The Sauk Centre herald., 1908-10-15
CHI r ON 1 C LIE S
N / NJ r @ d s

ters in the land. And they carriet
deadly weapons with which they
slaughtered divers kinds of game; and
the fame of these hunters spread
about throughout all that <region..
+ And it came to pass that there
were two Nimrods that were great.
er than all the others. Where Others
slew their game by the dozen, these
two slew it by the score; and there
were none equal to them in all thai
region round about. Now one o1
these mighty Nimrods was a Drummer
He went to and fro in the land and
travelled up and down therein and
got great gain for his employers The
other came from a far country, yea
even from land that lay toward the
setting of the sun. He was rotund
and fair to look upon and smiled a
smile that illumined his countenance
even as the sun illumines the sky at
the setting thereof, And he was call
ed the Baby Hippo. And this twain
were as no other twain in all that
region round about.
| Now it came to pass that on the
fifth day of the week that the Drum
mer said unto the Baby Hippo: "Come
now, let us go forth and shoot ducks.
We will bag plenty of game and the
fame of our hunting will spread
through all this region round about
and there will be none others like
unto u.s..
Then the Baby Hippo replied: 'It
is well. We will go forth into the
country and get ducks and great re-
nown.-Selah."
So these Mighty Nimrods took down
their weapons and cleaned them and
prepared their ammunition, and put
on their hunting garments and hired
a chariot and horses and took the
Ruler of the City along with them and
set forth upon their journey.
And it came to pass that tthey trav-
eled through the country round about
the city and looked but found no
game. And their souls were vexed
within them. So they told the char
ioteer to drive te chariot back to
the city. And it came to pass that
when the sun had set, that the Mighty
Nimrods came to a place where there
was a sheet of water. And looking
forth upon it they saw ducks swim
ming therein. And their spirits rose
within them and they communed
with each other saying: Behold,
now,s providence is on our side. Here
are plenty of birds; we will bag them
all and on the morrow we will have
ducks for dinner"
And the Ruler Of the City, in his
haste to alight from the chariot,
tripped and fell upon his gun and
broke it so that he could not shoot.
And he lifted up his voice and cried
aloud saying: "Ah, woe is me. My
weapon is broken. What shall l
do"
Then up spoke the Drummer and
said: Weep not, 1 pray thee. Go
thou to the farther side of the pond
and stand there and we will stay
here and see what we can d." But
the Ruler of the City was inconsol-
able, but he bore his grief as best
he could.
Now the Drummer and the Baby
Hippo crept silently through the
grass until they had reached the edge
of the pond. And then they blazed
away with their weapons and several
OF the ducks dropped dead, and the
rest swan off but did not rise and
fly away as is the manner of wild
ducks. But the Mighty Nimrods per-
ceived not that they were tame, but
kept blazing away. And, behold, the
Drummer spoke up and said to the
Baby Hippo Behold, now, some
of the ducks were wounded. Do not
let any of the cripples get away" And
i: was SO that none of the cripples
escaped.
And when they had committed a
mighty slaughter of the ducks they
began to gather them in, and sud
denly the Baby Hippo lifted up his
voice and said: Behold, now, we
have been shooting tame ducks" And
the Drummer acknowledged that it
was SO.
And it came to pass straightway
that a woman came that way and she
called to the Mighty Nimrods and
berated them roundly for shooting
her tame ducks. And after the Mighty
Nimrods had reckoned with her they
paid her goodly sum for the nine
teen birds they had slaughtered, said
sum being fifty cents each. And
they called to the Ruler of the City
and he came over to them and they
explained their plight to him. And
they all sadly entered the chariot and
drove to the city. And when they