"It must be the ice-cream the soldiers told about, for it's powerful -cold, besides bein' powerful good." - -"That's so," was the reply; "but 'pears to me I didn't hear the men say -nothin' about there bein' gravy poured on theirn." - -Some of the guests were becoming full to their extreme capacity,--a -condition which stimulates geniality in some natures, ugliness in -others. They had come to criticise--to learn of their hostess's -extravagance. They had remained in the parlor only long enough to be -entirely overcome by its magnificence and to exchange whispered remarks -about the shameful waste of money wrung from the hard-working farmers. - -The dinner had been good beyond their wildest expectations; not the -best Fourth of July picnic refreshments, or even the memorable dinner -given by Squire Burress, the richest farmer in the county, when his -daughter was married, compared with it. What was so good must also -have been very expensive. Criticism must begin with something, and the -blanc-mange seemed a proper subject to one woman, who was reputed to -be very religious. So she groaned:-- - -"This--whatever it is--is so awful good that it must ha' been sinful -costly--actually sinful." - -"Yes, indeed," sighed another. "One might say, a wicked waste o' money." - -"Blanc-mange?--costly?" Grace said, curbing an indignant impulse; "why, -'tis nothing but corn-starch, milk, sugar, and a little flavoring. I -wonder what dessert dish could be cheaper!" - -"You don't say!" exclaimed a woman less malevolent or more practical -than the others. "Now, I just ain't a-goin' to give you no peace till -you give me the receipt for it." - -"I'll give it, with pleasure; or better still, you shall have a package -of the corn-starch,--'tis worth only a few cents,--with full directions -on the label. I might possibly forget some part of them, you know." - -"Me too," said several women as one, and criticism was temporarily -abated. Before a new excuse for reviving it could be found, the -ice-cream--the real article, and without gravy, of course--made its -appearance. It was consumed in silence, in as much haste as possible -with anything so cold, and also with evident enjoyment. Then the -opponent of sinful extravagance remarked:-- - -"It's awful good--too good! It 'pears wicked to enjoy any earthly thing -so much. Besides, you needn't tell me that _it_ ain't awful costly, -'cause I shan't believe it." - -"If my word is of so doubtful quality," said Grace, with rising color, -"perhaps Mrs. Taggess, with whom you're better acquainted, will inform -you." - -"'Tis nothing but milk, cream, and sugar," said Mrs. Taggess, who -had borrowed Grace's freezer and experimented with it, "and most of -you know very well that you've so much milk that you feed some of it -to your pigs. The cream in what all of you have eaten would make, -perhaps, a single pound of butter, which you would be glad to sell for -fifteen cents. The sugar cost not more than five or six cents, and the -flavoring, to any one with raspberries in their own garden, would have -cost nothing." - -The guests gasped in chorus, but the tormentor quickly said:-- - -"But the ice! Us poor farmin' folks can't afford ice; it's only them -that makes their livin' out of us--" - -"Excuse me," said Mrs. Taggess, "but many of the farmers, your husband -among them, have been telling Doctor Taggess recently that they were -going to put up ice-houses next winter, and that they were foolish -or lazy for not having already done so before. I'm sure that all of -you who have enjoyed the cream so greatly will keep your husbands in -mind of it, especially as ice-cream, made at home, is as cheap as the -poorest food that any farmer's family eats." - -The coming of the coffee caused conversation to abate once more, for in -each cup floated a puff of whipped cream--a spectacle unfamiliar to any -of the gossips, some of whom hastily spooned and swallowed it, in the -supposition that it was ice-cream, put in to cool the coffee somewhat. -Those who followed the motions of their hostess and Mrs. Taggess -stirred the whipped cream into the coffee, and enjoyed the result, but -again the voice of the tormentor arose:-- - -"We buy all our coffee at your store, but we don't never have none that -tastes like this here." - -"Indeed?" Grace said, with an air of solicitude. "I wonder why, for -there is but one kind in the store, and this was made from it. Perhaps -we prepare it in different ways." - -"I bile mine a plumb half-hour," said the tormentor, "so's to git ev'ry -mite o' stren'th out o' it." - -"Oh! I never boil mine." - -She never boiled coffee! Would the wonders of this house and its -housekeeper never cease? - -"For pity sakes, how does any one make coffee without boilin', _I'd_ -like to know?" said a little woman with a thin, aquiline nose and a -piercing voice. - -"I used to do it," said Grace, "by putting finely ground coffee in -a strainer, and letting boiling water trickle through it, but the -strainer melted off one day, through my carelessness, so now I put the -coffee in a cotton bag, tie it, throw it into the pot, pour on boiling -water, set it on the cooler part of the stove, and let it stand without -boiling for five minutes. Then I take out the bag and its contents, to -keep the coffee from getting a woody taste. My husband, who often makes -the coffee in the morning, throws the ground coffee into cold water, -lets it stand on the stove until it comes to a boil, and removes it at -once. I'm not yet sure which way is the best." - -"Nor I," said Mrs. Taggess, "although I've tasted it here made in both -ways, and seen it made, too." - -The guests were so astonished that each took a second cup--not that -they really wanted it, as one explained to two others, but to see -whether it really was as good as it had seemed at first. Then Grace -arose, and led the way to the parlor. Some of the guests were loath to -follow, among them the tormentor, who said:-- - -"I s'pose if I'd talked about these crockery dishes, she'd have faced -me down, an' tried to make me believe they didn't cost as much as -mine." - -"Oh, no, she wouldn't," said Mrs. Taggess, who overheard the remark; -"but I think 'twas very kind of her to set out her very best china, -don't you? Most people do that only for their dearest friends--never -for people who forget the manners due to the woman of the house, -whoever she may be." - -"I don't see what you mean by that, Mis' Taggess, I'm sure. I only--" - -"Ah, well, try not to 'only' in the parlor, for Mrs. Somerton is trying -very hard to make us feel entirely at home." - -"Well, _I_ think she's just tryin' to show off, 'cause she's come into -old Jethro's money." - -"Show off with what? Do tell me." - -"Why, with her fine furniture an' fixin's. If that best room o' hern -was mine, I'd be 'feared to use it, an' I'd expect the house to be -struck by lightnin' to punish me for my wicked pride." - -"I'm a-dyin' to ask her what some o' them things cost," said another, -"but I don't quite dass to." - -"Then you may stop dying at once, for I'll ask her for you, although I -already know, within a few cents, the price of everything in the room. -Come along, now. Ahem! Mrs. Somerton, there's much curiosity among the -ladies as to the cost of furnishing your beautiful parlor. Won't you -tell us?" - -"Very gladly," Grace said, "for I'm very proud of it." - -"Didn't I tell you?" whispered the tormentor. - -"Everything in the parlor, except the piano, which is the ugliest thing -in it," Grace continued, "cost less than twenty dollars." - -"Sho!" exclaimed one woman, incredulously. "Why, that's no more money -than Squire Burress paid for the sofy that his gals is courted on, for -Mis' Burress told me the price o' that sofy herself, an' showed me the -bill to prove it." - -"I've no bills to show," Grace said, with a laugh, "for the largest -articles are made of scraps, such as my husband gives away to any one -who asks for them. See here--" as she spoke she turned a chair upside -down to show that its basis was a barrel. Then she raised the drapery -of a divan to show the unpainted boxes beneath. "The matting on the -floor is three times as cheap as rag carpet. You can buy the window -hangings in the store at fifteen cents a yard--though don't imagine I'm -trying to advertise the goods. All the furniture covers are of cheap -bedquilt chintzes. Examine everything, ladies; for, as I've already -said, I'm very proud of my cheap little parlor." - -"You didn't say nothin' about the cost of the labor," said the -tormentor. - -"True," Grace admitted, "but I can reckon it with very little trouble, -for I did it all myself; I've no grown sons and daughters, like some of -you, so I did it alone. Besides my time it cost me--well, to be exact, -one thumb bruised with the hammer; one finger ditto; a bad scratch on -one hand, caused by a saw slipping; half a day of pain in one eye, into -which I blew some sawdust; two sore knees, got while putting down the -matting; and one twisted ankle--I accidentally stepped from a box while -tacking a picture to the wall." - -"Well, I'm clean beat out o' my senses!" confessed one guest. "I never -heerd tell that they learned such work to women in cities." - -"Perhaps they don't," Grace said, "but I learned most of it when I was -a country girl in western New York." - -"What? You a country gal?" - -"Indeed I am. I can milk cows, churn butter, make garden, take care of -chickens, saw wood and split it, wash clothes, and do any other country -housework, besides making my own clothes." - -The woman who had elicited this information looked slowly from face to -face among her acquaintances, and then said:-- - -"I reckon we're a passel o' fools." - -"Oh,--excuse me; but I assure you that I meant nothing of the kind." - -"But I do, an' I mean it strong, too; yes, ma'am. We're a passel o' -fools. I won't feel over an' above safe until I git home an' take a -good long think, an' I reckon the sooner the rest of us go too, the -seldomer we'll put our foot in it." - -There was general acquiescence in this suggestion; even the tormentor -seemed suppressed, but suddenly her eyes glared, her lips hardened, -and she said:-- - -"I suppose that scrumptious dress o' yourn was made o' scraps, too?" - -Grace laughed merrily, and replied:-- - -"You're not far from right, for 'tis made of old Madras window curtains -that cost eight cents a yard when new. There wasn't enough of the stuff -to cover all my windows here, so I made it up into a dress rather than -waste it, for I liked the pattern of it very much. Oh, yes--and there's -sixteen cents' worth of ribbon worked into it--I'd forgotten that. But -your dress--oh, I shouldn't dare wear one so costly as a black silk. -Really, I should think it a sinful waste of money that might do so much -good to the poor, or to the Missionary Society, or the Bible Society, -or--" - -"What time's it gittin' to be?" asked the tormentor. "I'll bet my -husban' is jest rarin' 'roun' like a bob-tail steer in fly-time, an' -tellin' all the other men that women never know when it's time to go -home, an' what a long drive he's got before him, an' all the stock to -water when he gits thar. Good-by, Mis' Somerton. Some day I'll borrer -that ice-cream machine o' yourn, an' a hunk o' ice, if you don't mind." - -The other women also took their leave, and soon Grace was alone with -Mrs. Taggess, who said:-- - -"I'd apologize for them, my dear, if you hadn't known in advance that -they were the most malicious lot in the county." - -Grace laughed, and replied:-- - -"But weren't they lots of fun?" Mrs. Taggess embraced her hostess, and -said:-- - -"I believe you'd find something to laugh at even in a cyclone." - -"If not," Grace replied, "'twouldn't be for lack of trying." - - - - -XIX--DAYS IN THE STORE - - -CALEB'S departure was effected without publicity, no one having -known of its probability but the Somertons and Pastor Grateway, whom -Caleb had asked to provide a temporary substitute to lead his weekly -"class-meetin'." The substitute, however, made haste to tell of his new -dignity, so within twenty-four hours the entire town knew that Caleb -had gone to New York, and great was the wonder; for from the date of -the foundation of the town no Claybanker had been known to go to New -York intentionally, although it was reported that an occasional native -had reached the metropolis in the course of a desultory journey to the -bad. - -Philip felt quite competent to manage the business without assistance, -early summer being, like spring, a period of business inactivity; -but within a week he was mystified by the appearance of many people -who had never before entered the store, but who now evinced not only -a willingness but a strong desire to become customers. Referring to -a full list which Caleb had prepared months before, but which until -now had lain unnoticed in the desk,--a list of adults throughout the -county,--Philip found opposite the names of the visitors some comments -not entirely uncomplimentary; among them, "Tricky"; "Shaky"; "Never -believe him"; "Don't sell to her without written order from her dad"; -"Thief"; "Require his note, with good endorsement--he can get it"; "Her -husband's published notice against trusting her"; etc. The incursion -increased in volume as time went on, and compelled Philip to say to -Grace, at the end of the seventh day:-- - -"I didn't suppose there could be so many undesirable people in a single -fairly respectable and small county. They've evidently thought me 'an -easy mark,' as the city boys say, if I could be found away from Caleb's -sheltering wing, but not one of them has succeeded in getting the -better of me. Men talk of the tact needed in avoiding the plausible -scamps who invade business circles in the city, but after this week's -experience I think I could pass inspection for a city detective's -position." - -"If you had a list like Caleb's to refer to, so that you might know -what to expect of every one you met," Grace added, with a roguish -twinkle in her eyes, for which the eyes themselves were obscured a -moment, after which infliction Philip continued:-- - -"I really wish that an important trade or two, of almost any kind, -would turn up, for me to manage without assistance; not that I -underrate Caleb's value, but I should like to demonstrate that besides -having been an apt pupil, I've at least a little ability that is wholly -and peculiarly mine. Then I should like to write Caleb about it; the -honest chap would be quite as pleased as I at any success I might -report, and he would feel less uneasy at being away." - -Within an hour or two, a native whom Philip knew by sight and name, -although not one of his own customers, shuffled into the store, and -asked:-- - -"Don't know nobody that wants to trade goods for forty acre o' black -wannut land, I s'pose?" - -"Black walnut timber? How old?" - -"Well, the best way to find out's to look at it for yourself." - -"Whereabouts is it? I may take a look at it when I get a chance." - -"'Tain't more'n two mile off. What's to keep ye from gittin' on yer -hoss now an' ridin' out with me? We can git there an' back in an hour." - -"Do it, Phil," Grace whispered. "The horse needs exercise, and so do -you. I can hold the fort for an hour." - -"The land's too fur from my place," explained the farmer, as the two -men rode along at an easy canter, "an' I can't keep track o' the lumber -market, to know when to cut an' ship wannut lawgs, but 'tain't that way -with you." - -"How much do you want for it?" - -"Well, I reckon five dollar an acre won't hurt ye--five dollars in -goods. I've been a holdin' it a long time, 'cause wannut land is wuth -more'n more ev'ry year; but my folks wants an awful lot o' stuff, an' -my boys want me to lay in a lot o' new farmin' tools, an' make an' -addition to the barn, an' I kind o' ciphered up what ev'rythin' wanted, -all told, would cost, an' I made out 'twould be nigh onto two hundred -dollars, an' I sez to myself, sez I, 'By gum, I'll sell the wannut lot; -that's what I'll do.' It's all free an' clear--I've got the deed in my -pocket, an' 'twon't take ye ten minutes at the County Clerk's office -to find that there's no mortgages on it. Whoa! There! Did ye ever see -finer wannut land'n that? Let's ride up an' down through it. I dunno -any trees that grows that's as cherful to look at, from the money -standp'int, as tall, thick black wannuts." - -Philip was not an expert on standing timber, but it was plain to see -that the ground over which he rode, to and fro, was well sprinkled with -fine black walnut trees. It lay low enough to be subject to the annual -overflow of the creek, not far away, but Philip was bargaining for -timber--not for land. The two men continued to ride until the farmer -said:-- - -"Here's my line--see the blaze on this tree? You can see t'other end o' -the line way down yander, ef you skin yer eye--a big blazed hick'ry; -or, we'll ride down to it." - -"Never mind," said Philip. "I'll give you two hundred in goods as soon -as you like." - -"I thort you would," said the farmer. "Well, I'll bring in the papers, -fully executed, to-morrer, an' I'll leave a list o' stuff that ye might -lay out, to save time; my wife can do her sheer o' the tradin' when she -comes in to-morrer. An' I'll assign ye my own deed, when we get back -to town, so's ye can have the title examined to-day, ef ye like, an' -put a stopper agin any new incumbrances, though I ain't the kind o' man -to make 'em after passin' my word. 'A bargain's a bargain!' that's my -motto." - -When Philip returned to the store he found awaiting him a young man on -horseback, whose face was unfamiliar. When the seller of the walnut -land had departed, the young man said:-- - -"See anythin' wrong 'bout this hoss?" - -After a hasty but close examination Philip admitted that he did not. - -"Glad o' that," said the man, "'cause o' this." As he spoke he handed -Philip a bit of paper on which was written, in Caleb's familiar -chirography and over Caleb's signature:-- - - "DEAR JIM: Anybody would be glad to give you - seventy-five dollars in cash for your colt, but you're - foolish to sell now. Keep him a year, and you'll get - fifty more, but if you're bound to sell, please give - Mr. Somerton first show. - - "Yours truly, - "CALEB WRIGHT." - -"I suppose, from this, that you'd rather have seventy-five dollars than -your colt?" Philip said, as he returned the letter. - -"That's about the size of it; but if you ain't sharp-set for a healthy -three-year-old, of the kind they hanker after up to the city, I reckon -I can find somebody that is, seein' that Caleb's a good judge an' never -over-prices hosses when he thinks he's likely to do the buyin' of 'em." - -"Come in," said Philip, who quickly made out a receipt for seventy-five -dollars for one sorrel horse, aged three years, which the young man -signed. - -"James Marney," said Philip, reading the signature. "I thought I knew -every name in the county, but--" - -"But I come from the next county," said the young man. "Caleb'll be -disappointed not to see me, but this young woman says he's gone East. -What'll you gimme for the saddle an' bridle? I'm goin' to the city an' -can't use 'em there." - -The equipments named were in fair condition, so after some "dickering" -Philip exchanged six dollars for them, and the young man sauntered off -in the direction of Claybanks' single "saloon." - -"'A fool and his money,'" quoted Philip to Grace; "but as he didn't -heed Caleb's injunction, I don't suppose any word of mine would have -had any effect. Mark my words: I'll clear twenty-five at least on that -transaction within a week, for there's a city dealer here now to buy a -string of young horses. That forty acres of walnut trees is ours, too, -and cheap enough to hold until winter, when labor will be cheap; then -I'll have the trees cut and hauled to the creek, to be rafted out when -the overflow comes." - -Grace looked at her husband admiringly, contemplatively, exultantly, -and said:-- - -"Who'd have thought it a year ago?" - -"Thought what, ladybird?" - -"Oh, that you would have blossomed into a keen-eyed, quick, successful -trader." - -"It does seem odd, doesn't it? There's more profit in to-day's -transactions than my city salary for a month amounted to. Ah, well; -live and learn. If you'll keep shop a few minutes longer, I'll put both -horses into the barn and go up to the court-house and see if Weefer's -title to the forty acres of walnut is clear." - -In a few moments he returned with some papers in his hands and a -countenance more than ordinarily cheerful, so that Grace said:-- - -"Apparently the title is good." - -"Oh, yes; but here's something unexpected, and quite as gratifying,--a -letter from Caleb. I didn't imagine, till now, how glad I should be to -hear from the dear old chap." - -"Read it--aloud--at once!" Grace said, clapping her hands in joyous -anticipation. "Where does he write from?" - -"New York. H'm--here goes. - -"'DEAR PHILIP, Hoping you're both well, I write to say that I'm a -good deal better, though Niagara nearly knocked me deaf, and New -York's about finished the job. If we had water-power like Niagara at -Claybanks, it would be the making of the town. I told Miss Truett that -I thought the foam on the falls beat any lace in her store, and she -thought so too.'" - -"Oh, what fun she'll have with Caleb!" Grace exclaimed. - -"Probably, as you think so; but who is she?" - -"She's the head of one of the departments of the store I was in. I gave -Caleb letters to her and some of the other people who would give him -information, for my sake, about goods he was to buy for us. Mary Truett -is the ablest business woman in the place, and besides, she's as good -as gold; not exactly pretty, but wonderfully charming, and as merry as -a grig. She's a perfect witch; I'd give anything to see her demure face -as she listens to Caleb, and then to hear her 'take him off' after he -has gone. But do go on with the letter." - -"Where was I? Oh--'New York's noisier than Niagara, and all the noises -don't play the same tune, either, but my second day here was Sunday, -so I got broke in gradual, for which I hope I was truly grateful. -I sampled the different kinds of churches, one of them being Miss -Truett's.'" - -"She's an Episcopalian," Grace said. "I wonder how Caleb got along with -the service." - -"Perhaps we can find out. He says: 'I don't know whether I stood up -most, or sat down most, but I do know that I wouldn't have knowed when -to do either if Miss Truett hadn't given me a powerful lot of nudges -and coat-tail pulls, besides swapping books with me mighty lively while -the minister was going forward and backward in them. I won't describe -the service; for as you and your wife belong to that sect, I guess you -know more than I can tell you, but I will say that there was enough -"amens" in it to show where us Methodists got the habit of shouting -out in meeting; and though I can't make up my mind after only one try, -as a lot of our customers said when your Uncle Jethro put on sale the -first box of lump sugar that ever came to Claybanks, I reckon that it -is a first-rate manner of worship for them that are used to it, seeing -that John Wesley was in it, and you two, and Miss Truett, for she -looked like a picture of an angel when she was reading and singing and -praying.'" - -"Poor Caleb!" Grace sighed. "He's like all the other men who have met -Mary Truett." - -"Does she flirt even in church?" - -"She never flirts. Don't be horrid! Go on with the letter." - -"H'm. 