Another John McEwan Story

Here is another story of John as told by his Grandson Jack to his son Gordon. The narrative picks up from the train story told previously. "John's good-natured courage was not always so pleasingly evident when he had been drinking. When he came home late from the settlement, an anxious Agnes would often take him to task for worrying the family and leaving them with the chores to do. Her scathing remarks aroused in the culprit a need to "put her in her place" and the sight of the rather unsteady John attempting to lay hands on the nimble-footed Agnes irked the boys who were entering the portals of manhood.
"The next time he comes home drunk and tries to lay hands on you, Mother," they promised, "we'll take care of him!"
Well, the night arrived when a tardy John feeling the effect of strong drink, arrived home late and true to form Agnes met him with a blistering tirade of tongue-lashing. It wasn't long until the race was on and the fleeing Agnes sped through the door, by which, shrouded in darkness, stood her sons. You can imagine the surprise of the pursuing John when he was seized by six strong hands and carried bodily to the watering trough. Despite numerous threats and protests he was dumped unceremoniously into the drinking place for horses, held there for a moment, brought to the surface for a breath of air and again pushed to the bottom. After a series of dunkings, the boys brought him up for air, allowed him to cough up any of the tank's contents and when they were certain he was in condition to listen, they stated tersely, "Dad, if you ever come home and try to lay hands on Mother again, we'll take you to the tank and keep you on the the bottom!"
The treat was sufficient to change John's belligerent habits and as my father expressed it "from then on, Grandma chewed at him for the rest of his life and he never spoke back to her once."
Here is a picture of John and Agnes as a middle-aged couple and then one of Agnes as an old lady.