The evening times., 1898-04-18
UNCLE MECK'S "GOSLiN.

lONn WIFI Ills DIcSdIS HuIlS bNti d
stick over his shoulder.
Aunt Rebie picked her way more del
icately down the COW path on the road
side Her town hat hung on her stick
and a new split basket" sat atop her
head on her tightly -knotted handker-
chief
JOHN, the adopted son Of this old
couple. despite their injunctions, play
ed ill-conditioned pranks along the
way.
In Aunt Rebels white-oak-s -splint
basket were ten dozen eggs, nicely
packed in cottonseed. with a bit of lint
cotton on top. Aunt Robie knew these
eggs would bring a dollar and twenty
cents. With this she counted on buy
ing many delicacies to add to an East
er feast, mainly to be furnished by a
basket from Tolstone House. The new
er-failing Easter basket would contain
a turkey. fianked with jams and
''lightnin' bread" and real white
folks cake" Master and mistress
never forgot these old quondam slaves
at Easter-tide.
But at the first store of the short row
of the village shops came to fear that
she could not get even the moderate
price of ten cents a dozen for the eggs
she carried: for there she saw what
she had never seen before, a gorgeous
supply Of eggs, red. yellow, purple,
blue, gold mad never a plain white one
among them.
For goodness sake, Meek, what
sorter eggs is dem?" exclaimed the old
woman.
Il don't know, Rebie. Hit beats my
time."
They are Easter eggs. The Easter
hen laid them, explained the young
clerk, facetiously.
You don't say! Not des one hen,
sir? You hear dat, Neck Des one hen.
DO she hatch, also?"
Well. not often She usually rests
up till another Easter"
We'll, she need to-
| cant l sell you some?'
| A CLEAN lit up Meck's dim old eyes
as he drew his wife aside TO whisper:
Bootleg blue want set, Rebie."
Who gwine to hinder|' Rebie had
not caught the drift of his fancy.
"A Easter egg might hatch a Easter
hem
| Fer true," exclaimed Rebie
"Swop yo eggs for some of dem,
! Rebie."
Even swop
is you crazy? Dozen fer one, and be
glad
What bout the other things US wuz
gwine bUy?'
Amt what Marse sends alas 'nough
and MOI
So Rebie offered the exchange of a
dozen for one. The clerk made the
+ bargain, and perhaps pricked in con-
science at so manifestly unfair a trade
! threw in an extra one-a great white
/ egg with just a tiny blue flower drawn
/ here and there on its surface.
=
At home in their little daubed log
cabin. as they carefully handled the
eggs. Meek raised the large one gin
gerly: Dis must be de last of de
/ litter. Hit so different from de rest.
/ Hits clearer dan de others, too
In fact. ii was the only raw one of the
number, the only one whose pores were
/ not thick with dye.
/ De last egg of de latter is always
littlest," commented Rebie.
But maybe de Easter hen don't lay
dat way
Oats de truf. Us gotter fix ter git
a good. full hatchin' from de bootleg
blue dis time"
EFF We set her after dark datll make
her batch all pullets."
"Tll make de nest of hay, so as dat'll
insure pullets Also" continued Meek.
JOHN commanded Rebie, git
out de white flint rock. and when you
hear me and yo' daddy at de nest in de
cornder of the corn crib. you drop de
rock i'm de fireplace in de ashes, and
il We keep ii dar all hatchin' season.
datll insure de chickens hatched gins
hawks ketchin' EN-"
Put all de eggs in dis wool hat er
mine'' Meek held out that unique re-
ceptacle: pour 'em gently into de nest
at oncet; dat'll make all hatch at
oncet."
Thus with every precaution the boot
1 leg-blue was set"
There were two treasures now to be
guarded from the prying proclivities of
JOHN: the nest of the many-colored
eggs. and a certain strong box, chained
to the leg of the old four-post bed in
the cabin.
Ever since the little scamp could re-
member he had tried to find out how
that box got there, and what was in
il. but old Rebie did not herself know.
If Neck knew it's contents he had
never told either Rebie or Jd-Jim.
Old master had given it to his trusted
slave to keep till young master needed
it most. This box, this injunction. and
an old blunderbuss of pistol had been
given at one time to old Neck
A hundred times the bootleg blue
eyed and turned her strange nestful of
eggs Before long the hard-boiled eggs
began to emit an odor so baleful that
even JOHN kept away from the crib
corner.
Three weeks had passed, and no sign
of chick. Another week, and yet an
other Then, just as the bootleg blue
was beginning to distrust the laws of
nature-'peep-peept And out of the
great white egg, with blue flowers on
it, came a downy something.
You know, Rebie," suggested Meek,
when the question of rearing this
strange creature was discussed; IF
you want to rightly raise a brood of
turkeys you must take de broke shells
from de nest, and string 'em on
yeller homespun string. and hang 'em
'gainst de jam Of de chimbly."
Hits good thing to make any
kinder fowl grow fast to burn de
hatchin' nest
DE flint rock gwine to keep de hawks
off, but US better set a sad iron on end
on de hearth now to keep off de squinch
owls"
Thus, the creature was surrounded
! by every precaution from the first
hour of its Matching. 1t grew amaz-
ingly, but proved to be no Easter hen
only gosling-and a gander at that.
The old people, though disappointed.