ill had a dim feeling of dissatisfaction
with him.

"He's too gol-dang polite, that feller is; I don't like such
butter-mouth chaps--they'd steal the cents off'n a dead nigger's eyes."

III

The second Sunday after the partition of goods the entire Coolly turned
out to church in spite of the muddy road. The men, after driving up to
the door of the little white church and helping the women to alight,
drove out to the sheds along the fence and gathered in knots beside
their wagons in the warm spring sun. It was very pleasant there, and the
men leaned with relaxed muscles upon the wagon-wheels, or sat on the
fence with jack-knives in hand. The horses, weary with six days seeding,
slept with closed eyes and drooping lips. Generally the talk was upon
spring work, each man bragging of the number of acres he had sown during
the week, but this morning the talk was all about the division which had
come between the nieces of "deceased Williams." They discussed it slowly
as one might eat a choice pudding in order to extract the flavor from
each spoonful.

"What is it all about, anyhow?" asked Jim Cranby. "I ain't heard nothing
about it." He had stood in open-mouthed perplexity trying to catch a
clew. Coming late, he found it baffling.

"That shows where he lives; a man might as well live in a well as up in
Molasses Gap," said one of the younger men, pointing up to the Coolly.
"Why, Ike Harkey is kicking about the six shotes the Deacon put off on
him."

"No, it wasn't the shotes, it was a farrer cow," put in Clint Stone.

"Well, _I_ heard it was a shote."

"So did I," said another.

"Well, Bill Gray told Jinks Ike had stole a cow-bell that belonged to
the black farrer cow," said another late comer.

"Stole a cow-bell," and they all drew closer together. This was really
worth while!

"Yes, sir; Jinks told me he heard Bill say so yesterday. That's the way
I heard it."

"Well, I'll be cussed, if that ain't small business for Ike Harkey!"

"How did it happen?" asked Cranby, with sharpened appetite.

"Well, I didn't hear no p'rtic'lars, but it seems the bell was hangin'
on a peg in the barn, and when they got home from church it was gone,
hide an' hair. Bill is dead sure Ike took it."

"Say, there'll be fun over that yet, won't they," said one of the
fellows, with a grin.

"Well, Ike better keep out of Bill's way, that's all."

"Well--I ain't takin' sides. Some young'un may have took it."

"Well, let's go in,