xt7h9w08wp4j https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7h9w08wp4j/data/mets.xml Barton, William Eleazar, 1861-1930. 1890  books b92fb282009 English The Oberlin News : Oberlin, Ohio Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Life in the hills of Kentucky. text Life in the hills of Kentucky. 1890 2009 true xt7h9w08wp4j section xt7h9w08wp4j 
  
  
  
  
  
w

  
LIFE

IN

H ills of Kentuc
BY

W. E.

BARTON.

OBERLIN, E. J. 1 89O.

O.

GOODRICH.

  
Copyright, 1887, 188 by W. E . Barton.

  
TO MY GEORGE SISTER, M. PATTERSON.

  
CONTENTS.
r3 73 . . 143

PREFACE, THE

..

'

;.

.

.

.

.

:

. >:

WiND-ur

O F T H E B I G M E E T I N ' O N N O B US'NESS,

OLD MAN KLINE, T H E P O E T OF FODDERSTACK MOUNTAIN,

Error.   Page 40, line ten from bottom, omit "root."

  
PREFACE.
E ncouraged by the favorable reception of " T he W i n d - U p of the B i g Meetin' on N o B u '.ness," I have spun two other slender threads of fiction, strung them w ith i ncidents from l ife, and bound the three together. These stories, t hough not distinctively religions, attempt especially to set forth the religious life of the m ountain f olk. Each " m e e t i n " ' described, t hough chosen because of some u nusual event connected w ith i t, and not to be taken as the average mountain meeting, is a simple or composite photograph. The postscript to the first e dition of the " B i g Meetin ," retained in t his, renders superfluous any further explanation of t he author's purpose, and his sympathy for these loyal, hospitable people. W hile w riting these pages, my thoughts have t urned often to my dear friend, Charles H . Norton, k ind-hearted, generous and brave, who died N ovember 6th, 1886. W h i l e neither he nor the author appears as a character in this b ook, t hey witnessed together many of its scenes. W . E. B .
1

O B E U L I N , D ecember 1st, 1889.

  
  
A TALE

OF THE CUMBERLAND
SECOND EDITION.

MOUNTAINS.

THE

ON

NO

BUS'NESS:
BY

W . E. B A R T O H .

C O P Y R I G H T 1SS7.

'

OBERLIN, 18SS.

0 .:

P UBLISHED FOR T H E AUTHOR B T T H E OBERLIN NEWS.

  
  
THE

WIND-

UP OF THE

BIG

MEETIN'

ON NO

BUS'NESS.

I. " They w ill be night meetin' hyur tonight at e arly c anclle-lightin', an the meetin' '11 wind up t ermorrer. A t the wind up of the meetin' we'll open the doors of the church an' babtize t hem candidates that desires fur to be babiized. I r eckon this hyur has been norated aready so's every person understaiis it. A n ' n eow ef all m inds is discharged we'll crave the benediction." So spoke Brother Jeems A l b r i g h t at the close of the service on Saturday afternoon i n the N o B us'ness church-house. A l l minds seemed to be discharged   whatever that may mean    and the benediction was "craved." Tom Baker a nd the other young men w ith h i m sat near the door a nd were the first outside, where they j oined a larger company of their own age who had n ot been i n , or if i n at all had remained but a s hort time, and returned to watch the horses, p referring t he genial society of those who sat a round o n logs i n the woods, to the instruction a dministered i n allopathic doses to those w ithin.

  
THE

WIND-UP

OF T H E

I ii a more leisurely manner the remainder of t he congregation moved out, and for some t ime remained s tanding around i n knots and i nviting each other to go home w ith t hem. He who h ad but one spare bed i nvited f rom a dozen to f orty guests, and lie who l ived a m ile from the church-house was i nvited to "go b y " w ith h im w ho l ived five. Indeed, each family ran a whole gauntlet of i nvitations; b eing i nvited to go by w ith almost every other family present, and g enerally declining and r eturning the i n vitation n o matter how certain that it would n ot be accepted. S lowly the church house disgorged its congregation; and when at last the half-dozen preachers emerged w ith saddle-bags on t heir arms, i t stood vacant. Not a very s tylish edifice, t his temple in the backwoods of K e n t u c k y     a mere log pen w ith a l eaky roof, t he cracks between the logs daubed w ith m ud and covered on the inside w ith s trips s plit f rom logs. The floor was puncheon; the seats were rough, backless affairs w ith holes bored through for the legs, w hich projected an i nch or more beyond the surface of the bench, making a rather uncomfortable seat for the second person from the end. T he older seats were hewn out; and the newer ones were made by d riving legs into slabs

  
BIG M E E T I N ' O N N O B U S ' N E S S .

