The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-12-21
ROYER'S HOT MOUTHFUL.

ROYER'S HOT MOUTHFUL.
| s'pose YOU never had to drive COWS?
That's another of the things you miss
by living in the city. We boys didn't
use to think there was much fun in it,
but guess the reason was because we
had to do it. The pasture was over a
mile away, up the steepest and longest
hill in town. At five or six in the
morning the COWS were all MIXED, and
turned out of the yard where they were
kept over night, and off we went, so as
to be back in time for breakfast and
school. And at night, when the sun
was about as high as your arm is long,
all play must stop, and up the long hill
we hurried to the pasture.
drove some of the neighbors' COWS,
and cot sixpence u week for it. How's
that for wages? That's the way | got
my spending money-and if you had to
earn yours by the same amount of
work, l rather think you'd be little
less free with it.
OF course we got some fun out of it.
A boy isn't much of chap if he can't
~
except taking whipping or having a
stomach ache. About this time of the
year came the fall apples; and we knew
that the ripest and best of them fell off
during the night. | can see the great
yellow Golden Sweets and the spicy
Porter apples, Just as they used to lie
waiting for us under the trees, with the
| dew on theml Then there were nuts
! to gather by the roadside, and berries
to eat, and sometimes snake to kill IN
the road, or squirrel to chase on the
old rail fence. Once we caught i
whitehead bumblebee-the kind that
! don't have StingS, you knoW-and tool
him to school in bottle, and then lei
him loose. How the boys ducked theil
heads and the girls screamed as he
went booming and laundering around
the room; and how we laughed as the
teacher hoped around to drive him
out!
But one night we were driving home
the COWS later than usual-fOr they
were always in the farthest corner OF
the lot when we played too long by the
way-something new happened.
We had a real adventure, and this
was tne way OF II:
On top of the hill, close by the road,
there was a big piece of woods. 1t was
twilight when we came hurrying the
cows along on this night, and the woods
looked deeper and darker than ever.
AS we came opposite tall maple tree
we saw big animal of some sort sit
ting upon one of the highest limbs, and
looking toward us.
1t wasn't light enough for US to make
out what it was; but it was bigger than
any animal we had ever seen in a tree
Frank said it was coon. George
thought it might be young bear.
guessed it was probably cat that had
run wild.
Frank was so sure the animal was 8
Don that he offered to stay and keep il
from coming down, while we went
home with the COWS and brought back
our big brothers, with dog and gun
Home we hurried, and wide-eyed anC
all out of breath told the story. You
may be sure the animal didn't lose any
in size by our description.
The BIG boys were soon equipped
with an old tlint-lock musket, which
had been used by the father of one o.
them in the war of 1912, and an AK,
lantern, and last but not least, stout
pug-nosed. black dog, Rover by name
and fighter by disposition.
Across the fields we went, the small
boys running ahead and Rover bringing
up the rear. AS soon rs we were nea
enough we hallooed to Frank, to max
. sure he wasn't eaten up, and let hin
know we were coming. "All right!
he shouted back, hurry up"
And hurry we did. The moon wa
lust coming up, and on the high linn
we could Just see the strange animal
and over in the road at safe distanc
Frank keeping watch.
Albert, the Oldest of the boys, and tn
"best shot" soon had the old muske
loaded, with a charge that threatens
to kick him over whatever it did to tn
animal. Carefully sighting over tn
fence, while we stood back holding on
t breath and watching the tree, he pulle
3 the trigger.
; The old musket didn't say word.
Another pull and still another faile
to get it "off." The steel was so rust
& or the flint so smooth, that not Il spar
+ would start.
. "Well," said Albert, throwing dow
T the old gun in disgust, "there is n
. lang there. We must shake the beas
: down if we get him. "
"Hooray," shouted Tom, the hes
climber in the village, "let me go fo
Y him."
5 So the lantern was hung on the low
v est branch, and every boy got stol
j. stick or club, as under Albert lead W
surrounded the tree.