Mohave County miner., 1889-03-23
MICKEY'S CHICKENS.
PiiELuDK.

hOw long fhc big pine III Andslcya Q
Wood had roared his basso profundo In
the tempest and whispered his lullaby ip
the breczn 10 oaa kne@ uow many days
had passed since first tho sun tipped his
crest with gold In tho morning and bathed
his branches with ruddy fro In the even.
Ing had mover even been suggested. How
many winiry shrouds lad WEIGHED down
his branches. or how E,aiiy tii:ics lie had
shed his coat. or how oftes he had sighed
In sympathy with the funeral knell from
st. Mary's. or sheltered under his
great swaying ares the play Of lit
tie children. was not even matter
Of conjecture Little by little he
had grown In stature. year by
year his gir,h had Increased until ore
morning 1t dawned upoa him that he
was the king of tho wood There were
naughty hcriiocas not far aaay and giant
oaks, but not ono of these. for symmetry
Ut stature. could compare with the big
pine. Around bis great trunk In n green
spiral Tiers iwi5:ed al Ivy vino, with
in3trora ''arca ca"rsstrg the rinn's rough
bark until It's tender fecicTs reached tire
very iopE:ost hrai.ciics lanced by the sui.
beams. The dew fell upon the Ivy and
the pine alike aud every morning the sun
drank MP the g!catuing drops Far below
the pine ran tic shining river. Gnd behind
him lay smiling meadow. His foot was
buried deep in his own brown needles, and
withia the shelter Of his kindly shade a
ciump OF laurel bushes grew. Hidden by
the laurels lay hollow hemlock log thai
had once been stately trunk. One awfal
winters night a tempest had slain the tree,
PART L
Last spring, when the lingering snow
Ia the hollows Of tho wood had melte6
and trickled down tho rocks to the Ron.
dout creek, . staid and notherly par.
fridge built . nest In the hollow log and
deposited within it's coy environment OF
leaves and pine needles thirteen speckled
eggs. One day. far down tho dim aisles
Of the wood she heard tho sound of com.
ing footsteps. The partridge squattel
closer down upon the eggs. and no eye
but that Of fox could have seen the diff.
ference between her brown back and tha.
Of the rotten log. Her little heart beat
hard with excitement and fear, but the
palpitafion failed even to stir the soft
feathers under her wing. Her eyes gilt.
tered like twin beads as she peeped out Of
her hiding place. The big pine sang o
low soothing psalm and achipmunk stuck
bis head ont OF hole In an oak tree neal
by. But above the sound of the psalm
the footsteps were heard by the partridge
coming nearer end nearer. There were
shutting sounds in tho dried leaves, and
at intervals the breaking Of q twig
sounded sharply through the still wood.
Then from around the trunk Of big
hemlock which had tossed Its green arms
in the sunlight for forty years came the
figure Of q sneaking boy with bow gun
held in the hollow Of his right arm. By
this time the partridge was standing up
In the nest. flcr neck was outstrctched
and every fiber in her little feathered body
was tense with excitement. Nearer and
nearer came tho boy, his eyes rowing
through the wood In search Of victim
for his arrow. The chipmunk ran down
tho oak and jumped upon the log In which
the partridge was palp!tating. The
squirrels curiosity ovcrcamo Its fears and
II stopped upon tho log to catch o glimpse
OF tho intruder into It's sylvan retreat.
The twang Of n bowstring cut the air
and wooden bolt with shingle nail In
its head shot by 80 close that Its passage
stirred the fur Of the squirrel. Tho SOUR
rel whiskcd out Of sight and the partridge,
with loud whir which startled the boy
20 that he dropped his bow gun, few into
laurel brake near by.
PART ~.
The old Dominick hen wanted to sit
She had tried TO satisfy her natural In.
sttnrt In the wood box. When driven
from this retreat by Mrs. Finn's broom
she nestled In Mr.. Finn's old felt hat.
Here, too, she was foiled In her purpose
by pailful Of cold water, which percep
tibly dainpened her enthusiasm and her
feathers. Still she persevercd in her
efforts at propagation and was found late
In the afternoon, after drying herself In
the sun. trying TO scratch hole in the
BEST quilt upon the parental Finn bed.
To this Mrs. Finn objected with broom
and malediction.
Eye ould blatherskitel" said she, bring.
ing the broom down upon the bed. for tho
hen wasn't there when the broom came
down. "Musha, but I'll wiring yer neck
wid me fist whin lay me hands on vel
PLY don't ye & cut an play marvel wild
tn gravel stones stead O. foolin' wild me
quiltf''
The old hen wandared around the yard
disconsoiately. Life had no charms for
her In her uneasy condition Of mind. Be-
@bhSSS saSiS eNAS Iht
yard In which to carry out her designs.
Her miserable condition provoked the
sympathy OF little Mike. and he decided
that she should have the pleasure of
setting on nest Of eggs IL he could by
hook or crook procure them for her. For
two days. after school hours. he searched
the borders Of Browns pond for duck eggs.
and was fortunate In finding two. These
were slowed away In an old hat Ia the
cellar, and the hen. with glad cluckle OF
content, settled herself upon them. That
afternoon he went hunting In the woods.
PART III.
When the partridge few of her nest
little Mike examined the hollow log and
found thirteen spccklcd eggs. Warm
and smooth they felt In his palms. Fold.
ing them close against his breast 10 pre-
serve the heat. he started on run for
homo and dashed into the cellar. His
eyes danced with self graduation as he
said:
''Shoo. Nanny, be quiet till CIV ys
some moro eggs as'il hatch out wild
chickens"
The hen squawked gentle protest
against being disturbed and then settled
down to her work again. During the
period Of incubation little Mike attended