The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-12-19

JkIhlsll luSN SlCOd W lLS
kitchen table of a
December night pairing and cutting up
a great, knobby, sweet pumpkin, for
pies. IN be dinged to gosh eff l
wouldn't give a milkin' of the Jersey
cow fer Their eyester stew termorrer
down ct the church jest ter know what's
ken over tibet boy Jake of ourn. He
nain't seemed like hisself fer a year
past; not thet l am p~erticalor anxious
tibet he should, fer eff ever u youngster
he'd a change of heart and manners
withouten the help of n revival l be-
lieve cts him. He hessant given me a
sassy word fer weeks end l Almost git
lonesome and humsick to hear him saw
me off short er snatch me up sudden jest
ter hev the chance ter say sumthin' ag-
grayatin to him and call him an ongrate-
full scamp tibet don't know when he's
we'll off and continner riling him end
not low him ter sass back, cos I'm his
father. l reckon the boy hain't always
he'd a picnic and frosted cake and linn
ming aid livin' end workin' fer me eff
i am his dad, end me es should be his
best friend end show him thet l love
him the best next ter you. he made me
ashamed O. myself end Jake's honestly
greater then he tibet taketh q city, es
the Scripter says, fer when he ken gov
ern his temper round me, es | see myself
now, he's gotthes stuff him with a hev-
in. Somethin' S kun over him-there's
no blindin' yer eyes ter tibet. He seems
ter be livin' outside of hisself-fer other
foxes like-fer me end you most per-
ticulerly-es if ct were a pleasure for
gettin' of his own wants and notions.
You've noticed, Dorothy-of course you
hev-fer I've hearn you thank him a
dozen times-how yer wood-boX is al
lus filed without yer askin' end the
water drawed, end the back stoop swept,
and the chickens drinkin' crooks kept
full, end the aigs fetched in, end the
sour milk kerried outen the cellar, end
4 snarl o things done fer you what
afore you alters he'd ter do yerself er
nag Jake and argy end coax till you'd
druther ten times over do it yerself,
end liker es not you'd hev ter then when
alls said'n done.
He's cheerful end chick about his
work es n cat bird cheemering round
her nest in a alder bush, es if he were
gain continually onto a Christmas din
ner, end he had a seat next to the turkey
end brown gravy. 'Tother night l hearn
him talkin' ter the cows when he didn't
suspicion there was nobody aroun', end
he told old Boxy tibet he'd never kick
her again eff she'd forgive him end said
a lot O. things to the 'tother ones tibet
/ cudn't hear, ner didn't want ter hear,
fer | felt like l was stealin' list'nin'.
Eyer night l saw him end the Eaton
boys end the schoolmaster settin' on
the bridge over Sogger run. They was
power busy talkin' about sumthin,
specially the teacher, and when l KEN
up they looked kind of upset like end
dandered off about the crick end the
crops end corn husEin', end eny gump
could see ct wasn't what twas onter their
minds.
"A spell back-end not a long spell,
either, I'd a sed they's %a-plannin' some
o~nruliness, some chico mischief that I'D
make folks swear es air in the habit of
~swearin'. Some one would like es no find
tber two-hoss wagin onto the top of Their
barn termarrow mornin', er her smoke
house onto Their front stoop. But hain't
.a-worryin' now. Them youngsters he'd
sumthin' onto Their minds besides lark
in end cussedness, end we shell see,
mcbbe. what we shell see, es some cute
Teller sed."
And with the last ring of pumpkin
pared and cut up and put to stewing in
The big pot on the kitchen stove Uncle
Siuman took down the wooden boot
lack. drew off his dusty, wrinkled
stogies. hung up his wammus and vest
and retired, leaving Aunt Dorothy Jane
10 u~ndisturbed thought of her boy Jake
and her pies.
Nothing very startling ever happened
at Plunkettville. 1t was prone to dead
Ievelpess in events. A monotony of
situations was the rule. a funeral, a
marriage with its attendant chivaree, a
barn raising or a corn husking or a par
ing bee were the dizziest heights its oc-
currences attained, and between these
events and designations there were likely
TO be long intervals of unbroken quiet,
and so this recollection of mine par
takes more of the pastoral than a story.
1t would be pleasant as well as profit
able to write a good deal about this
schooImaster that Uncle Slumaa Able