Show ln the galaxy 0 grocery stan e liars hez davis easily occupied the soap box throne he was a sort of ahing refutation of the claim that truth is and will prevail in act tie davis was a most marvelous and none believed him capable of tell ng the truth hence no one expected him to speak aught but falsehood except on one occasion and even then repent ance followed quickly so gracefully tenaciously and pious ly did hea davis lie that away back in the nebulous state of time he had been dubbed J ying deacon davis the deacon portion of the appella alon was api lied because of his strict attendance upon chulch services and the wonderful religious 1 es associated with his wool gathering of a night when and me playing him tricks and for his imaginings strange visions were little short of miracles as related to a nes famished comma anity next morning then too hez occasionally acted as grave digger for the village dead this and ling being about as much as one able bodied man in a quiet lural community could be expected to attend to well but after a time as hez s bing became more chronic and his grave digging less pronounced the deacon joint in the cognomen of his name was dropped and he approached the sun set of life with the short and andes r able significance of lying davis As such was he known on a bluster ing winter night two days before christmas 1902 as he shambled into the corner grocer and took his ac rus tomed place among the members of the town strategy board the accustomed grin of q iasi ex pec tancy tinged with a curl of dis dain in which p ty and jealousy were strangely mingled greeted his entry into the liars circle about the cavern eral bite off a slice of black plug and smacking his 1 ps A suppressed titter rippled about the grocery stove at the prods admin in an evident effort to awaken the frequently dormant sense of lying that half comatose had its home the graying head of ling da vis but hez refusing to accept the challenge medely shook his head sad 1 this ain t no time to be lies boys here the town liar cast his eyes meekly toward the soft pine floor and sighed taint no time t laugh an be gay with one our best country residents dead heart disease he paused in solemn mien his head low his hands clasped between his knees wary glances were exchanged between the strategists none cared to make the bally died an hour ago snuffed out like the candle in a draught fell dead upon the milk house floor resumed hez sadly softly much affected chos deada blurted andrew shrader aim ng for a knot hole in the floor with a kernel of corn and miss ing it chos deada lying davis took a long deep breath and looking up suddenly de banded th matter nith ou fellers don t ye know that hiram squires Is no morea it aint no subject fer bokin er str ingin ye know he s dead as well as I 1 do and a mighty sad christmas it 11 be fer his poor w ife and children left with a big farm on their hands and none on em able t take keer of it you don t mean to say that hiram squires Is dead hez interrupted horace grant editor of the weekly clarion who had entered at this june ture to get the copy for a christmas A mighty fine man was hiram squire ous stove that glowed and flushed as it fretting and blushing for the out falsehoods that nightly held their rampant say about its metal sides As 1 e adjusted his coat tails care fully behind the soap box on which he sat hez surveyed the group crit icalla got a spade I 1 kin borrer to morrow mornin bill addressing compton the grocer I 1 broke th handle of mine aday bryin up a boss radish root coln inter gardenin inquired alt fiskin slyly nudging hank som ers alongside him on a sugar barrel cain t be 5 e ye had no revelations late hez are ye goin t turn farmer fer a livin and give up alyin interjected boger cragg taking a lib advertisement of the corner ore aery died less n an hour ago replied the indomitable davis illy concealing the gratification he felt at being inter viewed by the intellectual head of the leading village paper wan t beelin well ter a day or two although I 1 do believe he was in town taday want he Compton 9 turning questionings question ingi toward the grocer who was busily engaged in tying up a 50 cent package of light brown sugar tor a customer hiram squires yes be was in early yesterday morning came to town with a load of hogs stopped here on his way back from the depot to buy a cal dress for mandy must a bin mighty sudden so I 1 heerd acquiesced lying da tie reaching for a sll ver from the tail of a cod elsh that protruded from a near by box he want beelin overly scrumptious though tet a week I 1 heerd his daitel say u as I 1 cum by there jest now from up in dry run been ot a pain in hia appendix and