The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-12-25

tent arguments, but the dinner was finished
before any conclusion was arrived at, and the
party separated
"They can talk about their borax, and rails
ms, and horseradish till they're gray" said
Mr.. Hathaway, as he Topped out of bed at
daylight the next morning, "but I'll have my
mustard,seed in before they roll over" and
cautiously stepping down stairs, he extracted
the bung and poured liberal dose of the seeds
into the barrel. THAT will keep" he nut.
tered, flor SIX years." and driving the bung
home, he went back to bed
Its clear III my mind that liatheway is
trying to save the cider by faith" muttered
Mr.. Leffingwell an hour later, as he CROPPED
around for his clothes "Mustard seed Why,
he might rs well put in squash rind. I'm 20
ing to fill that barrel with hOrseradsh before
he's up, and show him how to keep cider.
Mustard seed III head a subscription with
s. to test his sanity" And Mr.. Leffingwell
shivered down to the cellar and cracked away
with hammer until the bung few out like a
bullet. "There!" he CALCULATED as he pOkcd
the horseradish in with hts thumb "thatH do
the business" and with chattering teeth he
prowled back to his room.
"One would think to hear these people talk
that they'd been brought up in an orchard,
said Mr. Anderson to himself, as he jabbed the
liisub ioot INV thC NIOuS ollppCl. ASolaA
Horseradish! Mustard What that cider wants
is raislns, and that's what it's going to get
Upon which Mr.. Anderson crept down into
the cellar and inOculated the barrel with a
couple Of pounds OF ralsins "It's beginning
to spoil already" he sollloquized, cycling the
floating seeds and radlsh susplclously, but
without identifying them "If | hadn't been
lightning quick we'd have been drinking vine.
gar by dinner time" And, satisfied that he
had saved the beverage, he went back to the
sheets
"What Pm afraid Of" remarked Mr.. Sher.
wood, as he opened his door carefully and
|slipped down stairs, "what I'm afraid OF is
that those fellows will begin to tinker with
that barrel before l can get there If they
manage to stick their foolishness IN first I'm
gone, but If i can empty this borax before
they're around, there's so much cider saved"
Mr.. Sherwood belted away at the barrel until
the bung tOpped out, and IN went his bOrax.
That's the business" he observed with great
satisfaction, as he replaced the bung. at will
teach those boys not to be so dogmatic with
their remedies hereafter"
81 don't believe that cider was very good in
the first place." said Mr.. Anderson. as he
pushed his glass from him that night at din
ner. I'VE got swlndled on that cider"
II think So" said Mr. Sherwood 1t had a
bad taste when we tapped 1t. 1t isn't fit to
drink now
"I'd head a subscription with SIS to send
that cider man to the Penitentlary," observed
Mr. Lefiinwell, severely. at is not good CT
der. We couldn't have put anything in to
kept. What do you think, Hatheway?"
81 had my suspicious OF 1t from the first"
replied Mr.. Hathaway. "It's old stock, and l
think we'd better give it away"
And then there was silence, and each gen.
tleman wondered if it hadn't been better to
have let the other gentlemen try their various
recipes before zealOusly administering his
|own.-Bcoeklyn Eagle.