made the least
demur, but forthwith began his story.

"Sure I will," he said, with a curious, uncanny laugh. "Old Ma
Restless is just raving her fat head off. I was around this morning
and heard her. Gee! She was sayin' things. She was cussin' and cussin'
like mad. So I jest turned in the yard to see. It was just as funny as
a circus. She stood there, her fat sides all of a wabble, an' a
reg'lar waterfall pourin' out of her eyes. He! He! But what made me
laff most was to see those checkens around her on the ground. There
was ten of 'em lying around, and somebody had choppened off all their
heads. Say, the blood was tricklin', an'--well, there, you never did
see such a mess. It was real comic, an' I--well, to see her wringin'
her fat hands, and cussin'. Gee! I wonder she wasn't struck for it,
an' her a woman an' all."

He laughed silently, while his sister stared at him in amazement.

Finally she checked his amusement sharply.

"Yes? Well?"

"Well, then she see me, an' she turned on me like a wildcat, an' I was
'most scairt to death. She said, 'What you doin' here, you imp o'
Satan? Who's done this? Tell me! Tell me an' I'll lay for 'em! I'll
shoot 'em down like vermin.' I knew she wasn't really talkin' to me,
so then I wasn't scairt. She was jest blowin' off steam. Then I got
around an' looked close at 'em--the checkens, I mean--and I see just
where the knife had cut their necks off. It was an elegant way of
killing 'em, and say, how they must have flapped around after they'd
got clear of their silly heads." He laughed gleefully again. "I looked
up after that and see her watchin' me. Guess her eyes was kind of
funny lookin', so I said, 'You don't need to take on, mam,' I said.
'They'll make elegant roasts, an' you can get busy and hatch out some
more.' And somehow she got quiet then, and I watched her gather them
checkens up, an' take 'em into the house. Then when she came out an'
see me again, she says, 'Light you right out o' here, you imp o'
Satan! I fair hates the sight o' you.' So I lit out. Say, Eve," he
added, after a reflective pause, "why does folks all hate me so
much?"

The girl sighed and shook her head. Then she came over to him, and,
bending down, kissed his fair waving hair.

"Never mind, dear. I don't hate you," she said. "Perhaps it is you
offend folks somehow. You know you do manage to upset folks at times.
You seem to say--say queer things to them, and get them mad." She
smiled down upon th