Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1916-04-28
FISH N the MIX
sy FRANK 4. HAYS.

Spring opproecheo, anu ! was OUT
very early Of mornings. when ! be-
came interested In two dairy wagons.
Rivals, as sure a. fate" thought
One was Farmer Browns wagon;
the other. Farmer Jones'.
As the days passed / could notice
that when Brown would make an i'm
provement in his milk cans, wagon or
harness, Jones would, the very next
morning. have as good or better.
/ saw here q contest to the finish
between Brown and Jones that ap-
pealed to me very much, being myself
a farmer. My sympathies were with
Brown. as he was the older man, and
he furnished milk to the family where
/ roomed.
Warm days having arrived, ! con-
cluded to go fishing, and on particu-
lar Saturday l started for the river.
q few miles from town. On the way
out heard a wagon approaching from
the rear Looking back, recognized
the red top of Browns milk wagon.
and as stepped aside to let him pass
was hailed with these words:
Young Teller. il you git lank under
the jacket, why jist sa'nter over thar
to that white house an I'll feed you"
About noon / concluded would
"sa'nter over" and share Browns ex'
tended hospitality.
Il knowed you'd come bout feedin'
time. Come in and have q cheer.
Ketch anything?"
mot a thing" replied, "and con-
cluded l would rather visit with you
than to fish,"
After a good dinner, Brown said:
Young Teller, now l want you to
tell me how / can down Jones'"
"Well, Mr.. Brown, l have often
thought, when your wagon would rat
tie and your horses hoofs would
pound the paved street, that If q
scheme could be devised by which
this noise would not waken your GUS
toners at such an early hour 1t would
be q winner"
Sure enough, next morning but one,
Brown drove down the street with his
horses shod with coffee sacks.
A week later Jones appeared with
his horses all shod with rubber.
Soon they both had equipped them
selves pretty well with rubber appa-
ratus of various kinds, Brown having
bought rubber tires for his wagon.
1t began to look as If Jones was
down, when, one afternoon, Brown
rushed into my room exclaiming:
This time I am beat. Jones has
an automobile"
After dinner I walked up to the
corner grocery" whose owner. Mr..
Johnson, and ! were good friends.
I found Johnson back in the ware
room changing the water on some
minnows he had in a tank. saw
two milk cans. and learned they
belonged to Farmer Jones.
On Tuesday morning / told Brown
to meet me at Johnson's store at ten
o'clock.
On arriving there l pointed out his
competitors cans. .;
"Now. listen" said !, Gin those cans
will be found q little milk and we
will pour In as much water. In yon-
der tank are some minAows; we will
get some of them and drop in one Of
those cans. and then we'll have Jones
tell US how they got there"
Jones came in and started back for
his can1. when Johnson said:
Say. all you fellows, come back
here with Jones and me. I want to
show you something"
OF course. we all went Johnson
said: -,
Nov, Jones, you have always
sworn to me, and to all your custom
ers, that you never watered any milk.
How did these minnows get into this
CAM.
Fur Lords sake, mem" exclaimed
Jones. 'T1l confess. was in hurry
this mornin' and didn't git all the
milkin' done, and as crossed the
crick l reached down and scooped
up a couple of bucketfuls uf water
and-and poured it into this cant"