Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1905-08-18

r7IT--TIyya YER hear Lie Patton S bull
~ vi fiddle played?" asked Nc
~ Peak, the singing school
~ master.
M NJ "Naw," said Tobias
Strong, taking careful aim
at box of ashes already we'll saturat-
ed with a fertilizing solution of nico-
tine, whats bull-fddle?"
Its a contraption calculated to
make you wish you were in the here
after or hadn't left the heretofore -
said McPeak.
whats it fur?" asked Tobias.
"Fox-drivers, bellings and things
generally where noise is wanted
said McPeak.
"Where'd Lie git it?" asked Tobias.
squirting his eye at the box of ashes
Tor a more sure aim.
made it," said McPeak
''Made it?" queried Lie.
''Yes." said McPeak, Life can do
anything from knitting a garter to
saving logs. Never saw but one thing
In my life that Lie couldn't do if he
set out to-"
whats that?" asked Tobias, with
interest.
Get away from the Widow Barker.
He tried it, but couldn't make it,"
said McPeak, with a mournful shake
of the head. "'twas a great loss to the
country when Lie got married"
"Where'd he go to? p asked Tobias.
10, he's living over on Pleasant
Ridge, but don't amount to nawthing,'
responded McPeak.
"Sho, McPeak," demonstrated Deacon
Slunkett, Lies all right. Bein's
you've never married you've no right
TO jedge in such matters. Lies settled
down like man orto when he's mar
ried.'
30 yes, he's settled down." admitted
McPeak, sarcastically, "he's settled
so hard that he never cracks a smile
unless the baby cuts a tooth or some
fool thing like that. Lie used to be a
great one" he added regretfully, "be-
fore the Widow Barker got hold of
him.
"Ah, well, McPeak, everybody hes
to be fool sometime" drawled Tobias,
still cycling the ash-box. where's tn
bull-fddle?"
Eyes, where is it?" echoed McPeak.
THAT'S what I'd like to know No
body knows excepting the Widow
Barker, and l guess she'd die before
she'd TELL"
Whats she got agin it," asked
Tobias.
20, what's any woman got against
anything?" responded McPeak. "es-
pecialiy widow women?"
Nov, McPeak," again interposed
Deacon Plunkett, you know that the
Widow Barker nor no other woman
ever liked to hear that bull-fddle
played. They hain't one of 'em thet
ever heard it but would a busted it if
she could
Must be a queer soundin' thing
commented Tobias, what's it made
uyY
IT'S jest old powder keg with one
end open and drum-head stretched
over the other end, and leather shoe
string drawed through the middle of it
into the key" explained Deacon
Plunkett.
Don't sound so alfred bad" said
Tobias.
Il guess you'd think it sounded pretty
alfred something if you took a hand
full of rosin and pulled along that
shoestring,' said McPeak ut made
an end of Lie anyhew. The Widow
Barker never'd got hold of him If it
hadn't been for that bull-fiddle and
the Pleasant Ridge fox-driye."
Tell us about it, McPeak," came
from the crowd of men that always
was gathered in Uncle Jake's grocery
at Cedar Narrows.
Well" said McPeak, twas one sun
shiny morning in spring when the
ground bounces to your feet and the
air feels like Georgy and you can't keep
from whistling any more than the
lambs can keep from kicking up their
heels on the hillside It's too early to
pillow and the wood-pile haint all
cleaned out yet; and the women folks
don't want you around because the
house is all Uttered up with old pants
and petticoats that hes to be cut up
into quilt pieces and got out of the
way for spring cleaning. You're tired
of the grocery and feel like you'd hey
to whoop and yell or something would
bust, so you get up a foX-driye.
Lie and another fellow started out
by daylight with his buIl-fddle. They
knew where there was a fox den over
on the hill, back of where old All
Loomis lives. They calculated TO run
the fox hid there out into the drive
which didn't reach that far.
ION their way over there Lie and
The other fellow took turns in scrapine
that bull-fiddle. Lie he'd pocket full
Of rosum and they tried to see which
could get the worst noises out of thai
old powder key. When they passed All
LOOMS barnyard old Mrs LOOMS was
out doing the mornings milking. Wher
the old red COW heard the noise made
by Lie and the other fellow she give
one jump with her tail in the air ant
upset old Mrs. Loomis with the milk
ing stool and three buckets of milk
Ihs rest of the cattle stood around
and snorted, while old Mrs. LOOMS
got up and began to yell bloody murder
|Old Abe and his five sons sprung VI
from the breakfast table and Lie ant
the other fellow saw them maxim.
towards the barn and they thought i
was time for them to skeedaddle.