'New York is hotter than Claybanks'--rank heresy, -Caleb--'according to the thermometer, and the way the heat sizzles -out of the sidewalks, and meanders upward, ought to be a warning to -hardened sinners, and there are plenty of them here. Why, I asked a -policeman on Broadway where was a first-class eating-house, and he -pointed to one that he said was the best in town, and I had fried ham, -and they charged me seventy-five cents for it, though it wouldn't have -weighed half a pound raw. I don't harbor bad feelings, but the owner -of that eating-house had better shy clear of me on Judgment Day. Miss -Truett says it was extortionate, and I wish he could have seen her eyes -when she said it.'" - -"I wish I too could have seen them, for they are superb," Grace said. -"I must write her for a full report on Caleb. But I'm interrupting." - -"'That seaside boarding-place you engaged for me,'" continued Philip -from the letter, "'is knocking my malaria endwise, which it ought to, -seeing the price of board that is tacked up on the door, but anyhow, I -feel like a giant every morning when I start for the city; that is, I -think I do, though I never was a giant to find out for sure. I take -a walk morning and evening, looking at the ocean, and trying to tell -myself what I think of it, but not a word can I get hold of. Miss -Truett says it's just so with her.' H'm--there's that woman again!" - -"Bless her!" - -"I shouldn't say so. I'm afraid Caleb has lost his head over her." - -"He'll find it again. Any good man will be bettered by meeting her. Is -there anything more about her?" - -"Yes, and at once. Here it is: 'Miss Truett is all interest about your -wife, and I like to get her going on the subject, for she thinks that -Mrs. Somerton is everything that is nice and good and splendid; and -when Miss Truett thinks anything, she knows how to say it in a style -that beats any lawyer or preacher I ever heard. It ain't a pretty thing -to say about a woman, maybe, but I mean only what's right when I say -that when she talks it always seems to me that sometime or other she -swallowed a big dictionary, colored pictures and all, and not a scrap -of it disagreed with her. She says she wishes she had a job just like -Mrs. Somerton's, and I told her that there was only one way to get it, -and that if ever I saw an unmarried Western merchant of about your age -and general style, I'd give him her name and some pointed advice. - -"'Most of the goods you wanted are bought and shipped, and when the -corn-meal gets here I'll get out for England. - -"'With hearty regards to Mrs. Somerton, I am - - "'Yours always, - "'CALEB WRIGHT.'" - -"Oh, Mary Truett!" exclaimed Grace, when the reading ended. "What fun -you've had!" - -"As she seems to be the spirit of the letter," said Philip, "tell me -something more about her." - -"I don't know what more to say. I wasn't familiar with her, for she -was a department head, and not of my department, but she had a way -of saying kind and merry things to some girls in other parts of the -store. She is about thirty; she has parents and brothers, and works -merely because she is overflowing with energy, and has no taste for the -trivialities of mere society life. Yet her manners are charming, and -genuine, too. 'Twas the fashion of the store to worship her, and no one -ever tired of it." - -"All this, yet unmarried at thirty? How did it happen?" - -"I don't know. Perhaps 'twas because she never met you when you were a -bachelor. It hasn't been for lack of admirers. Probably she is waiting -for a man who is worthy of her. I know she saved many girls in her -department and in some others from making foolish marriages, and I -committed some of her warnings and arguments to memory--though I got -them at second-hand--and I used them on other girls." - -"I suppose we couldn't persuade her to come out here, to assist you in -the store?" - -"Scarcely. She is very well paid where she is. Besides, what would -there be for her in other ways?" - -"As much as there is for you, poor girl." - -"Oh, no--for I have my husband." - -"And you feel sure that she isn't trifling with Caleb?" - -"The idea! If you could see them together--dear, poor Caleb, with -his thin figure, ragged beard, tired face, and stooping pose--Mary -rather short, but erect, with broad shoulders, brilliant eyes, rosy -cheeks, the reddish brown hair that delights your artistic eye, and -as quick in her motions as if she never knew weariness. She's of the -kind that never grows old; there are such women. Oh, the comparison is -ridiculous--'tis unkind to Caleb to make it. Besides, she is not the -only clever business woman to whom I gave him letters." - -"H'm! He's startlingly silent about the others. What troubles me is -this: Caleb is so honest and earnest, and so unaccustomed to brilliant -women, that he may lose his heart, and the more impossible the affair, -the more he'll suffer. 'Twould be bad business to have him go abroad to -be cured of malaria, only to return and die of heartache." - -"Phil, Caleb isn't a fool." - -"No, but he's a man." - - - - -XX--PROFIT AND LOSS - - -FARMER WEEFER and his wife appeared at the store early on the morning -after the deal in walnut land, and the farmer said:-- - -"Well, want to back out o' the trade?" - -"Did you ever hear of me backing out of anything, Mr. Weefer?" - -"Can't say I did, but I alluz b'lieve in givin' a man a chance so he -can't have no excuse for grumblin' afterwards. Well, we come in early, -so's to git our stuff an' git out 'fore a lot of other customers comes -in. My wife, she thinks she ort to have some little present or other, -as a satisfaction piece for signin' the deed, it bein' the custom in -these parts." - -"All right, Mrs. Weefer," said Philip, who had heard of several real -estate transactions being hampered by refractory wives, and who -thought he saw a good opportunity to prevent any troubles of that kind -befalling him in the future, "I think I have some silk dress goods that -will please you." - -Silk dress goods! No such "satisfaction piece" had ever been heard -of in Claybanks or vicinity. Mrs. Weefer saw the goods, accepted it -in haste, and did her subsequent trading so rapidly that she and her -husband and their two hundred dollars' worth of goods were on the way -to the Weefer farm within an hour, and Philip, with the new deed of the -"wannut land," was at the County Clerk's office. - -"Yes," said the clerk, scrutinizing the paper through his very convex -glasses. "My son told me you were in yesterday, inquiring about this. -Oh, yes, this property is all clear; there was no reason why any one -should lend on it." - -"No reason? Why, Squire, what's the matter with good standing black -walnut as security?" - -"Nothing at all, but I thought all the walnut on Weefer's ground had -been cut." - -"Not unless 'twas done since yesterday afternoon." - -The official removed his glasses, leaned back in his chair, put both -feet upon his desk, and looked so long and provokingly at Philip that -the latter said:-- - -"Has it been cut over-night?" - -"Oh, no. Take a chair. Are you sure that you saw this property?" - -"Entirely sure, unless I was dreaming by daylight. He and I rode over -it. I was brought up in the West, so I know walnut trees when I see -them." - -"Of course, but--did you make sure of the line-marks--the boundaries?" - -"Yes. That is, he showed me two blazed trees, which he said marked his -line." - -"Just so. Did he say which side of the line his own property was?" - -"Yes--no--that is, he took me over a lot of ground that contained many -fine large walnut trees. See here, Squire, have I been swindled?" - -"That depends. Weefer is about as smart as they make 'em, so I don't -think he'd be fool enough to swindle any one--not, at least, so that -the law could take hold of him. Did he say the land he showed you was -his? Tell me exactly what he said; for if he over-reached himself, my -old law partner would like to handle the case for you. To win a case -against Weefer would be a great feather in his cap. The fact is that -all the walnut on Weefer's land consists of stumps, for the trees were -cut off two or three years ago. There's a fine lot of standing walnut -adjoining it, but it belongs to Doctor Taggess." - -"Then I am swindled." - -"I hope so--that is, I hope, for the sake of our old firm, which I'll -have to go back into if I'm not reëlected, that you've a good case -against Weefer. Now tell me--carefully--exactly what he said. Did he -say that Taggess's land was his?" - -"No--o--o," said Philip, after a moment of thought, "I can't say -that he did. We rode out there on horseback, stopped at the edge of -some wooded ground, and he said, 'Did you ever see finer walnut land -than that?' Those were his very words--I'll swear to them--the old -scoundrel!" - -"Quite likely, but did he say that those trees--that land--was his?" - -"No; not in so many words, but he certainly gave me that impression." - -"With what exact words?" Again Philip searched his memory, but was -compelled to reply:-- - -"With no words that I can recall. He talked rapturously about the -beauty of a lot of walnut trees, from the money point of view." - -"But didn't say, in any way, that they belonged to him?" - -"Confound him, no! But he handed me a deed--" - -"That's no evidence, unless it was Taggess's deed he showed you, which -evidently it wasn't. Well, Mr. Somerton, you've got no case. Morally -'twas a swindle--not a new one, either. He wouldn't have tried it on -you if Caleb hadn't been away; for Caleb knows the lay and condition -of every tract of land in this county--just as you'll know when you've -been here long enough. You've bought forty acres that won't bring -you anything but taxes, unless you can find some use for walnut -stumps--and they're harder to get out than any other kind but oak, -unless some day the land-owners along the creek combine to put up a -levee that'll prevent overflow, so that the land can be farmed, but -even then the stumps will be a nuisance. Hope you got it cheap." - -"Five dollars an acre," Philip growled. - -"Cash?" - -"No; trade." - -"Trade, eh? Well, that's not so bad, though it's bad enough." The old -man's eyes twinkled, for what man of affairs is there who does not -enjoy the details of a smart trade--at some other man's expense? Philip -noticed the clerk's amused expression and frowned; the clerk quickly -continued, "Let me give you some professional advice--no charge for -it. Keep entirely quiet about this affair; you may be sure that Weefer -won't talk until you do. If the story gets out, you'll never hear the -end of it, and 'twon't do your reputation as a business man any good. -We don't publish records of transfers in this county, and of course I -won't mention it, and I'll see that my son doesn't either; he's the -only other man who has access to the books." - -"Thank you very much, Squire. You may count on my vote and influence if -you're renominated." - -"Much obliged. Whew! Five dollars an acre for a lot of walnut stumps!" - -"Five dollars an acre, and a silk dress for Mrs. Weefer's waiver of -dower-right," said Philip, so humiliated that he wished to make his -confession complete. - -"What? Well, Weefer won't talk, but whether he can harness his wife's -tongue when she's ready to show off that silk dress is another matter." - -Philip started to go, and the clerk made haste to hide his face behind -the deed, and silently chuckle himself towards a fit of apoplexy. - -"You're absolutely sure that I've no way out of it?" Philip said, -pausing for an instant. - -"Absolutely," the clerk replied, with some difficulty, his face still -behind the deed, "unless--you can find--a market--for--walnut stumps." -Then the clerk coughed alarmingly, and Philip pulled his hat over his -eyes and hurried away, with a consuming desire to mount his horse, -overtake Weefer, shoot him to death, recover the wagon-load of goods, -and particularly the silk dress given to Mrs. Weefer. When he reached -the store, he found his wife looking pale and troubled; there were -present also three men with very serious countenances, and one of them -said:-- - -"Mr. Somerton, I s'pose?" - -"Yes, sir. What can I do for you?" - -"You can shell out my colt that's in your barn. I was goin' to take him -whether or no, but your wife said you was a square man, an' would do -what was right. Well, there's only one right thing in this case, an' -that's to gimme back my colt." - -"There are but two horses in my stable," said Philip. "One of them I've -owned several months, and the other I bought yesterday." - -"Who from?" - -"From--" Philip took from his pocket the bill of sale and read from it -the signature:-- - -"James Marney." - -The three men exchanged grim grins, and the complainant said:-- - -"His name ain't Marney, an' 'tain't James, neither. He's a no 'count -cousin o' mine, an' his name's Bill Tewks. An' he never had no right -of any sort or kind to the colt. The colt's mine, an' never was any -one else's, an' I can prove it by these two men, an' one of 'em's -depitty sheriff of our county, an' he's got a warrant for Bill's arrest -for stealin' the hoss. My name's James Marney; I can prove it by any -storekeeper in this town, or by Doc Taggess, or your county clerk, or--" - -"I'll take your word for it," Philip said hastily, for the thought of -exposing a second business blunder to the county clerk in a single -day--a single hour, indeed--was unendurable. - -"I don't see," continued the claimant of the horse, looking greatly -aggrieved, "how a man buys one man's hoss off of another man anyway, -leastways of a no 'count shack like Bill Tewks." - -"Perhaps not," said Philip, "but I may be able to enlighten you. Do you -know a man named Caleb Wright?" - -"Know Caleb? Who don't? That ain't all; he's the honestest man I ever -_did_ know. I wish he was here right now, instead of off to York, as -your wife says, for he knows me an' he knows the hoss. Why, a spell -ago, not long after old Jethro died, an' I needed some money pooty bad, -I writ to Caleb an' ast him what he could git me in cash for the colt, -here in town, prices of hosses here bein' some better'n what they be -in our county, where there ain't never city buyers lookin' aroun', and -Caleb writ back that--" - -"One moment, please," said Philip. "He wrote that any one ought to be -glad to give you seventy-five dollars, but that you would be foolish -to sell, because you could get far more a year later, but that if you -really must sell, he wished you would give me the first chance." - -The claimant, whose eyes by this time were bulging, exclaimed:-- - -"You've got a pooty long mem'ry, an' it's as good as it is long." - -"As to that, I never saw the letter until yesterday. The man who -brought the horse showed me the letter; otherwise I shouldn't have -purchased." - -The claimant and his companions exchanged looks of astonishment, and -the deputy drawled:-- - -"How'd he git it, Jim?" - -"It beats me," was the reply. "Onless he went through the house like he -did the barn. That letter was in the Bible, where I keep some papers -o' one kind an' another, cal'latin' that's as safe a place as any, not -gettin' much rummagin'. He must 'a' knowed I had it. Oh, he's a slick -un, Bill is, when he gits dead broke an' wants to go on a spree. You -see, Mr. Somerton, the way of it was this: the wife was off visitin', -an' I was ploughin' corn, an' took some snack with me, an' some stuff -for the hosses, so's to have a longer rest at noon-time, not havin' to -go back all the way to the house. The colt was in the barn, so I didn't -miss him till I got home, long about dusk. Bill must 'a' knowed, some -way, my wife wa'n't home, an' I could see by the lot o' hay in the -colt's rack that he'd been took out 'fore the middle o' the day. I was -so knocked by missin' him that I've been on the track ever sence, an' -didn't think to look to see ef anythin' was gone from the house, but -the cuss must 'a' prowled 'roun' consid'able ef he got that letter. -Didn't bring in my rifle an' shotgun to sell, did he, nor flat-irons, -nor cook-stove?" - -"No, although he did sell me a saddle and bridle. I hope you'll succeed -in catching the scamp." - -"Oh, I ain't got no use for him. The furder away he gits, the better -satisfied I'll be. We ain't never had no other thief 'mong our -relations. I reckon it's you that ought to want him. What I want is my -colt, an' I'm goin' to have him--peaceful, ef I kin, or by law, ef I -must. He's thar--in your barn; I seen him through the door; so did my -frien's here, so there's no good beatin' about the bush an'--" - -"Stop!" said Philip. "There's no sense in insinuating that I would -knowingly retain stolen property--unless you wish to have your tongue -knocked down your throat." - -"That's fair talk, Jim, an' I don't blame him for givin' it to you," -suggested the deputy. "Now you chaw yerself for a while, an' let me -say somethin'. It don't stan' to reason that any business man is goin' -to try to keep a stolen hoss. On 'tother han', he'd be a fool to give -up on the word o' three men he never seen till just now. You, Jim, -ain't such a fool as to want to air the family skunk so fur from home, -an' Mr. Somerton here ain't likely to be over'n above anxious to have -a fuss that'll let ev'rybody in town know that he was took in by an -amatoor hoss-thief. Now, Jim, jest sa'nter out an' get some square man, -an' not a storekeeper that knows ye, to come in an' speak for ye, as -if ye wanted to buy some goods on credit. Thet'll prove who ye be, an' -like enough he'll know me, too, 'specially if it's--" - -"Why not Doctor Taggess?" Philip suggested. - -"Good idee," the officer replied, "for he knows both of us." - -"An' he knows the colt, too," said the claimant. - -"Better and better," Philip declared, for anything would have been -preferable, at Claybanks or any other Western town, to being known as -a merchant to whom a thief could sell anything. - -Fortunately the Doctor was at home; he came to the store, identified -the claimant, vouched for his honesty and truthfulness, and then -identified the colt as the claimant's property. Philip told the entire -story to the Doctor, who said there was nothing to do but surrender the -horse--or repurchase him. - -"How much do you want for him, Mr. Marney?" - -"Ye ain't said what ye give a'ready." - -"No; that's a different matter. What is your price?" - -"Cash, note, or trade?" - -"Whichever you like, if the figures are right." - -"Well, seein' you've been put to expense a'ready, an' I don't need -money for a couple o' months yet, an' you'll most likely give more on -time than in cash, I'd rather take your sixty-day note for a hundred -back home with me than take the colt back. No other man could have him -so cheap." - -"You shall have it--on condition, written and signed, that neither of -you three shall tell the story of the thief's sale. No one else can -tell it." - -"You'll stand by me, boys?" said the claimant, appealingly. - -"Sure!" - -"Then I'll take the note, Mr. Somerton, an' you've done the square -thing. But say, I'll throw off five dollar ef ye'll tell me what ye -paid fer him." - -"No," said Philip, beginning to draw a bill of sale to include the -condition already specified. - -"I'll make it ten." - -"No." - -"Ah, say! I cayn't sleep peaceful without knowin', but this is rubbin' -it in. Fifteen!" - -"Sign this, please," said Philip, showing the bill of sale. Then he -passed over his own note for eighty-five dollars, and said:-- - -"I paid seventy-five dollars, cash." - -"Well," sighed Marney, "that's a comfort--for besides knowin' how much -'twas, it shows what I wanted to b'lieve, that Bill was as much fool as -scoundrel, else he'd 'a' ast more. Good-by, Mr. Somerton an' Doc." - -The trio departed. The Doctor remained to condole with the victim, -who could not help telling of his real-estate trade. The Doctor -laughed,--but not too long,--then he said:-- - -"There ought to be finer grainings and markings, and, therefore, -more money, in walnut roots than in the average of trees. I've been -intending to experiment in that direction. As to that colt, let me -drive him for you a few days; he may have the making of both prices in -him." - -When the Doctor departed, Philip got out his own horse and buggy, and -insisted that his wife should drive, but Grace was reluctant to go. -Something seemed to be troubling her. Philip asked what it was. "I wish -Caleb were back," she said. - -"_Et tu, Brute?_ Now is my humiliation complete; but as Caleb is where -he is, let us make the best of it." So saying, he indited the following -telegram to Caleb, for Grace to send from the railway station, three -miles distant:-- - - "Look up a buyer for big walnut stumps. - - "PHILIP." - - - - -XXI--CUPID AND CORN-MEAL - - -"THIS," said Philip, as he returned one morning from the post-office -to the store, with an open letter in his hand, "is about the twelfth -letter I've had from old acquaintances in New York, and all are as like -unto one another as if written by the same hand. The writers imagine -that the West is bursting with opportunities for men whose wits are -abler than their hands. What a chance I would have to avenge myself on -mine enemy--if I had one!" - -"And this," Grace said, after opening a letter addressed to herself -that Philip had given her, "is from Mary Truett. I wonder if she has -caught the Western fever from Caleb? Oh--I declare!" - -"Your slave awaits the declaration." - -"She, too, wants to know if there isn't a place here for a clever -young man--her brother; it seems he is a civil engineer and landscape -architect." - -"Imagine it! A landscape architect--at Claybanks! Ask her if he can -live on air, and sleep on the ground with a tree-top for roof. Doesn't -she say anything about Caleb?" - -"I'm skipping her brother and looking for it, as fast as I can. Yes; -here it is. There! Didn't I tell you how sensible she always was? She -thanks me for introducing Caleb, and says he's the most interesting -and genial man she has met in a long time, though, she says, she -wonders whose grammar was in vogue when Caleb went to school. And--dear -me!