5

f rom the saw m ill. T his saw m i l l , b y the way, was a new enterprise, and one that had i n a degree r evolutionized life on N o Bus'ness. I t made a variety of unseemly sounds on the h itherto s olemnly silent stream, waking w ith i ts s hrill w histle the angry echoes, w hich mockingly answered the v oice o f the unwelcome v isitor; and the h ills took up the sound and told i t to the h ills b eyond, and these in a fainter voice to h ills y et more remote, and h ill a nswered h ill u ntil a ll the woods seemed peopled w ith s trange, weird voices j oined in an uncanny c horus of threatening and mocking   enough to have frightened a t imid or superstitious saw m ill i nto repentance for its rash intrusion into s uch a region. But the saw m i l l h eld its. g round, and day after day puffed and whistled and s puttered away on the lonely stream. F or N o Bus'ness is a creek. A legend is c urrent c oncerning the name, that the first man w ho ascended the stream returned w ith the report that " A human haint got no bus'ness up that ar creek." A good m any humans,, however, subsequently found their way up that ar creek and stayed there. They named the creek's two tributaries respectively "Troublesome" a nd " Dif /f 'culty", and the main stream r e tained i ts enigmatical appellation, " N o B u s ' -

  
6

THE

WIND-UP

OF T H E

ness." It is a rapid mountain torrent, at times almost dry, at others "swimmin'-deep." The n umber of feet w hich it can rise i n a few h ours is something almost incredible, and a l though the periods of its rampage are as brief as violent, it is looked upon w ith g ood r eason as a very fickle-minded, treacherous stream. . O n either side rise high perpendicular bluffs, between which from the valley below, only a s mall segment of the sky is visible; and the feeling comes and grows upon one, that the l ittle w orld a long the creek is very much farther from heaven than the tops of the parallel bluffs on either side. What migh ty cliffs they are! Three h undred feet of sandstone w ith a t hick stratum of fossiliferous limestone, then sandstone w ith traces of coal, and the whole surmounted by hard conglomerate, r ising i n majestic castles and standing out in overhanging masses beyond the softer rock below. A geologist had once visited N o Bus'ness. He had hired his board for a week at old ' Lijah H ale's and had roamed up the creek and over the h ills i n a delight w hich the open-eyed n atives had at first regarded as insane. Later they brought him queer rocks which had been saved by the c h i l dren as "purties" and asked h i m if the quartz c rystals f rom geodes were diamonds. They

  
BIG M E E T I N ' O N NO BUS'NESS.

7

gathered about him i n wonder while lie talked o f things which they understood as l ittle as S anskrit; s urprised that so great a man should go to such botherment to learn so much about jest rocks. B u t when he showed to the l ittle c ompany which nightly gathered at old ' Lijah's, t he fossils he had collected, and talked of t he vast ages w hich had elapsed since these f ossils h ad l ived, a nd told them that the creek had once flowed on top of the bluff and gradually t hrough u ntold ages w orn its bed through the s olid r ock to its present depression, they attempted to remonstrate w ith h im, and f ailing to change h is opinion pronounced him " a n i n fidel," a nd warned him to leave. Jake F i n c h was most active i n d riving h im off, combining business w ith p leasure, and his anxiety f or the public welfare w ith the redress of an i n jury w hich he had suffered i n his feelings by reason of a rebuke administered by said g eologist. " H e treated me mighty abrupt," said J ake. " H e come u p an' went to sorter nosin' around over m y farm, an' thinks me I ' l l jes' sorter go l ong, sez I, kase theys a lead mind somers o n my f arm t hat the Injuns used ter run bullets from. V ef he finds 'er, sez I, I want to be somers r ound, sez I ; V I've heard t ell o f that ar Swift

