Windfalls 173 



will be while a tree is standing, the annual 

 gathering of the autumn fruit, the carting to 

 the cider-press, and then the desertion of the 

 place by all men but myself, to whom its 

 generous owner has made over the right to 

 the windfalls, first satisfying himself that 

 there are none ; and verily, few are the 

 apples that escape his searching eyes. I 

 count it excellent good luck if there are 

 one or two, at most, to each tree. Indeed, 

 did he think I ever found as many as a hun- 

 dred apples his agreement would be recalled 

 until at least nine-tenths of them were 

 gathered. " I never saw nothin* so small ; 

 it was only worth thank'ee' " is this man's 

 motto. What an eye the needle must have 

 that he can crawl through ! He is so stingy 

 that I have since early childhood tried my 

 best to get ahead of him, and usually I do. 

 Just how is quite another matter. 



Just now I am not concerned with my 

 neighbor, but his belongings. His orchard 

 to-day is of more profit to me than to him, 

 and in the long run I gather goodlier fruit 

 from it than has ever been carted to his bins. 

 His cider-press yields me many an enjoyable 

 hour every autumn that he would like to 



