The Man Who Stole A Meeting-House | Page 6

for instance, 't this 'ere is your rail? or this 'ere one?'
"'No; I can't swear to precisely them two--but--'

"'Can you swear to these two? or to any one or two?' says Jedwort. 'No,
ye can't. Ye can swear to the lot in general, but you can't swear to any
partic'lar rail, and that kind o' swearin' won't stand law, Deacon Talcott.
I don't boast of bein' an edicated man, but I know suthin' o' what law is,
and when I know it, I dror a line there, and I toe that line, and I make
my neighbors toe that line, Deacon Talcott. Nine p'ints o' the law is
possession, and I'll have possession o' this 'ere house and land by
fencin' on't in; and though every man't comes along should say these
'ere rails belong to them, I'll fence it in with these 'ere very rails.'
"Jedwort said this, wagging his obstinate old head, and grinning with
his face turned up pugnaciously at the Deacon; then went to work again
as if he had settled the question, and didn't wish to discuss it any
further.
"As for Talcott, he was too full of wrath and boiling indignation to
answer such a speech. He knew that Jedwort had managed to get the
start of him with regard to the rails, by mixing a few of his own with
those he had stolen, so that nobody could tell 'em apart; and he saw at
once that the meeting-house was in danger of going the same way, just
for want of an owner to swear out a clear title to the property. He did
just the wisest thing when he swallowed his vexation, and hurried off to
alarm the leading men of the two societies, and to consult a lawyer.
"'He'll stir up the old town like a bumblebee's nest,' says Jedwort.
'Hurry up, boys, or there'll be a buzzin' round our ears 'fore we git
through!'
"'I wish ye wouldn't, pa!' says Dave, 'Why don't we 'tend to our own
business, and be decent, like other folks? I'm sick of this kind of life.'
"'Quit it, then,' says Jedwort.
"'Do you tell me to quit it?' says Dave, dropping the end of a rail he was
handling.
"'Yes, I do; and do it dumbed quick, if ye can't show a proper respect to
your father!"

"Dave turned white as a sheet, and he trembled as he answered back, 'I
should be glad to show you respect, if you was a man I could feel any
respect for.'
"At that Jedwort caught hold of the iron bar that was sticking in the
ground, where he had been making a hole for a stake, and pulled away
at it. 'I'll make a stake-hole in you!' says he. 'It's enough to have a sassy
hired man round, without bein' jawed by one's own children!'
"Dave was out of reach by the time the bar came out of the ground.
"'Come here, you villain!' says the old man.
"'I'd rather be excused,' says Dave, backing off. 'I don't want any
stake-holes made in me to-day. You told me to quit, and I'm going to,
You may steal your own meeting-houses in future; I won't help.'
"There was a short race. Dave's young legs proved altogether too smart
for the old waddler's, and he got off. Then Jedwort, coming back,
wheezing and sweating, with his iron bar, turned savagely on me.
"I've a good notion to tell you to go too!'
"'Very well, why don't ye?' says I. 'Im ready.'
"'There's no livin' with ye, ye're gettin' so dumbed sassy! What I keep
ye for is a mystery to me.'
"'No, it a'n't; you keep me because you can't get another man to fill my
place. You put up with my sass for the money I bring ye in.'
"'Hold your yawp,' says he, 'and go and git another load of rails. If ye
see Dave, tell him to come back to work.'
"I did see Dave, but, instead of telling him to go back, I advised him to
put out from the old home and get his living somewhere else. His
mother and Maria agreed with me; and when the old man came home
that night Dave was gone.

"When I got back with my second load, I found the neighbors
assembling to witness the stealing of the old meeting-house, and
Jedwort was answering their remonstrances.
"'A meetin'-house is a respectable kind o' prop'ty to have round,' says
he. 'The steeple'll make a good show behind my house. When folks ride
by, they'll stop and look, and say, "There's a man keeps a private
meetin'-house of his own." I can have preachin' in't, too, if I want. I'm
able to hire a preacher of my own, or