Evening journal., 1896-09-24
WE'LL SOLD TURTLE.
IT WAS OF THE SWAPPING KIND, AND
THEREBY HANGS THIS TALE.

Transaction Which Pleased tho Banker.
81 would not have minded Johns &C.
ton on the floor the other day, " said a
broker to party Of friends yesterday,
l"'if he had not used such tone of sus-
ypicion when he demanded more margin
on certain stocks that 1 had with him
in loan.
ITS only his way. Charlie, - said a
hearer. "He didn't mean to injure you
at all. -
Possibly he did not. said the first
speaker. 1T may have been due TO the
training that old Dutch banker -
gave him and his innate desire to let
( nothing escape.
"When he and were boys, +" Charlie
continued, II spent several summers on
his fathers farm out in Jersey. 1t was
there that he met his partner, and there
Is a curious little story connected with
their first business transaction, one in
which he did the old fellow, but at
the. same time endeared himself TO him.
'John and 1 had been fishing, and
among other things had caught snap
ping turtle that weighed about 20
pounds. We were carrying the snapper
home tied to a stick, one having hold Of
each end of it, when we met the bank
er driving along in buggy to his sum
mer home.
4 "Our catch presented a good appear
ance, and the old fellow stopped to in
quire about it. as he had never seen so
large turtle before except in the mar
l Lot Ia -ulra1 xrfb.k rrcft,rr h,
do with it, and we told him what deli
cious soup it would make. At once he
wanted it and offered so cents for it. 1
was for accepting the 90 cents, but not
30 John. He felt that he had custom
er and held out for 81, and he got it.
"Old - was a little afraid of the
snapper's jaws, but John and / bridled
the turtle by passing a bit of fishing
| line around it and between its jaws
and so tied its head well back under its
shell. We then received our silver dol
lar, tossed the snapper under the seat Of
the old mans buggy, and he drove off
| with it,
"As he did so / started on toward
home, but John sat by the roadside.
What are you waiting for?' / said.
The snapper, said John.
It's gone, " said /.
'Mebbe it is, and mebbe il amt.
Wait a minute and watch the old man,
said he.
"And sure enough, before the old
man had gone half mile we heard him
yell and then saw him jump from his
buggy.
John rolled on tho g-ass and laugh
ed nearly as loudly as the old man had
| yelled.
4 Picking himself up, he said, Let's
go get our snapper
I'D rather have the dollar, said.
What's the matter with having
bothT he replied, and tossing me the
. dollar and telling me TO remain where
was he started up the road after the
! old man, who was afraid to go near his
buggy, for the snapper had bitten
2 through its bride, had nipped the old
r man s shins and had taken undisputed
, 1 possession of the buggy.
II "He found the old fellow in a state
of CONSERVATION, swearing at the snap
per in the most expressive German at
his command and rubbing his shins at
the same time.
"'What you sell me-de devil?' asked
/ the old man.
No, nice fat, juicy snapper, said
John, and 1 sold him too cheaply, too.
He'll make delicious soup and plenty
Of it.
'Donnerwetterl Soupi I'll haf nC
soupl Gif me my tollar and take d'
brute.
nj &" 4 haven't your dollar. Charley ha
llI it back there in the road. Take TN,
I snapper TO him, and 1 guess he'll giv'
| you the dollar
Mel Me take dat eatin ting2
wouldn't get into that puggy now for
| quarter each way. Get i'm out and keel
l the tollar
'It was like rolling off log for Johl
/ TO take stick, prod the snapper an
| jerk him TO the ground as soon as h
had fastened his jaws upon it. OIL
| Dutchy, as we called him, jumped int
his buggy as soon as the snapper reach
cd the ground and drove hurriedly away
"Of course l rejoined John, and W
soon had his snappership swinging froT
our stick. We walked home in tri
umph, with the dollar in one pocket an
the snapper, metaphorically, in tn
t other. Our joke was too good to keeI
and that night we related it to all wh
visited the mill.
1.-The old man bore us no i'll will, bu
still he never wanted 20 buy any MOI
OF our 'schnappers, although he occI
sionally stopped TO look at them froi
d the seat of his buggy when he met I
} carrying them home.
n "John and / were sitting ON the mi
steps one evening when the old ma
, drove up. He stopped, asked John
! ride with him, and together they drol
4 of. They We're gone about an hou
[ That night John said, I'm going to
' banker.
rs 'You-going to be banker! VIII
nonsenseP / exclaimed.
i Nonsense or not, it's a fact The O.
|, man tonight asked me to take a positiC
R with him. told him knew nothir