--this is becoming serious!" - -"My dear girl," said Philip, "there are different ways of reading a -letter aloud. Won't you choose a new one or let me have the letter -itself, when you've read it, provided it contains no secrets?" - -"Do wait a moment, Phil! You're as curious as women are said to -be. It seems that Caleb has persuaded her to accompany him to a -prayer-meeting; and as she has also been to a theatre with him, I'm -afraid the persuading, or a hint to that effect, must have been on her -part. She says he has completely changed in appearance--and by what -means, do you suppose?" - -"I can't imagine." - -"His beard has gone, and his hair has been cut Eastern fashion, and -his mustache turned up at the ends, and he dresses well,--Mary says -so,--and that the contrast is startling. Oh, Phil! What if he should--" - -"Should what? Fall in love with your paragon of women? Well, I suppose -men are never too old to make fools of themselves, and Caleb is only -forty, but I beg that you'll at once remind Miss Truett that Caleb is -too good a man to be hurt at heart for a woman's amusement. Why are you -looking at nothing in that vague manner?" - -"I'm trying to imagine Caleb's new appearance." - -"Spare yourself the effort. I'll telegraph him for a photograph." - -"But I want to know--at once, to see whether he's really impressed Mary -more seriously than she admits." - -"Oh, you women! You can start a possible romance on less basis than -would serve for a dream. Do go backward in that letter, to the lady's -brother, if only to suppress your imagination." - -"I suppose I must," sighed Grace, "for I've reached the end. The -brother, it seems, can secure a railroad pass to visit this country, if -there is any possible business opening for him here." - -"I wish there were, I'm sure, for I don't know of a place more in need -of services such as a landscape architect could render, but you know -that he couldn't earn a dollar." - -"But it seems that he knows something of road-making and grading." - -"Which also are accomplishments that might be put to good use here, if -there were any one to pay for the work." - -"I have it!" Grace said. "The very thing! Don't you dare laugh at me -until I tell it all. You know--or I do--that Doctor Taggess thinks -Claybanks would be far less malarious if the swamp lands could be -drained. He says the malarious exhalation, whatever it is, seems to -be heavier than the air, and is therefore comparatively local in its -effects, for he has known certain towns and other small localities -to be entirely free from it, though the surrounding country was -full of it. Now, if some surveyor and engineer--say Mary Truett's -brother--could find out how to drain our Claybanks swamps, it might -make this a healthy town. Is that a very silly notion?" - -"Silly? Not a bit of it! But, my dear girl, do you know what such an -enterprise would cost?" - -"No, but I do know what I suffered on the day of my awful malarial -attack and that I shall never forget the spectacle of a poor, dear, -little, helpless, innocent baby shaking with a chill!" - -"Poor girl! Poor baby! But don't you suppose that our swamp lands have -been studied for years by the men most interested in them--the farmers -and other owners?--studied and worked at?" - -"Perhaps they have, but Doctor Taggess says farmers always do things in -the hardest way; they've not time and money to try any other. Besides, -since I began to think of it I've often recalled a case somewhat -similar. In our town in western New York the railway station was very -inconvenient; it was on a bridge crossing the track, and everything and -everybody had to go up and down stairs or up and down hill to get to -or from it. It was talked of at town meetings and the post-office and -other places, and public-spirited citizens roamed the line from one end -of town to the other, looking for a spot where the station could be -placed near the level of the track. - -"At last they subscribed money to pay for a new site, if the company -would move its station to the level, and one day a surveyor and his -men came up, and he looked about with an instrument, and a few days -afterward a little cutting at one place and a little filling just back -of it did the business, and all the village wiseacres called themselves -names for not thinking of the same thing, but Grandpa said, 'It takes -a shoemaker to make shoes.' You know the swamps are almost dry now, -because of the hot weather; don't you suppose a surveyor and engineer, -or even a sensible man who's studied physical geography in school, -might be able to go over the ground and learn where and what retains -the water? Now laugh, if you like." - -"Grace, you ought to have been a man!" - -"No, thank you--not unless you had been a woman. But you really think -my plan isn't foolish?" - -"As one of the owners of swamp land, I am so impressed with your -wisdom that I suggest that we invite Miss Truett's brother to visit -us; tell him the outlook is bad, but say we'll guarantee him--well, a -hundred-dollar fee to look into a matter in which we personally are -interested. If your plan is practicable, I'll recover the money easily. -I'll write him this afternoon--or you may do it, through his sister. -Let us see what else is in the mail. Why, I didn't suspect it, the -address being typewritten!--Ah, young woman, now for my revenge, for -here's a letter from Caleb, and if 'tis anything like the last--yes, -here it is--Miss Truett, Miss Truett, Miss Truett." - -"Oh, Phil!" - -"I'll be merciful, and read every word, without stopping to -sentimentalize:-- - -"'DEAR PHILIP: I'm in it, as Jonah thought when the whale shut his -mouth. When I say "it" I mean all of New York that I can pervade -while waiting for the corn-meal to come. I've been to a New York -prayer-meeting and I can't say that it was any better than the -Claybanks kind, except that Miss Truett went with me and joined in all -the hymns as natural as if brought up on them. You ought to hear her -voice. 'Tain't as loud as some, but it goes right to the heart of a -hymn. Next day I went to a museum in a big park and saw more things -than I can ever get straightened out in my head: I wish I could have -had your wife's camera for company. - -"'I went to a theatre, too. I had no more idea of doing it than you -have of selling liquor, but I got into a sort of argument with Miss -Truett, without meaning to, about the great amount of that kind of -sin that was going on; and when she said that she didn't think it was -always sinful, I felt like the man that cussed somebody in the dark for -stepping on his toes, and then found it was the preacher that done the -stepping. She said she really thought that some kinds of theatre would -do a sight of good to a hard-working man like me, and that she'd like -to see me under the influence of a good comedy for a spell; so I told -her there was one way of doing it, and that was to name the comedy -and then go along with me, so as to give her observing powers a fair -chance. She did it, and I ain't sorry I went; though if you don't mind -keeping it to yourself, there won't be some Claybanks prayers wasted on -me that might be more useful if kept nearer home. - -"'Who should I run against on Broadway one day but an old chum of mine -in the army? He'd got a commission, after the war, in the regulars, and -got retired for a bad wound he got in the Indian country, yet, for all -that, he didn't look any older than he used to. He took me visiting to -his post of the Grand Army of the Republic one night, and there I saw a -lot of vets that looked as spruce and chipper as if they was beaus just -going to see their sweethearts. "What's the matter with you fellows -here, that you don't grow old?" says I to my old chum. He didn't -understand me at first, but when he saw what I was driving at, he said -many of the members of the post were older than I, but 'twasn't thought -good sense in New York for a fellow to look older than he was, and he -didn't see why 'twas good sense anywhere. I felt sort of riled, and he -nagged me awhile, good-natured like, about trying to pass for my own -grandfather, till I said: "Look here, Jim, if you've got any fountain -of youth around New York, I'm the man that ain't afraid to take a -dip." "Good boy!" says he. "I'd like the job of reconstructing you, for -old times' sake." "No fooling?" says I; for in old times Jim wouldn't -let anything stand in the way of a joke. "Honor bright, Cale," said he, -"for I want you to look like yourself, and you can do it." Remembering -some advertisements I've seen in newspapers, I says, "What do you do it -with--pills or powders?" Jim coughed up a laugh from the bottom of his -boots, and says he: "Neither. Come along!" - -"'Well, I was skittisher than I've been since Gettysburg, not knowing -what new-fangled treatment he had in his mind, and how it would agree -with me; but he took me into a barber shop where he appeared to know -a man, and he did some whispering, and,--well, when that barber got -through, first giving me a hair-cut and then a shave, and fussing over -my mustache for a spell, and I got a sight of my face in the glass, I -thought 'twas somebody else I was looking at, and somebody that I'd -seen before, a long time ago, and it wasn't until I tried to brush a -fly off my nose that I found 'twas I. Maybe you think I was a fool, -but I was so tickled that I yelled, "Whoop--ee!" right out in meeting. -"There!" says Jim, when we got outside. "Don't you ever wear long hair -and a beard again--not while I'm around." - -"'Then he took me to a tailor shop about forty times as big as your -store, and picked out a suit of clothes for me, and a hat and shirt, -and the whole business. 'Twas the Hawk Howlaway business over again, -with Jim instead of Jethro, only there was more of it, for he stuck a -flower in the buttonhole of my new coat. I couldn't kick, for he was -wearing one too, but I just tell you that if I'd met any Claybanks -neighbor about then, I'd have slid down a side street like running to a -fire. After that he took me to the hotel where he lived, and up in his -room, and looked me over, as if I was a horse, and says he, "There's -one thing more. You need a setting-up." "Not for me, Jim," says I "I -keep regular hours, though I don't mind swapping yarns with you till -I get sleepy to-night!" Then he let off another big laugh, and says -he, "That isn't what I mean. It's something we do in the regulars, and -ought to have done in the volunteers." So he made me stand up, and lift -my shoulders, and hold my head high, and breathe full, at the same time -making me look at myself in the glass. "There!" says he, after a spell, -"you do that a few times a day, till it comes natural to you, and -you'll feel better for it, all your life." - -"'Well, Philip, I don't mind owning up to you that I was so stuck up -for the next few hours that at night I thought it necessary to put up a -special prayer against sinful vanity. Next morning I went down to your -wife's old store to ask Miss Truett something, and she didn't know me. -No, sir, she didn't, till I spoke to her. She didn't say anything about -it, but she looked like your wife sometimes does when she's mighty -pleased about something, and I needn't tell you that looks like them -are mighty pleasant to take. - -"'Well, I suppose all this sounds like fool-talk, for of course I can't -get my birthdays back, but, coming at a time when the malaria appears -to be loosening its grip, this looking like I used to before I got -broke up is doing me a mighty sight of good. - -"'When is that corn-meal coming? - - "'Yours always, - "'CALEB WRIGHT.'" - -"Phil," exclaimed Grace, "'twould be a sin to hurry that meal East, -until--until we hear further from Caleb." - -"And from Miss Truett?" said Philip, with a quizzical grin. -"Fortunately for both of them, the meal probably reached New York soon -after the date of this letter, which was written four days ago, and -Caleb is probably now on the ocean, or about to sail." - -"I think 'tis real cruel," Grace sighed, "just as--" - -"Just as two mature people began daydreaming about each other? I think -'tis the best that could befall them, for it will put their sentiment -to a practical test. Cupid has struck greater obstacles than the -Atlantic Ocean and barrelled corn-meal without breaking his wings." - -"Phil, you talk as coldly as if--oh, as if you weren't my husband." - -"'Tis because I am your husband, dear girl, and realize what miserable -wretches we would be if we weren't, above all else, hearty lovers. What -else have I to live for, out here, but you? Suppose any other woman -were my wife, brought from everything she was accustomed to, and out to -this place where she could find absolutely nothing as a substitute for -the past!" - -"Or suppose I had married some other man--ugh!--and come here!" - -"You would have done just as you have done--seen your duty, done it, -and smiled even if you were dying of loneliness. But not all women are -like you." - -"Because not all men are like you, bless you!--and always ready and -eager to make love first and foremost." - -"How can I help it, when I've you to love? But tell me -now,--frankly,--don't you ever long for the past? Don't you get -absolutely, savagely, heart-hungry for it?" - -"No--no--!" Grace exclaimed. "Besides, I'm easier pleased and -interested than you think. I've learned to like some of our people very -much, since I've ceased judging them by their clothes and manner of -speech. There are some real jewels among the women, old and young." - -"H'm! I'm glad to hear you say so, for I've wanted to confess, for -some time, that I am fast becoming countrified, and without any sense -of shame, either. I'm becoming so deeply interested in human nature -that I've little thought for anything else, aside from business. When -I first arrived, I imagined myself a superior being, from another -sphere; now that I know much about the people and their burdens and -struggles, there are some men and women to whom I mentally raise my -hat. At first I wondered why Taggess, who really is head and shoulders -above every one else here, didn't procure a substitute and abandon -the town; now I can believe that nothing could drag him away. I can't -learn that he ever wrote verses or made pictures or preached sermons, -nevertheless he's artist, poet, and prophet all in one. I should like -to become his equal, or Caleb's equal--I may as well say both, while -I'm wishing; still, I don't like to lose what I used to have and be." - -"You're not losing it, you dear boy, nor am I really losing anything. -The truth is, that in New York both of us, hard though we worked, were -longing for an entirely luxurious, self-indulgent future, and your -uncle's will was all that saved us from ourselves. You always were -perfection, to my eyes, but I wish you could see for yourself what -improvements half a year of this new life have made for you." - -"Allow me to return the compliment, though no one could imagine a -more adorable woman than you were when I married you. So long as I am -you and you are me--" Then words became inadequate to further estimate -and appreciation of the changes wrought by half a year of life at "the -fag-end of nowhere--the jumping-off place of the world," as Philip had -called Claybanks the first time he saw it by daylight. - - - - -XXII--SOME WAYS OF THE WEST - - -CALEB and the corn-meal sailed for Europe, but first Caleb wired the -address of a firm that would do the fair thing with a car-load of -walnut stumps. Miss Truett's brother Harold arrived at Claybanks soon -afterward, and when he learned accidentally that Philip wished some -walnut stumps extracted and that the land was stoneless, he offered -to do the work quickly and cheaply, and his devices so impressed -occasional beholders, accustomed to burning and digging as the only -means of removing stumps, that the young man soon made several -stump-extracting contracts, for which he was to be paid--in land. -Meanwhile, from the back of Philip's horse he studied the swamp lands -near the town; then he went over the ground with a level, and afterward -reported to Philip that for the trifling sum of three thousand -dollars, added to right of way for a main ditch, which the farmers -should be glad to give free of cost, the swamp lands might be converted -into dry, rich farming land. - -"This county couldn't raise three thousand dollars in cash," Philip -replied, "even if you could guarantee that the main ditch would flow -liquid gold." - -"If that is the case," said the young man, who had nothing to lose -and everything to gain, "and as labor and farm tools are almost the -only requirements,--except some cash for my services,--why not form an -association of all the owners of swamp lands, determine the share of -each in the cost, according to the amount of benefit he'll get, and let -all, if they wish, pay in labor at a specified day-price per man, team, -plough, or scraper, and go to work at once? Such things have been done. -A farmer who hasn't enough working force on his place can generally -hire a helper or two, on credit, against crop-selling time. This is -just the time to do it, too; for a lot of farmers in the vicinity -who have swamp land will have nothing especial to do, now that their -winter wheat is cut, till the thrashing machine comes to them, and -others are through with heavy work until corn ripens." - -"I begin to see daylight," said Philip. "But, young man, how did you -get all these practical wrinkles in New York?" - -"By listening to men who've been in the business many years. Most of -them have had to take scrub jobs once in a while. But please secure -the right of way at once for the main ditch; that's where the work -should begin. I shouldn't wonder if you could get a lot of volunteer -labor from the villagers, if you go about it rightly; for your Doctor -Taggess believes that to drain the swamps would be to greatly lessen -the number and violence of malarial attacks,--perhaps banish malaria -entirely,--and I suppose you know what it means for a town, in -certain parts of the West, to have a no-malaria reputation. It means -manufactures, and better prices for building sites, and perhaps the -beginnings of a city." - -"Mr. Truett, I shouldn't wonder if you've struck just the place to -exercise your professional wits." - -"I hope so. I'll soon find out, if you'll arrange that combination of -land-owners, and secure that right of way. Now is the golden time, -while the swamp land has least water and the earth is easiest handled." - -Doctor Taggess, summoned for consultation on the drainage subject, -promised to make an earnest speech at any general meeting that might be -called; so Philip hurried about among the merchants, town and county -officials, and other local magnates, and arranged for an anti-malaria, -city-compelling mass-meeting at the court-house at an early date. - -Political jealousies and personal dog-in-the-manger feeling are -quite as common in small towns as in great ones, but the possibility -of a village becoming a city, and farm property being cut up into -building-lots at high prices, is the one darling hope of every little -village in the far West, and at the right time--or even at the wrong -one--it may be depended upon to weld all discordant elements into one -great enthusiastic force. When the meeting was held, Doctor Taggess -made a strong plea for the proposed improvement, from the standpoint -of the public health; the young engineer read a mass of statistics -on the amazing fertility of drained swamp lands, and announced his -willingness to wait for his own pay until his work proved itself -effective; and the county clerk told of scores of Western villages, -settled no longer ago than Claybanks, that had become cities. The -upshot was that the improvement plan was adopted without a dissenting -voice, and the right of way was secured at the meeting itself, as was -also a volunteer force to begin work at once on the main ditch. - -"Truett," said Philip, after the meeting adjourned, and he, the -engineer, and Doctor Taggess walked away together, "unless you've made -some mistake in your figures, this enterprise will make you a great man -in this section of country." - -"That's what I wish it to do," was the reply, "for I must make a -permanent start somewhere." - -"Your offer to defer asking for pay till the drainage should prove -successful," said the Doctor, "helped the movement amazingly, and it -also made everybody think you a very fair man." - -"Yes? Well, that's why I made it" - -"H'm!" said Philip, "you've the stuff that'll make a successful -Westerner of you." - -"That's what I want to be." - -"I don't think you'll regret it," said the Doctor; "for much though -I sometimes long to return to the East, and plainly though I see -the poverty and limitations of this part of the country, the West -is the proper starting-place for a young man, unless he chances to -have abundant capital. Even then he might do worse; for, of course, -the newer the country, the greater the number of natural resources -to be discovered and developed. The people, too, are interested in -everything new, and stand together, to a degree unknown at the East, -in favor of any improvements that are possible. They do their full -share of grumbling and complaining, to say nothing of their full share -of suffering, but there's scarcely one of them who doesn't secretly -hope and expect to become rich some day, or at least to be part of a -rich community; and they're not more than half wrong, for railways and -manufactures must reach us, in the ordinary course of events, and all -our people expect to see them. Let me give you an illustration. A year -or two ago I drove out one Sunday to see a family of my acquaintance, -living in a specially malarious part of the county, who were out of -quinine--a common matter of forgetfulness, strange though it may seem. -As I neared the house, I heard singing, of a peculiar, irregular kind. -As 'twas Sunday, I supposed a neighborhood meeting was in progress. -But there wasn't. One of the hundreds of projected Pacific railways -had been surveyed through the farm a few months before. On the day of -my call three of the seven members of the family were shaking with -chills; so to keep up their spirits they were singing, to the music of -a hymn-tune, some verses written and printed in the West long ago, and -beginning:-- - - "'The great Pacific railroad - To California, hail! - Bring on the locomotive, - Lay down the iron rail.' - -There's Western spirit for you--fighting a chill with hopes of a -railway that thus far was only a line of stakes and indefinite -promises! Such people are worth tying to; their like cannot be found in -any other part of the country." - -The work at the main ditch continued without interruption, thanks to -a month almost rainless, until the ditch was completed to the creek -at one end and to the swamps at the other. Then the main lines in -the swamps themselves were opened, one by one, and the swamps became -dry for the first time in their history, though small laterals, some -to drain springs, others to guard against the accidents of a rainy -season, were still to be cut by private enterprise. But the people of -Claybanks and vicinity were delighted to so great an extent that dreams -of a golden future would not satisfy them, so they planned a monster -celebration and procession, and there seemed no more appropriate route -of march than up one side of the main ditch and down the other, with a -halt midway for speeches and feasting. - -The happiest man in all the town--happiest in his own estimation, -at least--was Philip; for within a few days he had learned that the -despised mining stock which was his only material inheritance from -his father had suddenly become of great value. He had sent it to New -York to be sold, and learned that the result was almost ten thousand -dollars, which had been deposited to his credit at a bank which he -had designated. At last he had something wholly his own, should -sickness or possible business reverses ever make him wish to abandon -his inheritance from his uncle. Grace shared his feeling, and was -correspondingly radiant and exuberant, for ten thousand dollars in cash -made Philip a greater capitalist than any other man within fifty miles. -He could buy real estate in his own right, to be in readiness for the -coming "boom" of Claybanks; he could become a banker, manufacturer, -perhaps even a railway president, so potent would ten thousand dollars -be in an impecunious land. - -"You're an utter Westerner--a wild, woolly-brained Westerner," said -Philip, after listening to some of his wife's rose-tinted rhapsodies -over the future. - -"I suspect I am, and I don't believe you're a bit better," was the -reply. "Tis in the air; we can't help it." - -On the day of the celebration Grace gave herself up to fun with her -camera, for which she had ordered many plates in anticipation of the -occasion; for never before had there been such an opportunity to get -pictures of all the county's inhabitants in their Sunday clothes. She -was hurrying from group to group, during the great feast at the halt, -when Pastor Grateway, who was looking westward, said:-- - -"Mrs. Somerton, I've heard that you're fond of chasing whirlwinds with -your camera. There comes one that looks as if it might make a good -picture, if you could get near enough to it." - -"Isn't it splendid!" Grace exclaimed. "Doctor Taggess, do look at this -magnificent whirlwind!" - -The Doctor looked; then he frowned, looked about him, and muttered:-- - -"At last!" - -"Why, Doctor, what is the matter?" - -"Nothing, I hope. It may go clear of us. Listen--carefully. Come apart -from the crowd; my ears are not as keen as they used to be. Do you hear -any sound in that direction?" - -"Nothing--except buzz-buzz, as if a hive of bees were swarming." - -"I'm glad of it; it mayn't be so bad as I feared. I'm not acquainted -with the things, except through common report. Where's Mr. Truett? -He had field-glasses slung from his shoulder this morning. Here, you -boys!" the Doctor shouted to several youngsters who were playing -leap-frog near by, "scatter--find Mr. Truett--the man who bossed the -big ditch, and ask him to come here--right away!" - -"Doctor!" exclaimed Grace. "Do tell me what you fear." - -"Tell me first about that noise. Is it any louder?" - -"Yes. It sounds now like a distant railway train. What does it mean?" - -"It means a cyclone. How bad a one, we can't tell until it has passed. -If it keeps its present course, it will pass north of the crowd, but I -am afraid it will strike the town." - -By this time many of the people had noticed the great cloud in the -west, and soon the entire assemblage heard a deep, continuous roar. -Then men, women, and children began to run, for the cloud increased in -blackness and noise at a terrifying rate, but the Doctor shouted:-- - -"Stay where you are! Get to the windward of the platform, and wagons -and horses! Pass the word around--quick! Ah, Mr. Truett! What do you -see?" - -"All sorts of things," said Truett, from behind his field-glasses. -"Lightning--and tree boughs--and corn-stalks--and boards--and something -that looks like a roof. Also, oceans of rain. We're in for a soaking -unless we hurry back to town." - -"The soaking's the safer," said the Doctor, adjusting the proffered -glasses to his own eyes. "Ah, 'tis as I feared: it is tearing its way -through the town. There goes the court-house roof--and the church -steeple." Abruptly returning the glasses, the Doctor shouted as the -great cloud passed rapidly to the northward and rain fell suddenly in -torrents:-- - -"Men--only men--hurry to town, and keep close to me when you get -there." Then he found his horse and buggy and led a wild throng of -wagons, horsemen, and footmen, behind whom, despite the Doctor's -warning, came the remaining components of the procession, and up to -heaven went an appalling chorus of screams, prayers, and curses, for -the word "cyclone"--the word most dreaded in the West since the Indian -outbreaks ended--had passed through the crowd. - -The outskirts of the town were more than a mile distant, and before -they were reached, the throng saw that several buildings were burning, -though the rainfall seemed sufficient to extinguish any ordinary -conflagration. Philip, who was riding with several other men in a farm -wagon, saw, when the wagon turned into the main street, that one of -the burning buildings was his own store. Apparently it had been first -unroofed and crushed by the storm, for all that remained of it and its -contents seemed to be in a pit that once was the cellar, and from which -rose a little flame and a great column of smoke and steam. - -"Let's save people first; property afterward!" he replied to the men -in the wagon when they offered to remain with him and fight the fire. -Afterward he received for his speech great credit which was utterly -undeserved, for after an instant of angry surprise at his loss he was -conscious of a strange, wild elation. A week earlier, such a blow -would have been a serious reverse--perhaps ruin; now, thanks to his -long-forgotten mining stock, he was fairly well off and could start -anew elsewhere, entirely by himself and unhampered by conditions. -He had tried hard to accept Claybanks as his home for life, and -thought he had succeeded; but now, through the gloom of the storm, -the outer world, especially all parts out of the cyclone belt, seemed -delightfully inviting. - -"Where'll we find the people to save?" This question, from a man in the -wagon, recalled Philip's better self, and he replied quickly:-- - -"In the path of the storm, and wherever Doctor Taggess is." - -It soon became evident that the cyclone path had been quite -narrow,--not much wider, indeed, than the business street,--but the -whirling funnel had gone diagonally over the town and thus destroyed or -injured more than forty houses, the débris of which did much additional -injury. Philip and the men passed rapidly from house to house along -the new, rude clearing, and searched the ruins for dead and wounded. -Fortunately almost all of the inhabitants of the town had taken part -in the celebration. Those who remained were numerous enough to provide -many fractures and bruises to be treated by Doctor Taggess and his -corps of volunteer nurses, but apparently not one in the town had been -killed outright. To obtain this gratifying assurance required long -hours of searching far into the night, for some missing persons were -found far from their homes, and with extraordinary opinions as to how -their change of location had been effected. - -Philip worked as faithfully as any one until all the missing were -accounted for and all the houseless ones fed and sheltered. Grace had -given all possible help to many women and children by taking them into -her own home. At midnight, when husband and wife met for the first time -since the storm, they reminded each other of what might have happened -had there been no celebration and they had been in the store and -unconscious of the impending disaster. Together they looked at their -own ruins, for which Philip had hired a watchman, so that he might be -roused if the smouldering fire should gain headway and threaten the -house. - -"It might have been worse," Grace said. "We have a roof to shelter us." - -"Yes, and we may select a new roof elsewhere in the world, if we like. -Perhaps the cyclone was, for us, a blessing in disguise--eh?" - -Grace did not answer at once, though her husband longed for a reply in -keeping with his own feelings. He placed his arm around his wife, drew -her slowly toward the house, and said:-- - -"You deserve a better sphere of life than this, dear girl. You know -well that you would never have accepted this if we had not foolishly -committed ourselves to it without forethought or knowledge. Your energy -and sympathy will keep you fairly contented almost anywhere, but you -shouldn't let them make you unjust to yourself. For my own part, I've -done no complaining, but my life here has been full of drudgery and -anxiety. Now it seems as though deliverance had been doubly provided -for both of us--first by the sale of our mining stock, and to-day -through the destruction of our principal business interest. We can -injure no one by going away; if the property reverts to the charities -which were to be the legatees in case I declined, Caleb will be -provided for, even if he, too, chooses to leave Claybanks. What shall -it be--stay, or go? Dear girl, there are tears in your eyes--they are -saying 'Go!' Let me kiss them away, in token of thanks." - -"Tears sometimes tell shocking fibs," said Grace, trying to appear -cheerful. "I wouldn't trust my eyes, or my tongue, or even my heart -to decide anything to-night, after such a day. There's but one place -in the whole world I shall ever care to be, after this, and that is in -your arms--close to your heart." - -"And that is so far away, and so hard to reach!" said Philip, -forgetting in an instant the day and all pertaining to it. - - - - -XXIII--AFTER THE STORM - - -SOON after sunrise on the morning after the cyclone, Claybanks began -to fill with horror-seekers and rumor-mongers from the outer world; -but most of the natives were invisible, for they had worked and talked -far into the night. It seemed to the Somertons that they had not slept -an hour when they were roused by heavy knocking at the door; then -they were amazed to find the sun quite high. The man who had done the -knocking handed Philip a telegram, brought from the railway station, an -hour distant. It was from New York, and read as follows:-- - - "Back yesterday. Good as new. English business well - started. Cyclone in New York papers this morning. - Please don't abuse the Maker of it. Look out for His - children. Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same - place. Do you want anything from here? Answer. If not, - I start West at once. - - "CALEB." - -"'Tis evident he hasn't given up his habit of early rising," said -Philip, as he gave the despatch to his wife. When she had read it, -Grace said:-- - -"Dear Caleb! His return is absolutely providential, and his despatch is -very like him." - -"I'm not quite sure of that," Philip replied, shaking his head -doubtingly, yet smiling under his mustache. "To be entirely like Caleb, -it should have said that the cyclone was a means of grace." - -"I think he distinctly intimates as much, where he refers to the Maker -of the storm." - -"True. Well, he expects an answer, and I will make it exactly as you -wish." - -Grace rubbed her drowsy eyes and instantly became alert. She looked -inquiringly at her husband, and said:-- - -"Exactly as I wish? May I write it?" - -"May you? What a question! Was there ever a time when your wish was not -law to me?" - -"Never--bless you!--but some laws are hard to bear." - -"Not when you make them, sweetheart. Aren't we one? Write the answer." - -Grace's eyes became by turns melting, luminous, dancing,--exactly as -they had been of old, at the rare times when Philip would come home -from the office with a pleasing surprise,--opera-tickets, perhaps, or -the promise of an afternoon and night at the seashore, or a moonlight -trip on the river. They reminded him of the delightful old times of -which they seemed to promise a renewal, and his heart leaped with joy -at the hope and belief that the answer Grace would write would break -the chains that bound her and him to Claybanks. While Grace wrote, -Philip closed his eyes and imagined himself and his wife spending -a restful, delightful summer together, far from the heat, dust, -shabbiness, and dilapidation of their part of the West. Certainly they -would have earned it, and was not the laborer worthy of his hire? - -He was aroused from his dreams by a bit of paper thrust into his hand. -He opened his eyes and read:-- - - "Count on me to do as you would in the same - circumstances. Will reopen for business at once. - Duplicate in New York your purchases of a few weeks - ago. Refer to ---- Bank, in which I have a large - deposit. Then hurry home. - - "PHILIP." - -Apparently Philip read and re-read the despatch, for he kept his eyes -upon the paper a long time. When finally he looked from it he saw his -wife's countenance very pale and strained. He sprang toward her, and -exclaimed:-- - -"My dear girl, you are sacrificing yourself!" - -"Oh, no, I am not," Grace whispered. - -"Then why are you trembling so violently?--why do you look like a -person in the agony of death?" - -"Because--because I fear that I am trying to sacrifice you--dooming you -for life. The despatch shan't go, for you don't like it. Yet I wrote -only what I thought was right. All that you inherited from your uncle -was earned here, from the people who have suffered by the cyclone, -or must suffer from the troubles that will follow it. 'Twould be -heartless--really dishonest--to leave them, wouldn't it? Besides, many -of them like us very much, and have learned to look up to us, after a -fashion. Perhaps I wrote too hastily; it may not be practicable, but--" - -"Trying, at least, will be practicable," said Philip, after a mighty -effort against himself. "'When in Rome, do as the Romans do;' when with -an angel, follow the angel's lead. I'll hire some one at once to take -the despatch to the wire, and then--why, then I'll wonder where to -reopen for business until the store can be rebuilt." - -"Why won't the warehouse answer? And why don't you go at once to the -city?--'tis only a trip of three or four hours, buy a small assortment -of groceries and other things most likely to be called for at once, and -order a larger stock, by wire, from Chicago? Caleb's purchases will -follow quickly. While you're away I'll manage to get the warehouse into -some resemblance to a store ready for goods; some men can surely be -hired, and I'll get Mr. Truett to help devise such makeshifts as are -necessary. You can be back by to-morrow night, if you start at once." - -"Upon my word, dear girl, you talk like a business veteran from -a cyclone country. If woman's intuitions can yield such business -telegrams and plans as you've disclosed within ten minutes, I think it -is time for men to go into retirement." - -"Women's intuitions, indeed!" Grace murmured, with an accompaniment -of closing eyes, yawning, stretching, and other indications of -insufficient slumber. "I've lain awake most of the night, wondering -what we ought to do and how to do it." - -"And your husband stupidly slept!" - -"Not being a woman, he wasn't nervous, and I am very glad of it. As -for me, I couldn't sleep, so I had to think of something, and I knew -of nothing better to think of. But before you go to the city let's get -into the buggy and drive over the course of the storm in our county, -and see if any one specially needs help." - -"And leave the remains of our store smouldering?" - -"We can get Mr. Truett to attend to it. Engineers ought to know -something about keeping fires down." - -"I wonder where he is. I thoughtlessly asked him to breakfast with us -this morning. I hope he's not starving somewhere, in anticipation. I -hope, also, that we've enough food material in the house to last a -day or two; we've the ice-house and warehouse to fall back upon for -meats. By the way, isn't it fortunate that I adopted Uncle Jethro's -habit of keeping most of the store cash on my person? Otherwise we'd be -penniless until the safe could be got from the ruins, and cooled and -opened." - -While Grace was preparing breakfast Philip hurried about to learn -whether any additional casualties of the storm had been reported, and -he soon encountered the young engineer, who looked as cheerful as if -cyclones were to be reckoned among blessings. - -"I've been out on horseback since daylight," said he, "and everything -is lovely." - -"There's some ground for difference of opinion," replied Philip, -looking at the damaged court-house and church. - -"I meant at the ditch and the swamps," the young man explained hastily. -"In spite of the great rainfall yesterday, the ditch did not overflow, -nor is there any standing water in the swamps. That isn't all; enough -trees have been knocked down, within three or four miles of town, to -make a block pavement for the main street--perhaps enough to pave -the road from here to the railway, so that full wagon-loads could be -hauled all winter long. But there's still more: the creek has been -accidentally dammed, a mile or two from town, by a bridge that the -cyclone took from its place and set up on edge in the stream. A little -work there, at once, would prepare a head for the water-power which I'm -told the town has been palavering about for years, and if you don't -want water-power, 'twould supply plenty of good water to be piped to -town, to replace the foul stuff from wells that have been polluted by -drainage. Doctor Taggess says some of the wells are to blame for many -of the troubles charged to malaria." - -"Harold Truett," said Philip, "do have mercy upon us! We'll yet -hear of you engineers trying to get the inhabitants of a cemetery -interested in some of your enterprises. Block pavements, indeed!--and -water-power!--and a reservoir!--and pipe-service!--all this to a man -whose principal lot of worldly goods is still burning, and in a town -not yet a full day past a cyclone!" - -"Oh, the town's all right," said Truett, confidently. "At least, the -people are. Already they're making the best of it and trying to make -repairs, and wondering to one another, in true Western fashion, if the -disaster won't make the town widely talked of, and give it a boom." - -"They are, eh? Well, I shan't allow the procession to get ahead of -me. Do you wish to superintend the transforming of my warehouse into -a temporary store, while I hurry away to buy goods? Mrs. Somerton -can tell you what we need. You may also see that the fire which is -consuming the remains of the old store is kept down or put out. I think -the two jobs will keep you very busy." - -"Quite likely, but I wish you'd keep that block pavement and -water-power and reservoir in mind, and speak to people about them. A -town is like a man: if it must make a new start, it might as well start -right, and for all it is worth." - -"Bless me! You've been here less than two months, yet you talk like a -rabid Westerner! Do you chance to know just when and where you caught -the fever?" - -"Oh, yes," replied the young man, with a laugh. "I got it in New York, -while listening to your man, Caleb Wright. I couldn't help it. I forgot -to say that now ought to be the time to coax a practical brick-maker -to town, and show what the banks of clay are really good for. Do it -before the state newspapers stop sending men down here to write about -the cyclone, and you'll get a lot of free advertising. And a railway -company ought to be persuaded to push a spur down here; they would do -it if you had water-power and any mills to use it." - -"Anything else? Are all engineers like you?--contriving to turn nothing -into something?" - -"They ought to be. That's what they were made for. So were other -people, though some of them seem slow to understand it. I wish -you'd appoint me a reception committee to talk to all newspaper -correspondents that come down to write up the horrors. If you'll tell -your fellow-citizens to refer all such chaps to me, I'll engage to -have the town's natural resources exploited in fine style." - -Philip promised, and an hour later when he and Grace were driving -rapidly over one of the county roads, Philip said that if Miss Truett -were of like temperament to her brother, it was not strange that she -was head of a large department. Still, Philip thought it strange that -a young man of so much energy and perceptive power should see anything -promising in Claybanks. - -"'Tis all because of Caleb," Grace replied confidently. "Mr. Truett -says that Caleb was quite voluble about the defects of the country, but -his truthfulness was fascinating through its uniqueness." - -"H'm! 