--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Hammond, Wendell collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 25 number: 1 published: 1921-11 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Wendell Hammond, "A Suspicion Allayed," *Improvement Era* 25, no. 1 (November 1921): 43–48.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2501unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera2501unse start_page: 43 end_page: 48 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1921-11) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2501unse publication_year: 1921 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1921, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # A Suspicion Allayed A Suspicion Allayed A Thanksgiving Story Showing the Deception of Circumstantial Evidence. By Wendell Hammond Ezra Pond dipped his hand again into the bucket, and bringing forth another handful of grain, tossed it to the young turkey cock which was feeding close to his feet. "A fine young bird, that, Cyrus," he remarked to his old friend, Cyrus Bassett, who had come from the far end of River- view to spend the Fourth of July with him. "A fine bid he is. Come here, Dan'el," he coaxed, stooping down to let the shim- mering bronze colored turkey pick the wheat from his open hand. "I call him Dan'el Webster, because you know that Dan'el Webster was a giant among men, as the books say it; and this young fellow is purty near the biggest turkey, for his age, 1 ever see," he explained to his companion, who was now critically ap- praising the fowl. "Yes, he is tol'able big, tol'able," admitted Cyrus, stroking his grizzled beard. "But I've got one over to my place that could just about step over yours, and he was only hatched out last May-day." "Maybe he just seems bigger, 'cause he ain't up agin Dan- 'el," replied Ezra in mitigation of the divergent opinions. "No, sir, he is bigger — a lot bigger," boasted Mr. Bassett, "and what's more, by Thanksgiving he's going to be the biggest young turkey in the state, bar none — not even Dan'el Webster, there." "I'll tell you what I'll do, Cyrus. I'll run a race with you to see who has the biggest turkey by the day before Thanks- giving, and the one who loses has to give his turkey — or the equal value in money to the winner," stipulated the confident Mr. Pond. "I hate to take such a mean advantage of you, Ezra, but if you want to put your head in such a sack, don't blame me. Sure I'll do it." "You hear that, do you Dan'el?" he addressed his huge in- telligent eyed pet which was now emitting quick little 'kouck, kouck's in the hopes of more grain. "So, if you want two pieces of bread instead of just one, ask for it, won't you Dan'el?" 44 IMPROVEMENT ERA That evening after the visitor had departed for home, and Ezra had watched Daniel Webster with his smaller brothers and sisters fly up to the ridge of the buggy shed and settle down for the night, he confidently viewed the greater bulk of his chosen bird, and mused: "I hope it don't make him peeved when we win, for Cyrus is a bit 'techy* sometimes." As the summer drew on and each week saw Mr. Pond's turkey increase it's lead in size over its brood mates, Ezra's assurance grew accordingly — so much so that he often won- dered what he had best do with his friend's turkey when it should be his. But if Ezra was reasonably certain that the prize would come to him, Mr. Bassett, with a more confident turn of mind, never let the slightest suspicion enter his head that his bird might prove to be the smaller one. "Whyn't he call it Stephen A. Douglas, instead of Dan'el Webster. If he is a giant he's a little one all right enough, just like Douglas was. If his turkey was stood up along side of mine it 'ud look just like that picture of Douglas standing up by Abe Lincoln." When October's early frosts had made the grasshopper and other insects of field and orchard a thing of the past, which had been Daniel's main fare in his wide wanderings over the countryside, his owner greatly increased his grain rations. This soon gave plumpness to his huge frame, so that by mid-October even a stranger would estimate his weight to be quite close to twenty pounds, which for a young turkey everyone admitted to be remarkable. One late October day Ezra was placing the huge golden pumpkins in piles among the rows of shocked corn in his lower field when his little granddaughter, Marcia, breathless- ly ran up to him stammering out: "Your — your — your — Dan- iel's in the well!" "Dan'el, who's in what well?" "Dan'el Turkey the — I mean Daniel Webster, the tur- (key's in the well, the old well what we don't use any more, in the orchard!" "Come on quick, Marcia," rasped Mr. Pond. "How did it happen?" "Well, you see he was sitting on the side of the well, and I guess he wanted to fly across it, so he gave a big flap, and he didn't make it, and he flopped right down the well, splosh!" When the two