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THE COURIER.
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The Cost of an Education.
Jose was coming borne from school on
Friday afternoon. She was just a
little tired. The October mud clung
cloae about her instep and the October
mist atrack her cheeks. She was
thinkisg idly about nothing. A train
of images came drifting into her head;
the day at school; tomorrow's work; the
applet in the orchard to sort; now that
she was twelve she was old enough to
help with that; her garden seeds to put
ia muslin bags and bang up where the
mice could not get them; a list of things
for Christmas; wool and silk and paper
to be bought with the money her father
had given her for feeding a cilf all
summer.
Goot efening Yose; vill jou rite? '
Old man Krueger's face beamed down
from the high scat of a hog wagon as he
drew In hie horses. Jose climbed up
beside him; it was no trouble for her,
she had practiced climbing up the sides
of cornet ibs all her life.
She began to chatter into the old
mans face, her own eyes brightening
an J her cheeks Hushing. Here was a
chance to talk.
"It's horrid. I thought I never
would get home. My feet were as heavy
as laid and the mud kinda squashed up
arosnd my ankles. I'm awful glad you
came along. A hog wagon may not bo
the prettiest thing in the world to ride
iabut it gets you up higher out of the
mud anyway."
Krueger laughel at her joke.
"Ve made him high a purpocc. De
pigs alius would jump out in der muU
Dey don'd tink like you do. Ged up
Yaks; you muss think Sharlie, he don'd
bat aoddingB to do only pull. die vagon
vitout nohellup. Gei up Sharlie."
The horses started on a trot and the
rattle of the wagon box drowned out
Jose's attempt to answer. Whsn they
had quieted down Krueger turned to
her.
"Vyyour fader sells his farm! Aint
de groun good?" he asked.
"Jose drew back a little and raised
her startled eyes to his.
"My father doesn't want to sell the
farm." she said quickly.
Krueger's face grewheavily puzzled.
"Deo yy did he say to my brudder
da? be vill sell aheap any day if he
could? I kr.ow dat ho aint got any
saorkago."
Jose had recovered.
"I did cot know that father wanted
to tell. If he does it isn't becausa the
ground k poor. He say a our farm is tbe
best anywhere around. He mght te
tired of farming, lt'3 be;aus3 I'm not a
boy. Hired men don't care whethej
the work is done or not. And I sup
pose my mother wants me to go to
school."
The wagon stopped in front of the
bouse and Jose climbsd down stiffly
There was a note of displeasure in ber
thanks that brought another puzzled
look to Krueger's faca. Jose in come
"way blamed him because her father
wasted to sell. He could not tes
Jose went into (he house fesling
somehow that the bottom had dropped
out of things. But supper was on the
table and in her hunger Jose almost
forgot what Krueger had siid. After
supper, when she began to wipe the
dishes it all came back.
She turned to her mother and said in
a suppressed vic:
I rode horns with o!d mm Krueger
t.diy."
Her mother answered cirolessly, "I
saw you get out of the wago. There is
aothiog strange ia that."
Yes, mamma, but ho said '
Jose stop; ei and went on stumbling
Yfr -We were go'ng to sell tbe farm."
Her mother spoke cheerfully. Your
father did have some sort of a chance
stwiek. He has cot said anything
ab3utitsir.ee. If we can git a good
price we ought to take it. We want to
educats you. After this year there will
be nothing worth your while in a
country school. We thought it would be
better to move to town than to send you
away from home."
Jose was silent.
Saturday morning the sun had come
out and Jose, was helping bright and
early with the apples. She pressed the
damn brown apple leaves into the
spongy sod while she waited for the
hiied man to carry her seventh bushel
of apples to the bins. It must be ten by
the sun. She looked out under the low
grey branches towards the house. She
saw what made her heart stop beating
for a moment, old Krueger and a
younger man coming out to where her
father stood on his ladder picking the
last of the winesaps. She saw them
stop at the foot of the ladder, saw her
father come down and shake hands with
them, saw him address himself in a
businesslike way to the younger man
and waited to see no more, for she
turned from them and walked unsteadi
ly to the house. Her mother was in tbe '
kitchen. Jose went straight up to her
own roos, not to cry, but to think. She j
went over all tbe time since she was
old enough to remember. She thought
of theoldbarn with its wide stalls and
heavy timbers; the creek with its bend
and deep pi ices where sbe had ro wed
her leaky old boat; the level prairie
pasture acrosi the old ford where she
bad found tbe pat:h of wiU straw
berries; the north field t'aat she remem
bered best by the swell of fie3h cut
wheat; the orchard; the threshing; the
corn huskiog when the wagons rattled
out to the field in the early morning
while she lay halt asleep, "yet in the
dark; ths long winter eveninga before a
drowsy wood fire; fresh violet? down
under the scrub oaks at the croak; wild
roses on the prairies; hsr gaiden.
