I reckon he suspected it of swipin' some of the sunshine, or maybe a little rain that belonged ter the tree t'other side of the road what did bear fruit an' was worth somethin'! Anyhow, he got his man an' his axe, an' was plum ready ter start in when he sees David an' David sees him.
"'T was when the boy first come.

He'd gone ter walk an' had struck this pear tree, all in bloom,--an' 'course, YOU know how the boy would act--a pear tree, bloomin', is a likely sight, I'll own.

He danced and laughed and clapped his hands,--he didn't have his fiddle with him,--an' carried on like all possessed.

Then he sees the man with the axe, an' Streeter an' Streeter sees him.
"They said it was rich then--Bill Warner heard it all from t'other side of the fence.

He said that David, when he found out what was goin' ter happen, went clean crazy, an' rampaged on at such a rate that old Streeter couldn't do nothin' but stand an' stare, until he finally managed ter growl out: 'But I tell ye, boy, the tree ain't no use no more!' "Bill says the boy flew all to pieces then.