Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1898-05-06
Uncle Wash's Escape
BY NED HUTTON.
eeeeeeeG'eeee.seesaeeeee'e

as the logs burned down 10 glowing
Goals. 4 rat began gnawing in the
easement OF the mantel, and the old
man, rousing himself and reaching Tor
the tobacco jar, said:
"Thars Hazel at il again"
l asked us Hazel the rats namc|'
at shore is. sonny" replied the old
gentleman with a chuckle, IAN the way
he comes by it is all ON account OF his
liking for hazelnuts as an article ov
Grub. I've knowcd the little Harment
fer a long time an fer to kill time I'll
Jest call him out an show You his lecdle
pecooliarity with them nuts"
Uncle Wash crossed to the corner OF
the room and drew forth a handful of
hazclnuts from barrel. After select
ing am iron from q row on the shelf,
Le sat down in front of the fireplace.
c,aspcd the iron between his knees and
began cracking them with am old wagon
tongue pin. pccring over his glasses at
the hole I'm the easement after each nut.
When The click of the iron on the nuts
began. the guuuing ceased, and pros
entity the rat appeared at the hole. His
shiny eyes surveyed the room carefully
and finally settled ON the old man.
Then ne came out ON the floor, and adj
vanciug to the old gcntleman's side
climbed up his trouser leg and sat on
his knee and waited. watching every
move Of Uncle Wash's hands with his
little. bcady eyes.
Uncle Wash cracked a nut and gave
the rat the kernel, which the rat quick
ly disposed or holding it between his
paws while guawing it. His capacity
for nuts seemed unlimited
BY accident ! overturned n chair I
had been twirling, and the rat jumped
from his perch and scamperod TO his
hole i'm apparent great terror.
"IIazel is mighty pecooliar thata-
way" said Uncle Wash when he had
finished the nuts and was smoking
again. lie shore likes hazelnuts, an
will quit eatin' up the house any time
fer a mess ov IN, but fallin' chairs
makes him nervous, kinder. Jes' the
minute what he hears me crackin' nuts
here in front of the fireplace. that air
rat'u quit the most important piece Of
=
in i'm here fer his sheer, but when Il
racket like that happens, the lcedle var
mcnt gits in fdgct fer 10 leave an he
does it in a hurry"
81 recollect once when he comes rae
in i'm here loolin' fer nuts like ne did
les now. an lie run up aginst moren
ne bargained fer an raised n racket
that fetched your Uncle Wash outen
difficulty that was pinchin' him might
lily, an ! reckon the rat rocollects it,
too. II was mighty cmbarrisin' 10 the
rat. an 10 another party who was here
present, but it shore ticllleS your Uncle
Wash, an that's why I think so much
ov him
"Yaas, sir" continued the old GENTLE
man. chucLling to himself. "Yans, sir,
that pore lccdle INSIGNIFICANT animal
shore saves your Uncle Wash from git
tin married TO n wilder woman onct
ON a time. an on that account 7 kinder
takes pains TO look out fcr him now, an
sorter comfort him when he gifts
skcored at chairs or the dogs morin'
round under the house an growlin' in
their sleep.
"This hero wilder woman I'm goin'
10 tell Won about was called Mis- Silc by
all the neiGhbors round here Her
name l dun forgot now. cause never
was much interested i'm this female no.
how. but she ulster sign itup at the store
as Mis- Silas Madden, after her husband.
an so everybody knowed her as Mis-
Sile.
"She was ies' wilder woman fer n
lcedle while, when the rat ayerts
catastrophe an saves your Uncle Wash
a-marryin' her. She lives perty near
over ON the county line, an her husband
was drowned one spring irwin 10 cut
ice on the river when they was a thaw
eoin' on. The ice dun cracked when
he was a-sawin' ov il, an Silas fell in
an was drowned, along with ice saw
that ole Bill Gaines had bought In st.
Louis an had loaned TO him. They
never found Slas. ner the ice saw.
neither, an | guess before Silas had
drifted to the mouth Of the river that
rir woman was chasin' over the county
lCol,in' fer another man.
t1llN lDDhH bNtl All Nl4t ava lcDit ltl'
lers in this naik ov the woods, an IL
looks like she finally decides ter settle
down on your Uncle Wash as n fifteen
victim fer matrimony; at least knows
that after that she devotes all her Mt
tentions TO that end.
1T was about the time that the wild
der was manooverin' most an was n
wcakenin' that | forms the acquaint-
ance of this rat. He was kinder like
the wilder woman; he jes' drapt in, an
findin' the surroundings congenial, ma
fully he stayed here.
~ first notices him one night when
I was a-sittin' here like we air now, an
I was jes' passn' the time away crack
in hazelnuts when / sees, him stick his
head outen the hole down thar in the
casin' an look up at me like he wanted
some hazelnuts, too. I rolls n couple
along the floor over TO him fer to see.
II didn't take him two seconds TO squat
down on his hind legs an gnaw off