The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1913-03-21
OBEYING ALL ORDERS
BY e. L. TAFT.

Ddu nCWLf ulibodh <thuClo DULL GA
claimed old Jim, venerable darby,
putting his head in at the back door
ono morning just as his master, a
farmer, in South Carolina, was sitting
down to breakfast.
whats the matter, Jim?" inquired
Anderson.
de prize OK is done took sick and
is layin' down."
Mr.. Anderson went with Jim to the
pasture to see the invalid OK, and to-
gether they exhausted the whole range
of remedies known in bovine COM
plants. Decoctions of herbs, spice
wood, pine tags, ETC., were resorted
to, but though copiously drenched with
all these, the OK did not rally nor
could six men with fence rails gain
sufficient leverage to pry him up from
the ground where he lay respondent.
After spending the whole day in fruit.
less attempts to relieve the apparent
ly dying animal, Anderson gave it up
as a bad job about shutdown and
turned to go home, remarking to jim
as he started:
Anyway, | don't want to lose his
hide, so you must come down here
and skin him the first thing in the
morning"
The following morning Anderson
rather expected Jim to appear with
the hide at breakfast time. Over an
hour passed, but still the negro did
not arrive.
"That pesky animal must be hard to
skim" commented the farmer. AT
length, growing restless, he resolved
to 60 and see for himself what the
hitch was. AS a matter of fact, he
felt somewhat uneasy over old Jims
prolonged absence, and feared that
he might have met with some mishap.
The colored gentleman in question
was not overburdened with brains, but
his faithfulness was beyond doubt. II
there was one thing that Jim prided
himself upon more than another, II
was his accuracy in carrying out in.
structions.
With Jim, to hear was to obey, and
he was never known to waste time In
unnecessary argument. Therefore,
Anderson reasoned, something extra
ordinary must have occurred to delay
his trusted servitor. Great was his re.
lief then, when halfway between the
house and the pasture he met Jim, the
perspiration standing in big beads on
his shiny black skin, the OK hide wav'
ing, trophy-like, in his hand. while a
look of beaming complacency over
spread his face.
What in the world made you take
SO long, JIM" asked his master.
"'Cause it was a awful job to ketch
him, NISSAN Anderson" came the re-
ply.
ITO catch hint" repeated the farm
er, with a look Of Mortified surprise.
"Yassah. He done glib me heap OBJ
trouble, dat OK did. done chase him
ober de pasture seben times fore he
let me git him"
"You-chased-h gasped Ander.
son. family.
"Yassah,' continued Jim, proud OF
his efficient management. Den
knock him on de haid an kill him,
an den / skin him, same as you tole
me. 1t am nice hide, too, NISSAN
Anderson. Dore amt no niggah on
de place could a finer skinnin'. You
kin alters pend on ole Jim to do what
yo' tells him."
Visions of his favorite OK, as he ap-
peared in the heydey of his prize-win-
ming triumphs, arose in Anderson's
mind, and the. volume of his wrath
swelled until 1t almost choked him.
He stood for an instant, a figure Of
dumb, righteous rage, unable to find
words to do justice to the occasion.
At last he found his voice and, ad.
a step, shook his fist in Jim's
sable visage.
Eyes, indeed" he said, in accents
husky with uncomfortable bitterness.
II can depend on you-curse your
black hide.
Then, as though afraid to trust him.
self further, he thrust his clenched
hands desperately into his pockets
and strobe swiftly away. Jim stood
the retreating figure, his
mouth wide open and an expression OF
deeply injured innocence stamped
upon his crestfallen face.