Fred S. Lincoln

“ Frank replied, in a non-committal way, and Virgie turned her attention to the plate again, not knowing how to proceed. "If he does not want a pension," she asked herself, "what can a pension agent want of him?" The unsatisfactory answer to her first question only served to make her the more curious, and it was a curiosity in which she felt no reproach of conscience, for "had not Ben always made a confidant of her, and accepted her as a sort of adviser?" ”

“ Frank replied.
"Ben don't want a pension. I don't believe that he would take it if you gave it to him. What's the matter with him is, he is just a natural kicker. He is always full of trouble of one kind or another, and, if it was not that, it would be something else." ”

“ He has such an uncanny way of bringing the people to you, and after you have become absorbed you regain your own surroundings, with a feeling of their absence, they leave you then and something seems lacking; so much do you miss their going away that you feel disappointed."
"Then he disappoints you," said Frank, mistaking her impression. ”

“ He was familiar with the total ignorance of the people at large, and individuals in particular, as to the workings of his department, and he had been drawn into an explanation of it so often that he had reduced it to as few words as possible with which to enlighten the inquisitive and interested ones, and though the form was an old one, and he had grown weary of it with the frequent repetitions, he felt called upon to again explain the mystery of the work. ”

“ Snellins," he continued, "will have scarcely as much weight in his testimony as you seem to think, for, by a count of the depositions that have already been taken, there are now forty-three, and each is equally as important as his will be. You see," he said, entering into a full explanation, "when the first application for a pension is made a list of perhaps five or six names is given as references, and to each of these persons it becomes necessary to apply, no matter where they are, for any information that they may be able to give. ”

“ It is difficult to describe the satisfaction that arises in the mind of a good man when he finds himself in control of a situation that had, from its beginning, seemed hopelessly lost. It is the bringing about of the result that is partially desired, yet not directly aimed at because of its seeming hopelessness. Such a conclusion is gratifying in the extreme to the man who has never obtained results except by a concentration of his best efforts toward the end in view. ”

“ Men who have lived nearby, working their lands into rich harvests, which, when garnered, leave them naught to do but to speculate on the crop to come. Lands that yield only substantial things, material things, and, in the absence of that romance in their lives to which all men and women turn in idleness, these nearby farmers and townspeople have turned to "Broom." ”

“ Brandt's house was situated far up in the hills of Broom County, where few men enter from the outer world, and from which the inhabitants—a strange, mixed people—seldom come to lend picturesqueness to more civilized surroundings. ”

“ But, if you were to ask one of these great tale-relators what he had seen among the hills, you would doubtless find that he had never ventured beyond the very border of its wildness, and in the end it might dawn upon you, that is, if you cared to follow out the subject, that the tales were but traditional and the purest fiction.
It is true that into these wilds have straggled, now and then, a fugitive in an effort to seek seclusion from a rigorous law. They have never remained long ”

“ Frank answered in quick sympathy.
"There now—that is done, and I guess Virgie must have something for us to eat by this time, so we had better go in. Women are terrible when you keep them waiting," he said, in mock fear, as he gathered up the saw and hammer and a few nails that were scattered about. ”

“ Naturally, the first depositions given are friendly to the applicant, so that their statements are as good as valueless, but among them there invariably occurs a reference to a somebody else who can shed a little light on the matter, and then it becomes the duty of the examiner who has taken that information to refer to the someone mentioned when he sends the summary of his interview to the department. ”

“ People could indulge flights of either sort of emotion from a central point of stoicism, he would have told you had you asked him, but it would depend altogether upon themselves to what degree they carried them. ”

“ Exchanging their stories, burnishing them up with bits of imaginary untruths when the occasion warranted until, on the whole, they are wonderful tales of a savage, ignorant people—the descendants of criminals advanced by wild living. ”

“ Please do not be cross to Ben if he comes back. He is awfully trying at times I know, but he is such a faithful old simpleton, and I am confident he does not mean to do wrong. He tries so hard to do what you want him to. ”