  
8

THE

WIND-UP

OF T H E

s ilver m ind roun' l iyur or over i n W h i t l e y , one, a n' t hinks me, mebbe she's h yur. A n ' we come d own by the branch whar we het the rocks at, f ur to drap in the bar'I fur to bile the water fur to scald hogs, V ee picked up a piece of a rock what had busted wen I drapped her into the water. H i t war a powerful curus rock   hit war plum round an' sorter holler on both sides, sorter l ike a deesh. I 'member sorter noticin' of it wen I picked 'er up, an' a t h i n k i n ' I 'd take 'er home f ur the chaps to play with fur 'em a purty, or to hole the shetter to the door open, but-I jest 'lowed twarnt while to tote h er u p to the house, kase one of the heenges to the door is broke' an' I haint got round to cut me a w ith f ur to make another one V so the shelter to the door sorter stays open Hhout n uthin fur ter hold 'er. A n ' thinks me, I've got ye picked up now, V ef I drap ye I ' l l jes' hatter pick up ' nother, so i n ye go, sez I. A n wen she got hot an' I drapped 'er inter the water she busted. W a l , ef twarnt a plum sight in the world to see t hat f eller wen he found it. He acted l ike h e'd c ry. He said hit war a sorter m ill f ur ter g r i n ' c orn that some ole feller   a Injun or some ole coot   lied sorter made him fur to grind him his g rist. A n ' wen I tole the feller ' bout me a-fiu'in' i t a n' how come 'er broke, he got plum cat-

  
BIG M E E T I N ' O N N O B U S ' N E S S .

9

a wampus. ' W a r n ' t they rocks 'nuff 'roun' t hout you a t akin' t hat air un?' sez ee. Sez I, ' Y o u needn't afeel so bad,' sez I. 'They grind of a Saturday down to the saw m i l l , a n' ole P reacher Jake Watts he's got him a water m i l l u p on B u l l Creek and grin's wen theys a fraish i n the creek, an' ole Tom Giles up on the backbone has got him a hit-'em-agin fur dry weather 'th a hole burnt out of a hiek'ry stump a n' a sweep s orter lack a well sweep ' th a iron waige i n the eend of it fur to jerk down 'th a rope o n' keep a h ittin' t well she's gits sorter f ine,' sez I. 'Theys m ills nuff, sez I, ef you've got any g rin'in', sez I, 'thout awantin' ye any s ich a audashus ole rig asthet ar,' sez I. 'Peared l ike t hat ort ter a pacified him, but hit made h im madder. ' E f you'd a knowd as much,'sez ee, 'ez the man wut made that ar mortar,' sez ee, 'you'd a knowd mor'n to a busted 'er wen t hey warnt no need fur it,' sezee. A n ' I sorter got a leetle ashy an' sez I, ' Y o u dag-gonned ole i nfidel,' sez I, 'wut d'ye mean?' sez I. ' Y o u a comin' 'round hyur a smashin' rocks an' a h untin' ye up ole holler rocks,' sez I, 'fur yer w ife ter grind 'er corn,' sez I , 'stidder you a stayi n ' to hum an' a totiu hit to m i l l f ur 'er,' sez I, ' Dag-gon yer d og-gonned p ictur! Y o u git out o' h yur! a n' clar out orfum thishyur branch,' sez

  
10

THE

W I N D - U P OP T H E

I , 'we haint got no use fur a n infidel,' sez I. 'Go home V c rack corn 'th that ar hammer o' y ourn ef you want a m ill,' sez 1, 'dag-gon your dag-gonned s kin! Y o u git out o' h y u r !     G i t V stay got! or I ' l l git me a bresh and give ye a g inteel good l inten,' sez I . " J ake repeated this conversation to each f a m ily o n the creek, adding to his own speech, and i ncreasing the number of maledictions w ith each recitation, and growing more and more abusive as the intelligence that the geologist h ad "sure g one" became more evidently true. A n d a ll the people said Amen, and whatever may be said of "humans" in general, it is certainly true that a geologist "haint got no bus'ness up that ar creek" even unto this day. The h orrified and injured feeling w ith w hich the v isit of that " infidel" is remembered w ill never be entirely removed. Even the discovery that the m i l l hands, who came f rom lndiana believed the earth r ound, produced far less commotion.
/

