The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-02-09

house tonight" he exclaimed as he
| held the rooster up to view.
No harm had been done. The little
| fellow was game and he crowed again,
/ portunity had come and gone. fed
away to be seen no more during the
| evening.
You shouldn't have brought such a
thing home" said Mrs. Bowser. as she
looked from the bird to the feathers
scattered over the floor.
! What, I can't bring a bantam
| rooster or any other kind of rooster
into my own house! Explain that re-
| mark, Mrs. Bowser. 1 want to know
whether I run this house or whether
you and that villainous old cat are
! bossing things?''
You know that a cat will always
go for a bird" she replied.
Then there'll be no cat around
here. I'll break her neck before
sleep tonight
Mrs. Bowser wisely maintained 81
lence and after petting little banta
Tor awhile Mr.. BowSer got in better
| temper and observed:
AS 1 said at the beginning, should
IKE to make an experiment on this
bird l see no reason why he shouldn't
| learn to talk. He looks ten times as
| bright as any parrot 1 every saw If
a dunk headed old parrot can chatter
this rooster ought to be able to deliver
an grafton.
!
| tongue as parrot?"
| 1T is to be presumed so. Why
should nature give them different
tongues. An American has the same
sort of tongue as a Chinaman hasn't
he ?"
well. you can experiment and I
hope you luck. I'll see that the cat
Is turned out doors and you can leave
your rooster in the box for the night"
Half an hour later the Bowsers
went up stairs to bed. Mr.. Bowser
had taken a deep scientific interest in
the rooster question and he was re-
peatfng the name Dick, Dick, Dick to
himself when he fell asleep. Two
hours later Mrs. Bowser awoke him
with nudge and the exclamation:
For the lands sake, get up! Don't
you hear that queer noise?''
W-what is ft?" he asked as he
sat up.
IT'S either that all the water pipes
is getting ready to blow upl'
Ihree minutes later he was down
stairs and the mystery was solved
The noise was the bantam rooster
growing in his box. He crowed as Mr..
Bowser stood and looked at the box,
and he crowed as the cover was taken
stopped pedestrians on the street
What is it?'' called Mrs Bowser
over the banister. Don't you know
that people are stopping at the gate 20
rooster
There he goes againl Ey John. but
who ever heard of a rooster growing
at this hour of the nightl''
Perhaps he's learning to talk"
And perhaps you get back into bed
and stay therei"
There was another long, shrilI crow
from the banta and then Mr. Bowser's
fingers grasped his neck and the crow
died away in a gurgIe. The bird was
dead before the front door was
reached and the three or four men at
Johnson of the Packard company and
the gate caught sight of man on
the front steps as he gave the corpse
fling into their midst. Then the
door banged and they said to each
other:
TITS a rooster and he must have
BROUGHT the old man down with his
growing, but he didn't give the little
Teller a fair show"
At the same time, up stairs in the
house Mr.. Bowser was saying to Mrs.
Bowser:
II understand just how this thing
came about You sneaked down viii :
l was asleep and stuck a hat pin into
that poor bird. In the morning. Mrs.
Bowser-in the morning we will con-
suit our respective lawyers and fix the
amount of alimony." - (Copyright.
1907, by G. H. Sutcliffe.)