arrived at the place of the tragedy, Ezra peered down into the thirty feet of obscurity, but could neither see nor hear his rashly adventurous bird. A SUSPICION ALLAYED 45 "Is he drowned, Mr. Pond?" asked little Thomas Orr, a neighbor boy, who had been attracted by the excitement. "I suppose there ain't much water — now I can see him, with the light just right. He's got his head and wings above water, so it can't be very deep." "Tommy, how would you like to earn a quarter?" ques- tioned Ezra, with a plan of rescue already formulated. Thomas Orr's eyes gave the reply better than words could have done, so Mr. Pond continued: "This old well has been almost dry for years, that's why we dug the other one: and I'm sure the water isn't over a foot and a half deep, so I'll get the rope and buckets from the new well, and rig them up here. Then I'll lower you down so's you can tie another little rope around Dan'el; and then I'll h'ist you up, and then the turkey. Do you think you can do it, Thomas?" "Sure, I can do lots harder things than that," asserted the boy. The ropes and buckets were quickly assembled and in- stalled in the old well. With one foot in a bucket, and hands tightly grasping the big rope, the boy was lowered down to the turkey, which was struggling about and splashing the water in vain attempts to fly out of the deep hole. "Say, le' me up! I'm right on top of him, and he's drowndin' me," came echoing up from the cavernous depths. "Did I let you down too far? How's that now? He won't pick you; go right after him, Thomas." No answer came up for some time, so Ezra judged that the boy was having difficulty in securely tying around the turkey the small clothes line rope which had been pressed into service. "Tie it around his breast and under each wing," Ezra boomed down to the rescuer. UA}\ right, I got 'im good now; pull away," came up the well, in tones full of relief. Mr. Pond pulled away as was directed, and in a moment the dripping wet but smiling boy emerged from the well, grasping in one hand the small rope which was to be used in pulling up the almost submerged bird. Cautiously the old man elevated the mud-bedraggled fowl which, when placed upon dry land again, was a sorry sight to behold. It wheezed, and sputtered, and coughed, and shook it's sodden plumage; and could scarcely drag its mis- erable body away from the scene of its near destruction. "You aren't going to forget the quarter, are you, Mr. Pond?" queried the rescuer, when he saw Ezra start after the doleful bird to render it any help he could. 46 IMPROVEMENT ERA "I suppose I was, Tom; but here it is." He flipped the well earned coin to the boy, and shooed the dripping bird into a coop to give it a chance to recover. When Mr. Bassett was told some ten days later about the turkey falling into the well, and that it hadn't eaten anything for several days after, and wasn't yet as spry as it should be, he drew his brows together and drawled: "I suppose Ezra will be right glad of some excuse like that, so he can tell what would have happened if Dan'el hadn't fallen down the old hole." It was true that even the optimistic and hopeful Mr. Pond freely admitted Daniel had not been the same bird after the accident as before. "But," he argued, consoling himself at least, "there's almost a whole month yet, and Dan'el's got powerful recuperatin' faculties, so I'm still glad I put him in the race; besides," he hinted, "I believe Bas- sett's turkey is terrible shy on bone and frame — though I suppose he is purty fat." Four days before Thanksgiving it was patently evident that the enormous Daniel not only had recovered from his unwelcome fall, but was now spry as any cricket, and put- ting on flesh heavily and rapidly. His few days of semi- fast had been a blessing in disguise for him, by giving his gastronomic organs a well needed rest. That he was now in wonderfully fine condition was proved from his bright irri- descent colorings. The gorgeous coppery bronze sheen of his thick feathers was admired by all who viewed him. On the morning, just three days before Thanksgiving, Mr. Bassett went out to the barnyard to do his morning chores, and among other things to scatter some grain to his turkeys. He had been very careful in feeding his birds, es- pecially the monstrous one with which he was so sure of winning. He had given them just as much as he believed they could eat without becoming sick, for he knew wherein a turkey is different from a chicken: a chicken may cram and gorge its craw tight full of corn or other grain, without the slightest ill effect, but for a turkey, in its still half-wild state, to over-eat in this way means weeks of sickness, usu- ally ending in death. So when Mr. Bassett found the granary door open and a half dozen turkeys within, his heart stopped a few beats. Upon entering, his worst fears were found to be indisputably correct: the birds had been gorging for a long time upon the