The Rise of Roscoe Paine | Page 5

that it ever did, exactly in that way."
"No. Well, that's 'cause you ain't reasoned it out, same as I have.
You've got the same trouble that most folks have, you don't reason
things out. Now, let's look at it straight in the face." Lute let go of the
rake altogether and used both hands to illustrate his point. "That finger
there, we'll say, is me, rakin' and rakin' hard as ever I can. And that fist
there is the Almighty, not meanin' anything irreverent. I rake, same as
I'm doin' this mornin'. The yard's all cleaned up. Then--zing!" Lute's
clenched fist swept across and knocked the offending finger out of the
way. "Zing! here comes one of the Almighty's no'theasters, same as
we're likely to have to-morrer, and the consarned yard is just as dirty as
ever. Ain't that so?"
I looked at the yard. "It seems to be about as it was," I agreed, with
some sarcasm. Lute was an immune, so far as sarcasm was concerned.
"Yup," he said, triumphantly. "Now, Dorindy, she's a good, pious
woman. She believes the Powers above order everything. If that's so,

then ain't it sacrilegious to be all the time flyin' in the face of them
Powers by rakin' and rakin' and dustin' and dustin'? That's the
question."
"But, according to that reasoning," I observed, "we should neither rake
nor dust. Wouldn't that make our surroundings rather uncomfortable,
after a while?"
"Sartin. But when they got uncomfortable then we could turn to and
make 'em comfortable again. I ain't arguin' against work--needful work,
you understand. I like it. And I ain't thinkin' of myself, you know, but
about Dorindy. It worries me to see her wearin' herself out with--with
dustin' and such. It ain't sense and 'tain't good religion. She's my wife
and it's my duty to think for her and look out for her."
He paused and reached into his overalls pocket for a pipe. Finding it, he
reached into another pocket for the wherewithal to fill it.
"Have you suggested to her that she's flying in the face of Providence?"
I asked.
Lute shook his head. "No," he admitted, "I ain't. Got any tobacco about
you? Dorindy hove my plug away yesterday. I left it back of the clock
and she found it and was mad--dustin' again, of course."
He took the pouch I handed him, filled his pipe and absently put the
pouch in his pocket.
"Got a match?" he asked. "Thanks. No, I ain't spoke to her about it,
though it's been on my mind for a long spell. I didn't know but you
might say somethin' to her along that line, Roscoe. 'Twouldn't sound so
personal, comin' from you. What do you think?"
I shook my head. "Dorinda wouldn't pay much attention to my ideas on
such subjects, I'm afraid," I answered. "She knows I'm not a regular
church-goer."
Lute was plainly disappointed. "Well," he said, with a sigh, "maybe

you're right. She does cal'late you're kind of heathen, though she hopes
you'll see the light some day. But, just the same," he added, "it's a good
argument. I tried it on the gang up to the post-office last night. I says to
'em, says I, 'Work's all right. I believe in it. I'm a workin' man, myself.
But to work when you don't have to is wrong. Take Ros Paine,' I
says--"
"Why should you take me?" I interrupted, rather sharply.
"'Cause you're the best example I could think of. Everybody knows you
don't do no work. Shootin' and sailin' and fishin' ain't work, and that's
about all you do. 'Take Ros,' says I. 'He might be to work. He was in a
bank up to the city once and he knows the bankin' trade. He might be at
it now, but what would be the use?' I says. 'He's got enough to live on
and he lives on it, 'stead of keepin' some poor feller out of a job.' That's
right, too, ain't it?"
I didn't answer at once. There was no reason why I should be irritated
because Luther Rogers had held me up as a shining example of the
do-nothing class to the crowd of hangers-on in a country post-office.
What did I care for Denboro opinion? Six years in that gossipy village
had made me, so I thought, capable of rising above such things.
"Well," I asked after a moment, "what did they say to that?"
"Oh, nothin' much. They couldn't; I had 'em, you see. Some of 'em
laughed and old Cap'n Jed he hove out somethin' about birds of a
feather stickin' up for each other. No sense to it. But, as I said afore,
what can you expect of a Democrat?"
I turned on my heel and moved toward the