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TH E K I N G ’ S
B U S I N E S S
March: 1925
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F I N E GO LD
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O R T H E P E A R L O F G R E A T P R I C E JOSEPHINE HOPE WESTERVELT t
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underground lake of sulphur water. Wherever a well was dug or bored, a fountain of w ater burst fo rth and ran in a continual stream year afte r year. There were fountains all over the little village, and in the wooded tracts about them were cool delicious springs. The w ater had a peculiar taste a t first, bu t one soon became accustomed to it and enjoyed it. Often a yellowish coating was seen on the surface, show ing the sulphur solution. No m atter how cold th e w inter, th e w aters never froze. A beautiful stream of w ater flowed through one edge of th e village, affording facilities for fishing and boating. In the spring when the freshets came, it tu rn ed into a rushing river. The bottom of the stream was covered w ith fine gravel, which was th e source of the supply of gravel used in grading and improving the roads. Of course th ere was the “ old swimm in’ hole” where all th e boys of the village
(Continued from last month)
THE STORY TO DATE The story starts off w ith the friendship of Billie Bob and Bluebird, his little nextdoor neighbor. Mr. Morehouse, Billie Bob’3 father, felt called to the m ission field, but his wife ,would n ot go. He became pastor of a fashionable Brooklyn church. Because of his w ife’s extrav agant tastes, he lived far beyond his means, became discouraged, went out in ä boat and w as never seen again. The report was that he had embezzled the church funds.
CHAPTER 3 RTT,T,TE BOB AND THE RIVER
were a surprisingly large number of bills i settled, and it seemed to Mrs. Morehouse her creditors were unnecessarily severe in nding immediate payment. Jack Harmon and W ill’s fath e r offered h er no heip beyond th e advice to
learned to swim. Six or eight feet deep in the;summ er; th is pond was a source of never ending joy to the youngsters, as well as of anxiety to th e ir mothers. Some miles below Sulphur Springs, the stream united w ith another coming from fu rth e r north, so th a t the little village lay between th e two forks, as the stream s were called,— Murray’s F ork and Gray’s Fork. Five miles above the village, Murray’s F o rk was lost in a swamp, dense, dark, and muddy, but th a t swamp was the source of th e vol ume of w ater th a t poured into the stream th a t ran past the village. The stream was a t least th ree hun dred feet lower in altitud e th an the
sEll all th a t she had and settle them up. If when she had sold all th a t she could spll, she found she could no t pay them all, then she m ight come to them , and tliey would see about loaning her money to pay the rest. Mrs. Morehouse resented b itterly th e ir attitud e. “ Ju st aS if I were to blame for W ill’s death, and all these debts,” was h er thought bYer and oyer again. “Well, I Shall not borrow a single cent.” ‘The house, which was her own per sonal property, was so heavily m ort gaged th a t the only th ing she could do was to let it go. Even her handsome fu rn itu re and draperies, her jewelry and h er personal clothing, when dis
The one who lives for self and forgets God will have little to com fort and sustain in the time of trouble, but he who puts his trust in the L o r d will find himself sustained and strengthened and com forted a m i d life’s trials and perplexities.
g reater p art of the town, although there were buildings rig h t on the banks. The boat house was of most in terest to th e children.. A mile above the village was a dam which fu r nished power for th e saw-mill. The Establishment of the saw-mill was a source of grief to th e village, for in cutting th e tail-race, the workers cut th rough to th e underground lake, which was found to be several feet below th e bed of the stream . At once all the fountains in th e village ceased to run. A fter a time th e place was discovered and filled in and again th e fountains flowed forth, to th e joy of the villagers. On either side of the two stream s were wooded tracts of land, furnishing much valuable tim ber and wood for fires. They did not appreciate the value of the tim ber in those days, for in clearing th eir farm s many a valuable tree was cut and burned to get it out of th e way. Old Jacob Rabe cut a huge w alnut tree down, and had to saw it into th ree or four huge pieces before he could get enough trash around it to bu rn up the w alnut logs so he could use the land. Sycamore, beech, red oak, w alnut, and hickory trees (Continued on page 139)
posed of,' did not bring sufficient funds to pay h er debts. Jack Harmon w atchfully waiting paid up th e rem ainder; he felt th a t it was better for h er to pay every debt she could fiist th an to depend on anyone else unless necessary. It took several weeks to accomplish it all, bu t accom plish it she did,, then, sending for Billie Bob, she left Brook lyn w ith him and went to h er fath e r’s home in Indiana. I H er m other had been dead for more th a n a year, and her fath er was staying on a t the old home and working as usual, lie was glad enough to have- his daughter and grandson w ith Him, for the year had been very lonely. They lived a t the edge of th e village in a little old house, now sadly run down in appearance, for Mr. Robinson took little in te rest in the place a fte r his wife’s death. Even before th a t the place badly needed repairs, but owing to his w ife’s long illness, th ere had been too much need of money to spare any for fixing th e house. The village had been founded by Quakers long before the Civil W ar, and they gave it the name of “ Sulphur Springs,” for they discovered th a t underneath the village lay an
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