'Tis evident that Caleb was the cause of Truett coming here, so -the town is still more deeply in debt to Caleb, who, poor chap, will -return to miss everything that he left behind him in his room, and even -the roof that sheltered him." - -"And he was so attached to his belongings, too!" Grace said. "Do invite -him, by wire, to regard our home as his own; he is not the kind of man -to abuse the invitation, and I'm sure he will appreciate it." - -Within six hours Philip had seen all of his own customers who had -been in the track of the storm, he had asked if there was anything in -particular he could bring them from the city, and assured them that if -they did not make free use of him, they would have only themselves to -blame. Naturally, he did not neglect to say that within a week he would -have on sale as large an assortment of goods as usual, and one with no -"dead stock" in it. Before nightfall, he was in the nearest small city, -and purchasing at a rate that made the dealers glad, and he was also -ordering freely by wire from Chicago houses that had sold to Jethro -Somerton for years, and who felt assured that no mere cyclone and fire -could lessen the Somerton power to pay. Twenty-four hours later he -was at home, congratulating his wife and Truett on the transformation -of the dingy warehouse into a light, clean-appearing room, thanks to -hundreds of yards of sheeting that had been tacked overhead in lieu of -ceiling, and also to the walls. Counters had been extemporized, and -shelving was going up. Some of the contents of the old store had been -saved, and the remainder was being drenched by a bucket brigade, under -the direction of Truett, who reported that he had had no trouble in -securing workmen, for Mrs. Somerton had asked them as a special favor -to her, and they had tumbled over one another in their eagerness to -respond. As to himself, he had found time to draw exterior and interior -plans for a new store to be erected on the old foundations, and he -begged permission to begin work as soon as the ruins were cool; for, -said he, "Lumber and labor will never be cheaper here than they are -now." - -"As I remarked before I left, you're a rabid Westerner," Philip said, -in admiration of the young man's enthusiasm. - -"Give it any name you like," was the reply, "though I'm suggesting only -what any Eastern man would do. Besides, I'd like to see everything well -started or arranged before Caleb can reach here." - -"You seem to have become remarkably fond of Caleb on very short -acquaintance," said Philip. - -"I have," was the reply, "and since I've learned that he was sent East -principally to regain his health, I'd like, in justice to both you and -him, that he should find nothing to give him a setback. That's only -fair, isn't it?" - -"'Tis more than fair. 'Tis very hearty, and greatly to your credit." - -"Oh, well; put it that way, if you like." - -Philip's goods began to arrive a day later, in farm wagons, moving -almost in procession to and from Claybanks and the railway town, and -several men worked at unpacking them, while Philip and Grace arranged -them on the shelves and under the counters. When Saturday night ended -the fourth day, the merchant and his wife were fit to enjoy a day of -rest on Sunday. Sunday morning came, and while Philip and Grace were -leisurely preparing their breakfast, there was a knock at the door. -Philip opened it, and shouted:-- - -"Grace!" - -Grace hurried from the kitchen, embraced a lady whom she saw, and -exclaimed:-- - -"Mary Truett!" - -"Mrs. Wright, if you please," replied the lady. - -"I beg a thousand pardons!" Grace gasped. She soon recovered herself -and looked very roguish as she continued, "Won't you kindly introduce -me to the distinguished-looking stranger beside you?" - -Then Caleb pushed his hat to the back of his head, slapped his leg -noisily, and exclaimed:-- - -"Distinguished--looking--stranger! Hooray!" - - - - -XXIV--HOW IT CAME ABOUT - - -"NOW, Caleb," said Philip, after the four had been seated at the -breakfast table so long that most of the food had disappeared, "tell us -all about it. Don't leave out anything." - -"All right," said Caleb, after emptying his coffee-cup. "I'll begin at -the beginning. I don't s'pose 'tis necessary to tell any of you that -New York is a mighty big city, an' London is another, so--" - -"New York savors of business, and so does London," said Philip, "and as -this is Sunday, I must decline to hear a word about worldly things. I'm -amazed that so orthodox a man as you should think of such matters on -Sunday." - -"Tell him, Caleb," Grace added, "and tell me also, about something -heavenly--something angelic, at least--something resembling a special -mercy, or a means of grace." As she spoke, she looked so significantly -at Mary, that Caleb could no longer pretend to misunderstand. - -"Well," said he, "as I came back double when you expected only to see -me single, I s'pose a word or two of explanation would only be fair to -all concerned. You see, before I started for London I felt pretty well -acquainted with Mary, for I'd been in New York two or three weeks. That -mightn't seem a long time, to some, in which to form an acquaintance -that will last through life an' eternity, but such things depend a lot -on the person who's doin' 'em, an', as you know, my principal business -for years has been to study human nature in general, an' particularly -whatever specimen of it is nearest at hand. In New York it had come to -be as natural as breathin', an' mighty interestin' too, especially when -the person's p'ints were first-rate, an' I had reason to believe that I -was bein' studied at the same time by somebody who had a knack at the -business an' didn't have any reason to mean harm to me." - -"Any one--any New Yorker, at least,--would have found Caleb an -interesting subject,--don't you think so?" said Mary, with a shy look -of inquiry. - -"I'm very sure that Philip and I did," Grace replied. - -"Well, 'twas all of Mrs. Somerton's doin', for she gave me a letter -of introduction to Miss Mary Truett: the Lord reward her accordin' to -her works, as the Apostle Paul said about Alexander the Coppersmith. -I carried a lot of other letters, you'll remember, and every one to -whom they were given was quite polite an' obligin'; but business is -business, so as soon as the business was done, they were done with me. -But Mary wasn't." - -"She wasn't allowed to be," Mary whispered. - -"I reckon that's so," Caleb admitted; "for somehow I kept wantin' to -hear the sound of her voice just once more--just to see what there was -about it that made it so different from other voices, so I kept makin' -business excuses that I thought were pretty clever an' reasonable-like, -an' she was always good-natured enough to take 'em as they were meant." - -"What else could she do?" asked Mary, with an appealing look. "The -rules against personal acquaintances dropping into the store to chat -were quite strict, and applied to heads of departments as well as to -other employees. Caleb's plausible manner deceived no one, but he was -so odd, at first, and so entertaining, that every one in authority in -the store quickly learned to like him, and were glad to see him come -in. They would make excuses to saunter near us, and listen to the -conversation, and whenever he went out, some of them remained to tease -me. They saw through him before I did, and made so much of what they -saw that, in the course of time, I had to work hard to rally myself -whenever I saw Caleb approaching." - -"She did it splendidly, too," said Caleb. "In a little while I got so -that my eye could catch her the minute I found myself inside the store, -no matter how many people were between us, yet I'm middlin' short, as -you know, an' she isn't tall. She'd be talkin' business, as sober as -a judge, with somebody, but by the time I got pretty nigh, her face -would look like a lot o' Mrs. Somerton's pet flowers--red roses, an' -white roses, an' a couple o' rich pansies between, an' around 'em all -a great tangle o' gold thread to keep 'em from gettin' away." - -"Caleb!" exclaimed Mary. "Your friends want only facts." - -"I'm sure he's giving us nothing else," Grace said, looking admiringly -at Mary, while Philip added:-- - -"He's doing it very nicely, too. Bravo, Caleb! Go on." - -"Well, she was kind o' curious about the West, like a good many other -New Yorkers who hadn't ever been away from home, and one day she asked -me if there was any chance out here for a young man who was a civil -engineer and landscape architect. She said so much about the young -man's smartness an' willingness, an' pluck, an' good nature, that -all of a sudden I found myself kind o' hatin' that young man, an' it -didn't take me long to find out why, an' when I saw that the trouble -was that I was downright jealous of him, I said to myself, 'Caleb, -you're an old fool,' an' I put in some good hard prayin' right then -an' there. Suddenly she explained that the young man was her brother, -an'--well, I reckon there never was a prayer bitten off shorter an' -quicker than that prayer was. She wished he could meet me, an' I said -that any brother o' hers could command me at any time an' anywhere, so -we fixed it that I should call at their house that very evenin'. Well, -I liked his looks an' his p'ints in general, an' he asked no end o' the -right kind o' questions, an' she helped him. I told 'em ev'rythin', -good an' bad--specially the latter--malaria, scattered population, -bad roads, poor farming, poor clothes, scarcity of ready cash, all -the houses small an' shabby; for up to that time it seemed to me that -everybody in New York lived in a palace an' wore Sunday clothes ev'ry -day of the week; afterwards I went about with some city missionaries -an' policemen, an' came to the conclusion that the poorest man in this -town an' county is rich, compared with more than half of the people in -New York. But that's gettin' over the fence an' into another field. -Her brother was so interested that nothin' would do but that I should -go back an' take supper with 'em next evenin' an' continue the talk. -Well, 'Barkis was willin',' as a chap in one of your circulatin' -library books said. Pity that library's burned; I'll put up half the -expense of a new one, for if ever there was a means of grace--" - -"It shall be replaced," said Philip, "but--one means of grace at a -time. Do go back to the original story." - -"Oh! Well, the next day happened to be the one in which I met my old -army chum, Jim, who reconstructed me in the way I wrote you about. One -consequence of Jim's over-haulin' was that when I got to their house -an' walked into their parlor, they didn't know me from Adam; both of -'em stood there, like a couple o' stuck pigs." - -"What an elegant expression!" exclaimed Mary. - -"You don't say that as if you b'lieved it over an' above hard, my dear, -but I do assure you that the expression means a lot to Western people. -Pretty soon her brother came to himself an' asked what had happened, -an' I said, 'Oh, nothin', except that when I'm in Turkey, an' likely to -stay awhile, I try to do as the turkeys do.' Well, things kept goin' -on, about that way, for some days, an' between thinkin' 'twas time -for that corn-meal to come, an' wishin' that it wasn't, an' wishin' a -lot of other things, I was in quite a state o' mind for a while, an' -self-examination didn't help me much. - -"All the time there kep' runnin' in my mind an old sayin' that your -Uncle Jethro was mighty fond of--'There's only one hoss in the world,' -an' the most I could do to keep from bein' a plumb fool was to remind -myself that that sort of a hoss had some rights of its own that -ought to be respected. I showed off my own good p'ints as well as I -could, an' I coaxed Mary to go about with me considerable, because -Mrs. Somerton had told me that her judgment and taste were remarkably -good,--that's the excuse I made,--an' we talked about a lot o' things, -an' found we didn't disagree about much. I accidentally let out what I -was goin' to England for, an' she got powerful interested in it, for -she'd read an' heard lots about the way the poorest English live in big -cities, so she thought I was really goin' on missionary work, an' she -said she would almost be willing to be a man if she could have such a -job. - -"She looked so splendid when she said it that I felt plumb -electrified--felt just as if a new nerve had suddenly been put into me -some way, so I made bold to say that she'd do that sort o' work far -better as a woman, an' that there was a way for her to do it, too, if -she was willin', an' if her minister would say a few words appropriate -to that kind of arrangement." - -"That is exactly the way he spoke," said Mary, "and as coolly as if he -wasn't saying anything of special importance." - -"Caleb's mind is sometimes in the clouds," Grace said, "where -everything for the time being appears just as it should be." - -"That must be so, I reckon, Mrs. Somerton," said Caleb, "seein' that -you say it; but I want to remark that if I was in the clouds that day, -I got out of 'em mighty quick, an' down to earth, an' mebbe a mighty -sight lower; for Mary suddenly turned very white, an' right away I felt -as if Judgment Day had come, an' I'd been roped off among the goats. -But all of a sudden she turned rosy, an' said, very gentle-like an' -sweet, ''Tis a long way to London, an' you might change your mind on -the way.' Said I, ''Tis longer to eternity, but I'll be of the same -mind till then, an' after, too.' She was kind o' skittish for a while -after that, but she didn't do any kickin', which I took for a good -sign." - -"Kicking, indeed!" said Mary, studying the decoration of her -coffee-cup. "Breathing was all the poor thing dared hope to do." - -"Well, at last she said she thought it might be better for me to go -alone, so both of us could have a fair chance to think it over, an' I -said that I wouldn't presume to doubt the good sense of whatever she -thought, an' that her will was law to me, an' would go on bein' so as -long as she would let it. Just then the corn-meal came, an' I went. -After I got fairly started on the trip, I found myself feelin' kind o' -glad she wasn't with me. As we've just been eatin' breakfast, I won't -go into particulars; but after I got over bein' seasick, I felt as well -an' strong as a giant, an' I ran a private prayer an' praise meetin' -all the way across. At first I was sorry that I hadn't asked her for -her picture to take along, but I soon found that I had one--had it in -both eyes, day an' night, an' all the time I was in London, too, an' -the more I looked at it, the more I wanted to see the original again. - -"This bein' Sunday, I won't say anythin' more about the business than -that I got it started well, didn't slight it, an' left it in good -hands. Gettin' back to the United States appeared to take a year; I -used to look at as much as a passenger could see of the engine, an' -wish I could put my heart into it to make it work faster. One day we -reached New York about sundown, an' I s'pose I needn't say whose house -I made for at once, with my heart in my mouth. 'Twasn't hard to make -out that she wasn't a bit sorry to see me, so my heart got out of my -mouth at once, an' gave my tongue a change. She asked about my trip, -an' told me about her letter to you about her brother, an' about your -kind invitation to him, an' how busy he already was in Claybanks, an' -she was able to tell me a lot about both of you, all of which I was -mighty glad to hear, but after a while there came a kind o' silent -spell, so I said:-- - -"Speakin' about thinkin' it over, I've been doin' nothin' else, an' I -haven't changed my mind. How is it with you?' She didn't say anythin', -for about a million hours, it seemed to me, but at last she put out -both of her hands, kind o' slow-like, but put 'em out all the same, -bless her; so I--" - -"Caleb," exclaimed Mrs. Wright, severely. - -"We understand," said Philip, "having had a similar experience a few -years ago;" and Grace said:-- - -"Blushes are very becoming to you, Caleb." - -"Thank you--very much. But how do you s'pose I felt next mornin' after -wakin' up with the feelin' that this world was Paradise, an' that it -couldn't be true that there were such things as sin an' sorrow an' -trouble, an' then seein' the whole front of my mornin' paper covered -with the Claybanks cyclone, an' nothin' to tell who was killed an' who -was spared! 'Twas nigh on to seven o'clock when I saw the news, an' -for a few minutes I did the hardest, fastest thinkin' I ever did in my -life. I sent you a despatch, hopin' that you were among the saved, an' -by eight o'clock I was at Mary's house. She'd seen the paper, so she -wasn't surprised to see me. She was just startin' for the store, so I -walked along with her, an' I said:-- - -"It couldn't have come at a more awful time, so far as my feelin's are -concerned, but the Claybanks people are my own people, after a fashion, -an' some of 'em need me--that is, they'll get along better if they have -me to talk to for a while. Will you forgive me if I hurry out to them? -You won't think me neglectful, or less loving than I've promised to be, -will you?' Then what did that blessed woman do but quote Scripture at -me--'Whither thou goest I will go, an' where thou lodgest I will lodge, -and thy people shall be my people.' 'Twas a moment or two before I took -it all in; then I said, to make sure that I wasn't dreamin', 'Do you -mean that you'll marry me--to-day--an' go out to Claybanks with me by -this evenin's train?' An' she said, 'Could I have said it plainer?' By -that time we were in a hoss-car, so I couldn't--" - -"Caleb!" again exclaimed Mrs. Wright, warningly. - -"All right, my dear; I won't say it. I didn't know, until afterward, -that Mrs. Somerton had been fillin' Mary up with letters about me an' -my supposed doin's for some of the folks out here. I don't doubt that -those stories were powerful influential in bringin' things to a head. -Well, while she went to the store to give notice to quit, an' to have a -fuss, perhaps, all on my account, I went to a newspaper office to find -out if any more news had come since daylight began. I wanted to know -the worst, whatever it was, an' when they told me that nobody was dead, -so far as could be learned, I wanted to wipe up part of the floor of -that newspaper office with my knees, an' I didn't care a continental -who might see me do it, either. - -"Then I went down to her store, an' got a word with her, though she was -rattlin' busy. Queer, though, how sharp-eyed some of those New Yorkers -are. Mary hadn't had a bit of trouble. The firm wasn't surprised when -she began to make her little statement--they said they'd seen, a month -or two before, how matters were likely to go, so they'd selected her -successor, sorry though they were at the idea of losing her. They -hadn't supposed the notice to quit would be so sudden, but after they -compared notes about the front page of a mornin' paper they agreed that -they'd be likely to lose Mary as soon as I struck New York. I s'posed -men as busy as the owners of such a business would have forgotten -the name of Claybanks, if they'd ever heard it, an' I wouldn't have -supposed that they'd ever have heard anythin' about me; but bless you, -they knew it all, an' they took Mary's words out of her mouth, as soon -as she explained that a dear friend who had just arrived from Europe -needed her companionship and assistance in a trip to the West. 'We hope -Mr. Wright isn't ill,' said one of the partners, an' the other said, -'We greatly hope so, for we learn from the Commercial Agency that he -is really as prominent and useful a man as there is in his county.' -Think o' that,--not that the Agency, whatever it is, was right, but -think of me bein' on record in any way in New York, an' of those old -chaps havin' known all about Mary an' me! It's plain enough that New -York folks are as keen-eyed as the best, an' that they've got one thing -that we Westerners don't know a single thing about, an' that's system. - -"But I'm strayin' again. At the store I arranged with her that we -should be married at her church at four o'clock that afternoon. Soon -after leavin' the store I got your despatch, which I didn't doubt had -already been read up in heaven--bless you both! It didn't take more -than two hours to duplicate the orders of a few weeks before; then I -went to her house, for the last time, an' she was already dressed for -the weddin'--dressed just as she is now. There were a couple of hours -to spare, an' as I'd ordered our railroad tickets, I improved the time -by tryin' to persuade her relatives, who had been called in on short -notice, that she was goin' to be in safe hands. But there wasn't a -chance to talk more'n two minutes at a time, for the door-bell kept -ringin', an' messengers kept comin' in with flowers an' presents, -most of 'em from people at the store. There's two trunks full of 'em, -comin' along by express. Of course we were goin' to have a quiet -weddin'--nobody invited to the church but her fam'ly an' two or three -of her relatives, an' my old army chum Jim; but when we got there, a -whole lot of folks were inside the church, an' when we started out -after the ceremony they crowded to the aisle, an' some threw flowers -in it, an' then for the first time the dear little woman learned that -the store people had turned out in force, the proprietors among 'em, -an' all the women kissed the bride, an' a lot of 'em cried, an'--oh, -nobody ever saw such goin's on at any weddin' in the Claybanks church. -An'--to wind up the story--here we are, ready for business, when Monday -comes. I telegraphed Black Sam to find an empty house for us somewhere, -knowin' that my old room was gone, an'--" - -"You're to live with us," said Philip. "You know we've room to spare, -and I know that my wife will be delighted to have your wife with her." - -"Thank you, Philip. Mrs. Somerton's taste in women is as correct as in -everythin' else." - -"But doesn't your brother know?" asked Grace of Mary. - -"No," was the reply. "Some things are easier told than written. -Besides, he's the dearest brother in the world, and thinks whatever I -do is right. How I long to see him!" - -"I'll find him at once," said Philip, rising. "'Twas very thoughtless -of me to have neglected him so long, but between astonishment and -delight I--" - -"You won't have far to look," said Caleb, who had moved toward the -window. "Mary, come here, please--stand right beside me--close--to -protect me in case he offers to knock me down." - -Philip opened the door, and Truett said:-- - -"I've just heard that Caleb came over from the railway station this -morning. Has he--oh, Mary! Just as I might have expected, if I hadn't -been too busy to think." - -"You don't act as if you had any ill feelin' toward me," said Caleb, -as Truett, after much affectionate demonstration toward his sister, -greeted his brother-in-law warmly. - -"Ill feeling? I'm delighted--quite as much delighted as surprised. I -saw how 'twould be before you sailed, for my sister has always been -transparent to me. As to you, any one who saw you in Mary's presence -could see what was on your mind. That was why I came out here. There -were other places I might have selected for my own purposes, but when I -saw how matters were going, I was determined that the town in which my -sister was to live, in the course of time, shouldn't be malarious and -shabby and slow if I could do anything to better it." - -"Aha!" said Philip, with the manner of a man upon whom a new light had -suddenly shone. "Now I understand your rage for local improvements, and -your Western fever in all its phases." - -"Could I have had better cause?" - -Philip looked