News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1913-05-14
OBEYING ALL ORDERS
BY {. L. TAFT.

"Bad news, MlSsan Anderson, eX-
claimed old jim, venerable darby,
putting his head in at the back door
one morning just as his master,
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
! Ia. 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
iy 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
skin" commented the farmer. At
length, growing restless, he resolved
to go and see for himself what the
hitch was AS a matter of fact, he
felt somewhat uneasy over old Jim's
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. If
there was one thing that Jim prided
himself upon more than another, 1t
was his accuracy in carrying out in
structions.
With jim, to hear was to obey, a1si
he was never known to waste time in
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 way
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.
"To catch him!" repeated the farm
er, with look of Mortified surprise.
"Yassah. He done glib me heap OBJ |
trouble, dat OK did. I done chase him |
Ober de pasture seben times fore he |
let me git him."
Notwithstanding" gasped Ander-
son, family.
"Yassah," continued Jim, proud of
IFS ellCleuL management. DCh
knock him on de haid an kill him,
an den l skin him, same as you tole
me. 1t am a nice hide, too, NISSAN
Anderson. Dere amt no niggah on
lie place could a finer skinnin'. You
Kin alters pend on ole Jim to do what
20 tells him."
Visions of his favorite OK, as he ap-
oeared in the heydey of his prize-win-
hing triumphs, arose in Anderson's
mind, and the volume of his wrath
jWelled until it almost choked him.
lie stood for an instant, figure of
lumb, righteous rage, unable to find
words to do justice to the occasion.
1t last he found his voice and, ad-
'ancing step, shook his fist in Jim's
able visage.
eyes, indeed" he said, in accents
usky with uncomfortable bitterness.
I can depend on you-curse your
lack hide.
Then, as though afraid to trust him.
elf further, he thrust his clenched
ands desperately into his pockets
nd strobe swiftly away. Jim stood
tatching the retreating figure, his
louth wide open and an expression of
eeply injured innocence stamped