The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-06-08
A GOOD FISH STORY
Nen You Come to Inquire Into 1t IT.
Good Ghost Story, Too.

Good Ghost story, Too.
"A few Years ago said the old gen.
tleman, Il was a-cutting and piling
dffftwood on the lake shore, when a
,arty from the village came down to
9lsh Through the ice. 1t was cold, raw
day. They told me that if ia let them
use my fishing shanty and they had
any luck they would give me some fish.
Welt at 1t they went. just as l was
a-plcking up at night to go home, they
fetched me a piellerel that would
a-palled down six pounds good and
strong. l brought him home and put
him up in the crotch of that apple tree
over there. Then done my chores. eat
my supper, got the picl<erel and thought
I'd clean him; but he was froze hard as
brick, 50 run string through his
S4lis and hung him up back of the stove
10 thaw out.
ND got a good grip on the sleep that
n1ght, and was a-plowing ahead on the
gallop, when my wife woke me up and
said there was some one at the door.
listened bit nd heard noise Jest like
some Teller was a-knocking on the door
with mittens on his hand. ] were a
bit vexed; Slid out of bed, pulled on my
pants and boots, but did not strike a
light grabbed big cane which stood
IT the head of my bed, hurried to the
door, opened it and jumped out ready
/ % knock the stuffin' out of anything.
- my dear sir, there weren't any
thing there to knock. ! run round the
house. not a living critter could | see;
nor even any tracks in the snow.
ITO bed went ag'in, and was just
dropping off, when the old woman, she
nudged me hard and whispered, Hear
that Jest listen; there it goes ag'inn
81 sat up in bed, and jest as plain as
day could hear dull sort of a thumpl
thump! | begun to feel agerish like;
mought have trembled bit; then |
hollered, Who's there?' No answer.
81 kinder shivered for bout half a
minute, when there was the darndest
racket out in the kitchen you ever
heard; sounded as if some one was a
kicker a tin pan all around the room;
and my dog, he came a-yelpin' and
howlin' into the bedroom and crawled
clear under the bed, where he kept
up a-whinin' and a-yelpin'. My wife
screamed and crawled down under the
bed clothes. had not only the ager,
but the chills-sweatingc hills good and
strong. l was ratified, badly ratified;
jest had sense enough left to crawl out
of bed, grab my gun, which was loaded,
and creep carefully to the kitchen
door. There was certainly some fellow
out there barefooted, and he was having
q hull dancing school all to hisself.
located him as near as could in the
dark, then, without making any noise,
brought my gun to my shoulder and
let her 60
"The fash of the gun was Just long
enough to let me see what the trouble
was | went back, lit candle and
then went to the kitchen. There, right
in the middle of the floor was that are
cussed pickerel having the liveliest
kind Of circus all by hisself. He was
a-cutting up in great shape with his
| fiipity-fop, hipity-hop, jest as lively as
If he had jest been pulled out of the
water With a stick of firewood busted
that are show quicl1er'n You could say
shoe.
"You see, hung him up in good,
warm place to thaw out directly over
the old woman's dishpan, right under
the pan being a good, warm, out-of-the
way place the dog used to sleep As
that Internal pickerel began to thaw
out his old cussedness. erept back into
him. Between the fiappings of his tail
and the workings of his jaws he broke
the string, then dropped onto the dish,
and both fell onto the dog. Forest
aud Sfraan