admiringly at Mary, and answered:-- - -"No." - -The table was cleared by so many hands that they were in the way of one -another; then the quintet adjourned to the windward side of the house, -under the vine-clad arbor, and began to exchange questions. Suddenly -Grace said:-- - -"There's something new and strange about Caleb--something besides his -change of appearance and his happiness, and I can't discover what it -is." - -"Perhaps," said Mary, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, "'tis his -grammar." - -Caleb's eyes expressed solicitude as they turned toward Grace, and -they indicated great sense of relief when Grace clapped her hands and -exclaimed:-- - -"That is it!" - -"Well," said Caleb, "it does me good to know that the change is big -enough to see, for it's taken a powerful lot o' work. I used to be at -the head of the grammar class when I was a boy at school, but 'Evil -communications corrupt good manners,' as the Bible says, an' I've -been hearin' the language twisted ev'ry which way ever since I left -school. I never noticed that anythin' was wrong till I got into some -long talks with Mary, an' even then I didn't suppose that 'twas my -manner o' speech that once in a while made her twitch as if a skeeter -had suddenly made himself too familiar. One evenin'--I didn't know -till afterwards that she'd had an extra hard day at the store, an' had -brought a nervous headache home with her--she gave an awful twitch -while I was talkin', an' then she whispered 'Them!' to herself, an' -looked as disapprovin' as a minister at a street-fight. Then all of a -sudden my bad grammar came before my eyes, as awful as conviction to a -sinner. But I was tryin' to set my best foot forward, so I went on:-- - -"'I said "them" for "those" just now, perhaps you noticed?' - -"'I believe I did,' said she. - -"'Well,' said I, 'that word was pounded into me so hard at school one -day that I've never been able to get rid of it. You see, I was the -teacher's favorite, after a fashion, because it was known that I was -expectin' to study for the ministry, so the teacher kept remindin' -me that grammar was made to practise as well as recite, an' 'twasn't -of any use to use the language correctly in the class if I was goin' -to smash it an' trample on the pieces on the playground. I took the -warnin' an' one day, when four of us boys were havin' a game of -long-taw at recess I said somethin' about "those" marbles. One of the -boys jumped as if he had been shot, and when he came down he rolled -back his lips an' said "Those!" kind o' contemptuous-like, an' another -snickered "Those!" an' the other growled "Those!" an' then the first -one said, "Fellers, Preachy's puttin' on airs; let's knock 'em out of -him," an' then all of 'em jumped on me an' pounded me until the bell -rang us in from recess, an' from that time to this I've stuck to "them" -like a penitent to the precious promises.' - -"Well, she had a laugh over that; she said afterward that it cured her -headache, but after quietin' down she said, lookin' out o' the side o' -her face kind o' teasin'-like, an' also mighty bewitchin':-- - -"'What did the boys do to make you say "ain't" for "haven't"?' - -"Then I was stuck, an' laughed at myself as the best way of turnin' -it off, but for the rest of the evenin' I was chasin' the old grammar -back through about twenty years of army talk an' store talk, an' 'twas -harder than a dog nosin' a rabbit through a lot full o' blackberry -patches, an' I reckon I lost the scent a good many times. I stayed in -the city that night, so as to get into a bookstore an' a grammar book -early next mornin', an' I dived into that book ev'ry chance I got, in -the hoss-cars an' ev'rywhere else, an' when I was on the ocean an' -not sayin' my prayers, nor readin' the Bible, I was doin' only three -things, an' generally doin' all of 'em at once,--thinkin' of Mary, -keepin' my head an' shoulders up as my old soldier-chum Jim had made me -promise to do, an' puttin' Claybanks English into decent grammatical -shape. I tried to stop droppin' my 'g's' too, for she seemed to think -they deserved a fightin' chance o' life, even if they did come in only -on the tail-ends of words; I'd have got along fairly well at it, if it -hadn't been for the English people, but some of them seem to hate a -'g' at the end of a word as bad as if it was an 'h' at the beginnin', -which is sayin' a good deal. But see here, isn't it most church time? I -s'pose the sooner I take up my cross, the less I'll dread it." - -"Caleb," exclaimed Grace, in genuine surprise, "it can't be possible -that you've been backsliding, and learning to dislike religious -services?" - -"Oh, no," Caleb replied, looking quizzically at his wife; "but you're -the only old acquaintances I've met since I was married, an' at church -I'll meet two or three hundred, an' Claybanks people don't often have -any one new to look at an' talk about, an' any surprise of that kind is -likely to hit most of 'em powerful hard." - -"Go very early," Grace suggested, "and sit as far front as possible. -Philip and I will break the news to the minister before he reaches the -church, and we'll stand outside and tell the people as they arrive, so -that they can collect their wits and manners by the time the service -ends." - -"That'll be a great help," said Caleb. Then he drew Grace aside and -whispered with a look that was pathetic in its appeal: "Try to make her -understand, won't you, that our folks are a good deal nicer than they -look? You went through it alone, a few months ago. I saw your face, an' -my heart ached for you, but to-day I'm tremblin' for Mary. What do you -s'pose she'll think after she's looked around?" - -"About what I myself did," Grace replied. "I thought, 'I've my -husband,' and from that moment Philip was far dearer to me than he had -been." - -"Is that so? Glory! Mary, put on your bonnet. Let's be off for church." - - - - -XXV--LOOKING AHEAD - - -"WELL, Philip," said Caleb, as the two men met on the piazza before -sunrise Monday morning, "as Sunday's gone an' as there's no one here -but you an' I, let's talk business a little bit. You mustn't think that -my having taken a wife is going to make me an extra drag on you, an' -right after a cyclone, too. My salary's enough to support two on the -best that Claybanks can provide, an' if you're hard pushed, I can get -along without drawin' anythin' for a year, for I've always kept a few -hundred ahead against a time when I might break down entirely. I've -told Mary how your wife's been in the store a great part of the time, -an' there's nothin' that Mary'd like better than to do the same thing, -if agreeable to you an' Mrs. Somerton. She's had practical trainin' at -it, you know." - -"She'll be worth her weight in gold to us," Philip replied, "for -I foresee a busy future, about which I've much to say to you. The -cyclone, instead of depressing the people, seems to have nerved them -to new hope, for the town has received much free advertising; a lot -of city newspapers sent men down here to describe the horrors of -the affair, and as there were no actual horrors, and the men wanted -something of which to make stories, that brother-in-law of yours, who -is about as quick-witted a young chap as I ever met, filled their heads -with the natural resources of Claybanks,--rich soil, drained swamps, -plenty of valuable commercial timber, water-power available at short -notice, whenever manufacturers might demand it, and, of course, the -great deposit of brick clay from which the town got its name. I predict -that there will be a lot of chances to make money outside of the store, -so the more help we can have in the store, the better. By the way, -I wonder what Truett has been up to this morning. I heard hammering -awhile ago, in the direction of the warehouse. Ah! I remember--putting -up the old sign over the door--uncle's old sign; it was carried about -a mile from town by the cyclone and brought back by a man who thought, -and very correctly, that I'd like to preserve it. Let's go around a -moment and see how it looks, and remind ourselves of old times." - -As they reached the front of the warehouse, Caleb lost the end of a -partly uttered sentence, for over the old sign he saw a long board on -which was painted, in large, black letters:-- - - SOMERTON & WRIGHT, - - SUCCESSORS TO - -"Who did that?" Caleb gasped. - -"Truett," Philip replied. "He did it by special request, and I'm afraid -he worked a little on Sunday, but Mrs. Somerton and I thought it a work -of necessity. You see," Philip continued, in a matter-of-fact manner, -and ignoring Caleb's astonished look, "by the terms of Uncle Jethro's -will I was to provide for you for life and to your own satisfaction, -and 'tis quite as easy to do it this way as on the salary basis. -Besides, 'twill put those benevolent societies out of their misery, -and put an end to their questions, every two or three months, as to -the likelihood of the property reverting to them. You'll have me in -your power as to terms, but I know you'll do nothing unfair. Let's have -articles of co-partnership drawn up, on the basis of equal division of -profits in the entire business--store, farms, houses, etc. I wrote you -of the lump of money I got for my father's old mining stock. That, of -course, is my own; but if the firm runs short of ready cash at any time -I will lend to it at the legal rate of interest, so nothing but a very -bad crop year can cripple us. Besides, I shall want to operate a little -on the outside, so the store will need an additional manager who shall -also be an owner--not a clerk, as you've insisted on being." - -"But, Philip," said Caleb, who had collapsed on an empty box in front -of the store, "I've never had any experience as a boss." - -"Nor as a married man, either," Philip replied, "yet you've suddenly -taken to the part quite naturally and creditably! The main facts are -these: I'm satisfied that the past success of the store business has -been due quite as much to you as to Uncle Jethro, and all the people -agree with me. I couldn't possibly get along without you, nor feel -honest if I continued to take more than half of the proceeds. Why not -go tell the story to your wife, as an eye-opener? I think it might give -her a good appetite for breakfast, and improve her opinion of Claybanks -and the general outlook. It might cheer her farther to be told that her -brother is the right man in the right place, and bids fair to become -the busiest man in the county." - -"I'll tell her, an' I don't doubt that 'twill set her up amazingly. -But, Philip--" here Caleb looked embarrassed, "you haven't--don't you -think you could make out to say somethin' to me about her?" - -"You dear old chap,--'young chap' would be the proper -expression,--where are your eyes, that you haven't seen me admiring her -ever since you brought her to us yesterday morning? She's a beauty with -a lot of soul, and she's a wonderfully clever, charming woman besides, -and I never saw a bride who seemed deeper in love. I can't ever thank -you enough for finding such capital company for my wife. I expected to -be impressed, for Grace has raved about her ever since you first wrote -of meeting her, but Grace left much untold." - -"I was afraid you might think she took up with me too easily," said -Caleb; "but when, after we were married, I told her I never would -forgive myself if I did not make her life very happy, she said she -had no fears for the future, and that I mustn't think she took me -only on my own say-so, for she'd had a lot of letters from your wife -about me, all to the effect that I was the honestest, kindliest, most -thoughtful, most unselfish man in the world, except you. Mary had great -confidence in the judgment of your wife, whom she remembered as a very -discreet young woman and a good judge of human nature. Her brother, -too, unloaded on her a lot of complimentary things that he'd managed to -pick up out here about me. Now, as a married man, an' a good friend of -mine, what do you honestly think of my future?" - -"Nothing but what is good. You've still half of your life before you, -and if you're really rid of malaria, and if that Confederate bullet -will cease troubling you, you ought to tread on air and live on -sunshine for the remainder of your days." - -"Speakin' of bullets," said Caleb, tugging at one end of a double -watch-chain, and extracting from his pocket something which resembled -a battered button, "how's that, for the wicked ceasin' from troublin' -an' the weary bein' at rest? For my first two or three days at sea I -couldn't see any good in sea-sickness, except perhaps that it had a -tendency to make a man willin' to die, an' even that view of it didn't -appeal very strongly to me, circumstances bein' what they were. One day -when I was racked almost to death, I felt an awful stitch in my side. I -was weak an' scared enough to b'lieve almost anythin' awful, so I made -up my mind that I must have broken a rib durin' my struggles with my -interior department, an' that the free end of it was tryin' to punch -its way through to daylight. So I sent for the ship's surgeon, an' he, -after fussin' over me two or three minutes, and doin' a little job of -carvin', brought us face to face--I an' my old acquaintance from the -South. I was so glad that I could 'a' hugged the Johnny Reb that fired -that bullet, an' I never was seasick after that. But that's enough -about me. Tell me somethin' about business. Do you think the cyclone -has hurt you a lot, for the present?" - -"It destroyed the store and its contents, and I don't expect to get -any insurance, but I haven't lost any customers. On the other hand, -some farmers are so sorry for me, I being the only merchant that was -entirely cleaned out, that they are going to trade with us next year. -Besides, much of our stock was old, and never would have sold at any -price, while an entirely new stock is a great attraction to all classes -of customers. We'll have a new store building up pretty soon, if Truett -is as able as he thinks himself and as I think him. Let's go back to -the wreck a moment; he generally has some men at work by sunrise, -clearing away, so as to get at the foundations and ascertain their -condition." - -Apparently the young engineer was amusing himself, for they found him -hammering a brick into small bits and examining the fractured surfaces. -As Philip and Caleb joined him, he said:-- - -"This is a mystery. How on earth do you suppose this kind of brick got -into Claybanks?" - -"Easiest way in the world," Caleb replied, "seein' 'twas made here. -'Tisn't a good color, but, gentlemen, I saw whole houses on some o' the -best streets in New York made of brick of about this color. They were -better shaped, an' fancy-laid, but--" - -"Excuse me, Caleb," said Truett, excitedly, "but do you mean to say -that this brick was made here, in Claybanks, of Claybanks clay?" - -"That's the English of it," Caleb replied, "an' all the bricks of all -the chimneys an' fireplaces in the town are of the same clay." - -"Oh, no; they're red." - -"Yes, but that's because of one of Jethro's smartnesses. Wonderful man, -Jethro Somerton was. The way of it was this: a newcomer here that -wanted to put on some style, like he'd been used to in Pennsylvany, -got your uncle to order enough red paint for him to cover a big new -barn. Just 'fore the paint got here the barn was struck by lightnin', -an' the new barn had to be of rough slabs, an' the man was glad enough -to get 'em, too. Meanwhile Jethro was stuck with a big lot o' red -paint, for nobody else felt forehanded enough to paint a barn. Jethro -cogitated a spell, an' then he said quite frequent an' wherever he got -a chance, that Claybanks was a sad, sombre-lookin' place; needed color, -specially in winter, to make it look kind o' spruce-like. That set some -few people to white-washin' their houses, an' when them that couldn't -afford to do that much kind o' felt that some o' their neighbors were -takin' the shine off of 'em, Jethro up an' said, 'Any man can afford -to paint his chimney red, anyhow, an' a red chimney'll brighten up any -house.' So, little by little at first, but afterwards all at a jump, -he got rid o' that lot o' red paint, an' had to order more, an' in the -course o' time it got to be the fashion, quite as much as wearin' hats -out o' doors." - -"That explains," said Truett, apparently relieved at mind, "why I've -not noticed the brick before. I've seen two or three foundation walls, -but I supposed, from their color, that they were merely mud-stained. -Now let me give you two men a great secret, on condition that you let -me in on the ground floor of the business end of it. Brick of this -quality and color, properly moulded and baked, is worth about three -times as much as ordinary red brick: I'll get the exact figures within -a few days. I know that there is money in sending it to New York, from -no matter what distance. Some of it is used even in indoor decoration." - -"Whe--e--e--ew!" whistled Philip. - -"Je--ru--salem!" ejaculated Caleb. "To think that the clay has been -here all these years without anybody knowing its real value!" - -"How could any one be expected to know about anything that existed in -an out-of-the-way hole-in-the-ground like Claybanks?" - -"Sh--not so loud!" said Philip. "Such talk in any Western town is worse -than treason." - -"'Tis reason, nevertheless. There might be a vein of gold here, but -how could the world ever learn of it? Who owns the clay banks? Can't we -get an option on them?" - -"They belong to the town, which charges a royalty of twenty-five cents -per thousand bricks," said Caleb. "They've brought less than a hundred -dollars, thus far." - -"Oh, this is dreadful!--splendid, I mean! A brick-making outfit isn't -expensive, and fuel with which to burn the bricks is cheap. Can't we -three organize a company, right here, in our hats or pockets, and get -the start of any and all others in the business? 'Twill cost us about -two dollars per thousand, I suppose, to haul the bricks to the railway -station, but even then there will be a lot of money in the business. If -we could have a railway--pshaw, men--Claybanks _must_ have a railway! -I've selected several routes, in off-hand fashion, over the three miles -of country between here and the nearest railway station; there would be -absolutely no bridging to do, nor any grading worth mentioning, so the -three miles could be built for thirty thousand dollars. Let's do it!" - -"Truett," said Philip, impressively, "go slow--very slow, or you'll -have inflammation of the brain. Worse still, I shall have it. Caleb may -escape, for he has the native Westerner's serene self-confidence in his -own town and section; but I'm a Claybanker by adoption merely. First, -you open a mine of wealth before our eyes, in the claybanks. Then you -tempt us to make bricks for rich New Yorkers and others. Then you offer -us a railway for thirty thousand dollars,--more money, to be sure, -than could be raised here in thirty years,--and you do all this before -breakfast on Monday morning. Come into the house with us; I shall faint -with excitement if I don't get a cup of coffee at once." - -"Make light of it, if you like," said Truett, "but will you look at the -brick-making figures,--cost of plant, manufacture, and freight, also -the selling price,--if I can get them from trustworthy sources?" - -"Indeed I will--our firm will; won't we, Caleb?" - -"I've been wantin' for years to see such a lot of figures," said Caleb, -placidly, "an' to see the railroad figures we could touch. I've seen -some of the other kind, once in a while." - -"I hope too many cooks haven't spoiled the broth," said Mary, at the -breakfast table, from behind a large breast-knot of roses. "I found in -the garden what Grace pronounces a lot of weeds; but I've made a salad -of them, and I shall feel greatly mortified if all of you don't enjoy -it." - -"We are prepared to expect almost anything delightful from what has -been accounted worthless," said Philip, "after having listened to some -of your brother's disclosures this morning. Eh, Caleb?" - -"Yes, indeed," replied Caleb, with an "I-told-you-so" air. "I never -doubted that a lot of good things would be developed at Claybanks, when -the right person came along to develop 'em." - -"Think of it, Mary!" said Truett. "You remember that magnificent house -of old Billion's, on Madison Avenue--a house of yellowish brown brick? -Well, the foundation of Somerton's old store is of just such brick, -and it was made here, years ago, of the clay for which the town was -named." - -Mary's eyes opened wide as she replied:-- - -"What a marvellous country! Why, Grace, one of our firm, at the old -store, boasted of having a chimney breast of that same brick, as if it -were something quite rare and costly." - -"Why don't you build the new store of it, Phil?" Grace asked. - -"That's a happy thought!" said Truett. "Now, Somerton, what do you say -to my brickyard plan? Put up the first solid building in Claybanks--set -the fashion. Think of how 'twould advertise your business and make your -competitors look small by comparison." - -"Very well. See how quickly it can be done, if at all, and then we will -talk business. We must have the warehouse clear by the beginning of the -pork-packing season, less than four months distant." Then he smiled -provokingly, and continued, "Perhaps, however, it will be better to -build the new store of wood, as already planned, so you can give most -of your time to building a railroad, so that we may get our golden -bricks, and other goods, to market." - -"There's sense in that," said Truett, taking the remark seriously. -"As to the road, you may rest assured that my figures are within the -extreme cost." - -"My dear boy," said Philip, "far be it from me to dispute an engineer's -estimates; but for some years in New York I was clerk and correspondent -for a firm of private bankers who dabbled in railways, and I assure you -that they never found any that cost but ten thousand dollars per mile." - -"Perhaps not, for most railways are built on credit--generally on -speculation, and largely for the special benefit of the builders, but -our road--" - -"What are these men talking about?" Mary asked of Grace. - -"A railway from Claybanks to the nearest station we now have," said -Philip. "Women love imaginative creations, Truett, so tell them all -about it." - -"There is no imagination in this," Truett retorted, "but perhaps they -will condescend to listen to facts. Most companies are obliged to -average the cost of their lines over a great stretch of territory. -They have bridges and trestles to build, cuts to make, low ground to -fill, and they must pay high prices, at portions of their line, for -right of way, and they stock and bond their companies at ruinous rates -to get the necessary money. As I've already said, none of the routes I -have selected requires a single bridge, trestle, or filling, and the -right of way, at the highest prices of farm land in this county, won't -exceed a thousand dollars per mile." - -"'Twon't cost a cent a mile," said Caleb. "Any farmer in these parts -will give a railroad free right of way through his land, and say 'Thank -you' for the privilege of doing it. If his house or barn is in the way, -he will move it; he'll even let the line run over his well, and dig -himself a new one, for the sake of having railroad trains for him and -his family to stare at, for the trains kind o' bring farmers in touch -with the big world of which they never see anything. If everything else -can be arranged, you may safely count on me to coax right of way for -the entire line." - -"Score one for Truett!" said Philip; "proceed, Mr. Engineer." - -"Thank you, and thanks to Caleb. The items of cost will be only -road-bed, ties, and metal. A single track, with heavy rails, can be -metalled out here for less than three thousand dollars per mile: that -means nine thousand dollars for the three miles, and that should be the -total cash outlay, for the road-bed and ties can be provided, by local -enterprise, without money." - -"Pardon my thick head," said Philip, "but how?" - -"By organizing a stock company with shares so small that any farmer can -subscribe, his subscription being payable in ties, which he can cut -from his own woodland, or in labor with pick, shovel, horses, plough, -scraper--whatever he and we can best use. Fix a valuation on ties, -and on each class of labor, and pay in stock. 