Show F T S t 5 Dy THE cc CHAPTER XIV XIV Continued Continued 12 12 Never er thought t of It replied Bronson Bron- Bron son I had the phone only a few years Dri Drive e faster I 1 tI fI I want to set get get- there or I would answered the doctor Dont worry From what your jour wife told me over er th the phone I dont don't belle believe c the boys boy's eaten any more st strychnine than I have have and and probably not so much line lie was alive then Alive an and making an argument a against taking the emetic replied the doctor But I 1 guess she got It down him Thus reassured Mr Bronson was calm calla alin e even en If somewhat tragic In calmness calmness calm calm- ness ness when he entered the death cleath chamber chamber cham cham- ber with the doctor Newton was sitting sit sit- tin tJI ting up his e eyes es wet vet et and his face Sit Sit-I pale His Isis mother had won von the argument argument ment and Newton had lost his dinner Haakon Peterson occupied nn arm arm- chair What's all this asked the ilie doctor I O Hp are are- re yO you feeling N Newt Vt Any I pain I Im all right said Newton N wt n Dont t I give she me an any more o o that nasty stuff shift I 1 INo No IINo said the doctor but hut If you dont don't tell me just what liat you youve you've e been eating and doing and pulling off o on onus onus us Is Ill I'll use se this thIs and and the doctor exhibited exhIbited exhibited ex ex- a n huge stomach pump you do with t that ti asked Newton fain faintly tl I Ill put this down Into your o r id and u 11 ad you ou that's wh what t Ill I'll doIs do Is Ills th the over M Mr Peterson l asked N Yes a answered Mr Peterson lIan and the votes c counted elected ask asked d Newton I Colonel Colonel f WO Woodruff answer answered d Mr P Peterson terson The TIle vote was twel twelve e to eleven W Well ll dad said Newton I I 1 spose you'll be sore but the only way I could seeto see to get In half halfa a a vote for Colonel Woodruff was to get poisoned and send you after atter the doctor If you'd gone It would a a been a tie anyhow and probably gouda you'd a per persuaded somebody somebody some some- b body dy to change to Bonner That's what's the matter with me I killed your vote vote Now you ou can do whatever you like to me but me-but but Im I'm sorry I l' l seared scared I mother Ezra Bronson seized Newton by the throat but his fingers failed to close Dont pinch clad dad said Newton Ive b been en using that neck an rin its it's tired Mr Bronson dropped his hands to hl his sides glared at his son for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief Why you darned Infernal little fool tool said he Ive a notion to take talce a to 3 you ou I If Id I'd been there the vote would have been eleven to thirteen There was plenty votes there forthe forthe for forthe the colonel If he lie needed em said Haakon whose politicians politician's mind was already fully adjusted to 10 the changed I conditions Ay tank the Woodruff district will have a school board fro from dis time on once more Colonel Woodruff Is the man weba we ba have e needed I Im m with you there said Bronson And as for tor you sou ou young m man n I If one or both of them horses Is hurt by the run I give them Ill I'll lick you within anInch an anInch ln Inch h. h of ot your lifer lifer lifer- Here Here comes Dilly driving em now now now- I guess they're all right I wouldn't want to drive a good team to death for any young hoodlum Uk like him him him- All right how much do I owe you Doc CHAPTER XV The Glorious Fourth A good deal of water ran under the Woodruff district bridges In the weeks weeks' between the school election and the Fourth of July picnic at Mile Eight-Mile grove But te few v surface Indications there were of ot any change in the he little community in this annual gathering of friends and neighbors Wilbur Wllbur Smythe made the annual address un and was In rather finer fettle than usual as he paid his fen i fervid Id tribute to the starry flag and to this very place as the most favored spot In the best county county county coun coun- ty of the greatest state In the most powerful Intellectual freest and most o t progressive nation in the best possible of ot worlds Jim Irwin read the tile Declaration rather well vell Jennie Woodruff thought between the platform as she sat on Deacon Avery Ayery the oldest settler in the thc district and Mrs Columbus Brown the sole local representative of ot the Daughters of the American In his tion Colonel Woodruff presided Grand Army of the Republic uniform The fresh northwest breeze made free with the oaks elms hickories and and the box elders of Mile Eight-Mile prove grove waters of Pickerel creek glimmered ond the a n hundred yards ards away be beyond flitting tuttIng figures of the bo boys s who preferred preferred preferred pre pre- I to shoot off oft their own firecrackers and chasers ers em and torpedoes of Wilbur rather than to listen Haten to those Smythe Still farther off could be heard the voice of a lone lemonade yonder as h be advertised Ice cold lem lem- made mady In the shade hade with a abrand abrand brand new v. spade