The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1899-02-04
Discouraging a Truth Teller.

Rather toggy out tonight pleasantly
observed the Pilgrim Corners Postmaster
who was also Justice Of the Peace and
Storekeeper), as Captain Bunker dropped
in for his mail, i'll accordance with his
usual daily custom; and then joined the
group around the stove.
We'll, yaas, lazily drawled the ex-
>eatarer Bunker had acquired his title of
captain through the fact that he had once
been navigator Of lumber sloop), II sup
pose We might call this suthn of a fog fer
these parts, but it only a mist alongside of
some foe> I've bumped into in the good
old days-an nights too b jmks-when
| trod the deck of the Betsy Jane
Bumped into echoed the store
keeper incredulously Surely YOU don
mean to ~ay the log was 50 thick You
bumped into it
,'Ncbhe We know more about what !
mean to ~ay than do myself. sarcasti-
culIy remarked the former captain of the
Betsy Jane AN if We do, all we've got
To de- Is to 60 ahead an tell the story
BE. pardon captain, didn intend to
find fault or interrupt Your narrative. in
terpo>ed the >torekeeper. soothingly Il
was taken By surprise, that's all. as | had
never heard of fog thick enough to bump
into
Well then it purity nigh high time
We did. resumed the redoubtable captain.
somewhat modified Ez wuz sayin'
this fog which is Spreadm itself over the
landscape outside tonight is only slight
haze compared To- the sea fugs | uster run
into every now al then when | wuz navi-
.atin the Betsy Jane | remember one
time in the fall Of 90. we WIZ ON our
way up the coast from Charleston TO Port
land. when we suddenly bumped into
e.. hank that bruns the Betsy Jane up
>rlndin in lc>S'u three minutes after we
struck il
That air iog seemed to be packed down
in hard layer ON the surface of the water
caused by the wind, | expect, which
wuz BLOWN right smart at the time-an
though il wuzu more dozen or fifteen
feet thick the Betsy .Jaue ruuldu make
any more headway through 1t than locn-
motive could on an up Grade through
snow bank a, high asher >mokestack
For once in her life the Betsy Jane
wuz stumpcd 50 To- speak There >he lay
walierin Ia that tug hank an doin her
level best To plough her way through it.
with sail filled wit wind an snappin an
crackiu overhead ike week : wa>hin in
a March squalI but she might ez well have
attempted TO sail on dry land fer all the
progress she made
Bimeby one end of the top, ! ~; loose
au when sent a mau alolt To fix it he
lost hiS footing ~ some way an tcIl over
board an It it hadu heeu fer that fug
hank he 4 have been a .ouer Yes.
stree boys, that AL that saved him Ie
see. il wuz ~ tough an elastic, that FOG
wuz that when be landed on it. i few
teet away from the >loop, he bounced
night back on deck hghiin ON his feet
,ame ez a cat, an "a mly wen, on back to
hl, work "a If nothIu had happened
Most remarkable circumstance that
m,>, rmarkahle-indecd commented
the postmaster. a. the eN-nayigator paused
'a lay ia fresh supply Of oxygen,
iaa~. | po-e It does sound rather
reuarkablc 20 a laudsmau, but
Huh ran say that see anything
-a very remarkable about it, Clipped in
Farmer Nubbjn>. from hi, seat on the
rra,Acr barrel \ fellow dou' have to
~ail "a humber scow 10 run across some queer
thing ia the TO- line remember one
fall lew year, a.o, when lived in
swamp lIoller, We had week Of f,sSy
weather an II Uas 50 bad we had 10 get
out the big SNOW plough and plough out
ybe ruld, same Is after "a heavy snow
storm
had three-acrc strawberry patch
that fall which | had been thinkin OF
GOVERN With straw fcr the winter. but
hadn got at ii yet, an one msrnin when
the layer Of tog was a little thicker an
tougher than usual, happy thought
struck me an went cut with my hired
ulaa an wc staked the fog down over the
berry patch driyiu stake at each corner
au another every few rods along each
side, an left it there ali winter Ia keep
the plants from freeHu
The-the dickens You did ga>ped
Captain Bunker who had been glaring at
Nubbin> for the past five minutes with the
air Of dog whose private bone yard has
been invaded May inquire what ye
done with tina, fos in the spring
Certainly, | pulled up the stakes. roll
ed up the fox in heap at one end of the
Gcid. an set fire TO it an burnt it up 10
get rid Of i,
II nh m shifted the ex-nayiga-
tor 1t that's ,he case. reckon I'll
travel along To rds home wuz goin to
finish N, story by relatin how we finally
had % ri. up a eruSs-cuJ saw, playim up
an down on sort of walkin beam hung
on; over the bow of the Betsy Jane. to RIP
that tog apart 80 she could wedge her way
through but see man who sticks to
the truth around here hahn got anE more
show than jug OF old Bourbon at a Ken
tucky barn raisin or Il cuSset lamb among
a lot Of hmsy wolves, 80 | might ez well
quit right where be
And with another sniff of disgust the
former commander OF the Betsy Jane
weighed anchor and tackled for home.