t of the West they would settle. California had been their
goal, but Kentucky seemed far enough. They had stopped for a while in
Ryeville with an old neighbor from New England and, hearing of a farm
owned by one Dick Buck that was to be sold for taxes, they determined
to abandon the journey to California and put what savings they had on
this farm.

The mortgage went with the farm. That Ezra Knight bargained for, but
what he had not bargained for was that old Dick Buck and his son,
young Dick, also were included in the purchase. They lived in a
two-room log house, a little behind the site Ezra had selected for his
own domicile. This was the natural place to build, since the land
sloped gently from it, giving a proper drainage, and then the well was
already there and a wonderfully good well it was.

The new house was built, the plan following the old house they had
left in Connecticut as closely as possible, but still old Dick Buck
stayed on in his log cabin. Every day he told Ezra Knight he was
planning to move, but always some unforeseen event would arise to make
it necessary for him to postpone his departure. The houses were not
fifty feet apart, the back yard of the New England cottage serving as
a front yard to the cabin. The days stretched into weeks, the weeks
into months. Ezra grew impatient and the old Dick took to his bed with
a mysterious malady that defied the skill of the country doctor. Mrs.
Knight, a kindly soul, ministered to his wants, saying she couldn't
let a dog suffer if he was a neighbor. The months stretched into
years. Every time Ezra approached the one time owner of the farm on
the subject of his finding some other place of abode, old Dick had an
attack of his mysterious malady and Ezra would have to give up for the
time being.

In the meantime young Dick was growing into a likely lad and little
Prudence Knight had let down her skirts and put up her hair. Dick was
employed on the Knight farm, and what was more natural than he should
take his meals with them? Old Dick found it equally natural that he
should also make one at the frugal board. When Ezra died, which he did
ten years after he moved to Kentucky, old Dick and young Dick kindly
offered to sit up with the corpse. The bereaved wife made the bed in
the low-ceilinged attic room for them and what more natural than they
should stay on? Stay on they did until young Dick and Prudence were
married; until young Dick died. Then old Dick stayed on