The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-09-08


Willie came along and stopped to say:
Better hump yerself out O. that,
Gully"
For why?"
"De farmer will be after We and use
We ruff. OATS what dey calls trespass
out here in de country"
LET 'em call and be hanged. Things
have come to a pretty pass when n
can't roll on the grass"
"All right, Gully. If We git de boot
don't blame me. I was jest tryin' to
put We next, ye know"
Dir. Bowser decided not to roll. He
decided TO sit in a shady fence corner
for awhile and hear the notes of the
meadow lark. There were birds about,
n they were singing more or less,
b u he soon discovered that he couldn't
tell the song Of a lark from that Of a
crow. This made him secretly glad
that Mrs. Bowser had not come along.
She would have been sure to say some
thing to hurt his feelings. After a rest
of ten minutes he climbed back into
the road and walked on to look for
h~uckleberry vines. AT the end of a
quarter of u mile he came to another
Weary sitting on Il log and gnawing at
the last remains of a beef bone. Mr..
Bowser was going by without saluta-
ton, but the other looked up and called
out:
Say. Gully, when did We take to
de hoof:"
What do you mean. sirY"
"Hain't ye on de pad"
"Hoof? HoOf? Pad? Pad? l don't
understand the terms"
"Oh, ye don't. Den We hain't been
Matched long. What I'm askin' is do
ye belong to de purfesh?"
do l look like a tramp"
"To be honest wild We, Gully, We don't.
Ye look more like de man who takes
tickets at de side show where dey ex-
hibit de wild woman of Borneo. Are
ye down on vel luck?'
Mr.. Bowser drew himself up with
freezing dignity and passed on. He
couldn't fight with q tramp, but he de-
termined to make Mrs. Bowser pay for
those insults. Forty rods further on he
came to a farmhouse. There was a
iathy young man greasing a wagon
In front of the place, and Mr.. Bowser
halted and asked:
do you think 1 might be able to find
any huckleberries around hereT
"Mebbe it's hayseeds and suckers
you are looking for?" was the reply,
accompanied by looks of suspicion.
II simply desire to find some buckle
berries and pick them off the vines"
The lathy young man laughed.
"Well, what are you cackling about"
I'm wondering whether you are a
fool or a sharper. Why didn't you say
that huckleberries grew on oak trees?'
''They grow on vines, as I said, and
/ see no need of your making a smart
Aleck of yourself over it. I asked you
a civil question"
"Pa, par called the young man to
some one in the house.
"Well what is it," asked the old
farmer himself as he came out.
Here's a Teller as says huckleberries
grow on vines"
The old man put on his spectacles
and went closer to Mr.. Bowser, and
then drew back and said:
"Look out for him, Sam. I think he's
the Teller that stole our milk cans
one night last week. Lord, what a
mug he's got on him."
"See here, but what in thunder ails
your shouted Mr.. Bowser, as be got
as red as a beet. II cOme along here
and ask you a civil question and yor
make a great mystery over it. If there
are any idiots around here, you arr
the ones"
"But you said you were after hue
kleberries," protested the young man.
"Well what of it,"
"And they grew on vines"
"And what of that tooY
Don't try any bluff here, old man
Pa, whistle for the dog. Now, yo'
gitr =
The farmers wife came out with tn
dog. She had a hoe handle in he
hand. Bowser decided to get. AS b
started the four took after him, an
in his confusion be took to the wood
across the road, instead of keeping t
the highway. The tramp down th
road on q log had seen it all, and a
the minutes went by and neither pul
sued nor pursuers r~eappeared, and tn
yelps Of the dog sounded further an
further away. he returned to his bee
bone and mused:
II guess be hain't de man who run
a side snow. after all. l guess he's q
chap dat does Il stunt wild de hyena
and dat dey has got de best Of him d
time" NJ. QUAD.