D uring t his long, tedious digression, the p eople whom we left i n front of the church-house when "meetin' broke," have about completed t heir preparations for departure. A l l the acceptable invitations have been accepted, but the form of i nviting w ill be kept up as long as two families are together.

  
B IG M E E T I N ' O N N O B U S ' N E S S .

11

" Go by, Dick, you'n your ole woman." " N o , c aint, I reckon. Y o u all go up 'ith me." " W e would, but we caint leave handy; you all best stay over to night meetin'." " N o , I r eckon not. W e l e f the chaps alone." " 0 , M arthy's big nuff ter look atter them    y ou best stop over." " N o , I r eckon we caint this time." " W e l l , w y don't you never come a n' bring t he children an' set w ith us a spell. 'Pears l ike y ou've f orsook us hyur." " N o , we haiut f orsook ye. We're 'bout ter move down V live off o' }'ou a lls. W e ' l l g it back ter meetin' termorrer." " Good bye, then, ef n uthin' else won't do ye." " Good bye." A f ew of those who live at a distance have decided to go by w ith, those who live nearer. T wo of the preachers and a half-dozen of the visitors f rom the head waters of Troublesome and Difficulty went home w ith E lijah H ale. A n d T om Baker went, also. He is the most important m an i n this story, not even excepting B r e t h ren Jeems A l b r i g h t and A b Duncan, the two preachers whom you see yonder, w ith s addlebags b ehind them, on their lank steeds t hreading the serpentine road clown the point to E l i j a h H ale's.

  
12

THE

WIND-UP

OF T H E

O ld ' Lijah H ale was one of the most prosperous men on N o Bus'ness. The narrow valley widened a few yards at his farm, and the h ill rose a l ittle less p erpendicularly, e nabling him to " make a crap" on its slope. There was corn i n h is l og crib u ntil c orn came a gain, and plenty of bacon in his smoke house   excepting i n those years when the mast was l ight, w hen he may perhaps have run a l ittle s hort of t hat greasy but staple commodity. He was looked up to as a man of influence i n both c hurch and state, being an i nfluential member of the church, and a Justice of the Peace." The s helf nailed to the beams above t he door i n his house contained "the marster sight o' books m ighty n igh ever you seed"   leather bound books, entitled " A c t s " and "Statutes," "Property of the State of Kentucky." ' Lijah a lways b rought them out when he had a case to try, but never read any from them, though he sometimes looked vaguely through them under pretense of h unting up the law. His verdicts were peculiar to himself, the following being a specimen:    " W a l l , I've been a h untin' up the law, an' hit d on't kiver this case, 'pears like   eenahow hit don't hit the case center, p'int blank, the way h it had oughter   but jist a takin' a s orter common sense view of the case, hit 'pears l ike t er

  
B IG M E E T I N

1

O N N O BUS'NESS.
1

L3

me that Rube hadn't oughter a hit Bob, an B ob he hadn't oughter a cussed Rube. An. I r eckon I best n ot find nary one 'o yer an' each feller k in pay their own costis," which decision was accepted by all parties as both legal and just. O id ' Lijah h ad a numerous progeny. Three or four of his oldest children were married, and the ages of the others tapered regularly down to Ben, aged eight, and Juley A n n , a spoiled l ittle miss of about six summers, and one additional a utumn and winter. The oldest c hildren left at home were L indy, aged seventeen, and Thaddeus who was not quite sixteen   a big a wkward fellow whom every one called " T r i a d " except o n state occasions, when his father c alled h im Thaddea. L indy is a rosy, rather buxom miss. She c an ride a horse well as you notice, for Tom has brought her horse and his around to the three sections of unequal length cut from the eud of a log, upended so as to form a series of steps from which a lady can mount    k nown as stile-blocks   and L indy sits erect i n h er saddle and shows herself at ease t here. She does not often ride to church, her father and m other using Old 'Lijah's two horses, but her m other stayed at home today to arrange for the m eeting tomorrow, so L indy rides her mother's
1