had d sweat an a bad dream t other n that wan t gratifying in fe a man chis cal bre T day he was by the milk ho ise churn over like flain tl e crank er something and all to he uttered a faint groan and fell right where he stood pitched in a heap and never knowel a th ng gasped once arter his wife got there and that was all A mighty fine man was hit am squires five money and vegetables t th poor and always allowed that all his stock could eat want wasted boys her hez cleared his dry gol durn yer blank p and throat with an effort boys it 11 be our turn next depp silence greeted the forecast what d you say about that there spade horacee resumed hez kin 1 borrer it long enough t dig a grave fer u th mornin funeral s day after ter from the house 2 clock armed with the spade lying da vis shuffled out of the grocery fol lowed by the editor bent upon learn ing more of the details for his paper already being made up by the fore man that an early start might be se cured for press day the clarion was in tl e post effice by 10 next morning and sincere was the mourning for hiram silures the merchants possessed loss essed of that hu man sympathy always uppermost in a rural community laid aside their nesa prejudices and decided to attend the funeral in a body despite the fact that the evening of the day of the funeral was christmas eve and many trinkets tor the christmas trees n the churches and homes were ddll chased they set out dutifully toward the home of the deceased six miles west on the pike road there were something more than a dozen vehicles in all and the procession was a solemn one As they rode along through the crunching snow facing a biting de cember wind they spoke softly of the virtues of hiram squires even spent christmas with john doe A story written by dickens while he was editor of all the year round Is comparatively unknown it Is call ed christmas in the company of john doe he says it was christmas eve and I 1 my name was taking my walk abroad I 1 walked through the crowd ed strand elate hilarious benignant tor the feast was prepared and the guests were bidden such a turkey I 1 had ordered not the prize one with the ribbons I 1 mistrusted that but a plump tender white breasted bird a king of turkeys it was to be broiled with oyster sauce and the I 1 one gross fault an habitual use q lalif ying adjectives frea bently sig ant of blasphemy blas phem was forgotten he was a god man and god rest hm this sentiment of brotherly those who tiati kno arm best Isear erand nearer they drew to ane snug residence where grief like all tears was domiciled and here tire black camel of death knelt at the gate n mute distress meanwhile boreas and jack frost ere rapp ng and b ting at the cosea and the toes of the mourners as they urged the boree on over the last mile of the wind s ept way slowly they turned in at the s de road that led to abe farm home editor grant aud fam ily in the lead one by one they belne 1 their horses into tl e farmyard arm yard and estopi ed the editor was to leap to the gro ind and grocer compton had thrown the robes over the flash board to liberate his legs when there rose from behind the barn a series of blar ing yells HI there gol durn yer alani et alani picture git inside that pen will yea whoop here you gol darn ig what th great horn spoons be v a don the ea here spot sic em tal e em HI hi suddenly there burst anio view from around the barn a contrary hog dating at full sped d for the open followed by a scotch collie dog and yes it was it was HI am squires himself his face was red with exertion and rage one mitten was gone and he breathed hard as he swung into full pursuit behind the barking dog then his eye caught the group of open mouthed spectators the sleighs and the steaming horses wal by hid ry he shouted catch ing at his breath what be all you fellers doln herec there was a deep and eloquent s lence for a brief interim during which editor horace grant looked sheepishly into the eyes of grocer compton grocer compton shifted his gaze to ward the pure white snow and kept his peace I 1 reckon we d best go back t town and ask lying davis said henry somers clambering into his vehicle gidai rest of the dinner was to consist of that noble sirloin of roast beef and that cods head and ders I 1 had bought the materials for the pudding too some half hour pre the plums and the currants the citron and the allspice the flour and the eggs I 1 was happy but just then a minion of the law laid his hand on Pr uppers shoulder and hustled him off to the jail because he had in the excitement of getting his christmas materials together forgotten to obey a summons to attend at cobit thus he spent his christmas in the company of john doe |