ld Daddy," acquiesced an elderly
codger, who, by reason of "rheumatics," made no pretension to muscle.

A gigantic young blacksmith looked down at his corded hammer-arm, but
said nothing.

A fly--several flies--buzzed about the sorghum barrel.

"My son," shrilly piped out Old Daddy,--"my son air the bes' shot on
this hyar mounting."

"That's a true word, Old Daddy," assented the schoolmaster, who had
ceased to be a Nimrod since devoting himself to teaching the young idea
how to shoot.

The hunters smoked in solemn silence.

The shadow of a cloud drifted along the bare sandy stretch of the
clearing.

"My son," shrilly piped out Old Daddy,--"my son hev got the peartest
boys in Tennessee."

"I'll gin ye that up, Old Daddy," cheerfully agreed the miller, whose
family consisted of two small "daughters."

The fathers of other "peart boys" cleared their throats uneasily, but
finally subsided without offering contradiction.

A jay-bird alighted on a blackberry bush outside, fluttered all his
blue and white feathers, screamed harshly, bobbed his crested head, and
was off on his gay wings.

"My son," shrilly piped out Old Daddy,--"my son hev been gifted with the
sight o' what no other man on this mounting hev ever viewed."

The group sat amazed, expectant. But the old man preserved a stately
silence. Only when the storekeeper eagerly insisted, "What hev Jonas
seen? what war he gin ter view?" did Old Daddy bring the fore legs of
the chair down with a thump, lean forward, and mysteriously pipe out
like a superannuated cricket,--

"My son,--my son hev seen a harnt, what riz up over the bluff
a-purpose!"

"Whar 'bouts?" "When?" "Waal, sir!" arose in varied clamors.

So the proud old man told the story he had journeyed three laborious
miles to spread. It had no terrors for him, so completely was fear
swallowed up in admiration of his wonderful son, who had added to his
other perfections the gift of seeing ghosts.

The men discussed it eagerly. There were some jokes cracked--as it was
still broad noonday--and at one of these Old Daddy took great offense,
more perhaps because the disrespect was offered to his son rather than
to himself.

"Jes' gin Jonas the word from me," said the young blacksmith, meaning no
harm and laughing good-naturedly, "ez I kin tell him percisely what
makes him see harnts; it air drinkin' so much o' this onhealthy whiskey,
what hain't got no tax paid onto it. I looks ter see him jes'
a-st