The evening times., 1897-12-20

| ofroom. and put a bfesh fence around the
| spot to keep the mewl off. Bimsby the
| seed cum up and the vine begun to run
| and 1 never see anytiiin' like IL. Thar waa
! six meIyons on that wins. but the one IN
| the middle was the best
| "Anditg grew tO be q whopper?' Iqueried.
stranger. whopper of q melyon is one
thing. but a whoppinest whopper is another.
wheL she got to be as big as a beer xeg
she was a whopper. When she got to
b.. as big as a flour bari she was whop-
pines. whopper. Arter that couldn't
find no words to call her by. She Jest
riz up and spread out and got big, and
| finally She was the size Of q h0gshead."
''You don't mean it,"
'As;i EuInel Bunker, sab! He rid down
| Yer. one day and took a look at that Inel-
ypn. and arter he had walked all around it
hi. sez to me:
" Abe Hope, them pyramids ct Egypt
ANT nuwhar' alongside this meiyon, and
the archives of time will be hol,lln' yo'r
name when that OF Napoleon has dun bin
forgotten. Don't git drunk-dOn't lick the
oil, wUInan-dOn't do nuthin' to skeer this
melyon from growin' as big as a house.
That's what ne said, and NE and the ole
woman used To walk arouGd on tip-toes and
speak in whispers. / reckoued that when
that yere nielyon got TO te as big as I,
shed 1t would sort o. settle down and stop
CROWN and go to keepin' house, but 1t
'peared she had an anIbishun, too. She kept
CROWN till she was mighty nigh as big as
this Cabin. and il had cleaned her out she
would Ii.y made she'd fur the newl twas
her heft which made that big hole in the
airth over thar. / reckon that about 800
people cum yere To look at that mel yon .and
Kurnei Bunker said that my anbishun would
carry me 10 the Iegislachur'."
"And you got ti.s .u,-ioil down to the
county faif?'' ! observed, as the old man
made long pause.
mo. sat. we didn't he slowly repli.d.
"One day got sixteen inen up yere with
hand-spikes and ropes, and we rolled
that melyon Gown TO. the river and 4 rlat-
boat Yu can SET how she quilted out the
airth as she went along. We got her On
the fiat-ipat all right. and rot Oft to float
her down TIE river, but arter We had gone
bout ten miles the roof Of that inelyon
begun TO cave in"
1T was too npe, el?''
NO sab, that wasn't It. Fust thing We
knew thar was about twenty culrd folks
men. wimen and chiilen aboard US.
They wasn't thar when we started, and
they hadn't swum aboard. They had un
crawied out OF that neiyon."
.'You don't mean itr'
Every last word sab. Yes, sah-them
there families had dun squatted inside
that mel ) On fur cabin bcfO' 1t left mylanI
and they hs eaten 'tSay TIL the roof got
weak and fell iI on 'cm. They had dun
dug out three big rooms inside and ha ig
me II the didn't have TO or five cats AMI
dogs along with 'em! reckon 1 was never
20 mad In all my bon days. but what
could do 'bout it?''
what did yo' dor asked.
Rolled IT ashore and let them niggers
brace up the roof and hive Ia IL all winter.
1t wasn't Ia good To me any mo- as prize
mclyon. Wien I met Kurnel Bunker 1 sez
to him: s----.
..Kurnel. didn't yo' peal to me to hev
ambishun?'
'..I dds he.
land didn't hev 1t like baby with
the measles
'..Yo' did. Abe Hope
And hain't bin nockedout-wrecIcd
busted ana kerflopped by a passle o.
niggprs:'
'''Yo' new, ard can't blame yo' .f yO'r
ambishun has fled a., W dun turn about
and never draw another long breath.
But you have" / said.
''M.bbe ~, stranger. niebbe so,' replied
Abe. as he stretched out his back in the sun:
but ii hev l didn't skassly mean to do
it, No. sah-I hain't got no mo- ambishun
and them pyramids of Egypt and archives
of time and letters of gold amt gwiue to
bother me fur the rest of my life. Thar's
a pipe and terbacker on the shelf and n
jug of WHISKY on the floah, and yo' lest
dun help yo self and be at home. a nd don't
git up no talk to MA ke ha ard work fur me-