shelled corn, and were now totally satisfied, with craws extended, showing the enormous amount that each had gobbled up. A SUSPICION ALLAYED 47 Mr. Bassett quickly caught his ponderous bird, and scaring the others outside, took the fat fellow to a coop so that he could eat no more that day. By the time evening came, it was clearly evident that the turkey would not have eaten the most tempting morsel its owner might have offered it — it was listlessly, mopingly sick. The next day it was the same only visibly worse, yet it managed to pick up a few grains of wheat which was thrown to it by the disgusted Cyrus. "The bottom's dropped out now, for sure!" he tersely summed up the whole situa- tion. "But," he pondered, "how in the tarnation could that granary door have got opened? I remember just as well as anything of putting that wooden peg in the door hasp, and it couldn't get out itself. But it was out, and on the ground this morning." "I wonder — " he reflected, "I don't think Ezra — no, of course, he wouldn't; but he does want to win mighty bad, and he knows what too much corn '11 do to a turkey." Several times that day he caught himself wondering who could have opened the door. As his wife was the only other person at home, and he knew she had not been into any of the outbuildings for months, he was forced to conclude that it had been deliberately done by someone. "There wasn't anything taken, and who would just want to open the door — but I ought to know he wouldn't do it, still — " He would soon have disciplined his accusing thoughts about his friend had not Chester Glover met him that after- noon at the postoffice, and among stray bits of conversation said: "I suppose Ezrie Pond dropped in to see you last night when he was by here. I was out a little after dark and seie him drive by." "No, he didn't; I didn't know he was over this way,*' was the rejoinder of a man who had arrived at an unshakable, displeasing conclusion. On the day before Thanksgiving Ezra drove over to Mr. Bassett's with Daniel Webster, accompanied by Leslie Reece, who was to see that both birds were fairly weighed. They were met at the front gate by Cyrus, who, after indifferently greeting them remarked: "My turkey's a leetle sick, but we'll weigh him just the same.' "Sick? He surely is," assented the mutual friend when they had been taken to the fowl's temporary hospital. "Look at that puffy, dark head. He's got blackhead; that's what he's got. And you know what that means. Why, you can't eat that bird if he should win, Mr. Bassett!" 48 IMPROVEMENT ERA "Yes, maybe you're right; but if he weighs the most I win anyway, even though he is sick and has lost two or three pounds in the last few days." "There, I said so," breathed the too confident Cyrus; "Ezra, you can't come up to that with your Stephen A. Doug- las, even if someone did almost do for my turkey," he add- ed with hidden meaning, as his bird was weighed. Daniel's huge bulk was soon made ready for the test, and as he rapidly lowered the needle down the numbering scale Ezra shouted: "Whoop! She's past it! She's past it! Dan'el's won, sure enough!" The scale registered just twenty-seven pounds. "That's right, all right, boys," was the referee's official utterance. "Well, Ezra, I suppose I know you'll choose to take the money instead of this wreck," glumly choked out Mr. Bas- sett, holding up his moribund fowl. "Yes, I'll have to do that; besides, I know exactly who I've got to give it to. Little Thomas Orr said he just ruined his pants down the old, muddy well; and he'll have to have another pair. He said he wouldn't go down another well if General Pershing himself was stuck down there, for any quarter, so that's where the money goes to." "Anyway, Cyrus, you come over with your wife to our place tomorrow and see how much better mother can cook a turkey than I can raise one. We'll be pleased to have you." "Thanks, Ezra, but I think we'll stay right — " "Look at that colt," interrupted the referee, pointing to one of Mr. Bassett's two-year-old fillies that were permitted the run of the yard. "She's trying to open your granary door — there, she's got the peg out!" Cyrus B assert turned and saw the animal just as it nuz- zled the door open with its sensitive lips, and then stood half undecided to enter or not. "Ezra, then it wasn't — sure, Ezra, we'll be right glad to come over to your place tomorrow for the whole day, only don't you dast to kill Dan'el Webster for Thanksgiving, for he's the whoppinest turkey I ever did see. He sure is!" Wood's Cross, Utah They iVppreciate the "Era' "1 take great delight in the Improvement Era, each month. It is a great source of information to any who will read, and especially to me, a missionary." — M. Grant Prisbrey, Halifax, England. "We are receiving the Improvement Era regularly, and wish to voice our appreciation for this splendid magazine. — R. Glen Call, E. Odell Peterson, Missionaries, Tucson, Arizona