  
14

T H E W I N D - U P OF T H E

horse. Her movements on the ground are h ardly g raceful. Her step is not l ight, f or her shoes are heavy, and she walks chiefly to get a round. B u t on a horse she appears at her best. So look w ell at her as she starts off w ith T om B aker somewhat bashfully r idiug beside her, f or L indy makes her best appearance now, and she is worthy of whatever there may be favorable in your first i mpression of her. H er a ccomplishments are of rather a practical s ort. She can k i l l and dress a chicken, make biscuit and corn bread, spin somewhat and weave a l ittle. She can figure part way through fractions, read in the fourth reader and spell Over to " luminary" i n the "old blueback." T he fact s hall not be concealed from you, that L indy's parents looked upon her high education as unnecessary, and felt that they had performed a work of supererrogation if not a positive wrong i n s ending her to school so much. There was some excuse f or them, to be sure, for the schoolhouse was so near and L indy l iked to go so w ell t hat they could hardly find i t in their hearts to keep her away, but they had felt no l ittle a nxiety as to the result of so l iberal a n education u pon a g i r l ; and their alarm had been i n creased this last session by her request for a g rammar and a "g'og'ify."

  
B IG

J I E E T L N ' O N NO BUS'NESS.

15

" H i t t aint right, 'cordin' to my way o' t h i n k in', to be a spendin' sich a heap o' money fur to b uy gals a h ull passel o' books ' bout all them ar t hings as gals haint no c all f ur to know," h er father said. "You've got nuff o' b ooks n ow ef you'll read 'em, fur all the use you'll have fur books. A l l t hisyur e ducation haint no ' count fur gals. Better educate 'em fur to be pore men's wives." So Lindy's appropriation b i l l was promptly vetoed. T he procession that went down the creek h alted f or a few moments before the post-andrailing i n front of ' Lijah H ale's cabin. " A l l ' light an' go i n , " s aid'Lijah. " Thaddea, y ou strip them beastis an' take 'em out an' give 'em a couple o' bundles o' fodder V a leetle grain o' corn apiece. T u r n B i l l V ole Bailey inter the l ot, ' n ' I reckon you k i n stan' that gray w ith B rother J inkinses nag. Y e r hoss w on't kick w ill he, Brother J i n k i n s ? F etch them saddles inside w hur them calves won't chaw 'em all up. J es' w alk inside. B i l l , y ou all best stop i n , too, G i ' d own, J i m , an' stop over. W a l l , get along h um t hen an' git ye a snack. H i t won't be l ong t will n ight meetin'. Come i n , come i n . J i n n y , jes you run ter the spring an' fetch a f raish b ucket o' water. Y o u ' l l hev ter take a

  
16

THE

W I N D - U P OF T H E

g ourd, the one at the spring is broke. J i m fetch us some cheers out hyur. Put yerself level on a cheer, Brother Duncan. Se d own, B rother A lbright. B rother J inking take a cheer a n' se' down. Ole woman! got supper mos' ready? We're g ittin' sorter nibblyat the craw. Se' down, gentlemen. The ole woman '11 hev us a snack ready right soon n ow, I reckon. H ev water? Yes, mighty good w ater. H aint no better nowhurs, I reckon. Now, J i n n y , y ou run 'long ' n ' holp yer maw   Lindy 'pears ter be slow 'bout g ittin' i n . "
1

  
B IG M E E T I N ' O N N O B U S ' N E S S .

17

II.

