The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-06-26
Fooling tho PoddIer.

Father, mother and Sarah Jane started
for the city, leaving me to keep house
along with Jake, the hired man. But they
hadn't more then gotten out of the gate
before Jake bribcd me with candy and
peanuts not to tell if he went down to the
Corners to Il horse race. "I'll be back
long before night" says he: ''Bll Jenkins
can come over and stay with you, an
you'll have q jolly good time!" said. II
wouldn't think Of telling" and persuaded
him he ought to 60, for quite enjoyed
the prospect of having things to myself; 50
he got ready and went for Bill.
Oh, what time we had that dayl We
got saucers and spoons, went down cellar
and cleared out half of mothers peach
clothes and tore the rutllc half of her new
lawn dress. We pie ycd horse in the par
lor; tipped ovor the lamp, and the oil ran
out on the carpet and made great grease
spot, This rather frightened me at first,
but soon formed plan of escape by
shutting the old cat in the room and de-.
caring solemnly, when they got back,
THAT l hadn't been near that room all
day; and that Tom must have followed
Sarah Jane i'll when she went to get her
hat" never owned hutchet.) But
about three o'clock Bill and began to got
tired. We went and hung Oh the big gate
and looked down the road to see if the
folks were coming. No folks; but instead
we could Gee way down by Deacon Spic-
lcrs', a peddiers cart.
"Ihcrc comes pcddlcr," shouted Bill;
'hain't there nothing we can sell and git
the money and buy fish lines, and tops an
lots Of other things with ?'
Il dunno,' said !, quite struck with
the idea.
''Wcll, know somcthin', ,"--Bll low
cred his voice consi sidcrably-'it's cggs!"
"Wc haln't got none, marm has sot all
the hens"
Cant we take them, what's under the
hens?"
''rhen we won't have no Chickens"
"What you care for that2" says Bill,
"NIay be they wouldn't live if they were
hatchcd. was a readin' somewhere they
'spccted demilky among chickens this
year."
"But Bill, " says |, 'they won't be good,
they've bin sot On too long"
''Oh pshaw! that dou't make no differ
ence; you can fool peddlcr as easy as
you can boot jack. Come les get
'cm p
procured basket aud we started for
the barn. Bill pulled the hens off by the
tail, while robbed the nests. They didn't
seem to enjoy it much, but we left one egg
and they went back contentcd.
We got six dozen, robbed every hen.
Some OF them looked soilcd trii1e, SO Bill
proposed eve wash them in the hog
trough"
l made tour to the house, secured the
dishcloth and wiping towel. We proceeded
to do things up in style. After we had
got them all washed and wiped and packed
in the basket, they looked real nice. We
put the poorest ones to the bottom. I car
ricd the dishcloth and towel back, laid one
on the char and hung the other on the peg
just as had found them, (they never mis-
trusted whore those articles had been, }
then we wcht down by the gate and waited
until the pcddler came along"
oyer marm got anything to sell ?" he
injured.
''She's gone away said Bill, "but she
tellcd us, If one Of you came along, to sell
you these, " holding up the basket, elf you'd
give lis a good price for 'cm. They re fresh
lald yesterday"
''lll give you ten cents doZen," said
"Wal," said Bill, mcditativcly, "you
can have 'em for that, basket an all"
lie paid out sixty cents and drove on.
"What made you let him have the bas,
ket, Bill?"I asked.
''Bccause l was afeared if he took 'em
out they'd pop; some on 'cm looked as if
they was jest gwinc to-"
'NIarm will want to know where it's
gone to-"
'Oh tell her." said Bill, 'that you just
sot it down, when boy runncd out from
behind the smoke-house and grabbed
1t, and that you run after him, but
couldn't catch him. She won't know the
difference
''Sarah Jane will be wlopping mad
about her lawn dress we tOrcd, Bill"
"fell her you seed Sam Ford step on it
the day of the picnic, with your own eyes.
guess that'il fix her." (Sam Ford wa 8
Sarah James beau.)
''But what about the preserves 2"
'Say you. hain't never been near the jar!
didn't know where twas.
''Supposin' they should look under the
hcns2"
''Say you saw rats a sucking the eggs"
These stories were all swallowed, for
only few days afterwards | overheard
"marm" telling Mrs. Silver "hcr jim was
very truthful boy"
p. S.-Bill and went to the corners
the next week and bought a kite, some
fish-lincs, and lots Of candy.
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