The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-12-26

chicken. i had only one consolation:
the chicken was mine and !. was the
first living thing that became propri-
etor OF. raised il till II became u
rooster-a fine stately rooster. NJ
eldest sister who lived ten miles away
was in a delicate condition and an ur-
gent message was sent TO my mother
to come. 1t was on Christmas eve and
the day being far gone mother selected
me- to accompany her. A brilliant
idea struck me. / would take the
rooster along with me and give it to
sister as a Christmas present We ar
rived after dark and put the rooster III
the barn My sister was in bed and
while was young ] knew what the
matter was. I felt the responsibility
and dignity Of an underwriting on me
for the fisrt time Joan Murphy. the
very midwife that welcomed me to the
world fourteen years before, was there
and she and my mother were exchang-
ing many mods and some words that
they thought / didn't hear. butt did
and the more I heard the more sure
l felt Of being advanced to the estate
Of unclehood. Things became too
critical and i was sent to bed. tucked
away in the very room where the big
Christmas candle was burning. II
was the greatest event in my life-I
would be different man tomorrow
thought-and / didn't sleep a wink.
The clock struck twelve times and the
greatest commotion / ever heard fol-
lowed. / peeped into the other room
just In time to see my rooster light on
my sisters face in her sick couch and
crow the shrillest and most excited
crow / have ever heard. Both ran
hastily for the bottle Of holy water and
showered its contents everywhere.
They looked around and the rooster
was gone and no one knew whittier,
although every door was closed. Ned.
the gallant Ned, who was the pride Of
the country round and who was to be
made father that night. searched
every nook and corner. but no rooster
could be found. II must have came
down through the ample chimney and
flown back again. I was to the front
of course and dressed the very mo-
ment the thing happened"
Ned was very much bothered and
he insisted on finding the rooster.
The bird bird had now the same
interest for him that the raven
had for Edgar Poe Allen. He
wanted to find it and question IT. but
1t was another case OF 'nevermore.
No living being has seen that rooster
since. He went back into the nights
Piutonian shore and left not a feather
as token. Ned asked me to go to the
there. As we advanced towards the
stable door he yelled and drew back
with terror pictured on his face. Did
You see that horrible dog?' he asked
me. / saw nothing. He kicked the air
and said. there he is / saw moth
ing. He was not allowed to
proceed another foot for an dog invis-
ible TO me jumped at his throat every
time he attempted to walk towards the
stable door. He and ! went back to
the house to tell our story but when We
reached there Ned was a father and
was an uncle and We did not deem IL
wise then to tell the tale of the fnvisi-
bic dog. Kate, the mother, was well. the
baby was pretty, the midwife took a
little toddy to settle her nerves. by
mistake mixed it with the holy water,
and my mother was arranging the
wardrobe of the baby.
Next morning Ned was taken sick
with an intense pain in his side.
Christmas night the wind whistled
dismally in the adjacent grove and the
Banshees mournfuI voice was heard
from there to the very summit Of
knock-a-Nair.
Two days afterwards the bell Of the
parish chapel tolled a mournful toll.
With a white sash around my should
ers l marched at the head of a process
sion of twenty-four boys into the city
of the dead and there we laid all that
remained of poor Ned. The child that
was born at midnight that night, WIS.,
tied me last night, just fifty years to
the minute afterwards. She was the
first one that called me Uncle and you
bet 1 am glad that she is here.
Let US drink one more to her health"