L indy d id appear to be slow this evening. She and Tom had lagged a l ittle b ehind the p arty, an unusual thing for a mountain couple to do; but Tom "had been a t alkin' to L indy a r ight s mart l ittle b it now," and the affair was considered settled by the N o Bus'ness gossips. B ut i t wasn't settled. Both Tom and L indy considered it as good as settled, and both were a nxious to ha\e i t settled. The courtship had progressed slowly, though pleasantly. Tom had w alked home f rom meetings w ith L indy m any times, keeping w ith t he crowd. W h e n t hey had arrived at the house, L indy h ad g one inside w ith the women, and Tom had sat outside on the porch w ith the men u ntil i t was t ime f or him to leave. I n short, it had been an o rthodox mountain courtship, w ith n othing to ruffle the even current of true love, u ntil N o Bus'ness was stirred by this big meeting. A n d L i n dy's mother had disturbed matters a t rifle. L indy's m other had no p articular o bjection to t his m atch. Indeed, she favored i t ; but l ike m any good w omen, she could not let a court-

  
18

THE

W I N D - U P OF T H E

s hip w ork out its own solution without a desire t o make her influence felt i n some c apacity. She had had no hand i n making the match, and c ould not afford to assent to it too readily. She w hined often about being left alone, and c omplained of Lindy's ingratitude and Jinny's inexperience   the theme affording an excellent o pportunity to find fault w ith b oth g irls at once. L indy paid l ittle a ttention to these complaints. She understood her mother's n atural tendency to "mean Yes and say N o . " But now her objections assumed a different phase. L indy h ad been to the mourners' bench in the meetings and was to join the c hurch t omorrow, and her mother felt that she o ught to give her some good advice, and was absolutely unable to give advice for the future w ithout some c omplaint about the present. M rs. H ale was a woman who had "seed a heap o' trouble," as she often affirmed w ith a d oleful voice and a significant shake of the head, and she succeeded t olerably well in making others share her troubles w ith her. " Thishyur is a world o' trouble," she frequently said, apropos of anything whatever or of nothing at a ll, as she removed her short pipe and spat into the ashes, "an' they haint no use i nyertryin' ter git away from i t . " A n d to M r s .

  
B IG M E E T I N ' O N N O B U S ' N E S S .

19

H ale's credit and consistency be it said that she made no effort to escape t rouble, but yielded "without a struggle to the inevitable, t ook g ratefully all the trouble that came to her, and hunted up all that she could find i n addition. She t ook a m orbid delight i n it. She a l ways visited a sick-bed and kept the details f resh i n mind to compare w ith those of any like o ccasion, or to reproduce at the funeral six m onths or a year after the death of the patient. She herself had "indigestion of the stummick" and " a h urtin' i n her breast" and " a misery i n her back" and a host of other cheerful i n firmities whose s ymptoms she detailed with s crupulous exactness to every listener. It w ill be readily understood that this estimable lady w hined and found fault with the best of intentions, but not always the best o f results. " H i t 'pears like ter me," she said to Lindy, "as how gals that's been f or'ard i n meetin' and is g wine to be babt'ized and ter jine the church, h adn't ort to be agaddin 'roun' the kentry 'th y oung fellows as haint got religion." L indy mads no reply but had thought of the same t hing; and her mother's words had m ore effect t han was expected or desired. " The Bible's mighty plain ' bout a ll sich as

  
20

THE

W I N D - U P OF T H E

that a ir," her mother continued, after a pause d uring w hich she had been using her apron for a h andkerchief, '"bout bein' onekilly yoked together 'th them as haint a p ullin' t he way you're agwine. / allers thought ef anybody's agwine ter perfess anything, let 'em live up to i t, or not perfess it, owe." H aving t hus spoken, she filled her pipe, scooped i t into the ashes for a coal, patted the red ember w ith h er toughened forefinger, and smoked i n silence, feeling that she had delivered her own soul and done something t oward saving L indy's, b ut without a t hought that L indy w ould heed her words. L indy, however, dwelt upon her mother's speech u ntil she was very unhappy, and in this frame of mind had gone to meeting this Saturday afternoon. The burden was heavier than ever when she started homeward. A song w hich had been sung this afternoon kept r unning t hrough her m ind; every motion of herself and horse kept time to its r y t h m    
" T h e d earest i d o l I h aye k n o w n , W h a t e ' e r that i d o l be, H e l p m e to tear it from thy throne A n d w orship only T h e e . "

