Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1881-01-29
= implored the Second Chief

ono WIole JnuS Oh piece OF paper.
will be back in an hour This she
wafered to the glass of the store door,
and telling Nick to be good monkey,
turned the key.
Nick acted real ugly because he
couldn't go, too; and the instant Heph-
zlbah was out of sight he went into the
kitchen. There he overturned into a
deep barrel in the corner the large stone
jar in which she had put her dried apples
to soak, and then rolled the jar up and
down the store floor until he was again
in good humor. Then Nick was sorry
he had thrown Hephzibah's soaked APP
pies away; but going to the barrel to
get them out again, he found it so deep
and dark that he was afraid to venture
into it.
snow Nick was o smart monkey, but
ne wasn't smart enough to know that
Hephzibah would at once see the differ
ence between dried apples and the other
articles in her store. So the moment
he thought of replacing tho apples with
other things, he began filing the jar.
" Into it went raisins, currants, spices,
and. what-not of the good things in
Hephzibah's store, taking of each arti-
Gle so that it would not be missed. The
jar still not being as full as previously,
he emptied into it large dish of finely
chopped beef that Hephzibah had pre-.
pared for making stew for one of her
customers. Even then Nick saw that
the mixture in the jar, though he had
stirred it several times with Hephzibah's
clothes paddle, was altogether too dry
looking to appear like soaking dried APP
pies; and so he poured in a quantity Of
cider from the cider barrel.
cit was not till then that Nick noticed
the pie-plates on the table with the I'M
der crusts in them, and the top crusts
rolled out on the pie-board just as Heph-
zibah had left them.
"He grinned moment at the plates,
and in jiffy he had grasped long
handled spoon and was spooning the
mixture out from the jar to the pie
plates as adroitly as ever IIephzibah
could have done.
"Five minutes after, the top crusts
were laid in place, a little crooked to be
sure, but not bad for the smartest monk
ey that ever was; and in the smallest
number of minutes possible one dozen
pies were baking in Hephzibah's great
cook-stove.
"Before the end of the hour Hephzi-
bah returned, having relieved the third
nephew of the Exceedingly Grand Adj
miral of the Alspice Islands. The Ex-
ceedingly Grand, ETC., was so grateful
to Hephzibah that he ordered of her ten
dried-apple pies, though he didn't care
much for them, and sent his deaf mute
to learn just what hour he should 90
again for the pies. When Nick heard
her unlocking the store door, he ran up
stairs and hid under the bed.
"Hephzibah gave the deaf mute chair
while she went out into her kitchen to
think what hour she had best write that
he should return. Immediately she
saw that the fire was burning brightly
and that there was something fixing in
the oven.
"'Dear, dear! | must have been SO
careless as to leave something in the
oven when Iwent out!' she exclaimed,
jerking the oven door open.
"There they were-twclye beautifully
Drowned pies.
"'Yes, yes, my pies-but I've just
saved them,' she continued, moving
them from the oven. NO, land sakes!
exclaimed Hephzibah, looking very
much scared, and almost dropping in a
faint on the floor. Il had only just fin
ished the crusts!'
"Just then she spied Nick peeping
down from the top of the back stairs.
ooh, you prince of monkeys, priceless
of animals, Nick, it must be you that
has done this most clever of all tricks |!
Come to your mistress, dear Nicky!' and
Nick quickly slid down the banister, and
jumped up on her shoulder.
"'rhe deaf mute carried the ten pies
back with him, and Hephzibah gave
Nick the best dinner she could afford
for making, as she supposed, her dried
apple pies. While they were eating
their dinners, the Second Chief Clerk of
the Naval Department again rushed in
to the store; and he had run so fast
that he couldn't speak for minute.
"'I see, you've come to tell me that
that young man has been taken worse,
said Hephzibah, jumping up from the
table, and beginning to put on her
shawl. Il reckon, now, his uncle gave
him a whole dried-apple pie to eat,
didn't hep 1t would be just like that
good, foolish man
"'Madame,' said the Second Chief
Clerk, finally catching his breath, and
smiling all over his face, the Exceed
ingly Grand Admiral of the Allspice ISL
ands has sent me to order one hundred
more of those delicious pies, as soon as
you eau make them, and here's a bag
of gold for the ten he had. to-day
d" IIephzibah was shrewd enough to
think that there was something about
those pies of which she didn't know; SC
she bowed her mob cap very politely,
and said the Exceedingly Grand, etc.,
should be obeyed. She then gave the
Second Chief Clerk two pieces of gold
out of the bag for himself, and huge
bunch of bananas for his wife and little
children at home.
"The moment he had left the store
she rushed into her kitchen, and cut 6
slice from one of the two remaining pies
She tasted it; she pulled off her mol
cap, tossed it up to the ceiling; ant
catching hold of Nick she danced al
over the kitchen floor.
"'But of what marvellous thing is sucl
a toothsome pie madeP' said Hephzibah
stopping right in the middle of horn
pipe. She caught up the stone-jar, anC
as there was about pint of the mixture
left, she learned exactly how to max,
more. She improved on Nick's receipt
of course, and soon was not able to bak'