There was a time, one winter in the middle eighties that brought the question of sustenance for the next meal. The autumn previously, Mr. Akers, having time and idle horses, had put up several stacks of the coarse stemmed sand grass. The ranchmen told him that it had no feeding qualities, but he thought it would be better than nothing.,. Winter came, and he found his horses ate it, and were fat, while stock on the range grew poorer.
The Empty Flour Sack
One cheerless day the flour sack was empty, and so was the purse. The lion-hearted said : "Mother, I don't know where to get more flour." And here Mother Akers justified the faith of a pioneer's wife. She said, "William, it will come from somewhere."
She went out to call upon a new neighbor -- a Mrs. Steinmetz, and Mr. Akers sat mooding by the cabin door. A stranger rode up and saluted, asking if he knew of anyone who had
any hay for sale. Mr. Akers took him over a ridge to a stack, which he examined.
"How much for the stack?" he asked.
"One hundred dollars," bravely said, but with inward dread that the man would vanish.
Sells Some Hay
The man laid down $20 in gold, and gave him a check for the $80.
At noon Mother Akers returned to try to improvise a meal. Captain Akers met her at the door, and said :
"Mother, I have sold a stack of hay."
"How much did you get for it, father?" a little eagerly.