W as Tom an idol? Was he l ikely to come between her and God? Her mother's words, her own feelings and the half superstitious i n -

  
BIG M E E T I N ' O N N O BUS'NESS.

c lination to regard this hymn, sung at a time so appropriate, as a revelation, perplexed her s orely. Another thing, too, had happened. B rother A b Duncan i n his "sarmint" had s aid:    E f y er 'spect t er be a C hristian y er gotter g ive up everything that haint C hristian. I l ike t er see religion that's l ike a ole woman's fatgourd. The grease is inside, but ye k i n see hit a s loppin' all over t he surface. E f y ou've a t akin' to a gal an' a s tudyiii' ' bout a marryin' her, an' she's a t rifler, or a fiddler, or a dancer, y ou've j ust gotter choose a twix her ' n ' God. T o u haint got no more use for a wife n ohow ' n a hoss has got fur horns." T om was neither a t rifler n or a fiddler nor a dancer, but a quiet, sober y oung man; but he was not a C hristian, and brother Duncan's remarks seemed to bear directly on the case i n h and. L indy's duty began to seem p lain to her. O nly h er own wicked heart had kept her from s eeing it before. E very thought that her duty m ight admit of another course was stifled as a s uggestion of the tempter, and as evidence o f h er own wickedness; and with a desperate struggle, Lindy determined to dethrone her idol. H alf the short ride home was accomplished before e ither spoke; then Tom said:
ll 1

  
T H E W I N D - U P OF T H E

" So yer goin' ter be offotized tertnoi r er, be ye, L i n d y ? " A n d L indy said " Y e s . "     " Be ye goin' ter jine Albright or D u n c a n ? " L indy d idn't know no difference. " I w ouldn't jine Duncan, n ohow," s aid Tom. " I ' l l be dad-burned if I l ike so much "High-aht an'a Brothef-ahP " w hich remark tended to confirm L indy's decision, for she regarded it as evidence of Tom's totally unregenerate mind, T om was uneasy. N o words concerning marriage had ever passed between himself and L indy, yet he had believed the wedding a matter near at hand. His affection naturally stuck i n h is throat and did not manifest itself i n words, yet he loved L indy w ith a ll his big, bashful heart, and rejoiced i n unmistakable evidence that his affection was reciprocated. D u r ing t his meeting he had felt a growing uneasiness. L indy had gone e arly to the mourners' bench, and since had seemed to be slipping away from him. Tom desired to be a C hristian, but in spite of his t raining he found more i n the meeting to repel than to attract him. He was disgusted w ith the excesses of the mourners and the senseless howling of the preachers, notwithstanding t heir evident sincerity. "Looks l ike h its a mighty pore way to git religion," he said to himself, "but I don't know arv

  
B IG M E E T I N ' O N N O B U S ' N E S S .

23

n other." So he had not followed Lindy to the m ourners' bench, and had felt a sort of jealousy t hat L indy should have gone w ithout him. This afternoon she seemed f arther from him than ever, and Tom rashly determined to secure her before she escaped h im. The house was in sight before he spoke: " Lindy   when   when   er   how soon d'ye r eckon we best to get married?" L indy hesitated a moment, looked away from T om and said desperately, " I don't guess we had best to git married a t a l l . " A lthough T om had felt a sort of premonition w arning him of his rejection, and s omething w ithin h im said, "Just as I expected," he was stunned beyond the p ower of speech. J ust as they reached the gate he said, " L i n d y , y ou   you don' mean that ar?" " D o n ' t alk ter me," she replied, " I cain't s tan' i t . " " Come i n Tom* you an' L i n d y , " c alled ' Lijah f rom the porch. "Jes' hitch yer beastes to the p ost-an'-railin'. T had'll cyarry 'em out to the b arn, a n' you all come i n " But Tom, having allowed Lindy to dismount on the stile-blocks, took her horse and his own to the barn. He took a l ittle t ime to think over h is condition, and f or the time inclined to a hopeful view.

