The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1895-10-25
BEN'S BID.

"Why don't you raise chickens for
the market?' suggested Hiram Bassett.
the village storekeeper, to Ben Singer.
Ben was fourteen years old. His moth
er had died a short time before His
father was a carpenter by trade, but
had been crippled by rheumatism so
that he could not work. Ben, who al
ways looked on Mr.. Bassett as friend
of undoubted fidelity and great re-
sources, had been telling the store
keeper how much he wished hescould
ret some steady work. Mr.. Singers
little stock of money was exhausted;
he had already sold some of his tools
to get the food he and his son needed.
Ben realized that the day was rapidly
coming when there would be no way
of getting more. unless he managed TO
do something Of greater profit than
the odd jobs he picked up now and
then from the surrounding farmers
: "Pn do it," said Ben, in response 10
Mr. Bassett's suggestion, and, turning
about, trudged home, and all the way
was planning how he might begin.
A week later the chicken farm, az
Ben called il, was . fact; at least he
had made start In his spare time he
had constructed some coops from old
barrels and box or two. The pay for
two days work he invested IN three
dozen eggs, and with the money OBJ
tanned by sorting some vegetables for
the storekeeper bought two hens which
were just about to set" He and his
father already had five pullets, and
within couple of weeks more there
were five "clu tches" of eggs under as
many of his hens
He fed his chickens from the screen
ings he got at small price from sew
eral of the farmers. The hens man
aged, too, to pick up a good deal of
food among the bushes and in the tiny
garden back of the house. Ben worked
hard at the small jobs he was given
round about, and waited with conf
dence for the time when he should he
able to make something from his ven
ture.
/ He would have felt much happier If
1t hadn't been for his fathers condi-
ton. Mr.. Singer did not complain of
the rheumatism, though 1t still kept
him confined to his big chair. But
something worried him very much; the
boy could see that. He asked what it
was several times. but Mr.. Singers
only reply was that he suffered he
felt downhearted on account of being
SO crippled. He tried to make Ben
think that that was all that distre ssed
him, but the boy could not believe it
Slowly the flock of chickens grew.
The eg-s hI,chcd remark ably well.
Fifty downy little balls were soon
running in and out Of the coops where
their mothers were confined Four
more clutches" of eggs were under
that number of new hens, which he
had bought and paid for in INSTALL
meuts of work The first days Of sum-
mer saw him with seventy-five young
chickens, some of them able to scratch
for themselves 1t took all he could
now make to keep his father and him
self in food and to provide for his farm,
but he was Vlways on the alert for a
job, and was as cheerful as he could
be, so that the neighbors all liked to
employ him when they could. Ben
had told his father of his plan, and ex-
planned that as few of the farmers
raised chickens, except for their own
use, he thought here ought to be a
chance to make something by shipping
them to Waynesboro, the bigger town,
five miles away. Mr.. Singer was not
altogether confident of the success of
such an experiment, but he said moth
ing to discourage the boy, and used TO
sit near the windows and watch the
broods and talk to Ben about them.
July and August went by, and the
young chickens thrived. Only few
of them were lost. A providing pos
sum got several before Ben trapped
the marauder. Cold and rain killed off
q few more. But the first of Scptem-
Der came and more than sixty chickens
were the boys
Ben planned to sell thirty or forty
in the early autumn and to keep the
remainder till the next summer to
stock his farm with afresh. He in
tended to go into it then on bigger
scale, and he hoped to realize enough
from his sales to keep him through the
winter with the part of his flock he re-
tanned.
Then, one day in September, as he
and his father sat in the doorway of
the cottage, Ben noticed a couple of
tears trickle down his fathers face.
He jumped up and threw his arms
around his fathers neck. He was
frightened and he did not understand
just what was the matter.
Presently Mr.. Singer unclasped the
boys hands aud looked him in the face.
"Ben," he said. I'm afraid we are in
for hard times yet"
what do you mean, Dadp" asked
Ben.
1.-THE house is only rented" said Mr..
Singer slowly; they can't take that,
but they can take all our furniture
and everything else"
why, they belong to u.s." exclaimed
Ben.
80 they do, Ben, but the law gives
another man the right to sell them and
take the money they bring if we owe
him money and can't pay it."
.6nd we owe somebody money?
thought DR.. James was paid?"
80 he was. But there is some one