by an an old maid asa asa as asa a guaranty th that t it was the fhe coldest lemonade ever vcr sold Under the shadiest trees a few incorrigible incon in- in con corrigible Marthas l were spreading the snowy table-cloths table on which would soon be placed the the bountiful repasts s stored ored In ponderous wicker baskets and hampers It was a lo lovely ely day in ina ina a lovely spot spot spot-a a go gold d example of the miniature forests which grew naturally natural natural- ly from limp Immemorial In favored locations on the Iowa prairies prairies half half a square mile mUe of woodland all about which the gi green een corn rows stood aslant In the he cool breeze waist high and laid b by They were passing down the rough board steps from the platform after the exercises had pad terminated In a arousIng arousing arousing rousing rendition of i America when Jennie Woodruff having slipped sUpped by everybody else t to td reach him tapped Jim Irwin on the arm He looked back at her he shoulder with his slow gentle gentie smile e. e your moth mother Q here bere re Jim she fhe asked Ive been looting looking 10 l all an over the crowd and cant can't s see e her She isn't here re answered answered ered Jim Iw Iwas I III w was was as In hopes that Vh she e broke lo loose se seand and went v nt to your Christmas dinner pInner she h would could o stay l loose loose ose but sh she went ho home e and settled back Into her ber rut b bad said Id Jennie Shed have had a nice time if sh had come Yes Yes said Jim im I believe she would t I 1 want help said Jennie Our hamner hamperis Is terribly h heavy avy PI Please I It was vas as' as rather obvious us to Mrs Bonn Bonner r rt t that t. t J Jennie was throwing herself at Jims Jim s Head but that was an article e of the Bonner family creed since the decision de de- which i closed the hearing Bearing at the court house houser It mp must t be admitted that the young county superintendent found tasks which Id kept pt the schoolmaster schoolmaster school school- master master very v very ry close dose to her side Sit down Jim sald s Woodruff youve earned a n bite of what weve we've l r Im Sorry said Jim but Ive I've a Prior Engagement got Its It's good enough what there is of it and theres there's enough of It such as ItIs itis It ItIs Is l 1 Im sorry said Jim but Ive I've a prior engagement Why Jim I protested Jennie Ive IY been counting on you jou ou Dont Don't desert me Im awfully sorry said Jim but butI I promised Ill I'll see you later One might t ha have e thought judging by bythe bythe bythe the colonels colonel's quizzical smile that he lie was pleased at Jennies Jennie's loss loss of her former swain Well have to Invite him longer ahead pf time Ume said he Hes getting to be In in demand Jim seemed to be in demand demand demand-a a fact that Jennie confirmed by observation He received a dozen Invitations ns as a's as he passed the the groups seated on the grass one one of at them from Mrs Cornelius Cornell us Bonner who saw no particular point in advertising disgruntlement The children ran to him and clung to his hands young girls gave him sisterly smiles and su such h t trifles as chicken drumsticks pieces of cake and like tid Ud- tid- tid bits Ills passage to the numerous group roup at a square square table under n a big burr oak was quite an an ovation ovation ovation-an an ovation of the significance of which he was himself quite unaware But Jennie the Jennie the daughter of a politician poll poll- herself herselt- and a promising one Jennie sensed the fact act that Jim Irwin of had won something from the thc people the Woodruff district In the Wn way 01 UJ deference Still he was the gangling Ill dressed o stricken over Jim Irwin of old but Jennie ha had no longer the feeling that ones one's striding b association association association asso asso- was wass somewhat compromised by with him He Hc had begun to put on something more significant than clothes something something something some some- thing which he lie had bad possessed all the time but which became valid only as asIt asit asit It was publicly apprehended He wa was clearly the central figure of his group the thc Bronson in which slip she recognized those queer children from Tennessee Tenness the Hansens Hansens Han Han- the the and Colonel Wood Wood- sens the Damms t ruffs cuffs hired lifred ir d man man man- P Pete Pefe fe whose other t name Is not recorded v Jim sat be v. a el B Be Bet a Han Han- n- n sen sen a n Haired flaxen t. t young l Bru B Ilde of ot se seventeen seventeen enteen and Simms- Simms Jennie saw him dP do d It It while listening to Wilbur Smythes Smythe's account nt of the thc exacting ex- ex acting nature of ot the big law p he was b and n would have havo been glad tto tol exchange places places' i iThe with Bettina The repast drew to n a close close and 0 ovel ovet by by the the- the to burn buic oak t crowd hail had grown to tOa i circle surrounding Jim i Irwin lie He s hs t to tobe 1 be ma making do an address ad ad- a address dress said Wilbur Smythe 1 Well W Wilbur replied the Colonel jou Sou ou h had d' d