g trotting hawses; but he
didn't know, not until then, that they was so gifted in the matter of
putting away sweet'ning drams.

"It happened the time we all was up at Frankfort nomernating a Clerk of
the Court of Appeals. There'd been a deadlock for nigh on to three days.
The up-state delegates was all solid for old General Marcellus Brutus
Hightower of Limestone County, and our fellers to a man was pledged to
Major Zach Taylor Simms, of Pennroyal.

"Ballot after ballot it stood the same way--fifty-three to fifty-three.
Then on the mawning of the third day one of their deligates from the
mountains was called home suddenly by a message saying a
misunderstanding had come up with a neighboring fambly and two of his
boys was shot up consid'rable.

"The convention had voted the first day not to recognize no proxies for
absentees, and so, having one vote the advantage, we was beginning to
feel like winners, when just then Breck Calloway from McCorkin County,
he up and taken the cramps the worst way. For a spell it shore looked
like he was going to be cholera-morbussed. Breck started in for luxuries
in the line of vittles soon as he hit town, and between votes he kept
filling hisself up on fried catfeesh and red bananas and pickled pigs'
feet and gum drops and cove eyesters and cocoanut out of the shell and
ice cream and sardines--greasy minners, Breck called 'em--and aig-kisses
and a whole lot of them kind of knick-knacks.

"That mout not a-bothered him so much if he hadn't switched from
straight licker and taken on consid'able many drinks of this here
new-fangled stuff called creamy de mint--green stuff like what you see
in a big bottle in a drug store winder with a light behind it. By the
middle of the third day Breck was trying to walk on his hands. He had a
figger like one of them Mystic Mazes. 'Course, all kinked up that way,
he warn't fitten for a deligate, and Colonel Bud Crittenden had to ship
him home.

"I heard tell afterwards that going back on the steam cars the conductor
told Breck he didn't care if he was a contortionist, he couldn't
practise none of his didoes on that there train.

"So there we was, each side shy one vote and still tied--52 and 52. And
at dinner time the convention taken a recess until ha'f past three in
the evening with the understanding that we'd vote again at foah o'clock.

"Jest as soon as our fellers had got a drink or two and a snack to eat,
Colonel Bud Crittenden, he called a cau