The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-12-21
AN OPTIM/S7;
AMI Crow: Farmland and Philosopher.
WRITTEN FOR THE SUNDAY CALL BY JEANETTE l. GLIDER.

twisting his hat; "Dr Bloodgood he's q
good word to say fer every one. He don't
'spiSe a man cause he's pore, no, he don't
he don't 'spise man cause he's pore, DR..
BloodgOod don't-thats SO, he don't"
How long AMI would have gone on with
his reflections there is no telling. 1t was a
trick of his to slowly ring the changes on
his last words. but Mrs. Hance, who always
liked to get to the point without waste of
time, began at once to explain what his du-
ties would be if he came to her. He listened
attentively. and then replied:
I'd like TO try, Miss Hance; I'd rather
have one steady job than half dozen on
steady ones, would. don't like unsteady
jobs, nohow; the'rs mighty uncertain, they
are-that'S so-mighty uncertain; but he
added, as though he hadn't been quite fair
to them, there better than nolhn' Yes,
an unsteady job is better than no job-that' S
so. I'd like TO take your farm on sheers,
Miss Hance, cause it's big farm, an half a
big farm is more'n half little one. 50 it is. !"
- shall want you to sleep at the house,
Amzi," said Mrs. Hance, how can you ar
range that, and you married man?"
Il can range that, Miss Hance. easy
'nough. 1t wont take no ranging this sum-
mer. no way, for Sally-thats my wife-is
a confessed cock, she Is, an she cooks to
Raspberry Park in the summer time. In the
winter she spends most OF her time visitin'
her 'latioUS. / never seen one woman with
She's a wonderful woman for nussin'. They
all want her when they're sick, an hein'
there's so many, there's almost always one
of 'em got suthin' the matter, but Sally kin
pull 'em through. She saved my life-last
summer WAS a year-her an Dir. Bloodgood !;
| was awful w-abSceSses on me intrills-
but Sally's nuSSin' and DR.. BloUdgood's
doctorin' pulled me through"
So it was agreed that AMI should take
the farm on shares. Never in my life,'
said Mrs. Hance, did 1 have such comfort
Nothing went wrong, or rather nothing
stayed wrong. If the pump-handls broke,
AMI patched it up. and said he thought it
worked better than before. If the rain
poured down ON the hay, he turned it over
and over when the sun came out, r. marking
cheerily that the rain kinder freshened it
up.
He never saw the dark side Of things, but
always tried to make the best Of everything.
He bore malice toward no man, or only
toward one, who was a confirmed gossip and
did not hesitate to lie about his DeigL bors
when he wanted TO make a point. AMI
looked almost wicked when lie spoke Of this
man.
THAT Job Perkins," said he, sis bound to
git his come-up-ins. l never knowed a
man to lie like him without gittln' cotched
some way. He don't have no luck. Every
thin goes again him. His hess died las,
year Just for nuthin', but cause it was his'n.
=
1t was just his come-up-ns. NV he's got
the chills and his wife scrnbbin' the floor
Yesterday run splinter two inches long uu-
der her thumb nail. She had it cut out by
the doctor, and now she has TO have her
thumb done up in a poultice and carry it
'roun' like it was baby. It's ali his come
up-ins-thats Just what ii Is. nothin' else,
that's So" And AMI shook his head re-
flectively.
While AMI was very communicative as
far as his own affairs were concerned. he
had an idea that he proved his loyalty to his
employer by being close-mouthed in matters
that pertained to her business. | met him
one day as he was pitching hay in the
meadow along the roadside. and for the
sake of engaging him in conversation | in
quired the price Of hay. His voice had that
peculiar up-and-down quality assumed on
the negro-minstrel stage, and could never
resist the temptation to draw him out.
AMI stuck the prongs of his pitchfork in
the ground, and pushing back his old straw
hat (the derby was for ''dress-up" OCCASIONS,
hesitated a moment, then said slowly: The
price O. hay depends upon diff Trent things
Last years hay is allus darer'n this year S
hay, and whatsumever last years hay was,
this years hay'll be cheaper-that is, it
would be cheaper only this years hay is
be,ter'n last years hay, so this years hay
will be darer'n last years hay"
What was the price of last years hay?"
l asked.
He let go his hold on the pitch-f fork, and
bringing his brown forefnger down into the
pink. scanned palm of his left hand, and
wrinkling his forehead so that it looked like
a piece Of brown corduroy, he said, with a
cunning CLEAN in his eve:
"Ontrusty men got hold O. last years hay
an SOL it for the price O. this years hay,
that's good hay. Some men haint got no
princip1, they hant"
But what did Mrs. Hance get for last
years hay?" l persisted.
Amzi's face frightened, for he saw way
out of the difficulty.