The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-11-07
WHICH DID SHE MEAN
HOW MEMBERS OF A RURAL PARTY
GOT TO MoRALlzlNG.

Elihu Undertook to Show the Hired Man
and Other Members of His Family How
Easy 1t Is to Rob the Unsophisticated.
The Result Wasn't Just as He Calculated.
It was truly rural party that waited
In narrowing suspense for the train
which was to leave In two or three
hours They had been to a fair,
and in their periods Of comparative re.
pose passed the time recounting their
experiences and observations.
II can't hep bein anxious" the old
gentleman said apologetioally to a gate
tender. "Ye see, there amt nobody to
home, an somebody up in our country
is developin a teri bic appetite fur Leg
horn chickens, which is my specially. !
don't like the idee Of stayin here over
night, dodgin bunko steerers, when we
orter be chasin chickin thieves"
Haven't you got hired man on the
placer
"Wo brought i'm along. He was
willin to pay his own way, an ez he'd
of quit eff he'd told i'm he'd gotter
stay, thort it nd save trouble in the
end"
Eyes Stree" chimed In the hired
man, who came up just at that point in
the conversation, II had to move weth
the percessiou. An Iwouldn t Of missed
seein what ] did fur nothin. I guess I
got through weth more sights than any
body else in tho hull outfit. -
II reckon yo didn't come across any
more that was new an startlin than
some Of the rest of u.s., replied tho old
gentleman in blase tone Of liberation.
81 know Of one thing tibet ye didn't see,
fur mother says she had her eye on ye
all the time. Hev 20 got any money!"
1.-TWO dollar an sixty cents,' was
the self satisfied response.
"Then ye didn't sec whut I'm talkin
about Ye run over to tibet store an
buy 5 cents with of English walnuts
an I'll show it ye III be over whur
mother an Zeb is, cause it'll interest
them too
When the hired man came back from
his errand, tho old gentleman was sayi ing
to his wife: II was out fur experience,
an We cant cit experience without it's
costin a leetle somethin. l learnt q new
game an want Zeb an the hired man
ter know about it, SOS ter put 'em on
their guard again the wicksdness of this
here world. All 70 need is some walnut
shells an a paper wad."
The members of his household fol-
lowed him to the window ledge, and,
after few preliminary passes to loosen
up his muscles for feats of legerdemain,
he paused to remark:
Now, yell understan, of course,
tibet this here amt no lesson in gam
bin. I jes' wanter show 70 how it's
done. When ye go ter town, yell
know jes' ez much about it ez them
sharpers does all be OIL yer guard. It's
game whur the man ez does the guessin
amt got no show whutsomeyer.
He manipulated the shells and the
paper wad in imitation of tho man he
had seen at tho fair, and stepping back
said:
Course. I don't want We ter bet
nothin, 'carse that nd be les like rob.
bin yer But it won't do no harm fur
We ter make guess, SOS ter show ye
how the DAG -on-ed swiudle operates "
TN bet ye INV new knife agin that
buckhorn handled one Of yern tibet |
kin nick ont tho shell o. hez the paper
wad under it remarked the hired man.
"I wouldn't left va do If. DON'T ye
opdersten' tibet this ia a ekin game Pm
a.showin ye?''
81 don't keer nothin bout that. I've
got that tber naper wad located mn We
da'sn't bet tibet 7 amt"
81 da,sn't da'sn,t ~ don't like fer
take no advantage of We, but we're o
man growed an responsible fur yer own
ocke pnt nm vcr tnifo y
The stakes wero laid on the window
ledge, and tho hired man promptly Sc
lected the right shell.
"Bv hockey - exclaimed the old gen.
tleman. "ye'ye puesscd it'll 1t must "a
been by miracle"
He tried it again, and this time not
only the hired man, but Zcb and the old
lady. risked all their available small
change. Again the amateur thimble
ringer iupgled the shells. and with the
same result
Better own up an quit, father"
suggested Zeb.
II won do nothin Of the kind" was
the reply.
In tho course of time he issued
promissory notes for a saddle blanket, a
mir Of boots. six pearl collar buttons, a
calico dress. a pair of bcarskin gloves,
seven plugs of tobacco and $3.50. But
he was not discouraged. He was pre-
pairing for another shuttle Of the walnut
shells, when his wife oxclaimed:
"Elihu. amt it purity near train
timer"
There was a simultaneous rush for
A. x,o.o TLo;, +,,;, had boo,, no,a