The San Francisco call., 1897-07-04

'spicion dey's all shiny an turn sumtin'
like grin stun, wild crank, an sparks
an fire somehow fyin' off n 'um. Dey
must be de mos gloriousest t'ings! Ell
could on'v jess go to F. 9th OBJ July now
I'm mos min ter sneak out er dis ole gar
den. Et's jess work fun sunup ter SUM-
down. Nanny, she thinks 1 kin"
"Htyi, Sine! Wot you rootin' round
in de dirt dar fo'? After wums fo' fish
bait?"
and Genero Peters woolly head ap-
! peared above the "top-rider" Of the log
| fence, his wide mouth grinning. and his
| black eyes shining and swapping with
pure mischief beneath his ragged hat
| brim.
KEN. nowl KEN out er dat ole garden,
Sine, an les hab stompin' ole celebra-
tium r.
Nanny toIe me ter hoe de taters an
not ter poke my nose ober de top-rider
once" replied little Sine, with longing
looks toward the fields.
"Nebber yo' min nanny. She's tux
fo' dis day, shore. Granny's bad. Got
rumyticks in ebery Iint. Golly! l
shouldn' wonder eff granny diedl Ye
yaller dawg howled las night!'
"Will de howlin' make yo' granny die2''
asked little Sine, with wide-eyed astonish-
ment.
"Wot inherent chile you is, Sine
No, de yaller dawg dom make it, but it's
a shore sign some body's got ter die in de
fambly, an granny says she's plum wore
out. t'ink de howls war TO her. Drap:
dat hoe, now, an kem out yere in di:
blackjack. rs got sumin' ter s'prise you
Be Hbely, nowl Can't be foolin' roun' s
hull Fo'th OBJ July TO- bit OBJ bob-shirel
like you is"
"Ef nanny ketches me off de primysez
she'll make me see pinwheeIs fo' MONT
She say so," faltered Sine, his foot on the
bottom log of the fence.
"Hi-hi-yer' laughed Genero. "You't
git fireworks, you would. l knows Nam
my Wl'ams. But you needn't go ober dt
top-rider. Jess skip froo de gate. Da
won't be dis beyin' yo' nanny. She only
say dom go ober de top-rider."
Little Sine was scarcely convinced, ye
his longings accorded so entirely with
| Genero's logic that he was easily per-
suaded to "skip froo de gate" and in a
short time the two little darkies were in
| the edge of the blackjack" at the back
OF Nanny Williams shanty.
"Wot you t'ink oh dis, eh, Sine?" said
Genero, producing something from out his
baggy shirt.
''Wot is it2" queried Sine.
"Why, don't you see?" lisa gun" re-
| piled Genero, proudly.
| Sine's big eyes rolled in astonishment.
"Whar did it KEN i'um?'
Made i'll" exclaimed Genero, trium-
| phantly. "It's jess as easvl White Sam
tole me how. You see, you takes a wood
en- spin'le, jess as long as you want yo'
gun; den you twines string roun' it
wild piece OBJ paper, den derange anoder
/ piece OBJ paper a little ways out FUN de
oder piece OBJ paper, an run de hole full
oh lead. Pull out do spin lie, an dar you
hab gun barl. Den one end is plug ed
up, an it has ter be put inter dis wooden
bar'l ter make it look bump;ious like, wild
breeches pin-dat's wot Sam called it.
| Dis little hole is whar de match teches de
powder. Hi! pll make you one some
day-ef you won't tell yo' nanny"
Sine promised.
The not very lucid explanation of the
! manufacture OI the WOuucTlul gun only
added awe and admiration for Genero in
the mind of little Sine, and he was ready
TO follow his mischievous companion and
that gun at all hazards.
In fact Nanny Williams was forgotten.
The old gun hanging over the door,
with which his brother, Andrew Jackson,
hunted 'possums, had always been an OBJ
| ject of great admiration.
To have one even like Genero's seemed
TO be almost too great good luck.
In some way Genero had obtained a
small quantity of powder, but for bullets
dried peas were substituted.
For some time the "black jacks" re-
! soun ded to the pops of the gun and the
hilarious shouts of the delighted boys.
n othing escaped their sharp eyes, and
at last, seeing Nanny Williams old
brood hen scratching around in the yard,