The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-05-11

That afternoon Missus Hepburn hap
pened to go into the setting room for
somethink or other, we forget just what,
that hen asserting in her workbasket
on the centre table on some fancy work
and spools of thread and a pair of
shears. Missus Hepburn grabbed up a
broom and struck at her with it and
hit a glass lamp on the table, upsetting
same to the floor and smashing it, in
c1ooding the chimbley, into fragments &
splitting oil all over the floor on her
rag carpet which she got new only last
spring, and she don't think the marks
will ever come out.
The hen was awful sleert and tried
to fly through a winder which was
curtains and pulled curtains, curtain
pole and all down to the floor, and
then run outen the house skwakin and
hollering like everything. Missus Hep
burn said she wishes to goodness that
when the old hen went to set on the
shears they would of peerced her to the
heart.
Well, Missus Hepburn didn't know
where the fool hen might set next until
she went out to feed the hens in the
evg., when to her surprise there was
that tarnashion hen setting back of the
henhouse on three old ink bottles which
she had scraped together and was en-
deavoring to hatch out into somethink.
Hank Dewberry when he heard about
the fool hen settin on ink bottles said
he didden't know what In Sam Hill
she could hatch out of ink bottles I'M
less it was black crows. Hanks quite
a joker that way.
Missus Hepburn thort she would let
her set on the ink bottles, being as she
would ruther she would set out there
than in the house, and besides, she said
there was a chanst of a fox coming
along over night and gobbling her up.
That was Saturday evg. about p.
m. Bill Hepburn, who had been to the
Co. seat, returned good cal the worse
for wear. Bill wassen't what you might
call inebriated so as not to be respon-
sible for his ackshions, but he was Jest
feelin In a hghtin mood and lool<in for
trouble. When he stepped into the
house Missus Hepburn told Bill all
about the settin hen and the more she
told him the madden Bill got.
"By erachoius," says Bill after she
was ali through, "T1l show that hen
whether she kin set on these premises
this time of year or notP With that
Bill got out his old shotgun which has
had a load in it and amt been fired for
two years and started outen the house
with a lantern. Missus Hepburn
begged Bill not to go, fearing he would
shoot some innocent person, but Bill
had Jest enuff ticker in him to pervent
him from lissening to reason, so Missus
Hepburn set there in the room with
her fingers in her ears, expecting to
hear the gun go off emmy minnit
Bill found the hen behind the hen
house and set down the lantern so it
UouId throw good light on her, and
cooked the hammer of the shotgun and
was lest takin keerful aim when what
should come trottin around the hen
house but Yves Woodruffs old hound
dog test as Bill puld the trigger.
Il was then that consternashion
rained soopreme!
The hound ruined outen the yard
and down Main St. with his tail be-
twixt his legs yelpin & hollerin as
loud as he could yelp & holler and as |
for the hen she was not hit by emmy of
the shot in the gun but she was tur-
r;ble scairt and flew often the nest. /
Blinded by the light of the lantern she i
rim right lords Bill who struck at her /
with the butt of the gun and missed |
The hen but hit the ground breaking the /
whole entire stock often the gun. AS /
for the hen she run right between Bills |
legs. He hauled off and kicked at her /
but missed and fell down with dull |
sickening thud and straining his ankel /
AS for the hen she ruined under the
piazza of the house Bill was desperitI
by this time and started to crawl un-
der after her but he got stuck fast