The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1889-05-18

good dog to kill mice that live under corn
shocks, aren't you, Slasher p And the
cur wasged a greeting to his friend and
defender. Then the child told of rare sport
he and Slashcr had had in a cornfeld.
Aud the boy laughed as he turned his eyes
backward and saw a tall, gaunt farmer, who
danced with ragc among overturned corn
stalks
\ covey of quail ran through the hoar
frost-coated grass that stood by the road
side and sought refuge under hedge row,
then becoming frightened, took wing and
settled in a nearby stubble field, where
presently they whistled and called to one
another \ belated tomcat. who was much
the worse for wear, sat on the top rail of a
fence close to q moss-grown post and mewed
mourufully in reply TO pleasantly-spoken
inquiries as to the state of his health. The
boy looked at him attentively for an instant,
and then said, rather anxiously. Looks
As though he Lad been sitting up with the
BOYS. don't he? That's Turk, Ford's tom
cat. He Is a terror 10 fight Why, that
cat can whip any cat around here Last
month, when | was home took him to
call on Frisbee' cat, jim, and Turk stripped
Jim's hide of and threw it on the barn
floor to dry. and-Look at the coots = he
exclaimed, As the cats slipped out Of his
mind and he called my attention with out
stretched arm 10 a striug of coots that flew
over the ocean, which was heayiug redly in
the rays Of the rising sun. We watched
the flying cootS and at short intervals saw
pufis Of smoke shoot out Of small boats that
were well of shore, aud saw eoots fall into
the water The child'S eyes kindled as
with FIRE His hunting instinct was
aroused. and he was 10th to 20 after mum
mics. lie suggested that we seize a row
boat and row acruss the halt-frozen bay to
the seashorc. and there watch the hunters
kill coots.
That would never do. 81 | set up che
fallacious argument that IL was piracy to
steal rowboai, and | dau.led the figure
Of Capt Kidd with a rope around his neck
before sam : cyc1. But be brushed the
s0phisiical arguments away as # with a
broom. said he Is is not piracy 10 Dor.
row q rowboai Somebody Is e,ernaUy
borrcwin. mine aud leaving !, on the other
side Of the pond II makcs no difference
which siie Of the pond 70 60. ihc boat Is
always on the other side. walked a.
much a. 2n0 miles after that boai last sum
mer. II I ever catch the person or persons
who take ms boat | an going TO be
pirate in earucs aud make them walk the
phak-if they arc no, too big, and he
was lost ia moody Wonderncni relative to
the identity of the boys who always lelt
his bat on she wrong side of the pend.
We tied the her-c to pos; that stood
near ga the bsy and walked to yhe drain
Arrived there the ciu-s fneshed art vas
spread across and vas directed to cut
bash aud to ~ up the stream for 50 yards
and 60 thrash 70 down % iriEhicn the
mummios and cause them 10 sRim into the
neg. where they ooald ba dippcd out 50
cut q bush aai With Is thFashcd ihe
stream, and az worked | watched the
bEiEhtfaecd boy dip out the frightened
mummies with a ,juy seoopnri and put
,heai in tbs pail lie caught about leo
and. af coarsc. be was not satisfied and
wanted murp, bui / beaded him Of By
eaTelcssly rcmarSiuE that hroiled bccfstcak
and bacon and potatoes, hashesl Htsh cream
snd buck uhcaf eskes and honey were bst,
ter hos than oold Instantly the Bei vas
9islrssn iruui shc drain aud Se vslkci
briskly 10 the wagon aud clambcrsd 10. 10
sis iar a fcw INMATES ~ look al the gllsten-
inc ocean and the distant gunncrs ia their
lIsilo boats
Over Mceox Bay small aoek pl black
ducks hoEercd-n1w descending on long
slan,ing lines 70 quickly riss aud 20 circle
high. looking through clear, black eycs for
suspected danger 4 Saiibaas-or maybe
it was "a iceboai, We saE the sail only
came slowly doWu a distant creek, aud the
ducks settled 20 busiuesshko fight for the
Great Soath Bay, far beyond the columns
Of blue sHs5ke thar marked the location Of
Southampton. We watched the birss
grow smaller aud smaller aud disappear.
Then we drove honeward slowly, 80 as Dot
10 spill the mummics, and a. " drove
We talked gayly Of the sport sud the
breakfast that wcFe ahead OF Us
Ne saw the gib eat s,lll sitting on the
fence. aud sam vas surc he vas sick aud be
insisted on stopping to get him to carry
hosnc. 10 we stopped aad che child got cut
aud gathered Jhe disErpuisblc looking ca, IN
his arms and clambcFei into the wagon
Again We started. and | shortened the dis.
taHcc and time BY abusiug the cat aud
claimed that be was a prc,eutious humbug
and no, a ,erTur a; all but that he had
met a terror the previous night and bcen
beaten. which statement, 20 judge from
Turk appearance. was true. And | stern
~ vetoed the proposition that samuel
made thai We carry the animal 10 our barn
and there feed him 20 recovery and stength
on butchers meat and when he was we'll
70 have a grand tomcat tournament on
New Years Day, Aud laughed 10 scoru
the bareiaeed proposition that Ford Is cat,
Turk, could, if properly fed for a few days
aud his claws sharpened, artistically clean
out Mcguire brindle tom cat. Tiger, who
( IS at least third larger than Turk. -
+ the cat was dropped Into the road opposite
his home and he hObbled of on three leess
with swollen tail and tattered ears, appar.
emily wrapped in painful recollectious
And as he limped into the yard, sam, whC
had turned Ia watch him, muttered: Il
am so sorry that cat Is feeling 50 tough
He was a mighty nice cat, and | have haC
lots Of fun taking him to visit other eats.
laughed loudly as | conjured up th'
scenes that occurred during those friendl,
visits, but the good Samuel did not smile
He was really sorry about Turks case.
Breakfast eaten, | was given a bundl
of sticks, to which lines and hooks wer
attached. and an axe Samuel had simi
lar bundle of sticks and the pail of mum
mics. We walked briskly to Kellys Pond
Arrived there, ! was set to chopping hole
in the ice, while Sam baited the hooks AM
set the lines. To fish for pickerel throug
ice the lines are tied to a short, thin, an'
lath like stick. About nine inches froI
one end of the stick hole is bored throug
: it. \ round stick about eighteen inche
long and half an inch thick is thrus
: through the hole The round stick
laid on the ice and the short end Of tn
r lath to which the fshline is fastened hang
| over the hole that has been chopped in tn
ice \ live mummy is fastened to til
5 hook and the line dropped into the waite
! When a pickerel seizes the mummy th
short end of the lgth descends into III