The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-12-29
'POSSUM TINE.

The clerk from Baltimore came
around with his overcoat on, his hat in
his hand. and broad smile of antici-
pated pleasure Illuminating his face.
He said he was ''goin' down home TO
~ few days" and, further. that he
didn't reckon he'd be back much befo'
next Friday"
''Goin' home to vote?" asked the
clerk from North Carolina, with a visit
ful expression.
Eyes, will do little votin'," replied
the Baltimore man, with wider grin
than before.
Coin to hunt any?' asked the North
Carolinian, the wistful expression deep
ening. For reasons, chiefly financial,
the North Carolinian couldn't get
home either to vote or hunt, and he
was too young to be able to conceal his
disappointment.
But the grin on the Baltimorean's
face deepened and widened at the last
question, and he seemed to chuckle all
over as he said, ''Oh, little huntin',
guess
''What you goin' for, quail?''
eyes. some quail"
"Huh,'' said the young southerner.
'Many 'possums down your way?"
The look in his eyes deepened to a
hungry expression, and they seemed
to widen with visions of things afar.
'"Possums?" rejoined the Baltimore
IN; "'possums? More 'possums down
our way than you can shake stick at. "
The North Carolinian sighed deeply.
In taking his frienSs hand to bid him
good-by he chung to it as if it were in
some way connecting link between
him and his 'possum country.
''Good-by; good luck, old man." He
relinquished the hans slowly, with an
air of utter resignation, and his friend
stepped into the elevator and was
borne out Of sight.
The North Carolinian sat down again
at his desk, but he didn't take up sne
papers lying scattered before him. In
stead of returning to his work, as he
should have done, he stared out of the
window. He sighed again, a long,
lingering sigh.
''Just about 'possum time now" he
remarked to the world at large, still
gazing out of the window, with the
light in his eyes deepening to pensive
g1nw.
Sa,eany 'possums down your wayr'
NsAsa the man from Illinois, who sat
AIT to him.
ANY 'possums? Huhr' he replied.
''More 'possums than most anything
else, 'cept 'coons. Lots of persimmons
down our way, and the more persim-
mons the more 'possurns."
Exactly" responded the other.
"Must be a lot of 'em.''
Heaps of 'possums, said the North
Carolinian. "Plenty of 'possums down
home"
The last word came ont slowly and
vibrant with the southern information.
Last time went 'possum hunting
was one night in October" he went on.
"'There was my uncle, my two cousins
(boys about my age), a couple of mig
gers, an AK, four of the best 'possum
dogs you ever saw, and a jug of snake
medicine. We went two or three miles
straight through the woods. cutting
our own path for most of the way, un-
til finally the dogs took the scent, and
we threw ourselves down on the ground
in little clearing and waited for them
70 tree. The moon was just rising. 1t
was ore of those cool, clear nights
when the country down there looks as
if the fairies had made il in the night
and it would all melt away before the
sun in the morning. MY uncle, under
the influence of the time, the atmos-
phere, and possibly the medicine, of
which we had all partaken, grew talk
alive. And, by the way, we do some
chemical work down there. in a retir-
ing sort of way, compromising restora-
tives and tonics of-of-that nature
that you can't beat anywhere. We
have just little the best whisky in the
world down home. Well, as 1 was
saying, the old gentleman meHowed
little, and narrated few perfectly true
facts concerning the days of his youth.
1 happened to be lying where the light
fell on my face. and he kept staring at
me with his big gray eyes and telling
me how much / favored my father.
Then he would tell yarn about some
deviIment he and my father used to
get into when they were boys at school
together: then he'd laugh and take an
other drink. As was saving, he got
pretty mellow and prattled away quite
a lot.
"'Way in the distance we could hear
the dogs. hot on the scent. For
while their barking would grow faint
er and fainter~as they travelled from
MS; then nearer and nearer as the trail
led them in our direction. NV uncle
turned and listened intently for mo-
meut.
Hang those dogs he said. they've
separated and Tige has crossed the
river
Everybody jumped up.
- 4 never heard of such fool trick
said my elder cousin.
But said the younger, he's after
q coon
by Jupiter. he is said ny uncle.
Bob blow the horn
Bob obeyed, and after few blasts
of the horn we could hear the dogs re-
turning. Soon they broke into the
clearing, running up with fine affect
alton of innocent aud modest merit
All except Tige- he sort of tried to
hide behind himself But uncle called
him.
.Tige, come here, sir. You are the
biggest fool postum dog ever saw in
all my born days
"Tige looked up in mute protest
His big eyes were clearly pleading for
mercy.
"'Tige. you ought TO be ashamed of
xourseif I'll never q Re yor ont or, a