the first shot at nt us Suppose we move over and see under discussion I i As S they approached the the g group the they h heard Jim Irwin answering something s which Ezra Bronson had said sad You think so Ezra said lie he and It seems reasonable that big creameries creamerIes creameries cream cream- eries like lIle those at t Omaha Sioux Iq x City Des Moines l and the other points can make butter cheaper than we would do here here but but weve we've the figures figur figures fig fig- ur ures s that show that they arent aren't ec eco r nI They cant can't make good butter forone for forone forone one thing said Newton Bronson co cock cock- k ll fly lly Why cant can't they ey asked Olaf H Han Hansen Hansen Han Han- ansen an- an sen the tle father of B Bettina Well Weil sal said Newton they the have to have so 60 much cream that they've got gotto gotto got gotto to ship it so far that it gets rotten rotten on on tire tile way and they have tp renovate It with lime and other othel Ingredients Abe before before be be- fore they can churn churn It Well said naym Raymond Rajmond nd Simms I Ire re reckon on they sell their butter to fo nil all its it's mouth an the they get within from foal to seven cents a pound as much fo It as the farm farmers farmers' rs cr creameries In Wisconsin Wisconsin- and Minnesota get fo theirs r. r a q fa fat fact t Ofaf Ol af said Jim How do sou you o kidS kids know kilow so darned darned much abc about t it q queried r d Pete Huh t sniffed st Bettina W Weve been reading about Jt It and writing letters letters letters let let- let let- about It and figuring percentages on It In school vI-J vI an r. r Weve Veve done donean donearl arl arithmetic and and and grammar grammar grammar gram gram- mar mar and I 1 dont don't knoW knoVs s i 4 else on It Well Weh Im I'm Agin any s 1 said Pete that mak s kids smarter In InI I farmin than their parents and their 1 parents parents' hired men GI 1 GI me JIle another swig swig- o of 0 that lit You see salt said Jim to to l his audience u I ncE meanwhile pouring the W he H lero WR is pd ie lc creamery creamers is f ft uneconomic in In Inse n se several eral ways It ft his hasto to pay pay excessive transportation charges geSl t t. t has to pay excessive commissions to its cream buyers It has nas' to accent cream without with out proper Inspection n a and d mixes the good with th the bad It makes makess makes's cU cUong long ong shipments that the he ct cream cream rim spoils In hi transit and low lowers s th the quality of the butter It cant can't mince majce mn e the best use use of of the buttermilk All ll these losses and leas leaks the farmers have to stand I Ican Ican Ican can prove prove and and so can the six siz six 91 or eight Ight pupils In the Woodruff school who have ha been working on the cream ques question on this winter winter that that we could make at fit least sl six cent cents a pound on our butter if If we had a co operative co-operative v creamery and all sent oar cream to It it Well VeIl said Ezra Ezra Bronson lets start one I Ill go In said Olaf Hansen Me too said Con Bonner Honne There was a general chorus af of as as- sent Jim had convinced his audience Wilbur Hes got the Jury said Sm Smythe the to Colonel Woo Woodruff Yes said the thc colonel and right I here her is where he lie run rune into danger Can he handle the crowd when its it's I with him I Well said Jim I think we ought I to organize one but r I Ive I've e another proposition first Lets Let's g get t together and pool our cream By that I r mean that well we'll all sell sel to the same creamer creamery cream cream- cream er cry ery and get the best we can out of th the by the co operative co-operative method We can save two cents a n pound In n that way and md well we'll learn to toco co operate CD When we have found faun just how well we can hang tog together well we'll be able to take tale up the co cooperative cooperative opera co-opera- opera operative tive creamery with less danger of ot falling apart and failing Who ll handle the Mie POt pool Inquired Mr Hausen Well handle It In the school answered answered answered an an- Jim Schools about done objected Mr Bronson Wont the cream pool pretty near near pay the expenses of running the school all summer asked Bonner We ought to run the school plant all the time said Jim Its the only way to get fun full value of ot the Invest Invest- ment And w weve we've e corn club work pig pig- club wow wok poultry work and aud canning canning- club work vork which 1 make It very Iery desirable desirable desira desira- ble to k keep ep in session with only a weeks week's vacation If you'll add the cream pool Ool It will make the school th hardest working crowd in the district dis find and doing actual farm wor work too too oo I like Mr Bonners Bonner's sug suggestion Well Wen said Peterson who had Joined d the group Ay tank we better have a meeting of the board and discuss it it Well darn It said Columbus Brown I want In on this cream po pool rind and and I live outside the district districts JIt Well let you in Clumb said the colonel j TO BE liE CONTINUED |