The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-11-04

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But worse difficulties followed.
Next spring Jim and Z planted the
seven kernels with great care. They
could not put it in their garden, lest it
should mix with the sweet corn. nor yet
out in the field on the west side of the
road, where the ordinary. corn was. So
they reserved a little plat, about rod
square, in the wheat-field on the east
side of the road. up next the line-waIl.
This plat they dressed richly and plant
/ ed the seven kernels in three hills. 1t
was a warm. sheltered spot.
But Just as the shoots were breaking
the ground, the crows, or one crow, lit
down on the plat one Sunday morning
before breakfast and pulled up all but
two of the spears, which were just
breaking ground.
My brother and were made aware
of this disaster next morning by seeing
Jim and Ed putting up a horrible
g scarecrow" in the plat, and fear we
were not very sorry on account of it.
The two remaining kernels, however,
came up and grew with the same vigor
and strength which had marked the
growth of the stalk among the potatoes.
Tom and | often watched them from
our side of the line-wall. Later in the
season, Jim and Ed set stakes about
them to support them in case of VIC
lent shower Both stalks matured and
had each two fine large ears.
From August till into September. thu
boys used to come out every day to sea
that the corn had not been molested.
Already the shuck had begun to crack
off from the ears, showing the rich
dark red tint.
One morning near the 18th of Sep
TENDER, they went out and found every
kernel shelled off the cobs, on the stalks,
and gone; nor was there a track or
trace to indicate the character of the
robber. Probably two more angry boys
could not have been found in the whole
State.
The next thing, in fact the first thing
Tom and | heard was that Jim and Ed
had charged us with taking the corn;
that they had called us thieves in pub
lie. All the neighboring boys were
talking of the matter.
We felt outraged. To call boy
thief is decidedly worse than calling
him hog. We knew no more than
they what had become of their corn.
Even our parents were, l think, little
offended about the charge; for no father
likes to have his son called a thief.
/ remember our folks asked us about
it and that, finding Tom and l really
knew nothing about the corn, father
babe us keep very quiet and make no
threats, saying that the truth might ere
long come out.
October and the greater part of No
vember passed. The days had now
grown very short, and the weather was
biting cold. But snow had not yet
come; and one afternoon which had
been rather more sunny, father had set
Tom and me grubblng up some sumachs
in the east field. We made a pile of
these, ready for burning.
Down next the line-wall there had
lain, on our side, an old red oak log,
for some years.
This oak had stood nearly on the line
and had been felled because it shaded
so much tillage ground. The trunk
had been left lying where it fell. But
it was now a good deal decayed. Father
babe us take the oxen and drag it up to
our pile This we did Just at sunset;
and then set to work to split it up. in
order to throw it on the brush-pile, to
burn.
We had been pounding away at it for
some minutes, when there suddenly
darted out of hole in the end little
striped squirrel, or "chipmunk." The
little creature rudely awakened from
his winter torpor, by our heavy blows,
took refuge in a near stone-pile.
We supposed it might have nest in
side the old log. But we were hardly
prepared for the sight that met our
eyes when at last we got the log open;
there, inside it, nicely packed in punk,
together with fully half a peck of
wheat, was that red corn-nearly a
quart-every kernel of it, l dare say!
We shouted.
Then we called father.
He laughed well.
Don't touch it," said he.
Then he called Mabel, our little sister,
and babe her run down to " neighbor
Carroll's'' and ask him and the boys to
come up as quickly as they could.
On our stepping back from the log
for few minutes the poor chilly little
squirrel ran from the cold stone-pile
back into his nest, with faint little
chuckle. So that when Mr. Carroll and
the boys came up the innocent little
robber was trying to cuddle himself into
the punk, but still in plain sight.
Tom just pointed to the log and said:
There's the corn we stole from you.n
They saw how it was in a minute,
and certainly looked anything but COM
Portable; even Mr.. Carroll, himself,
looked down and seemed far from easy.
At length Jim stepped up to the log,
as il to take the corn.
A" Hold on there?" said Tom and l.
+" That's ours now. A crow or squir-
rel dropped that first kernel Just over
the line on your side. 1t was yours then. |
But you were too stingy to give us one
kernel. Now a squirrel has brought it |
to our side of the line and put it in our
log. So now we'll keep it."
But father laughed and said:
81 guess half and half is fair"
Fair enough" said Mr.. Carroll. |
" And boysrn he exclaimed, rather |
angrily, to Jim and Ed, you've been
to blame in this. | declare for it, if l |
amt ashamed of We! and don't ever
want to hear another word about this |
silly grudge; and hope neighDor Ed
mond's boys will overlook it in yer
We overlooked the ugly word thief
which no boy ever ought to call an
other till he is perfectly certain of the
fact-and they forgave the almost
equally unhandsome term pig. That
was the first and last /" trouble we
ever had with the Carroll boys.
Red Indian corn was planted on both |