How Nokes ...

UEN Jool Notes oasis along aúd bought ths clghty acre of hiil laud wbich Colanel niakoloy had owned for several yoars, and had never considerod good for ony tliing but sbeep pasture, the pooplo laughod at bis purchuao and prodicted at oncethat ho would Boon storve out. "Why," sald onft, "thar alu't npooror pioeo o' groun' in Western Missouri, an' a groun' hog would wear hl legs off in er week a travlin' over it. That ieUer'U ecratch out In lossen' er yoar and' leave it; íer he kain't sell it fer nothin'." i "Oh, Idunno 'bout that. It do seem like er poorty fare show íor a livin' up thar ermong them rooks, shore 'nulf, but that thar Yankee won't starvo out nigh bo qulck's you think. Thom Yanks Jda live whar er mouso ud starvc, an' make money right erlong ter boot." ; "l'vohearn teil o' them Yankee gittin' erlong an' makin' money on nothin', but I don't bleeve half uv ifB 80. Anyhow, if that thar Nokes kin live on that old rock pile, he's otter git erlong on less'en three equarcmeals er day." i Joel Nokes lenow about vrhat hls neighbors thought of hi9 purchase, but he cared 'little for it, for ho was a man who was governed altogother by his own ideas, and what othcr people said. or thought ne ver entered into his calculations. He was a flrm bellever in the cCQcacy of hard labor and hard thinking, and while Colonel Blakeley and somo of the other easy-going nativos we re in toun spending dollars in the saloons, or hours on the stroet corners, Nokes was in lus fields and "truck" patches killing v.'ccds und stirring the soil. While other men who owned good farms wore spending valuable time in the discussion of "hard times" and their causes, and grumbling about high taxes, Nokes was at home encouraging his growing crops or monding nis fences. "Goin' down ter ther meetin' ter-day, Nokesi" inquirod one of his neighbora. "No, I hain't got time." "It's yer jooty, man, ter pertect yer Tights. It's ther Jooty uv ever' man ter pertcst agin' payin' uv them railroad ï)onds." "What good's it goin' ter do?" "Goodl Why, wo kin let 'em knowhow Svo feel erbout it, an' we kin give 'em ter un'ei'stan' that we don' pruposo ter pay em." "Shol That won't di uo good, es I under;tan' ther matter, tho people voted tho ►bond and they've bin sold, an' now they ain't nothin' ter do but ter py em. I didn't vote 'em, an' I hain't got no time ter fooi 'erway protestin' agiD cm', so 111 just go on with ther erop, an' let ther bond go." One meeting followed another untll several had ben held and many valuable days 'lost to tho farmers who quit their erop to go and listen to the long harangues of tho 'pollUciana who wero ostenslbly worklng against tho and in bohalf of the farmers, but in reality were working for themselves and preparing the wey to somo good fat eounty offices. The rasult of It was, when autumn camo Kokes gathered in abundant crops from his vocky flclds, whilo in many instances tht ïich bottom lands tnado but a poor yield, for tho weods had grown while tho men were away and tho plows idle. Nokes not only workod eai'ly and late, but lie understood tho principies of economy most thoruughly. In fact ho was stingy, and it wasn't Ion? before ho bosfan to lay wp money in the bank. He managed to get hls stock through the winter on less than half tho feed that his neighbors used, and got them through in botter order, too. In tho spring sevoral of his neighbors were out of corh, and Nokes know it, so one day he put out u signreading: "Corn for Sail," and customers began to come. Nokos was not a man to suffer any quibblings of conscience. so ho oharged all he could get, and those who bought from him paid dearly. Nokes had a son, a young man who possessed somo of the qualities of his paternal ancestor. Nokes, junior, was not afraitl of labor, and he also knew tho value of time and money. But ho had a conscience, something that Nokes, senior, had ncver ielt the need of. The youngcr Nokes was a quiet, sober man, and withal good looking, some people prouounced him handsome. Among thoso wus Miss Blakeley, the Colonel's eldest daughtcr. Tho fact in tho case is, young Nokes and Miss Blakeley had fallen in love, notwithstanding Colonel Blakoley prided himself on being the hcad of one of the " flrst families," whilo Nokos was looked upon as a very common specimen of humanity. The Colonel, however, was ignorant of hia daughter's attachmont until somo time after he had applied to Nokes for a loan of a thousand dollars. " Very glad tow accommodato yew, Colonel, an' I jost happen te w hev that much money in bank," and Nokes really did appear to be delightod that ho was able te ronder assistance to a ucigubor in time of need. When the businqss was "fixed up" and Nokes had secured a mort gage on the orado farm herubbcd his hands together with a satisfled air, remarking to hlmself tho while : "Just tho thing I wantod, eggsaetly. That boy o' mine's in love with tha Blakelcy gal, I kin seo that, an' ole