Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-02-13
PROOF THAT YOU
NEVER CAN TELL.

ing of a new box, and the architect,
after a lingering look of pride on his
work, went to the back room after
abe cold chisel. At that moment Bud
Jones entered the store and, with a
sidelong glance and grin at Washing.
ton Hancock, pulled out the key cake
of the arch and fed, whooping with
delight at the ruin that strewed the
counter and the floor.
It's too doggone bad, Rufe," said
Hancock, consolingly, to the store
keeper. Il don't reckon he knowed
that you'd been all mornin' fixin' it
up. He jest allowed he'd have a little
sport with you. There amt no real
harm in Bud an cussin' never done
no good to nobody, nohow."
IF he don't come to be hung l miss
my guess" said the storekeeper,
wrathfully.
you don't know" said Hancock.
He might make a good reformer.
He's give you a chanst to make a
right smart better dofunny than you
had afore. If he hadn't been askeered
o. you he might have told you how to
build it up again. No stree, you can't
eve tell what a boy is goin' to turn
out nor what his raisin' is goin' to
do for him. lever hear of Gosport
Scubberly?"
mo, nor l don't want to-" replied
the storekeeper as he began to pick
up the scattered soap,
You don't know until you do hear
about him." said Hancock, equally.
You prob'ly think he's a new brand
O. prunes, but he amt. He's a pros
p'rous citizen, an | remember the time
when it was the gen'ral opinion that
he'd eve amount to a hill o. beans.
Bud Jones is worth a ~ten-acre lot full
O. boys like Cos %Scubberly ulster be,
an Cos owns a right smart O. real
estate in San Francisco an draws a
salry that I'D make your mouth
water. lister be runnin' around bare.
foot right in this village"
IT'S the smart ones what gifts out
of it," remarked the s%torekeeper.
Cos wasn't smart" said Hancock.
HE was about as ornery an triflin' a
boy as ever ~gladdened a fond mothers
heart. He wasn't enough of an idjit
to put in the state asylum, but he
didn't lack much of 1t. He was as
homely as a mud fence an as lazy as
as Marve Parsons. there. His moth
err jest KEEP him out O. school an
didn't do a single Twin thing but feed
him up an make over him-specially
feed him up. He IA hog fat. Didn't
do nothin' but eat an sleep. Nobody
blamed him, either, for Mis- Scubberly
was a little the best cook that ever
drew the breath O. life in Missouri.
she was a wilder woman an Cos
port was all the young n she had.
Scubberly left her a good farm an
she sold it an bought mortgages an
lived in town. She took a notion that
Cos was delikit an wasn't likely to
live long an she hardly let him out
of her sight.
well, as | was sayin', Mis- SEub-
berly was a No. 1 cook. She could
make waffles that 'ud jest melt in
your mouth, an make pies that il
you wunst tasted EN- you'd never feel
right satisfied with pie v after, an
she'd take herbs m f1avorin's an
seasonin's an do things to chickens
an turkeys an butchers meat that
you'd never dream could be done 10
'em. She made a little garden out
back OF the house an raised all man
ner of garden truck an she was all
the time lookin' around in the stores
for suthin' good or %studyin' up re.
ceipts in the paper for snthin' new
that she reckoned might tempt Cos
port delikit appetite.
AN sure enough, his appetite did
git to be delikit. His vittles had to
be about jest So for him to eat 'em
at all. He'd pick at this an dab at
that an there was too much favorin
in 'tother an too little in suthin' else.
You never seen nothin' like it. An
all the time folks was sayin' what
would become O Gosport when he
growed up, him never dom a lick or
gettin' any sense or gumption. They
fn'ly got to talkin' to the wilder about
it. an they did get her sorter skeered,
so she pinched an skimped herself
to lay up a little money for Cos. But
she didn't skimp him none. She
cooked an put up preserves an
sasses more'n ever, an worked har-
der'n ever in the garden.
"Fin'ly when Cos was about'2O years
old she give up an died.
What did the boy do them" asked
the storekeeper.
Looked around for a place to
board" said Hancock. Shed left him
clost on to $4,000, an he tried to
buy suthin' to eat with it. But there
wasn't nothin' in town fit, so he took
a steamer one day an went down the
river. We all lowed he'd be back in
a year broke an ready for plain hog
an hominy, but he wasn't"
"Speculated with the $10,000?'
queried Parsons.
NO" replied Hancock. He spent