The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-12-04
MISSING THE MARK.


Punko Stccrer' Tackle Hayseed who
Could Play Iheir Game.
Two CUT ,t fns from the city, ostensibly
ceiling lightning rods and Incidentally
picking up all The rural snaps they could
ind pulled upHt q farmer house not long
AGO out i'm Nashtenaw county and wanted
dinner and u horse fed. The farmer took
them i'm, and they sized him up and pro
cecded to take him in also. He was very
green, and every chestnut they told him
uckled him immensely. After dinner they
gave him cigar and told him other old
stories, and at last one of them noticed
tine ola clock on the mantel with its long
pendulum swinging to and fro. Now,
there is thing" said one with n wink at
the other, that looks simple and easy. yet
not one man in million can do it."
What's thaty" asked the farmer limo
Gently and curiously.
why, concentrating ones mind on one
thing for any given time, say for an hour
Do you believe you could watch that pen.
dulum for that long and count its strokes
each time aloudW
90! don't believe til know it, asserted
the farmer
Maybe you'd like to bet something on
it, venturcd one of the men insinuatingly.
well, / hain'J got much, hesitated the
farmer, but I'll 90 you 500 on it.
The city man didn't think he had that
much but he managed to find it and then
said he was ready
wait till go and get mine," remark ed
the farmer, and he went out and came back
in two or three minutes with the money.
Let our friend hold the stakes" sug
gested the willy city man.
~ nssputpd the honest farrnnr
and then the count began.
The old fellow kept his eye on the pen
dulum and his tongue on the count, and at
the end of the first quarter one of the men
suggested that the other might go out and
look up the horse, so they would be ready
to start when the count was done. They
were wise enough to let the stakeholder
remain, SO as not to excite suspicion,
though the old man was such an easy one
. that such thing seemed impossible. At
the end of the second quarter the man re-
turned.
'Go on with the count" he said The
last half is where | win"
The old man was getting tired, and he
braced himself, but of course he could not
reply and keep up the count also.
"Ifyou'll excuse my friend just minute, ,
continued the man, I'D like to have hin
90 out to the buggy with me to fix some
thing that's broken. He'll be back right
away. and we'll trust you to count fair
The man got up to go The farmer kept
right on counting, but he dropped his hant
in his coat pocket and came out with a big
ugly looking pistol. He never said word
= except that iuterminable counting, but h,
covered them with the gun and shook hi
bead warningly. They made move, ant
they saw the self cooking hammer begin Il
rise slowly, and they stopped. The old maj
kept right on counting, and the two wor
thies stood there trembling.
call it draw" said one.
Take the stakes" pleaded the other
but the old man shook his head and KEEP
ON counting, and at last the hour was up.
There, 10y thunder he exclaimed in
tone of eXultatiOn and relief Il knowe'
could do it. Now, hand me over tina
money and pay for yer dinner and the hors
feed, and say he continued, as they hand
ed it out ",upposiu you give me SO eXtr
for wear and tear
They kicked, but he threatened to driv
them before his gun to the nearest tow
and hand them over to the authorities, :
they gave him the S35 for wear and tear
Now, git out of here, - he said, kickin
them both out of the house and calling tn
dog, land if you've got any friends tina
thinks as you do, send EN- around. ID,
troit Free Press