The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1890-10-25
toes? | am monstrous anxious to gi

not much of a digger.
Whut air you best at she asked
| don't know.
l bet you air a mighty han te
make love to the gals.
No, l am not much of a success il
that line.
Mebby you amt been tryin' righ
hard.
She stood closer to me- Come
said |, let US get to work.
She kept close beside me ant
talked ceaselessly of love. Et th'
right sort of man wuz to love mt
right hard, do you want to know
whut I'd do? she asked.
What would you do?
I'd call him lasses all the time
Wouldn't that be sweet?
Yes, rather.
Whut would you do ct a woman
loved you right hard?
| don't know.
You'd call her 'lasses, wouldn'
you?
I might.
Wall, .is | 'lasses?
suppose SO, answered, with {
desire to pay her compliment. She
smiled upon me, and then hastily
stepping to one side she seized a hog
that had got into the potato patct
and tossed him over the fence. JUS
then the dinner horn blew.
Now, said the host when we hao
sat down 10 the table, here is a
billed rooster. We've had him a
long time, but fur a month or mo-
lately l didn't think he wuz goin' 10
live. He tuck surhin' the matter
with his throat an you mout have
hearn him cough half a mile, but we
doctored him up till he wuz about
ftten to eat and then killed him.
had no appetite. The girl, after
stripping the meat off the wish bone,
held up the horse shoe looking thing
and told me to pull. pulled and
Sis jumped up and left the tab'e, but
soon returned and took her place
beside me. After dinner my host
said that as the creek had not run
down would greatly oblige him by
continuing to help Sis dig potatoes.
l would come up an dig, too, he
added. but have got a power OF
fduin' about to do.
l wantei to risk the creek and
told him so, but he would not hear
to it. Wy bless yo' life, said he,
you'd d ct drowned sho. To-morror
mornin' will be time enough. an in
the meantime you will be dom of
me a great favor by helpin git the
potatoes in. Ricolleck that l don t
charge you nothin fur stayin here,
an bein upright man you oughter
return one favor fur another.
How l did long for night to come
The hard work was scarcely less
wearying than the sickening talk of
the girl. Once l told her that l
should be compelled to 60, but she
shook her head gravely and said !:
That would make pap awful mad. l
forget to tell you, but you mustn't
make pap mad. have know'd him
to foller a man fur a week that had
made him mad. An he mighty nigh
allus ketches up with a man he fol-
lers.
| was asleep by the time l touched
the bed that night, and having been
too tired to think just before lying
down, | dreamed of what a fool
had been in accepting any terms
offered by the old man. On the fol-
lowing day announced my firmly
fixed intention Of leaving The old
man professed great astonishment.
What said he, trife with the afec-
tons of my family an then leave us
in the lurch.
l could only grasp in astonish-
ment
Wy, you promised to marry Sis,
said he.
This staggered me. Promised to
marry her ! l exclaimed.
Yes, fur right out thar in the tater
patch you lowed that you wanted
her.
l did not, l almost yelled.
Didn't you? Wall, l reckon you
did. You lowed she wuz lasses, an
eff that aint akin in this country no.
body don't know whut is ; an agin
you pulled the wish-bone of the old
rooster that you mout at one time
have hearn cough milf a mile. An
don't you ricolleck when she got up
from the table? Wall, she put her
piece of the bone up in the fork of
a saplin an you walked under it an
that put the law on you. Don't
caper, now, son, fur | don't want TO
hurt YOU. An another thing, my
son, don't try to run away an leave
us after triflin with our affections.
I've got a whole host of kiniolks
nigh here an they will be nightly
pleased to know that Sis, thar, is
going to marry a feller that is sich a
hand to dig taters. l reckon you
better work along with me to-day.
l want to mark some hogs an then
l want to dig stumps outen the new
ground. Lets eat as mack now an
go ahead fur | want to hump our
selves to-day.
l saw him tuck pistol In his Jeans
trousers before we went to work. l
saw more than that l saw that l
should have tO rim for nv, 1;fa T