The Sunday Crop

THE SUNDAY CROP By Douglas Brian Adam Crane worked on Sunday. He had always worked on Sunday, and said he always would. The farm demanded it. "Adam," said his friend, Reuben, one bright Sabbath morning, "You'll never get any good out of the work you do on Sunday." "Ah, Reuben," Adam replied, "your motive may be all right but your judgment is at fault. There's no use trying to tell m: that if I get this ditch cleaned today, it isn't going to do any good. It'll be just as clean as it would be if I waited until tomorrow, and I'll have all day tomorrow to work in the field." Long after Reuben had gone on to church, Adam turned the thing over and over in his mind, always careful, however, to get back to his o.iginal idea. Adam was better educated and more r.fined than those about him. His manner of speech gave the impression that each word had been weighed carefully before it was uttered. He did few things in a social way, and it was not his custom to enter into controversies over church or state. When his friends deliberately chided him about working on th: Sabbath, however, he intended to defend himself, and had even thought of converting the others to his way of thinking upon this one subject. A plan had formed in his mind, and when he went in at noon he told his wife about it. "Those fellows are always pest.ring me about working on Sun- day," he said, "and if any one of them ever had a reasonable thought h:'d see that when work is done it's done, whether on Sunday or any other time, I suppose the only way to show them is to give them an example they can see, like kids counting pegs to prove that two and two make four. Wait 'till they see my Sunday crop!" As it was near time for planting, Adam decided to start work on his idea at once. Fortunately for him, the most fertile piece of ground on his entire farm was a two-acre piece right next to the road. Upon that piece he decided to work each Sunday. No work would be done on it at any other time. He would show them all what could be done on Sunday. As Reuben sat on the front porch reading his Bible that after- noon, he noticed that Adam Crane was doing some extra work on the two-acre piece, next to the road. He was taking special pains in repairing the fence, and he was removing all the high weeds and willows, so that the piece would show up to fine advantage. The following Sunday Adam prepared the land for planting. As a final touch to the day's work he nailed to the fence a sign, which read, "Watch my Sunday Crop!" Week after week the work progressed. Adam was a good farmer, and took special care of this piece of land which he had planted to

694 IMPROVEMENT ERA grain. He was careful never to go near it except on Sundays, and then he took equal pains to let everyone see that he was working on it. The grain grew and matured perfectly. No patch in the valley was more beautiful or of better quality, and Adam's "Sunday Crop" became a matter of much comment in the neighborhood. As harvest time grew near Adam seemed to be gaining his point. Some of the young m.n, when cautioned about breaking the Sabbath, pointed to it as a sort of justification. When the grain was cut and stacked with special care it brought forth words of praise from all who saw it. Now Adam fully appreciated the dramatic phase of the situation and was not minded to lose the advantage it gave him. He therefore laid careful plans to have the entire neighborhood see the threshing of the Sunday crop. Of course, it had to be done on Sunday, and he feared, at first, that he would be unable to persuade them to be present. They would never consent to leave church to come. He finally decided upon something very unique. Only Adam could have carried it out. First he arranged to have his other threshing done late Saturday. He timed it so that they could not possibly finish until dark. Then he invited a carefully selected crowd of men, both young and old, to dine with him on that Saturday night. He made so special a thing of it that none thought of refusing to come. When the time arrived all were present. The party progressed nicely until a late hour, with everyone having a good time. The dinner was wonderful and Adam was in especially high spirits. As it drew near midnight someone suggested that it was time to go home. The time had come for Adam to play his winning card. He counted his guests to make sure that they were all in the room. Someone acting as spokesman for the crowd thanked Adam for his hospitality and good will. What could have been more fortunate? Adam arose and cleared his throat. "Gentlemen," he said, "I have been completely thrilled by your presence here tonight. Never have I enjoyed the f:llowship of my neighbors more. Our ideas sometimes differ but our appetites prove that we still have much in common." A hearty laugh followed this, and Adam began again and went straight to the point. "I have a request to make of you," he said. "It is near midnight. In five minutes it will be Sunday morning. I had the engineer fire the engine heavily before coming inside so that everything would be in readiness. Since you are already here and it will take only a very short time, I request that you witness the threshing of my Sunday crop." There was a moment of silence each man endeavoring to sound his neighbor's thoughts. Adam was not sure what their attitude would be. He again decided to do something dramatic, something that would make them remember. "Fellows," he said quickly, "I do not wish you to feel obligated

THE SUNDAY CROP 695 to remain or embarrassed to leave. I shall therefore extinguish the lights and any who desire to go now may do so unobserved." He stepped to the wall and pressed the switch, but the house was not thrown into darkn.ss as had been expected. A light coming from outside made it possible to see perfectly within the room. Things outside stood out as if a part of a great tableau. Even the sky seemed alight. Suddenly someone shouted, "Fire," and everyone rushed for the outside. There was the engine whining and throbbing under its load of steam and throwing great sprays of sparks into the sky. The stack remaining to be threshed in the presence of this carefully prepared audience was a huge mass of flames. Adam could see at a glance that to try to fight the fire would be hopeless. Some were running about in an attempt to combat the flames but the saner ones stood calmly by and waited for the fire to burn out. The loss of the crop meant nothing to Adam. The thing uppermost in his mind wa9 the chagrin he would feel at meeting his neighbors upon the morrow. He determined that at least one thing must be done immediately. He went quickly to the fence next to the road. Th:re on a post rested the sign that he had nailed there in a moment of arrogance. That, at least, should not be seen again by those who were present. He tore it from its place and went toward the fire. He succeeded in hiding its face in the shadows until he was near enough to throw it. His movement toward the fire, however, had drawn the attention of everyone. He hurled the board at the flaming stack. Call it luck, or fate, or providence, or what you will; at any rate the board stuck high on the side of the stack, face outward, plain to the view of all. Adam Crane's theory had been tried to his full satisfaction. His old theory died and the thing his neighbors had tried to teach him for many years b gan to take root as they stood together and read the inscription, "Watch my Sunday Crop." Ogdcn. Utah Sabbath Evening Prayer Oh, thou who hast all gifts to give, Oh. richly now thy grace impart, — Be merciful to me, All things I need of thee. — For by thy word alone I live. I ask the understanding heart: Now and eternally. The eyes, the will, to see; Thy spirit, striving with me still, The quiet mind, the spirit meek. Makes me aware of sin. Wherein I shall, at length. And summons up my earnest will Achieve the victory I seek. — Thy purity to win. Strong in thy perfect strength. Benmore. Utah JEAN BENNION