Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-11-27
BY ]. M. Bell.

head of his bed together with an ancient
shot pouch and a horn powder flask. The
mountings OF the old gun were of brass
and they shone with much rubbing.
There amt er better one in the State,
Pearly.' he said She's been pinted at
man an beast an birds in her day an
anyways shot straight The las time I
tried her was when l killed that 20-pound
gobbler in the Chicla hominy swamp, the
day before Thanksgivin' of the year l
came up here. Lord. he was worth bait
in for er month jes to git him near
'noush ter shoot. Your po' ma was Twin
then an she sent wud to Brother Bob an
Sally and the children to come to dinner
mex day an we had that gobbler on the
; table and l thought Bob would er killed
himself eatin' turkey"
81 remember answered the girl. glad
ly, to humor him and more than anxious
to make him forget his present worries.
''Pearly. I haven't felt like eatin' for
month an of course l couldn't no more
buy er turkey for tomorrow than / could
buy er home. but even er ole hyar or
'possum is better than nuthin'. 'Possum
amt so bad with sweet potatoes an
gravy. See if you can't git er cheap little
fellow in the morning.
"Yessr, I certainly am glad ter hear
you talkin bout ca tin somethn.' I'll
have half holiday from the store to-mor-
row an I'll run home early an cook the
possum SO well, you'll be 'bleeged to. eat
him.
At that moment they heard the slow
rumble of some vehicle coming up the
now silent little street The usual coun-
try cart-as it proved to be-stopped be-
fore the door OF the little house. a tall
bearded man got out and coming close to
the front gate, peered up at the dim
transom over the door and called back to
some one in the cart. Sally. by golly,
here's the place, dinged if George ain'L
hid hisself in er hen house. And he
strobe up to the door and knocked loudly
several times Pearly, attracted by the
vehicles stopping before their house, had
gone to the windows to note the unusual
circumstance.
Daddy she called back. excitedly
from her poiut of vantage, "Somebody's
out here in er covered cart with er gray
horse to it, an the mans lookin at tn
number on the door; an he is er big man
with long beard
Honey exclaimed her father, cit mus
be Brother Bob. Hurry up an see, Lord
I certainly hope it's So
He was right 1t was Brother Bob
and his wife. come to spend Thanksgiving
with Brother George an Pearly-with
their city knfolks.
After the exciting greetings were over
and the grey mare Fanny had been sta
bled and supper had been disposed of,
Brother Bob and Brother George. with
! Sally, and Pearly. all sat around the
modern, up-todate heater and talheG
of old, times. Brother Bob explained in a
bashful sort of way that he and Sally
had brought to or three little things long,
it bein' ThanksgiVin'
It turned out the next morning that the
two or three little things. consisted of
| a basket of eggs. two bushels of sweet
potatoes. grown in the sandy bottom
down by the Chickahonliny river, six old
hares pork ham. and 20-pound COB
bier that Brother Bob had shot the day
before on the Chickahominy low grounds.
! When the happy four sat down to din
ner next day and Brother Bob commenc-
ed carve the gobbler, it is needless to say
that the little 'possum that Pearly was
| to purchase. did not figure at the feast