The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-07-30

ing TO don an old r:lit nd ask the cook
to hunt him up Z tn pail
$50 you still persist" Gueried Mrs.
Bowser at the breakfast table.
Madam, did you ever know me 10
let 60 when ! kIey | was right?" he
replied.
But to expect to gc+her huckleher-
etes this time of year,"
UNI. do not wish any further or
versation On the subject"
A quarter Of an hour later he was
of with a tin pail OF his arm. He had
to pass three different groceries 10
reach the suburban car, but he reso-
lutely refused TO stop and inquire If
fresh Luckleberries were in market.
Ga the car three different men asked
him If be was going 10 the country %
milk his cow, but lie held himself stiff
~ and refused to reply. At the termi-
nus he encountered a tramp who struck
him for a dime. Mr.. Bowser passed it
over and then blandly inquired:
You must know the country here
abouts:'
Like a book"
perhaps you can tell me where l
can find q ~huckleberry swamp"
In your hailpin, old man. Just
keep right along this road for a mile,
and you'll come to what you are look
ing for"
And huckleberries are ripe, of
course:"
Yes, and have been for a week
past. Yum. Yum. | turned into the
swamp this morning and filed up on
'em. Great big fellers there as big
as the end Of your thumb. You can
fill that pail in an hour"
Could Not Find Berries.
Mr.. Bowser whistled as he walked
on. He also pitied Mrs. Bowser. He
also determined that the note to Truth
full John should be couched in the most
abject language. For once in his life
he had met a tramp with some graft
tude about him. After a walk Of TWEEN
ty minutes, he reached 4 swamp oppo-
site a farmhouse and plunged into it.
Not a ~hucklebcrEy greeted his vision,
but be knew the traits Of the Ie-ry.
They remained i'll ambush as long as
possible. He found mud and water
n mosquitoes and flies, but he was
not discouraged. He said to himself
hat when Samuel Bowser struck the
trail OF a huckleberry he was a man
hat never let up. He was still slosh-
ing around when a farmer came down
from tho hNIISn tn tho 1,C01 ou1 ao1Inf.
Say, old party, what you looking
for:"
"Huckleberries," replied Mr.. Bowser
as he approached the other.
"Huckle-what?"
"Huckleberries. You must know
what they are"
We'll I've seen one or two in ny
time, but you are making q fool Of the
thing. In the first place. there is not a
h~uckleberry bush in that swamp. and.
IN the next, it will be weeks before
the berries are ripe"
Il say they are ripe now"
ooh, you Go, eh: Well. l say tina,
if you are looking for frogs come right
out o. that. They are my property.
HuckleGerries! Say Bill. come down
here. Here's an old jay looking for
huckleberries at this time O. year"
Gets a Beating.
In response to his call his son, who
was a strapping young man Of twenty
three, loafed down to the road and
said:
Dad, don't let him fool you. If he
isn't a frog stealer then | never saw
one Come out O that or I'll fetch you
outt'
Don't talk to me that way" said
Mr.. BOWser as he quit the swamp and
stood before them. Il am no frog
steaier or any other stea!er. I simply
came out here to gather a few quarts
of Euckleberries to convince my wife
that they are ripe at this season"
Then she must know that she's got
a fool for q husband.' said the farmer.
Il tell YOU they won't be ripe for
weeE$ vet"
III bet his wife knows ten times
as much as he does" added the son.
Don't talk that way to me or-or'-
COR WHAT" from father and son.
OF course there was a row. Mr..
BoWser did the best he could, but he
was their huckleberry. They got him
down and sat on him a~nd-called him
names and rubbed dirt on his bald
head. and a dog also came down from
the house and bit him, and when he
got up to take the road home he was
a wrecked man. He had thoughts as
he limped along, leaving the battered
tin pail behind him, but why humiliate
him further? At midnight that night
he let himself into the house and
passed the night on the lounge. When
Mrs. BoWser came down in the morn
ing and saw him she simply remarked
that the vegetation seemed to be com
ing on in a wonderful way, and he ut
tered a grunt. and the h~uckleberry in
ciaent was closed. NJ. QUAD.