Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-08-27

| guess that piano Teller will find that ]
can stick it out as long as he can" says
| he.
Yes" says the other Teller, "and !
guess that t'other feller will find that he
can't tucker me out il he should stay
| here all night"
Thinks i. mebby can slip out the back
door and fill the tea-kettle, but III be
hanged If one didn't set there on the back
stoop, looking down the road that led to
Jonesyiile, as close as a cat would watch
a rath0le.
went back to my room again, worn
out and depressed, and i wished that
Josiah would come ] peeked out the
winder toward the barn, to see If could
see him, and happening TO cast my eyes
down toward the ground | see one of his
boots stick out little ways from under
the barn, then / see that he had got as
fur as the barn before he see EN-, and then
he had hid ! knew there would be no
getting him into the house till the enemy
had dispersed, but yet it was q satisfac-
ton to know that my companion was SO
near me.
Wall, they never went away so Josiah
could come out of his hiding place and !
could get supper till shutdown, and / had
to get supper and JOSIAH had 10 milk
after dark. And says Josiah, as we was
eating supper after bedtime:
Samantha, as for standing it so much
longer, can't ana won't. It's runnin'
you down, and I'm spilin' my clothes a
crawln' under the barn so much, to say
nothin' of film my mouth and hair with
dirt, straw and feathers" He helped
himself again to the cherry pie, and says
with gloomy expression onto his face {:
+" There has got TO be change"
How is there goin' 10 be changer"
saysI;
"pll tell you,n says he in whisper,
for fear some one on 'em was prowlin'
round the house yet. ave will get up
before light tomorrow mornin' and 20
to Jonesville and buy an organ right out ("
fell in with the idee and we started
for Jonesville the next mornin'. We
got there jest after the break Of day,
and bought it Of the man at the break
fast table Says Josiah to me after
ward, as we were going down into the
village:
Lets keep dark about buyin' one, and
see how many of the creeters will be a
besettin' on US today"
Says !, "You must love to be haunted
by 'em better than | do"
Says he, "I'd love to fool 'em."
Says I, at is jest about such foolin'
as the little boy that let his father whip
him through mistake, Jest to fool his
father" But seem that my companion
looked disappointed, ] told him it wasn't
my way to tell everything / knew.
shouldn't say nothin' about havin' bought
one.
SO we kept still, and there was half a
dozen fellers follcrin' us round all the
time almost, into stores and groceries
and the manty-maker's. And they would
stop on the sidewalk and argue with us
about their organs and pianos. One fel
Ter, tall, slim chap, he never let Josiah
out of his sight minute, and he followed
him after he went after his horse, and
walked by the side of the wagon clear
down to the store where was, a arguin
all the way about his piano. Josiah had
bought number OF things, and left 'em
to the store, and when we got there, there
stood another one, the organ man, by the
side of the things, just like watchdog
He knew Josiah would have to come to
get 'em, and he could get the last word
with him.
Amongst other things Josiah had
bought q barrel of salt, and the piano
Teller that had stuck SO tight to Josiah
all day offered to help Josiah on with it,
And the organ man, not going to be out
done by the other, he offered, too
Josiah kinder winked to me, and then
he held the old mare and let em lift,
They wasn't used to such kind of work,
and it fell back on 'em once or twice
and most snuashed EN-; but they hippcd
to, and lifted again and finally got it on
but they were completely tuckered out.
And then Josiah got In and thanked
'em for the liftin, and the organ man,
wipin' the sweat often his face that had
started out in his hard labor, said che
should be down tomorrow morning." and
the piano man, a pantn' for breath, told
Josiah not to make up his mind till he
came. He should be down that night If
he got rested enough.
And then Josiah told 'em that he
should be glad to see 'em down visitin'
any time; but he had just bought a
organ"
don't know but what they would
have laid holt of Josiah If they hadn't
| been so tuckered out; but as it was they
was too beat out to look anything but
sneakin' And so we drove off.