The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1899-11-10
JIMMIE'S AMBITION.
BY LESTER 1. LOCKWOOD.
AhITELLO, jim! What's up now?"
Chicken coop-that is, it viii!

hIIELLO, jim! What's up now?"
Chicken coop-that is, it viii!
BE- when 1 manage to get few more
nails in"
Sam Simmins vaulted the low fence,
and, standing with his hands in his
pockets, watched Jim few moments.
Then he gave an amused whistle. Il
say, Jim, there's nothing Like having
conveniences to work with. Now, il
were to build chicken coop should
be silly enough to use new wire eight
pennies and a steel-tipped hammer; but
1 daresay I'm quite behind the times,
and that assorted sizes of bent and
rusty nails and slippery stone to drive
them in with are the latest improved
implements sort OF renaissance in
carpentry, eh?"
'Not exactly" replied Jim, laughing,
"but it gives you chance to air that
French pronunciation that you had to
stay after school for last night. So
there's some good comes from my i'm
DIOVlScu ICSOuICCS, 0AtCA oAAp tAAos W 81
the phrase stuck on yesterday"
Don't Miss Lamb put us through
the definitions and pronunciations for
all they are worth, though? Father
says if this thing keeps up he'll have to
buy new dictionary before the year is
out-such wear on it, you know. But,
to resume the original theme. what
are you going to put in your coop when
it is done?"
"That is also Miss Lambs doing. You
see, she knows all about my poultry
craze-knows I'm saving up to go into
the chicken business, mean-and yes
terday she showed me chance to be-
gin. The folks where she boards are
regular chicken cranks, you know
fine stock, incubators, and all thai.
Well, yesterday she heard Mrs. Jansen
say. that she had hen so determined
t. set that she couldn't break her up.
and that she'd sell her very cheap to get
rid of her. So Miss Lamb told her about
me, and she offered to sell me the hen
and a setting of Is eggs-all good stock.
tOOy AllAO JOu-lO1 VIC OOi1dxs A<OA
you call that layout, now?"
"'Tis, for fact. And you happened
to have the dollar?"
eyes, I've saved up $1.15, and if can
get the coop done I'm going after school
tonight for the ben."
"And l suppose you will buy bicy-
Gle with the proceeds? But that doesci
explain why you are using rusty nails
and stone hammer"
'Why, you see, our hammer is lost,
as usual. Some of the children are al
ways getting away with it, and can't
afford to spend my extra Is cents on
nails. That has to go for chicken feed,
and don't know when I'll have .
chance to earn any more. So I'm draw
ing these nails out of the boxes on the
kindling pile. They are really mine,
you know. I worked for them at Mr..
Lakes grocery last vacation"
'Going into business on a strictly
cash basis, eh?"
Eyes, stree! That's my ticket, every
time"
Been reading the life Of. Rockefeller
and all those penniless-boy millionaires,
1 suppose?"
Jim flushed.
well, that's the right way to begin,
anyhow" he said, sturdily, wrenching
at stubborn nail with the cold chisel;
but do wish they wouldn't always lose
the hammer"
why don't you wait till it turns
up?''
TOO much risk. You must make
hay while the sun shines, you know
in other words, set hens while they're
in the notion
Going into the poultry business
with one hen is too slow for me. I'm
going to Klondike as soon as school is
out, and when strike it rich in mines
you'll be puttering away with an old
clucking hen and half dozen scrawny
chickens"
"All right" responded Jim, cheerily.
1T may be slow, but "a bird in the hand
is worth two in the bush.'"
which, being translated, means "a
Aen III tue coop is WOrtntW mines in
the ground I suppose p
That's about the size of it. But 7
say. Sam, before you start for Klondike
won't you please hand me that stone
lying at your feet-the smooth one
that looks like a petrifed potato? This
loose granite chips of so.''
II docs look like a potato-the white
elephant variety" said Sam, tossing the
stone to Jim.
Thank you. This will make q fine
hammer-so hard and smooth"
Ha! ha! ha! / should say sols for
at the first stroke on the rusty nail head
Inc stone broke IN two, one-half falling
D =. ssss cATARRh
for ; gsneroas =|5@Sl
70 oeMT e. .}S3sSS