  
24

THE

WIND-UP

OF T H E

" Lindy's a m ighty fine gal," he soliloquized, " but she's m ighty feisty by spells. S uthin' ' r n uther has got her to feelin' brickety, an' she's j ust a *devilin' me for a spell. Or mebby n ow when she's jest got religion she d on't w ant to be pestered t ill atter the wind up of the m eetin'." H aving g iven himself as much c omfort as the circumstances permitted, he went to the p orch. " W h a r be ye gwine fur to hold meetin' at atter the final w ind up h y u r ? " asked Brother J inkins of Brother Albright. " Over on the head waters of Hiwassy," was the reply. " W u l l , t hat's agittin' up mighty nigh to whur n othin' empties inter nowhur, haint it? Ole B i l l Toosper over on Red B ird uster t ell a t ale 'bout a preacher that went over i n thar, an' ee l iked flour-bread powerful good, and ee'd hearn t ell as how they didn't make n one up thar, ' n ' ee got 'is ole womau fur ter bake him a h u l l passel o' biskits, an' efl filled h is saddle-pockets w ith 'em. A n ' wen ee got ter his pintmaint ter whar ee stayed all night at, he tuck h i m out a biskit, an' one of the leetle fellers thar was sorter watchin' on 'im and seed ' im, an' th' ole
   Devil, as here used, meaus to tease.

  
B IG M E E T I N ' O N N O B U S ' N E S S .

feller jes' gin ' im a b iskit, a n' tire leetle chap he d idn't k now w ut she was, A n ' ee showed h it to t he tother leetle fellers an' they had a p owerful b ig p ow-wow f ur to flue o ut wut hit war. A n ' finallj the way hit eended one on 'em t uck the b iskit a n' l aid h it o n the h aith, a n' ee p utt a coal o n 'er, an' ee sez, sezee, ' / HI show ye wut His. Hits a tarrypin; now you ivatch 'im V you'll see Hm poke 'is laixjs ouV " " W u l l , h it must a b in over i n t har ole Z eke Sanders went that time w'en he went off ' t h the h og-drove   that time w 'en t hey axed 'im w 'en he come back whar ee'd bin at, an' ee said ee d idn't k now. " I d unno n uthin' ' bout it,' sezee, ' only I k now I 've b in t o w har they c all "sop" ''''gravy.'" T he speaker laughed loudly at t his threadbare tale, as did his audience, most o f w hom h ad heard i t often before. " W u l l , d id ye see Ole Z eke Sanderses S am ar t oday? His pap V his u ncle B i l l is t rustees u p i n that ar P arch Corn deestrick, a n' he's a k eepin' the s chool up on t liet a r b ranch, a n' he's b in a b uyin' hisself a h ull passel o' store clo'es. D i d ye see h im i n t hat stake-'n'-ridered c ollar a n' t hem tight britches? I ' l l be doggonned ef he d idn't look right comic." " Ya-as, h aint h it a p lum sight w ut a heap of
7

  
26

THE

WIND-UP

OF T H E

s ich critters a feller kin see, wen he haint got no g un?" T his last was from Tom and raised a prolonged l augh. Tom wasted littfe affection on l ittle Sam Sanders. " I've heerd," suggested ' Lijah, " that the M ethodis' war a cavortin' roun' powerful o ver on Hiwassy." " W h o war a t ellin' y e?" asked Brother A l bright. " W y , some one war a sayin' down to the b lacksmith shop   hit war old Preacher Jake W atts or Tom Jeff M itchell, o ne   I d isremember which now, but pears l ike h it war ole man W atts, he war there a-gittin' him some shoes p utt on his nag, an' hit war him or Tom Jeff, one. A n ' they war a sayin' that a feller by the name o' H i l l was a t akin' a p owerful through a n' had a h ull h ouse-full a shoutin' to wunct." " I h aint never heerd t ell o' no sich preacher," said B rother Albright. " He haint no preacher," said Duncan. " H e h aint never been ordained. The presidin' elder over on the Pore Fork conference, g in 'im some license fur to exercise i n public. I met him w unct wen I had a 'pintmaint on Smoky fur the t hird Saturday an' Sund