Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-07-27
HIS LUCKY UNCLE.

Bow He Struck 1t Rich Once by Paying So
Bushel For 40 Cent Corn.
"My uncle over in the town of Wayne 1
s'pose was the luckiest man that ever
lived" said Packy Griswold to the Fair
child House circle. Everything he
touched brought money to his till, but the
luckiest strike he ever made was when
John Rogers barn burned down with
hundred bushels of corn in it that my un-
Gle had just paid Rogers SO bushel for,
although the biggest and hardest kind of
yaller corn was only worth 40 cents, the
best any one could do.
John Rogers had owed my uncle a
couple hundred dollars for five years and
more, but that didn't bother John any, as
he was one Of those chaps who believe
thoroughly in letting the other fellow
walk. One day my uncle drove over to
Johns to see if he couldn't squeeze lit
tie something out of him.
"'How're you fixed, JohnP said my
uncle.
Expected to have 80 today, sure, said
John, with twinkle in his eye, but
when went over to Bill Mason's to Dor
row it Bill wouldn't let me have it. Beats
the horses how some people don't seem to
have confidence nowadays
But after my uncle and John had
talked awhile John said
"'Tel you what I'll do, Abner, said
John. I've got a hundred bushels O.
corn in the barn yonder. Spose'n you
take the corn, and I'll be willin to call me
and you square.
my uncle figured up that, with corn at
40 cents, SO bushel was a tolerable high
figure to pay for it, but he thought he
might better pay SO bushel for corn and
get $40 than to never get anything, SO he
said he'd take the corn and call it square
He went to the barn after awhile. There
was the corn. But he came back to John
feeling ugly.
"'Here, John, said he, that's nothing
but little runty popcorn
eyes, said John, grinning, it's pop
corn. didn't think to say popcorn
"'Why, said my uncle, popcorn amt
worth nothin at all in the marketp
"'Yes, said John. That's about the
figure for popcorn.
My uncle was pretty mad, tell you,
and John Rogers was pretty near tickled
to death, and so he said to my uncle:
"'There's goin to be circus in town
tomorrow. Better stay all night with us,
and I'll take you to the show
'My uncle thought he'd get that much
out of John anyhow, so he staid. The
circus was expected along by Johns house
early in the morning on its way to town,
and when Johns boys got up to see it go
by they woke their father and my uncle
with their yells.
"'Jumpin jacksnipes, popl' they holler-
ed. The back yards got 90 foot o. snow
in itl'
John and my uncle piled out, for it
was early in September, and there hadn't
been any sign of snow. But there was
the back yard with a white drift clear
across it and banked 90 feet high. Then
it struck everybody all of sudden that
the barn was gone. You bet, 1t was gonel
1t had burned down some time during the
night and stuffed my uncle jamful of luck.
Every blamed kernal of that runty little
popcorn had popped out like asnapdragon,
and there it was, banked up where the
barn had been, like staring big snow
drift! Pop out bushel of popcorn, and
it will swell to five bushels, so here my
uncle had 500 bushels of the choicest kind
of popcorn on his hands While they were
all gawping at this curious transforma-
ton, along came the circus. The proprietor
was in his wagon at the head of the pro-
cession.
"iThunderii said ne, stopping to take a
look at the big heap of popcorn. 'That'n
sell like hot cakes with my show. How
much do you want for itf'
"'Two dollars bushel, said my uncle.
"'Cheap enoughl' said the circus man,
and he bought the whole 500 bushels and
planked down in my unole's hands 10 nice,
fat 500 bills.
Lucky should say he was. But, do
you know, John Rogers never spoke to
him from that time until his dying day"
New York Sun.