"
There was no truth in the assertion of the gamin. No one had taken the
trouble to follow Pop in his semiweekly excursions to the barren field.
But the old man knew that the field was not his. A ludicrous expression of
overwhelming fright came over his face.
Three days afterward, the farmer who owned the worthless field was
astonished when Pop offered to buy it.
"But what on earth do you want that land fer?" asked the farmer, sitting on
his barnyard fence.
Pop made a guilty attempt to appear guileless, and told the farmer that he
wished to build a shanty and raise potatoes. He was tired of living in town
and sought the quietude of the hills.
"Bein' as dat ere fiel' ain't good foh much, I thought you might be willin'
to paht with it," explained Pop.
The farmer eventually agreed to build a shanty on the field and sell it to
Pop for $180. Pop desired immediate occupancy. There was a legal hitch,
owing to the badness of the land and the questionable condition of Pop's
mind. But the transfer of the property was finally recorded.
Pop no longer had to fear arrest for trespass. His gold field was now
legally his.
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