The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1892-05-13

A RUSTIC EPISODE,
Deacon jones' Iiusklag Bee and II.
Number Of Req Ears.

Deacon haSn1 been III his usual
sperels ever since the failure, as ha
calls il, OF his huskin bee,n and
Mandy laughed right heartily over
the recollection OF that notable
event.
It's The custom of The farmers In
our neighborhood to have a Inns.
kin bee every TALL, an thus bring
the seasons work 10 an end with
round Of merry-making which is
looked forward to and talked
abou, 10y the young folks all sum.
mer long, and many castles in the
air are built by ,hem as they fond.
ly think Of the many opportunities
and hoped for results.
Deaco: Jones', specially, are
held in great favor by them all.
owing, no doubt, to his only Child.
Mollie, the pretliesl and sociablest
girl in the neighborhood. But The
good deacon made up his mind
that he wouldn't bave any more of
The going, on aihe huskipg bee
that had worrieN and scandalized
him as a leading pillar of the
church at the last one he had.
One evening Mollie overheard
him telling her mother how he
was going carefully through the
unhusked corn, picking ont all The
red ears till there wouldn't be a
single nubbin left of that color.
He didn't intend 10 leave The least
bit of an excuse for the young iel.
lows having a chance of kissing
The girls, and especially their Mol.
lie, who always seemed TO get more
than her share. He thought it
was Il sin aud a shame to allow
such doings and he would show
The nelghbors Il hlsking bee as vas
a hnsking bee.
Everything would 20 off as Or
derry as il they were in meeting.
So the Deacon went on getting
ready for the event, not knowing
that his daughter was aware of his
plans. Now, Mollie had her own
IDEAS about a husking bee, and
they were far different than her
fathers. So she told two or three
OF her admirers how her father was
planning to spoil their fun, and
they must tell the young men to
come prepared. They told her not
to worry !; they'd see that there was
a plenty Of red ears for the occa-
sion.
The eventual evening arrived at
last, and all the young folks in the
neighborhood were gathered in The
Deac0n's barn, eagerly waiting for
the word to beN!. husking the
great heaps of corr oiled upon The
floor. Mandy and | went over to
look on and enjoy the young peo-
pies f%rolics, Tor Mollle had told
Mandy what was in the wind. We
stood talking to the Deacon and
lis wife. and when he at length
gave The word for them to begin
work, he turned to me and said:
"Now, Zeb, you'll zee what a
husking bee should be, according
TO my idee. In all them piles I'll
warrant they won't find a single
red"
Just then The deacon was cut
short by a shout OF JOY from one of
young chaps, as he waved a big
red ear over his head and started
after Mollie, who gave a shrek
and scainpered across The barn
floor. Alter a good deal of dodg.
ing and squirmlng she caught at
last, and The lucky fellow took his
reward in a hearty kiss upon her
rosy lips. You'd ought to have
seen the deacon's face at that mn.
ute. 1t was a picture of astonish.
ment and dismsy.
"Wall, l swan" he stammered
out, 81 don't see how l could've
overlooked that ear. Right on
top, too. l don't believe they'll
find any more though" he
chuckled. "That is one conso.
la"
But just. then another red ear
was found, and Mollie was seen
trying to dodge another young
man who was after her, holding
aloit his prize. She rushed be.
hind Mandy, where he caught her
and gave her a rAYsing kiss right
before the deacon's Mortified eyes.
Mandy and The deacon's wife
couldn't keep their faces straight
any longer, but just sat down aud
laughed till The tears ran
down their cheeks. The deacon
sat down with a groan OF helpless
despair and said
II must be loosin' my eyesight,
Zeb. I'll a mace a affydavy that
there wasn't a red ear in The barn,
but the pesky stalks are full of
'em."
lie was right. Full OF them
they were, forevery youngster had
come with his pockets stuffed with
red ears, and they do say that the
girls brought more than one apiece
SO AZ 10 be sure OF a good supply.
Leastways there was more red
ears found at the deacon's husking
bee than were found at all the
other bees in The ncighborhood
last fall, and The fun the young
folks had over them was a sight to
behold. When the deacon found
out how his plans had miscarried
he was awful angry and vowed
that he would never have. another
husking bee, but Mandy says she
runq 400 that whou tho time cnmeG