'Tis simply applying -our drainage-ditch plan to a larger operation, though not very much -larger, and one that will be attractive to a far greater number of men. -Do this, and you merchants and other men of money supply the cash to -buy the metal, and I'll guarantee to have that road completed in time -to haul to market your wheat, pork, corn, and other produce on any -day of the coming winter, regardless of the weather. Caleb tells me -that you merchants have often lost good chances of the market because -the roads between here and the station were so soft or so rough that -a loaded wagon couldn't get over them. There are tens of thousands of -cords of firewood still standing here, on land that ought to be under -cultivation, but the farmers have no incentive to cut it, for there is -no market but this little town. The railroad would get it to market, -and at good cash prices, and thus doubly benefit the farmers. I'm told -that the water-power of the creek has been holding up the Claybanks -heart for years; and I know that there are enough varieties of -commercial timber here to occupy several mills a long time, but no one -is going to haul machinery in, and his output away, over three miles of -mud or frozen clods." - -"True as Gospel--every word of it," said Caleb. "I've heard Jethro, an' -Doc Taggess, an' ev'ry other level-headed man in town say the same -thing for years." - -"I fully agree with them," said Philip, "but let's go back to figures a -moment. I've heard nothing yet about the cost of locomotives, and other -rolling stock--mere trifles, of course,--yet necessary." - -"We should not be expected to supply them," Truett explained. "The road -which ours will feed will be glad to supply them, as all roads do for -short spurs on which anything is to be handled. It would be idiotic to -buy rolling stock for a road which at first won't have enough business -to justify one train a day. When there's anything to do, the old -company will send down a short train from the nearest siding; the run -wouldn't require fifteen minutes. You Eastern people who are accustomed -to a thickly populated country, with many through trains daily, don't -know anything about the business methods of the sparsely settled -portions of the West, especially on spurs of a railway line." - -"He's right about rolling stock," said Caleb. "Ten years ago the -railroad company, over yonder, told Jethro an' a committee that went -from here to see 'em that if we'd build the spur, they'd do the rest. -But they stood out for a solid road-bed, as good as their own, an' for -heavy steel rails, like their own, for they said their rollin' stock -was very heavy, and they wa'n't goin' to take the risk of accidents. -The price of the rails knocked us." - -"Naturally," said Truett, "for steel rails were four or six times as -costly then as they are now." - -"You've made me too excited to eat," said Philip, leaving the table, -"and I'm afraid that the trouble will continue until this road is moved -from the air to the ground. The main offices of the old company are -only about a hundred miles away; suppose, Truett, that you and the most -truly representative merchant of Claybanks--I mean Caleb--run up there? -I'll look after the men at work on the store. Tell the president, or -whoever is in authority, that we think of building a spur at once from -here to their main track, see what they'll do, and persuade them to say -it in black and white. If they talk favorably, we'll hold a public -meeting, and try to do something. Mrs. Wright, we owe you an apology. I -assure you that business talk is not the rule at our breakfast table." - -"I wish it were!" said Mary, who, with Grace, had listened excitedly -until both women were radiant with enthusiasm. "I wish railways could -be planned at breakfast every day--if my brother were to be the -builder." - -"Now, Mary," said Caleb, "perhaps you begin to understand the Western -fever of which I've told you something from time to time." - -"Understand it?" said Mary, dashing impulsively at her husband. "I -already have it--madly! I'm willing to bid you good-by at once for -your trip, though I haven't been married a week. My husband a possible -railway director--and yours also, Grace! How do you feel?" - -"Prouder than ever," Grace replied. "Just as you will feel, week by -week, as the wife of a clever husband." - - - - -XXVI--THE RAILWAY - - -TRUETT and Caleb were on their way before noon, but not until Truett -had first packed several bricks and fragments of bricks, from the -foundations of the old store, for shipment to New York, accompanied by -a request for probable selling figures of brick of the same natural -quality and properly made. He also wrote for an estimate of cost of a -modest brick-making outfit. - -The two men returned within forty-eight hours with a written promise -from the trunk line company to lay the rails, if these and a proper -road-bed were provided, and take stock in payment for the work; also -to take a lease of the road, when completed, by guaranteeing a six per -cent dividend on the stock, which was not to exceed thirty thousand -dollars. The company also imparted the verbal reminder that a six -per cent stock, guaranteed by a sound company, would always be good -security on which to borrow money from any bank between the Missouri -River and the Atlantic Ocean. - -"That being the case," said Philip, "I will subscribe all the cash -necessary to purchase the rails, if the road-bed and ties can be -provided according to Truett's plan." - -"Don't, Philip!" said Caleb. - -"Why not?" - -"Because there's such a thing as bein' too big a man in a poor country, -especially if you're a newcomer. Other merchants will become jealous of -you, an' 'twill cause bad feelin' in many ways. Work public spirit for -all it's worth; give ev'rybody a chance; then, if toward the end there -shows up a deficiency, they'll be grateful to you for makin' it up. Do -you want the earth? Quite likely; so remember what the Bible says, 'The -meek shall inherit the earth,' by which I reckon it doesn't mean the -small-spirited, but the men who don't set their feller-men agin 'em by -pushin' themselves too far to the front. If folks here don't know that -you've a lot of money in the bank in New York, where's the sense of -lettin' 'em know it?" - -"Right--as usual, Caleb," said Philip, after some impatient pursing of -his lips. "I begin to see, however, in this guaranteed stock--provided, -of course, that the farmers subscribe as freely as Truett's plan will -allow--a way of relieving the stringency of ready money in this county. -We may be able to start a small bank here in the course of time, -especially if any manufacturers can be attracted by the hard woods, the -railway, and the water-power." - -"That would realize one o' my oldest an' dearest dreams," said Caleb, -"for 'twould put an end to the farmers' everlastin' grumblin' about how -much worse off they are than the people who have banks nigh at hand. -I don't expect 'em to be much better off--perhaps not any, for I've -noticed that almost any man that can borrow will go on borrowin' an' -spendin', wisely or otherwise, clean up to his limit, an' then want -money just as much as he did at first; but I'd like our farmers to have -the chance to learn it for 'emselves, for I'm very tired of askin' -'em, for years, to take an honest man's word for it." - -Before sunset Philip had called in person on his brother merchants, -Doctor Taggess, the owner of the saw-mill, the county clerk, and -the hotel-keeper, and invited them to meet at his warehouse-store -that evening, immediately after the closing hour, for a private and -confidential talk on a business subject of general interest to the -community. Caleb went into the farming district and invited a flour -miller and several of the more intelligent farmers to attend the -meeting. At the appointed hour every one was present, the door was -locked, Philip briefly outlined the railway scheme, told of the main -line company's offer, and called upon Truett to detail his plan of -construction. - -The young engineer responded promptly with facts and figures, and -made much of his proposed stock subscriptions to be paid for in labor -and ties, and the farmers present declared it entirely feasible. Most -of the merchants were frightened at the amount of cash that would -be required for rails, etc., as almost all of it would have to be -subscribed by them; but Philip, backed by the consciousness of his -own bank deposit in the East, assured them that through some Eastern -acquaintances he could get merchants' short notes discounted for a -large part of their subscriptions, and that the guaranteed stock could -be sold or borrowed on as soon as issued; if the cutting and delivery -of ties could begin at once, the road could be completed soon enough -to get the autumn and winter produce to market almost as rapidly as it -could be brought in. - -At this stage of the proceedings the owner of the saw-mill promised to -expedite matters by subscribing five hundred dollars' worth of stock, -payable in ties at a fair price. The town's last railway excitement, -several years before, had caused him to buy in a lot of small timber -and saw it into ties, which had been dead stock ever since; he had even -tried to sell them for firewood. Doctor Taggess thought so highly of -the project that he said he would take a thousand dollars' worth of -stock; he had very little ready money, but through family connections -in the East he could raise the money by mortgaging his home. The -county clerk said he would take five hundred dollars' worth, the -hotel-keeper promised to take a similar amount, and the flour miller -asked to be "put down" for two hundred and fifty. By this time the -merchants lifted up their hearts and pledged enough more to secure -the purchase of the metal. It was then resolved that a public meeting -should be held within a week, at the court-house, roofless though it -still was, and all participators in the private consultation agreed to -"boom" the enterprise in the meantime to the best of their ability. - -The public meeting was as enthusiastic and successful as could have -been desired. Caleb had already secured the right of way, as promised, -and a statement of this fact, added to those narrated above and -repeated at the meeting, elicited great applause. Truett announced -the valuations, estimated after much consultation, of the various -kinds of labor to be received in payment of stock; also, the price -of ties, and the length, breadth, thickness, and general quality of -the ties desired. As the required number of ties was apparently in -excess of the producing capacity of the local saw-mill and the farmers -tributary to Claybanks, it was resolved that tie subscriptions should -be solicited from the part of the county on the other side of the trunk -line, and thus expand the blessings of stockholdership. Then a list -of conditional subscriptions was opened, and it filled so rapidly, -that before the meeting adjourned there appeared to be secured as much -labor, money, and ties as would be needed; so a committee was appointed -to organize the Claybanks Railway Company according to the laws of the -state. - -"Is it done--really done?" asked Grace and Mary, like two excitable -schoolgirls, when Philip, Caleb, and Truett returned to the store, -which was almost full of expectant farmers' wives. - -"It is an accomplished fact--on paper," said Philip. "To that extent it -is done." - -"Your own work, you mean," said Truett. "Mine has merely begun." - -"When do you really begin?" asked Mary of her brother. - -"To-day--this instant," was the reply, "if I can get a couple of -well-grown boys to assist me, while I go over the route with an -instrument and a lot of stakes." - -Several farmers' wives at once offered the services of their own sons, -and went in search of them, while two of the women, more "advanced" -than the others, themselves volunteered to carry stakes, chains, -etc.,--anything to hurry that blessed railroad into existence. -Fortunately the arrival of several boys made the services of these -patriotic ladies unnecessary. - -"The sooner I am able to avail myself of any labor that may offer, the -sooner I shall be ready for some of the ties. Oh, those ties! I wonder -how many farmers and their sons I shall have to instruct in hewing!" -said Truett. - -"I wouldn't waste any time in thought on that subject, if I were you," -said Caleb; "for what our farmers don't know about hewin' would take -you or any other man a long time to find out. How do you s'pose all the -beams an' standin' timbers of all the houses an' barns built in this -county was made in the days before there were any saw-mills nearer -than twenty miles? How do you s'pose some of the log houses here are -so tight in the joints that they need no chinkin'? I've heard of some -Eastern people bein' born with gold spoons in their mouths; well, it's -just as true that hundreds of thousands of Westerners were born with -axes in their hands. The axe was their only tool for years, an' they -got handy enough with it to do 'most anythin', from buildin' a house to -sharpenin' a lead-pencil!" - -"Good for Caleb!" shouted a farmer's wife, and Truett made haste to -say:-- - -"I apologize to the entire West, and will put my mind at ease about the -ties." - -The subject of conversation was changed by an irruption of farmers -and citizens, who wished to talk more about the new railroad, and -who rightly thought that the place where the engineer could be found -was the most likely source of information. The questions were almost -innumerable, and Truett, who was quite as excited as any of them, -told all he knew about what certain specified spur roads had done -for farming and wooded districts no more promising than Claybanks; so -the informal meeting became even more enthusiastic than the gathering -at the court-house had been, for the farmers' wives added fuel to the -flame. The spectacle impressed Grace deeply, well though she knew the -people; for from most of the faces was banished, for the time being, -the weary, resigned expression peculiar to a large portion of the -farming population of the newer states. Caleb, too, long though he had -known all the men and women in the throng, had his heart so entirely in -his face that Grace whispered to Mary:-- - -"Do look at your husband! Did you ever see him look so handsome, until -to-day?" - -A strong, warm, nervous hand-clasp was the only reply for a moment; -then Mary whispered:-- - -"All the men here are fine-looking!--their faces are so expressive! -I've not noticed it until to-day. Where did Claybanks get such people?" - -"Say all that to your husband, if you wish to fill his heart to -overflowing," said Grace, "and then, to please me, repeat it to Doctor -Taggess, or tell both of them at once." To share in the enjoyment, she -succeeded in getting Caleb and the Doctor close to her and Mary, and -quoted to them:-- - -"'Listen, my children, and you shall hear'--now, Mary!" - -"I don't wonder that you're impressed," the Doctor replied, when Mary's -outburst concluded. His own eyes were gleaming, and Mary said afterward -that his face was her ideal of a hero at the moment of victory. - -"Now, Mrs. Somerton, can you again wonder, as you've wondered aloud -to my wife and me, that I, whom you've kindly called a man of high -quality, have been content to pass my adult years among these backwoods -people? Do see their hearts and souls come into their faces! I know -they are not always so, but we never heard of any one remaining all the -while on the Mount of Transfiguration. It isn't the railway alone that -they're thinking of, but of what it will mean to themselves and their -hard-working wives, and to their children,--closer touch with the great -world of which they've read and wondered, better prices for their -yield, which means more creature comforts at home, better educational -facilities for their children, and less temptation for the children -to escape from the farm to the city. They know that all this must be -the work of time, but they've never before seen the beginning of it, -so now they're building air-castles as rapidly as a lot of magicians -in dream-land. I can't blame them, for I'm doing it myself, old and -cautious though I am. They can wait for the end, so can I; for all of -us, out here, have had long training in the art of waiting. At present -the beginning is joy enough, for I can't imagine how any one about us -could look happier." - -The formal survey of the railway route began that afternoon, for the -people would listen to no suggestions of delay. It was completed -quickly, and that the company was not yet organized according to law -did not prevent the immediate offer and acceptance of a large working -force of men, boys, horses, etc., from the village itself. The young -engineer was his own entire staff, and also temporary secretary and -accountant of the enterprise; but as it was his first great job, he -enjoyed the irregularity of everything. From that time forward, for -several months, the village stores ceased to be lounging places. Any -villager or farmer with time to spare made his way to the line of the -new road, and feasted his eyes, apparently never to fulness, on the -promise of what was to be. - -As the work progressed farther from the town, the farmers of the -vicinity, with their families, would saunter toward the line on Sunday -afternoons and linger for hours, talking of the good times that were -coming, and some of them actually moved their houses as near to the -track as possible, so that the inmates might be able to have the best -possible view of the trains when they began to run. When the road-bed -was made and the ties were placed, and the laying of the rails began, -entire families picnicked for a day at a time beside the track, -although the weather had become cold, merely to see a shabby locomotive -push backward some platform cars loaded with rails, and to see the -rails unloaded, and listen to the musical clamor of track-laying; -for did not each detail of the work bring nearer to them the hope of -Claybanks for a third of a century,--a completed railway? - -Truett had been better than his word. He had promised to finish the -work by Christmas, but the formal opening ceremonies took place on -Thanksgiving Day; and more than half the people of the county took -part in it. With an eye to business the principal stockholders--the -Claybanks merchants--hired a passenger train for the day, and gave the -natives free rides to and from the nearest station that had a siding -and switch by which the train could be sent back. The station had not -a great town to support it,--merely five thousand people,--but as the -Claybankers roamed through the place and saw many houses finer than -any house in Claybanks, several streets that were paved with wooden -blocks and many that had sidewalks, saw the telegraph and telephone -wires, and a bank, and a fire-engine house, and horse-troughs into -which fresh water flowed steadily from pipes which were part of a -general service, their hearts were filled with the conviction that all -these comforts and conveniences had come through the possession of a -railway. Claybanks was in a fair way to become like unto that town, and -they made haste, each after his kind, to rejoice. Then all of them who -were farmers began to lay out, on their mental tablets, the appearance -of their own farms as they would be when divided into building lots, -and also to count the pleasing sums of money that would be paid by the -purchasers of the lots, and also the many creature comforts which the -money would buy. - -The first freight car that left Claybanks for business purposes was -loaded with yellowish brown brick for New York, and all Claybanks -was present to wave hats, handkerchiefs, hands, and aprons, as it -moved slowly off. Claybanks wheat had gone East in times past, so -had Claybanks pork, and undoubtedly these products had entered into -the physical constitution of New York to some extent, but they could -not afterward be identified. Claybanks bricks, however, were very -different. They would be seen by every one, and they would make -Claybanks literally a part of the metropolis itself. - -The meaning of all this was felt by the people of all classes; even -Pastor Grateway was so impressed by it that he preached a sermon from -the text, "They shall speak with the enemy in the gates," and that -there should be no doubt as to who "they" were, a brown brick was -at each side of the pulpit for the sides of the open Bible to rest -upon. The pastor, being a man of spiritual insight, did not neglect -to enlarge upon the fact that the bricks themselves were originally -clay--mere earth--that had been trampled underfoot for years, seemingly -useless, until it had been conformed in shape and quality to the uses -for which it had been designed from