The sun., 1908-12-06
s.E HERR. Q 9lg Or
The APTHCR
This Is How Truman Apthorp
Lost the 'Tater knife and
How He Got Il Back.


. pointed In the man who was going II
drive me from the railroad station hv'
miles over TO Geeyille. In the hemlook belt
that trip said John Gilbert. the travelling
grooeryman. AHe had solemn face, ye
twinkle In his eye, and the most comlca
Get Of mixed whiskers enoircling his nsol
ever saw.
He drove slow. showing that ht
) was thinking; and he drove mile OF
more without saying g word. that being
another good sign that he had points
Then by and by he said. with sidalona
glance at me:
| ste funny 1t never got in the papers
about the way Truman Apthorp got his
mothers heirloom 'tater knife hack.
haint it? Or did It get in and didn't
happen to Gee iii?
Il assured the driver that I had ssen no
account Of the incident in any newspaper
had read. though read a lot.
"Then jest like as not you hain't heerd
about 1t. neither. said the driver. Or
maybe you might "a heerd about how
Truman lost 1t. an the gittin' of it back
haint ketohed up with you yit2'
u said no; Truman and the 'tater knife
and everything about 'em were going to
be news to me. said. for Ifelt now It was
ON the way.
| 81 hope you don't mean that you never
heerd o. the Apthorp folks's heirloom
'tater knife sail the eriver, looking
straight ahead and touching UP his horse
a little. the 'tater knife that's been
in the family sence the time they can't
remember when. and that Truman APP
thorp's mother. Samanthy Apthorp, sets
more store by than she does by the hull
Apthorp olearini'
'Iwas forced to admit my entire igno-
rance Of the existence of such a thing
as the Apthorp family heirloom 'tater
knife. and felt ii more and more in my
bones that I wasn't to be disappointed
In my driver.
"Then.' said he, now apparently satis-
fed too that was the kind of listener
he had taken me for, ] better give you
a little inklin' as to that later knife.
fer you might lose standin' in this baili-
wick parvidin' folks found you didn't
know about it.
when Truman Apthorp's mother.
Samanthy Apthorp, told Truman to take
the bag o seed 'taters over to Sam Sar-
kins's. and Truman said to her that If
he took the 'tater knife along with him
Sam would more than likely give him
the job O. outtin'. up the seed 'taters,
and he'd git easy two shillin fer doin
1t. Samanthy said to him:
""Truman,' says she, you know that
your OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES used
to scalp Injins with that knife Gays
she. 'and that long line o. your an
cestors at with It ag'in things year after
year and that IL has only got to be 'tater
knife now to keep 1t from rustin'.' says
she; consequently you know it's an heir
loom that money nor land can't buy. but
| II You kin make two shillin' by usin' Of it
for Sam Sarkins-why. take 1t, But Tru-
man. says she. eff you let anything
happen to it wouldn't be in your place,
not even for the heirloom later knife"
says she.
so Truman carried the bag O. seed
'taters over to Sam Sarkins's. And when
he mentioned to Sam that he had the
heirloom 'tater knife along with him and
could jest as we'll favor Sam by cutting
up the seed 'taters with it for a couple
o. shillin' Sam said he didn't know as
the 'taters would grow any better fer bein'
cut up with 'tater knife that was an
heirloom than they would II they was
cut up by one that wasn't an heirloom.
sech as he had his ow nseif and which he
could use first rate without it's 6ostin' him
cent, and so Truman lost the job he was
nosin' round fer to git. and he stuck the
'tater knife in his pocket and started
back home.
-0n his way he set down " ith his back
up ag'in the dead stub OF a tree to rest
little and think over what mean and
unappreciatin' feller Sam Sarkins was.
and as he sot there he heerd a scratchin'
and scramblin inside the stub. and that
was the first he discovered that the stub
was holler.
Then that nosin' round o his.n took
holt onto him and he stuck his ear ag'in
the stub and listened. Then besides the
scratohin' and scramblin' he heerd some
thin whinin' in there.
sea bear cub. sure as sap!" says Tru-
man. Il got to have it, says he.
Throw in the empty bag around his
neck he Skinned up that stub to the top
like squirrel and peerin' down into the
holler. sure enough, he seen not only one
bear cub but twosbear cubs, little fellers,
not much bigger than a pair o. cats.
"STwo cubs is better than one, says he,
$50 III git 'em both"
"And then he let himself down into
that holler stub and argued them cubs
into bein' satisfied with goin along with
him up out of 1t. Then IL came to him all
of a sudden that while 1t hadn't been no
trick at all to shin up that stub on the out
side and drop down into IL on the inside,
IL was goin' to be another kind Of lob
to crawl up the smooth inside o. that
stub to the top so he could drop out Of it
on the outside.
Truman didn't waste no time in fool
ish tryin' to climb out o. the holler stub,
but Jest took the heirloom later knife out
o. his pocket and set straight to work
with II to dig q hole through one side o.
the stub, which wasn't much more than
q shell as old holler tree stubs goes but
had thickness o. six or eight inches. lest
the same
a'sTruman," says to him afterwards.
"how long did you calc'late 1t was goin'
to take you to cnt a hole In the side o. |
that stub big enough for you to git your |
self and your bag o. bears out OF it with |
only a four-inoh 'tater knife, even il il |
was an heirioomp' i says
'"1Well, restin' nights says he. Il
calolated that two days would Jest about |
Rit us cut o. the Stub says he, sand I'd |
done 1t. too, II / hadn't been interfered |
with" says he.
"Now, the most anazin' and unaccount- |
able thing about the hull proceedip' |
was its never occurin' to Truman that |
.l-,,. tun n,,ha dOHn nj the hotto,,, -