BICYCLING. 



JED HOLLISTER'S BICYCLE. 



M-AKION F. GIBBS. 



Jonas Weld was not given to many 

 words, and when he tilted his gray som- 

 brero at an unusually quizzical angle, and 

 announced that he supposed they did " Ex- 

 pose on the ol' man awful," the men and 

 boys congregated at the store, at " The 

 Corners," leaned eagerly forward, assuring 

 the possessor of the one available chair, of 

 an appreciative audience. 



" It's a sight beyon' me, seem' the care 

 he's allers givin' the hull fambly," Jonas 

 continued, " an' him down on his luck ever 

 sence he found out there wuz another claim 

 on that farm ov his'n, an' $800 to pay, jest 

 the same as over agin. Never heerd ov 

 that? Well boys it's this way — ol' man 

 Hollister wants a bike to fetch the mail 

 from Thalston down here, seein' there's no 

 end ov fuss ev'ry time a harness is thrun 

 over that ol' mule his son, Abe, calls a 

 hoss; an' I'll tell ye the story ef ye'll all 

 chip in an' give yer mite. Is it a go? 



" Well, years ago, ol' man McHenry 

 owned most ov that trac' by Hollister's, 

 an' roun' by Cranberry creek, cl'ar to the 

 divide. He had 5 boys, all on the harum- 

 scarum order, an' jest acrost the bay lived 

 ol' man Johnson, with lots ov money, an' 

 ony one gal, right purty at that. Arter 

 awhile Phil McHenry went East, an' soon 

 Mary Hanner Johnson follered, to enter 

 some kin' ov an institooshun ov l'arnin', 

 a universal like. Nobuddy ever dreamed 

 they thought ov j'inin' han's, but so it 

 'pears, an' not a soul knowed ov it. 



" Purty soon Phil com' back to help the 

 ol' folks. Never sed nothin' 'bout bein' 

 j'ined at all. Years went on. Mary Han- 

 ner visited her home, but people sed she 

 aimed big money as a musicianer. Ol' 

 man McHenry died, an' typhoid kerried 

 off the res'. The Ian' had be'n divided into 

 farms, an' sold an' paid fur. All seemed 

 cl'ar sailin, as our crafts go, when 'long 

 comes Mary Hanner with a smilin' young 

 chap an' a city lawyer. Seems the lad be- 

 longed to Phil. He never knowed it. 

 She'd riz right up. He wuz wild ye know, 

 an' lef her. She hired a nuss an' cared 

 fur that kid, airnin' her own way, 'til John- 

 son lef her all that money, an' now she'd 

 come with all the proofs necessary to 'stab- 

 lish her claim and the boy's. 



" Pshaw! How it did break people up! 

 'Specially Hollister. Some wuz fur cl'arin' 

 right out, an' others fur fightin', by su- 

 preme writ ov course; but 'twa'nt no use. 

 The money had to be paid, an' she showed 

 no marcy to a soul. Jed. Hollister wuz 

 one ov the peaceafyin' ones. Wanted to 

 move furder down stream; but Abe would- 



n't lis'en. ' Ruther be a king among hogs, 

 Dad, than a hog among kings,' he sed; an' 

 mos' worn out then, an' that wuz years ago, 

 the po're ol' creetur listened, to his sorrer. 

 Toilin', scrimpin' an' savin, fur what? 

 'Cause boys," and the speaker arose, the 

 embodiment of physical strength, his blue 

 eyes alight with that greatest of all vir- 

 tues. Charity; his voice ringing above the 

 wailing storm; ''Cause the force ov sar- 

 cumstances kep' him down! An' we'll have 

 him up, in spite ov Abe an' the hull fambly, 

 up on a bike, boys, tearin' through the 

 town to beat the enjine." 



" But," a mild voice interposed, " Hol- 

 lister don't lack much ov turnin' 70, does 

 he?" 



"Who cares ef he's a hundred!" thun- 

 dered the excited crowd. " Ef he wants a 

 bike, he's a goin' to hev it, to-morrer, 

 See! " And although several days elapsed, 

 at last " the silent steed " arrived, to aston- 

 ish, delight and perplex the venerable own- 

 er, who firmly resolved to master this 

 " wheel within a wheel " as he admiringly 

 called it. 



His efforts, though untiring, seemed 

 born of failure, and when the days became 

 weeks, with success as far in the distance 

 as on that memorable day of its arrival, 

 Jonas decided to see for himself if it was 

 an impossibility, as one of the more daring 

 of his townsmen had asserted. 



Half way to the house he met Abe, al- 

 most frantic with rage at this new freak 

 of his hitherto docile parent, and a gleam 

 of amusement lurked in Jonas's eyes, as he 

 returned the brief salutation. 



" You'd better go on up to the house. 

 He's lassoin' the hull consarn, makin' a 

 sort ov tackle on the piazza. Sich 'tarnal 

 foolishness! " And the enraged man strode 

 hastily away. A few minutes later, the 

 gleam became almost a shout, of amuse- 

 ment as Jonas beheld the wheel securely 

 fastened by stout ropes to a large hook in 

 the roof of the piazza, the owner, firmly 

 seated, pedalling away with an air of satis- 

 faction impossible to describe. 



" This'll bring her to her milk, eh! 

 Weld? " was the anxious query. 



" Keep this up a couple ov weeks an' 

 I'll get the hang ov it! Conscience, but 

 this is a power, an' no mistake! " as in a 

 glow of perspiration he dismounted to crit- 

 ically inspect the once fractious, but now 

 thoroughly subdued bicycle. 



In spite of all objections offered, at 

 home, and they were many, " A couple ov 

 weeks " did elapse before the astonished 

 group, seated on the front steps of the 

 store at " The Corners," caught a glimpse 

 of a figure in the distance, speeding toward 



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