the foundation of the world, and -that each brick was a reminder that the most insensate lump of human -clay had in it the possibilities for which it had been created. - -Nevertheless, the majority of the hearers only carried home with them -the conviction that the Claybanks brick-yard must become one of the -great things of the world--otherwise, why did the minister preach about -it? - - - - -XXVII--CONCLUSION - - -"CALEB," said Philip one evening, as the partners and their wives sat -in the parlor of the Somerton home and enjoyed the leisure hour that -came between store-closing and bed-time, "so much important business -has been crowded into the past few months that some smaller ventures -have almost escaped my mind. What ever came of that car-load of walnut -stumps that I sent East last summer?" - -"I couldn't have told you much about it if you'd asked me a day -earlier," Caleb replied. "I turned it over to a man in the fine-woods -business--a Grand Army comrade that I met at my old chum Jim's post. -He said at the time that the stumps would undoubtedly pay expenses of -diggin' and shipment, an' maybe a lot more, but 'twould depend entirely -on the stumps themselves. He'd have each of 'em sawed lengthwise an' -a surface section dressed, to show the markings of the grain o' the -wood. It seems that they were so water-soaked that 'twas months after -sawin' before the wood of any of 'em was dry enough to dress, but he -got at some of 'em a few weeks ago, an' though most of 'em wa'n't -above the ordinary, there were two or three that made the furniture -an' decoration men bid against each other at a lively rate. One of 'em -panned out over sixty dollars." - -"What? One walnut stump? Sixty dollars?" - -"Oh, that's nothing. To work me up, he told me of one, picked up in the -country a few years ago, that brought more than a thousand dollars to -the buyer. The markings were so fine that it was sawn into thin veneers -that were sold for more than their weight in silver. Still, to come -to the point, your entire lot brought about two hundred and seventy -dollars net, an' I've got the check in my pocket to prove it." - -"And the land from which they were taken cost me only two hundred -dollars in goods! And there are still hundreds of stumps in it! And I -felt so ashamed and babyish when I learned that I'd been tricked into -buying cleared land, that I almost resolved to recall you by wire, so -that I should be kept from being tricked again in some similar manner! -I shall have to drive out to old Weefer's farm, tell him the story, and -ask him if he has any more walnut clearings for sale." - -"Hadn't you better keep quiet about it? Where's the use in killin' -the goose that lays the golden egg? Pick up all the walnut clearin's -that are for sale, an' make what you can out of 'em, before you go to -talkin'; but if you feel that you must say somethin' on the subject -to somebody, an' jubilate a little, go tell Doc Taggess, who owns the -lot you thought you were buyin'. If anybody deserves to make money in -the boom that's comin', Doc does, an' if he could clear his land, now -that he can railroad the logs to market, an' then get out his stumps, -he might get cash enough ahead to pick up a lot of real estate, or -take stock in millin' enterprises, when the water-power ditch is made, -an' so lay up somethin' to keep him out of the poor-house in old age; -for as long as he can practise, he'll give to the poor all that he can -collect from patients that are better off. The chap that handled the -stumps for you asked me a lot of questions about the kind an' quantity -of standin' timber out here, and said he didn't see why we didn't start -mills to turn out furniture lumber an' dimension-stuff, like some that -have made fortunes for men in the backwoods of Indiana and Michigan an' -some other states." - -"Let's try it, if our cash and credit aren't already used as far as -they should be. By the way, how is Claybanks corn-flour, Somerton's -brand, going in England?" - -"Fairly. We've sent, in all, about four hundred barrels; that's an -average of a hundred a month, with a net profit to us of about thirty -per cent, which is better, I reckon, than any of the big flour shippers -ever dreamed o' makin'. I've been hopin' that the good tidin's of good -food-stuff at about half the price o' bad would work its way into other -parts of London an' out into the country, too; but English people don't -seem to move about an' swap stories an' prices, like us Americans. -I reckon I came home too soon, for the good o' that deal, for I had -a lot o' things in mind to do in London to make corn-meal popular. -It seems to be the English way to let things alone until some of the -upper classes take to 'em, so I was goin' to try the meal on some o' -the swells; but the more I thought of it, the more it seemed that they -too belonged to the follow-my-leader class. So I made up my mind to -begin way up at the tip-top, an' so I wrote a letter to Queen Victoria, -sayin' I'd come all the way from America to make the English people -practically acquainted with the cheapest and most nutritious food known -in the temperate zone, an' that I was catchin' on fairly, but the -common people seemed to think it was common stuff, which it wasn't, as -I would be glad to prove to her. Besides, I knew of Americans richer -than any nobleman in England who had it on their tables every day. I -said I could make six kinds o' bread an' three kinds o' puddin' out o' -corn-meal, an' I'd like a chance to do it some day for her own table; -if she'd let me do it in the palace kitchen, I'd bring my own pans an' -things, so's not to put the help to any trouble,--an' I'd--" - -"You--wrote--to--the Queen--of England," Philip exclaimed, "offering to -make corn-bread and meal-pudding for the royal table!" - -"That's what I did, an' I took pains to specify that 'twould be made -of Claybanks corn-flour, Somerton's brand, too--not the common meal -that again an' again has let down American corn in foreign minds to -the level of the hog-trough. But it didn't work. Though I put in an -addressed postal card for reply, the good lady never answered my -letter. Too busy, I s'pose." - -Philip stared at Grace, who pressed one hand closely to her lips, while -Mary looked at her husband as if wondering in what entirely original -and unexpected manner, and where, he might next break out. Then Philip -said gravely:-- - -"How strange! Besides, I doubt whether any other man was ever so -thoughtful as to enclose a reply-card to her Majesty." - -"Well, after waitin' a spell I made up my mind that that particular -cake was all dough. One day when I was in the shop, turnin' sample -cakes an' bread out o' the pans, up drove a carriage, an' a couple o' -well-dressed men, one of 'em short an' stout, an' the other kind o' -tallish, came in an' looked about, kind o' cur'us. 'Try some samples, -gentlemen?' said I, thinkin' they looked as if they was used enough to -good feedin' to know it when they saw it. They nodded, stiffish-like, -an' I set 'em down to a little table with a white cloth on it, an' -I set before 'em dodgers, an' muffins, an' cracklin' bread, an' -pan-cakes, all as hot as red pepper, an' some A 1 English butter to try -'em with--an' they do know how to make butter over in England! - -"Well, they sampled 'em all, takin' two or three mouthfuls of each, -an' exchanged opinions, which seemed to be favorable, with their eyes -an' heads. While they were eatin', the shop began to get dark, an' -when I looked around to see if a fog had come up all of a-sudden, as -it sometimes does over there, I saw that the street was packed with -people, an' they were jammed up to the doors an' windows. 'It's plain -that gentlemen are not often on exhibition in this part of the town,' -said I to myself. Suddenly the two got up, an' both said 'Thanks,' an' -went out, an' when their carriage started, the crowd set up a cheer. -'Who are they?' I said to a man at the door. He looked at me as if I -had tried to run a counterfeit on him, an' he said, 'Ah, me eye!' but -another chap said:-- - -"'It's the Prince, an' the Duke o' Somethinorother.'" - -"H'm! Yet you never got a reply on that postal card!" - -"Never. I meant to try again, an' register the letter, so as to be -sure that it got into the right hands, but somethin' kept tellin' me -'twas time to get back home. But if you'll let me make a trip again -next fall, at my own expense, I'll try for better luck. Anyway, I'll -work the corn-meal plan on Liverpool an' other cities, an' if it -takes as well as it's done in London, 'twon't be long before a good -many thousan's of bushels of Claybanks corn'll be saved from the -distilleries, in the course of a year." - -"Phil," Grace remarked, "Caleb's wish to go abroad in the fall reminds -me that I want you to take me East for a few weeks in the spring, and -we ought to begin our preparations at once. As 'tis near Christmas, -Mary and I have been talking of presents, and particularly of one which -you and Caleb can join in giving us and at the same time secure to -yourselves more of the business and social companionship of your wives. -We want a housekeeper." - -"Sensible women!" Philip replied. "As to your husbands, they will be -delighted--eh, Caleb? If it weren't that servants can't be had in this -part of the country, and help, after the Claybanks manner, would have -banished all sense of privacy, I should think myself a villain of -deepest dye for having allowed the wife of the principal merchant of -Claybanks to cook my meals and do all the remaining work of the house, -and I don't doubt that Caleb feels similarly about Mary." - -"Well," said Caleb, "work that wa'n't degradin' to my dear mother -oughtn't to seem too mean for my wife; but, on the other hand, my -mother shouldn't have done it if I could have helped it, 'specially if -she'd have tried also to do a full day's clerk-work in a store once in -ev'ry twenty-four hours." - -"That explains our position," Grace added. "You two men are so full of -new business of various kinds that Mary and I should be in the store -all the while. Soon that dreadful pork-house must open for the season, -and then we shall see less of you than ever. A good housekeeper will -cost no more than a good clerk, and we must have one or the other. We -don't want a clerk, if we can avoid it; at present we have the business -entirely in our own hands, and when there are no customers in the -store, we have as much privacy and freedom as if we were in the house. -Mary knows a good woman in New York who will be glad to come here as -maid-of-all-work, if she may be called housekeeper instead of servant; -she has a grown son who wishes to be a farmer and to begin where land -is cheaper and richer than it is in the vicinity of New York. With such -a woman to care for the house we can spend most of our time in the -store, hold the trade of such womenfolk as deal with us, and try to -get the remainder; for where women and their daughters buy, the husband -and brothers will also go." - -"That's as sure as shootin'," said Caleb. "Do you know that in spite of -the cyclone the store has done twice as much business since you came as -it ever did before in the same months? I'd be downright sorry for the -other merchants in town if I didn't believe that we're soon goin' to -have a big increase of population, and there'll be business enough for -all. Philip deserves credit for a lot of the new business, an' his wife -for more, which isn't Philip's fault, but his fortune in havin' married -just that sort of woman. If nobody else'll say it, I s'pose it won't be -presumin' for me to say that a small percentage of the increase o' the -last two or three months has come through a young woman whose name used -to be Mary Truett." - -"Small percentage, indeed!" Grace exclaimed. "Mary has secured more new -business than I did in the same number of weeks, and she has done it -so easily, too. She never seems to be thinking of business when she's -talking to a customer, yet she instinctively knows what each woman -wants, and places the proper goods before her, while I, very likely, -would be thinking more of the woman than of the business." - -"That's merely a result of experience," said Mary. "I'm nearly thirty, -with a business experience of ten years; you were a mere chit of -twenty-three when you married. Still, I don't believe any hired clerk, -of no matter how many years' experience, could do half as well as -either of us." - -"For the very good reason," said Philip, "that both of you are -practically owners of the business. No clerk can be as useful in any -business as one of the proprietors." - -"That remark would 'a' hurt my feelin's, a year ago," said Caleb; -"but since my name went on that sign over the door, I've been lookin' -backward at my old self a lot, an' lookin' down on my old self, too. -Perhaps the difference has come o' gettin' rid o' malaria, perhaps -o' takin' a wife; but I'm goin' to make b'lieve, after makin' full -allowance for ev'rythin' else, that nobody can bring out the best -that's in him until he begins to work for himself." - -"No other person would dare criticise your old self in my presence, -Caleb," said Philip, "but you've certainly acquired a new manner in -business, and it's extremely fetching in more senses than one. One of -the best things about it is that the natives notice it, and talk of -it to one another, and are pleased by it, for you're one of them, you -know. I'm a mere outsider." - -"Do they really notice it?" asked Caleb, with a suggestion of the -old-time pathos in his face and voice, "an' are they really pleased? -Because, as you say, I'm really one of 'em, an' I'm proud of it. I've -gone through pretty much ev'rythin' they have--'specially the malaria, -an' now that their good times are comin', I'm glad I'm with 'em. But -to think--" here he walked deliberately to a mirror and studied his -own face for a moment--"to think that only so little time ago as when -you came here I felt like an old, used-up man, an' I'd put my house in -order, so to speak, against the time when I should have my last tussle -with malaria, an' go under, with the hope o' goin' upward." - -"That was before you met Mary," Grace suggested. - -"Yes; that's so." - -"And he must get rid of Mary before he can ever have an opportunity to -feel that way again," said the lady referred to, as she looked proudly -at her husband. "Old! Used up! The most spirited, active, hopeful, -cheerful man I ever met! But, really, you were different, Caleb, when -I first saw you; it doesn't seem possible that you're the same man. -From what I've seen of the people here, I believe it is one of the -ways of the West for men to try to look older than they are; you must -use your influence--and example--to make them stop it. In New York a -man seldom looks old until he is very near the grave; the most active -and fine-looking business men are beyond threescore, as a rule--about -twenty years older than you, Caleb." - -"Ye--es, but they weren't brought up on malaria, pork, plough-handles, -an' saleratus biscuit," said Caleb. "There's hope for a change here, -though. Doc Taggess says there's nothin' like as much malaria in town -as there was before the swamps were drained, and the good times comin', -because o' the railroad, 'll make some more changes for the better, -for all of us." - -For a few moments each member of the quartet seemed to have dropped -into revery. The silence was broken by Philip, who said:-- - -"Caleb, a year ago even you would not have dared to prophesy the -changes that have been made, and those which are within sight, yet to -you belongs the credit for all of them." - -"To me? Well, I've heard and seen so many amazin' calculations in the -past three months that I'm prepared to stand up under almost anythin', -but I'd like to know how you figure it out that I've done anythin' in -particular." - -"'Tis easily told. If you hadn't fallen in love with Miss Truett, -and she with you, her brother wouldn't have come out here, and the -malaria wouldn't have been drained from the swamps, and the railway -wouldn't have been projected, and the farmers wouldn't have become -owners of guaranteed stocks, which has put new life into many of them, -and there'd have been no inducement for manufacturers to use our -water-power and our hard woods, and no bank would have been possible, -nor any of the public improvements,--paving, water service, and others -that will soon be under way. Don't you see?" - -"Ye--es, as far as you've gone, but I wouldn't have known there was -such a person as Mary--bless her!--if you hadn't sent me East, an' -your wife--bless her too--hadn't given me a letter of introduction to -Mary, so I don't see but that honors are about even. You might as well -go back a little further, though, and say that you wouldn't have been -here to send me East if your Uncle Jethro hadn't loved your father, -an' made up his mind that your father's son shouldn't fool away his -life in pleasin' his eyes an' fancies in New York, but should get the -disciplinin' that makes a man out of a youngster that's got the real -stuff born in him." - -"Caleb, what are you saying?" - -"Exactly what your Uncle Jethro said to me--an' to nobody else. Mebbe -I hadn't ought to have let it out; mebbe, on the other hand, it may -make you feel kindlier to your Uncle Jethro. But, to go on backward, -there wouldn't have been any Jethro to lay up a business start for you -if the Somerton family hadn't begun somewhere back in the history of -the world, an' when you get that far back you might as well go farther -an' say that if Noah hadn't built the ark, or if he'd been in too big -a hurry to get out of it, there wouldn't have been any of us to do -anythin'. I tell you, Philip, an' just you keep it in mind against -anythin' that may turn up anywhere or at any time, that when there's -any glory or credit to be given out, an' you want to do the square -thing, you'll have to spread it so thin that nobody'll get enough of it -to make him feel over an' above cocky." - - * * * * * - -People, like nations, usually become happy in prosperity, but through -prosperity their lives become less eventful, and consequently less -interesting to other people. The water-power of Claybanks' "crik" was -soon developed, and the mills that were erected, and the people who -came to them, made new demands and prices for real estate, as well as -for certain farm products. But before all this had come to pass Grace -made haste to gratify a consuming desire to spend the springtime at her -birthplace in the East. While she was there, Caleb one day received the -following despatch from Philip:-- - - "Caleb Wright Somerton born last night. May he become - as good a man as you." - -Caleb showed the despatch to his wife, and then started to put it -between the leaves of his Bible; but Mary made haste to put it in a -frame, under glass, and affix it to the front of the store, to the -great interest of the people of Claybanks and vicinity and to the great -benefit of the business of Somerton & Wright. - - - - -D'ri and I - - -By IRVING BACHELLER, author of "EBEN HOLDEN." Bound in red silk cloth, -illustrated cover, gilt top, rough edges. Eight drawings by F. C. Yohn. -Size, 5 x 7¾. Price, $1.50 - -[Illustration] - -A Tale of Daring Deeds in the Second War with the British. Being the -Memoirs of Colonel Ramon Bell, U.S.A. And a Romance of Sturdy Americans -and Dainty French Demoiselles. - - PHILADELPHIA PRESS: - - "An admirable story, superior in literary workmanship - and imagination to 'Eben Holden.'" - - NEW YORK WORLD: - - "Pretty as are the heroines, gallant as Captain Bell - proves himself, the reader comes back with even keener - zest to the imperturbable D'ri. He is a type of the - American--grit, grim humor, rough courtesy, and all. - It is a great achievement, upon which Mr. Bacheller - is to be heartily congratulated, to have added to the - list of memorable figures in American fiction, two such - characters as D'ri and Eben Holden." - - BOSTON BEACON: - - "Mr. Bacheller has the art of the born story teller. - 'D'ri and I' promises to rival 'Eben Holden' in - popularity." - - ST. LOUIS GLOBE-DEMOCRAT: - - "The admirers of 'Eben Holden,' and they were legion, - will welcome another story by its author, Irving - Bacheller, who in 'D'ri and I' has created quite as - interesting a character as the sage of the North land - who was the hero of the former story." - - Lothrop Publishing Company - - Boston - - - - -When the Land was Young - -Being the True Romance of Mistress Antoinette Huguenin and Captain Jack -Middleton - - -By LAFAYETTE McLAWS. Bound in green cloth, illustrated cover, gilt top, -rough edges. Six drawings by Will Crawford. Size, 5 x 7¾. Price, $1.50 - -[Illustration] - -The heroine, Antoinette Huguenin, a beauty of King Louis' Court, is -one of the most attractive figures in romance; while Lumulgee, the -great war chief of the Choctaws, and Sir Henry Morgan, the Buccaneer -Knight and terror of the Spanish Main, divide the honors with hero -and heroine. The time was full of border wars between the Spaniards -of Florida and the English colonists, and against this historical -background Miss McLaws has thrown a story that is absorbing, dramatic, -and brilliant. - - NEW YORK WORLD: - - "Lovely Mistress Antoinette Huguenin! What a girl she - is!" - - NEW YORK JOURNAL: - - "A story of thrill and adventure." - - SAVANNAH NEWS: - - "Among the entertaining romances based upon the - colonial days of American history this novel will - take rank as one of the most notable--a dramatic and - brilliant story." - - ST. LOUIS GLOBE-DEMOCRAT: - - "If one is anxious for a thrill, he has only to read a - few pages of 'When the Land was Young' to experience - the desired sensation.... There is action of the most - virile type throughout the romance.... It is vividly - told, and presents a realistic picture of the days - 'when the land was young.'" - - Lothrop Publishing Company - - Boston - - * * * * * - - Transcriber's Notes: - - Obvious punctuation errors repaired. - - Page 21, "portmonnaie" changed to "portemonnaie" (also - a portemonnaie containing) - - Page 59, "buscuits" changed to "biscuits" (fried - potatoes, tea-biscuits) - - Page 267, "that" changed to "than" (luxury than Queen - Elizabeth) - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Caleb Wright, by John Habberton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CALEB WRIGHT *** - -***** This file should be named 43994-8.txt or 43994-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/9/9/43994/ - -Produced by sp1nd< Emmy and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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