Blakeley will kiek on his lovin' uv 'er. That's sartin. Now I got thor ole man whar pickin's mouty short, an' if he won't ack whito we'll force him ter it. They aint nothin' in thi first family business, an' fannly pride an' name don't stan' no show along sido o' money." In addition to loaning Colonel Blakeley a thousand dollars Nokes. lmd managod to buy a piece of ridgo land ndjoining his original purchasc. and when tuis f act became known 3t furnished a tbeme for ncighborhood gosip for a long time. "ïhey say that ola Xokes has bought that ridge eighty uv old Squiro Beeson," Dan Rankins remarked, with somo surprise. "What, oio Nokcs ; shucks, they kaint bo HO truth in tbat." "Wal, I guess thcro is, for ole Beeson tole me so hisself, an' I reckon he ortcr know." "It's hard ter 'b'lceve it, bat cf ole Beeson says it's so, it must be so, though I kaint seo whar Nokes gits his money. I got two eighties o' ther best bottom land in ther county an' I halnt bin able ter lay by no 'money the last five years, an' I don' seo how Kokes could on that ole rock heap o' 'his'n.'" "Them darned Yankees kin live ftn' git jrich on less'n nothin', an' eomehow ola Nokcs hes allers got corn ter sell when ther .'rest uv us air a buyin' uv it. An' ther oio cuss knows how ter charge fer it, toa" "You bet he does, Jake, for last sprtn? when I went to 'lm fer a few tiushels t igit through tho plow season with, the o. ichap mado me pay flfty cents er bushcL " , "Wal, thore's thi erbout it, boys, ole :Nokea is gittin' rich over ther on that old hillsi4e wharashoep oouldn't hardly git aiivin', I donno how ho's a doin' uv it, but te's dotn' it aU the same, somo w&y er nuthier. "ThetUerfack," put in another, "forl ihappen ter know uv hi lettin' do Colonel Blakely hev a thouslupt dollurs a little while Tack." "What!" they aU excluiined in ono breuo. "Tht'trueGwpl,boyí' 1 ' " WeU, I'll te iiD(ed, I inUt sea how it 'comes rteut fer my part." Natthtf omM n y f tho rest Ba matura drlfud Ung threujli tho taontj olUwinif. la til Dtutiae Noltes Jr. and Miss Blakeley ofton met to talie lovc and hope and plan for the future, for they had already plighted tovts. But at last the crisis oumo, for no matter hur discreet and secret you? lovers are, old eye aro sure, soouer or later, to oatch a flimpie bchind tho curtain, und then the storm breaks looso. Whon Colonel Blakely ditcovered tna state of matters as relatiug to young Nolte and his daugUter. he was mud. He raretf and stamped and pulled his huir. In short, he had uever been so worked up beforo siDcs he could remember. Gatheriny tip hls hat be started olT in high dudgeon to soe old Jiokcs, and gave that individual to urtdaratand thatNokos Jr. must canso hls attention to Miss Blakeley. Moeting Nolcêi goinjf across the ücld he blurted outi "JoelNokes, I'd Hke to know what you mean by allowiug that son of youn to make love to in y daughter. You know I'd oppese any such arrangement." "I Bwaow, Colonel, you seem to be kinder riled," Joel remarkcd, quite complacently. "Riled 1" the Colonel stormed. "Of cours I'm riled! Why, lt's enough to make a wooden man swear." "Wal, now, Golonel, if I wus yeou I wouldn't git so worked up, I swaow I wouldn't, for yeou soo it won't do no good. I ain't got nothin' tew dew with my son's lovc mattors, In the first place, so you needn't como tew me about it In the rccond place, I don't seo that there's any thing wrong in it anyhaow, for Amos ie a good, steady boy, and will make yeou as good a sonJn-law es yeou'H ever git." "But the fuüiily, slr ; the blood and name of Blakeley. U's something to be proud of, an'- " "Wal, naow, es tew thet, Colonel, I don't see ez yeou got any thlng tew be kickin' erbout. I guoss we are all made ut ther same sort uv ficsh and blood, an', besides, name an' blood don't stan' no sort u v show along sido uv money. Naow, ï'll teil yeou what, Colonel, them young folks want tew marry, an' I hain't got nerry objection tew it, an' I don't think yeou orter her, so I'll UU yeou what I'll dew. I'll give up to Amos the, notes I hol' agin yoou the day the weddra' comes off, an' that'll lot yeeu ont ur payln' 'em off, which yeou know yeou can't do." 41 Tou insult me, slr," tho Colonel yetled, "by making such a proposition. Don't daro to mention such a thing again." "I swaow, Colonel, I dou't see no barm In the proposition, seein's how they want tew marry anyhaow, an' they air well worthy uv each other. But I shan't try tew foroa yeow tew seo it. But by the way, I 'sposft I'll hev tew trouble you for that litüo amount yeow owe me." As Colonel Blakely walked home pondering over the matter he half way relented, for after all young Xokcs was a nice young man, and then that thousand dollars would be hard to raise. It is probable that ha would havo given in at once anyhow, but when he arrived home and was met by the young couplo and askcd to forgive and bless their marriagc, ho did so without the least hositanoy.