His Checks [pp. 276-281]

His Checks.
Its usefulness is manifest. If the English
idea were adopted, by which the penalty is
paid "to any person who shall sue for the
same," it would supply an active association
with sufficient revenue, and at the same time
create an incentive to exertion. Among
-various bodies throughout the country there
might be correspondence and cooperation;
and properly conducted, setting out with pa triotic purposes, such an association ought
not to fail.
It must be recognized that electoral corruption is essentially destructive to free gov
ernment. The ballot is the medium which
materializes liberty: without it, free government is an impossibility, but without its being pure, free government is an imposture.
The simplest method is to make the voter
honest; the most practicable is to make the
law efficient and enforce it. The struggle
of the legislature is with the hereditary tendencies of human government; and as the
history of republics has unhappily been their
conquest by corruption, the legislature, to
fulfil its duty in this new land, must prevent
history from repeating itself.
James D. Phelan.
HIS CHECKS.
IT was a stormy afternoon, and the naturally dull business of Honcut had subsided
into an idlers' holiday. Jo Goodall poked
his head out of the half open door of Beeker's grocery. "Helloa! Grinnell," he called,
"what y' looking so sober about? Come in
here, and put your toes up to our fire, and
you won't look so much like a Greely sufferer."
"I'll come in, but I'm not cold. I've
come to tell you, boys, that old Teffen's sick
as a horse down there in his cabin, and it's
my opinion the old man's going to pass in
his checks pretty quick. Some of you boys
better ride down to Hustleton for the doctor, while Chisholm and I help him out if
we can."
"Hanged if I want any such ride this
day," said big, brawling Bill Mears.
"I'll go," cried Jack Rodgers, louder than
the half-dozen jeering disapprovals, which
fell upon Bill and roused him to shame-faced
anger.
"Well, go, if you're so mighty free-hearted; hope you'll have wind and rain enough
to enjoy yourself. Teffen's never done nothing for me, but advise me about what was
none of his business. I ain't got any stock
in any such goody-goody old woman of a
man."
"Shut your blamed mouth, Bill Mears!
Any man that don't know goodness when he
sees it, and ain't got any respect for it nuther,
ain't agoin' to dwell long in these parts.
Now, you can jest get out of here, Bill
Mears, or hold your tongue!" Old man
Collins lifted his bulky body out of his
chair with an agility indicating immediate
commotion in the store.
"Say, stop your noise, will you?" the
store-keeper called out authoritatively.
"Boys," said Grinnell, "old Teffen is dying, and we want to do the old man some
good, if we can. Who's going with me?"
There was a general stir among the loungers whom the rainy day had gathered about
the store-keeper's fire, and they finally voted
to go in a body. Along the street and the
field path they walked briskly through the
rain, hands in trowsers pockets, and shoulders hunched up as if to shelter their heads.
"I never seen the old feller touch a drop
o' liquor," said one.
"Well, I'll tell you what I did see him do:
I see him give Gus Williams's wife ten dollars, when Gus was killed in that row."
"Yes, and I'm dead certain it was him
that spirited that girl back to her folks that
had run away down here. She never went
back home, and went to behavin' straight,
on her own hook."
"An' I jes' tell y' when I broke my leg,
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