r come
an' tell you suthin'. You'se Mr. Starbuck, ain't you?"

"Yes, but what about it?"

"Wall, sah, atter I tell you, w'y you kin tie me ter er tree an' whup
me ef you wants ter, but I got ter tell you. Not laung ergo, I stole er
chicken from yo' roost. An' now you may punish me."

"Hah? What sort of a chicken?"

"Er rooster, sah."

"What, that old dominecker?"

"Yas, sah, de dominecker."

"Did yon eat him?"

"Yas, sah, I eat him."

"Wall, that was punishment enough. Git up here, boys."

It was the first time that Mrs. Mayfield had ever heard Jim laugh. He
roared and he whooped as the wagon rattled along, and she was afraid
that he was going to fall off. She asked him a question and he answered
with a snort.

When they reached home a man was standing at the gate. Jasper inquired
who it was, for in the dark he could not distinguish his visitor, and a
voice replied:

"It's me, Gabe Wells--hollered helloa, and you wanted me to fetch you a
newsparer an' a can of cove oysters an' about a straw hat full of
crackers."

"Why, yes, Gabe, come in. Wondered why you hadn't fotch them oysters
over. Next to chitterlin's I reckon they air the best things in the
world."

When they were at supper, with Gabe eating as if he had not eaten at
home, Jasper related their adventure in the woods, and Gabe declared
that he would like to take a hand in such an affair. He swore roundly
that Sanderson was a brute, but when he heard that with the rest he had
contributed money, he wiped his mouth and said: "You can't allus tell.
That feller's a gentleman, an' some time a passel of us must hitch up
an' drive over to see him. We can't afford to negleck such neighbors as
him."

"What sort of a newspaper did you fetch, Gabe?" Margaret inquired, and
he handed her "The Fire-Side Companion."

"Full of news from beginnin' to end," he said. "None of yo' tame stuff
about Uncle Billy a comin' to town with a load of wood or Aunt Sally a
renewin' of her per-scription."

"Any discussion a goin' on down at town?" Jasper asked, and Gabe began
to rack his memory.

"Wall, no, I b'lieve not. Hearn one feller call one man a liar."

"Whut come of it?"

"Oh, nuthin' much. Hauled him home in a wagin. Say, it was the puttiest
wagin I ever seen--yaller stripes on the wheels, an' it clucked like a
hen with her fust drove of chickens. But I tell you I come mighty nigh a
gittin' some money down thar. A feller had three shells an' bet me I
couldn