The shadrach; and other stories
Frank Richard Stockton
Paperback
(General Books LLC, Feb. 8, 2012)
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1893 Excerpt: ... GRANDISON'S QUANDARY. RANDISON PRATT was a coloured man of about thirty, who, with his wife and two or three children, lived in a neat log cabin in one of the Southern States of America. He was a man of a very independent turn of mind, and he much desired to own the house in which he lived and the small garden patch around it. This valuable piece of property belonged to Mr. Morris, and as it was an outlying corner of his large farm he had no objection to sell it to Grandison, provided the latter could pay for it; but of this he had great doubts. The man was industrious enough, but he often seemed to have a great deal of difficulty about paying the very small rental charged for his place, and Mr. Morris, consequently, had well-grounded doubts about his ability to purchase it. "But, sah," said Grandison one day, when these objections had been placed before him, " I's been turning dis thing ober in my min' ober and ober. I know jes' how much I kin make an' how much I's got to spend an' how I kin save ter buy the house, and if I agree to pay you so much money on such a day an' so much on such anudder day I'se gwine ter do it. You kin jes' put that down, sah, for sartin shuh." "Well, Grandison," said Mr. Morris, "I'll give you a trial. If at the end of six months you can pay me the first instalment, I'll have the necessary papers made out, and you can go on and buy the place; but if you are not up to time on the first payment, I want to hear no more about the purchase." "All right, Mahs'r Morris," said Grandison. "If I gibs you my word ter pay de money on de fus' day ob October, 1's gwine to do it. Dat's sartin shuh." Months passed on, and, although Grandison worked as steadily as usual, he found towards the end of September that, in the ordinary course of thing...