American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-09-05
WHAT BECAME OF JOEY.
BY EMILY HUNTINGTON MILLER.

BY EMILY HUNTINGTON MILLER.
Two LITTLE girls were keeping house
in the garnet of a big red farmhouse.
There never was a jollier garnet to play
in 1t had low, broad windows at each
end, IA funny little smokehouse built into
the chimney in the middle, all sorts of
queer old-fashioned furniture slowed
away under the caves, and quantities of
queer old-fashioncd clothes hanging
from the rafters and packed into big
brown chests. The little girls them
selves were old-fashioned, and one was
called Betsey and the other Polly. Bet
scy's house was behind the great loom.
She had cloak of scarlet broadcloth
and pea-green calash hanging up in it,
besides pair of saddle bags, two strings
of red peppers and bundle of boneset.
Polly's house was in the southeast cor
ner by the great eight-day clock; and be
cause she had the red wooden cradle she
had her little brother, Joel, to live with
her joey was three years old and wore
his first suit of boys clothes. They were
of butternut-coloredst stuff and were made
all in one garment. The jacket part
was buttoned down the back with a row
of large white buttons; and the pants,
which came quite down to his little
brown feet, were buttoned half way
around the waist in the same fashion.
He wore very large square collar, not
unlike the sailor collars one sees nova
days, and his straight white hair was cut
square across his forehead. Do you
think he was funnylooking baby?
Well, Betsey and Polly thought he was
the incest one in the world and were
very proud of HIM. He was such brave
little fellow to make believe. He would
lie in the cradle without grumbling, he
would be dressed in girls clothes and
taken visiting, he would have the Group
or the measles and take bread pills and
molasses tincture till any ordinary boy
would have utterly rebelled. On this
particular day he was ordered to have a
sore throat, and his neck was pinned up
with red flannel and his feet soaked in Il
bandbox. Then Polly took him to the
sewing society that met with her sister,
Mrs. Betsey; and he sat on a side-saddle
and nibbled cracker while the old
ladies talked over their domestic affairs.
81 had such luck with my SOAP" said
Mrs. Polly. 1--WE billed an billed, and it
wouldn't come at all"
Must "A been your lye wasn't strong
enough" said Mrs. Betsey. 1--WE always
try ours with an egg. If it'll float an
egg"
.'Oh! yes, it was. My husbands
tried it. She tries hers
with tlat-iron, SOS to be sure; and that
tlat-iron just went swimming around in
the I've like Il duck"
well, WE'LL" said Mrs. Betsey, " that
must have been lye, sure enough. Did
you goi to Almiry Bakers quilting
party?"
Yes, indeed, and such a pretty pat
tern you ought to have seen. Rising sun
with wild goose border, and quilted in
shells marked with IA thimble. Her
mother said she'd been sixty years piec-
ing it"
"Um-m"
"Well, you see its family relict, and
Almiry's grandmother began it when she's
four years old"
Tate off is flannin 1t hots my froat,"
said Joey.
Polly took off the flannel. Then she
got on the side-saddlc, with Joey in her
lap, and rode away home. The next
thing they played was Indian, and they
liked that play best of any. Their mother
often told them of the Indian troubles
when she was little girl, and how she
and her little brother once hid in the
cellar while the savages robbed the
house; and crawled out of the ash-bin
afterward, very dirty and hungry but
none the worse for the danger that had
been so near them.
This time Polly was the father and
went out to pillow, with Il pair of immense
for oxen and Il broken chair for
Il pillow. Betsey was the mother; and
when She saw the Indians coming she
took her little boy and hurried him into
the brick smokc-house, charging him not
to cry or make a breath of noise. Joey
nodded his tow head and curled down in
Il corner, and Betsey and her husband
set out for the fort to call help. The
fort was the corn-crib, and to reach 1t
they crept behind the big chests, stole |
down stairs, darted behind doors, and
acted so strangely YOU might have won |
Tered what it was all about; but their |
mother only smiled ut the odd little |
bodies and went on rceling her yarn in !
he big kitchen. They stepped behind |
he stoop, hid moment behind the |
brush heap. and then made desperate |
,un across the open yard, while the AZ |
rows were supposed to be whizzing after
hem, and reached at last the friendly |
corn crib, just us Il great boom announced |
hat the soldiers were firing from the lit
lie square windows the savagcs at that
we're rushing after them. 1t was quite |
-cal to Betscy and Polly, and by the |
ime they reached the fort they were al |
most brcathlcss with excitement. They |
sat down IL moment To rest and to give
he commander of the fort time to call |
Dut his soldiers. Sitting there, they saw
heir mother at the front gate, with her
prom over her head, talking to an old
lady who sat in Il chaisc and held the |
lines over the back of sleepy white |
horse
Its Miss Bash'by Martin said Polly, |
forgetting all about the Indians. 81
wonder if She brought us those goose !
Eggs"
Away raced both children to the gate
" Let the little garls go up with me and
fetch it over" Miss Bash'by was saying.
And the children scrambled into the |
rhaiSc without waiting to hear any more
Well" said their mother; but be
sure and start back in good season. Two |
skeins, Miss Bash'by, and III give you |
some of my best gray mixed, ana be |
much obliged"
Miss Bash'by nodded, jerk ed the lines
Two or three times, and the old horse !