He could not
speculate on the wealth of his neighbor, but there was never the need of
a real need. Old Coonrod Pile's theory of the distinctive difference in
the location of trouser patches is still regarded as a sound basis for
business transactions. Those who have tried to live there upon as little
work as they could do have sooner or later followed the path of the
setting sun, and from the valley that indents the western slope of the
great mountain range, that path leads downward.
A visitor from the city once asked Mrs. York if she did her own work:
"Sure enough," the little lady said, "and part of other people's. We had
to. To raise so many children and keep them right is a great big job."
A number of years went by in the period of Alvin's boyhood when no
school was held that he could attend. The school term was only for three
months, beginning early in July. It was found impractical to hold
sessions in the winter, for many of the children lived long distances
away and the branches from the mountain springs that crossed the
roadways and fed the River Wolf, would go on rampages that could hold
the pupils water-bound over night. The schools in the mountains received
no aid from the state and in the remote districts it was difficult to
secure teachers except in the pleasant summer months.
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