Jose's eyes tilled slowly with tsars.
Along the window sill" of ber room lay
a paper 6pread thickly with pumpkin
seeds. She smiled through her tears.
'I'm crying before I'm hurt,"' she
said to herself. "Likely I'.l get to plant
those very scieds and eat the pumpkins."
She sprang up from the bed and
pushed back her hair. She would go
back to her apples. She began to tip
toe down Ihs et?p3 slowly. She felt a
littls 'oolisb. She did not want any
one to know that Bhe had run away
from her work. At the foot of the
stairs she stopped. Her father and
mother were talking in the kitchen.
She heard her father's deep voice.
-I think it will be all right He's
willing to pay my price but wanti time.
He is willing to pay four thousand
down and one thousand a year till it is
all paid. Can we go on that? We'll
want to buy in town."
Jose could cot hear ber mother's
words. She slipped out quietly through
the front door and went towards the
orchard. Her body felt rigid.
The farm was going to be sold then.
On the morning Jose's father and
mother went to town to see about the
ded, Jose spoke out all that was in her
mind. She bad watched her father put
on his overcoat and draw on his gloves.
"If you're doing it for me," she had
burst out bitterly, "jou needn't mind;
I'd just as leave never know a thing as
to go to town to live."
Her father looked at her mother
with a shamefaced expression.
I didn t know she'd care," he said
awkwardly. 'Perhaps we'd better not'
Her mother interrupted.
''You don't know what jou are talking
about, Jos. "You'Jl know better when
you're older."
Jose said no mw. The farm was
sold; til that was left for her was to
bear it. JThey were to move right out;
in two weeks more, those otber children
would be sleeping in her room. Sho
packed her things carefu'ly. Her garden
seeds she seed cot take. ' Even if they
could have a garden in town
she would never make it. So
she left them en ber table
till the last mornicg.- Then she (titled
an impulse to burn them. Those other
children could have them. She put
them down on the floor and let the
hired man carry her tablo down to
tbe wagon.
After the last load wbb gone, ber
gather drove the buggy arourd to the
front gate for Jose end ber mother. The
buggy was. not theirs any more, nor
Frank and Nig. -This was the last ride
behind farm horses. In town they
would have a phaeton and other horses.
Jose let her mother go through the
door first and turned to give a last look
at the empty rooms. She saw the open
stove pipe hole, the curtainless windows,
the ringer marked wall paper with the
fern leaves on it, the bare floor, the
old door stone with the hole worn .on it
where she bad cracked walnuts, tbe
door, closing behind her, and the
cracked white donr knob.
Then she turned away toward
education.
ANNIE PREY.
an
Shade of Jonah What are you cry
ing abont Willie?
Shade ot Shakspere They are eaying
I didn't write plays.
Shade of Jonah That's nothing.
They are claimimg that I did not go
that whaling trip.
Wilkins Why is it that every one
seems to sympathize with Greece?
Editor Gruffy Because she deserves
it Hasn't every poet on earth taken a
crack at her lately?
THE COURIER has arranged to offer free of charge to
every one subscribing" this month a 3'ear's subscription
to the most popular magazine published in this countrj-.
To everv one sending us two dollars to pay for one
year's subscription to THE COURIER we will give
a one year's subscription to
t nrjin The Courier's Great
? tltnlJ Offer to Subscribers.
c
f? Three dollars
for two dollars.
y Do not miss this chance. We cannot afford to con
a tinue the offer indefinitely. 'Our object in making it
01 now is to secure an immediate response which a less
CT liberal offer might fail to attract.
Lie
Furniture store in Webster block,
238 so. 11th Street.
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We can tell a story of price cutting that will be en
tirely new to the people of Lincoln. The following items
will be sold at bargain prices.
Folding bed $25 up.
Bedroom sets $8 up.
Parlor sets $18 up.
Extension tables.
Rockers.
Hall trees cheap.
Office desks ana chain..
Sideboards.
Dining room chairs.
Combination wash stands.
Mattresses. & springs.
Centre tables.
Gasoline stoves at low prices to close
out
el333XS)e)i!iig)S6K
Fine brass bedstead to dose out less
than cost.
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