Part 12 (2/2)
”De doctah say dat now dat Mr Peg'am hab subspired, he was to hab dat ba--ba--buffalo robe”
”What!” shouted the old irascible, rising and cla out of his bed
”What's that? Buffalo robe! By God! You go back and tell old Doc Gridley that I ain't dead yet by a daht! No, sir!” and forthwith he dressed himself and was out and around the same day
Persons who hter and fro him, just in a social hat to do for certain ailrom manner that if he were in their place he would do or take so-and-so, not et rid of the of course any one of a hundred hars--never one that could really have proved injurious to any one Once, according to his daughter, as he was driving into town froon whoh, who stopped and showed hi him what he would do for it
”Oh,” said the doctor, idly and jestingly, ”I think I'd cut it off”
”Yes,” said the man, very much pleased with this free advice, ”hat, Doctor?”
”Oh, I think I'd use a pair of scissors,” he replied a would be taken seriously
The driver jogged on and the doctor did not see or hear of hi hily approached him and enthusiastically exclaiot well!”
”Yes,” replied the doctor sole to appear interested, ”--as it you cut off?”
”Why, that sore on my ear up here, you know You told me to cut it off, and I did”
”Yes,” said the doctor, beco curious and a little amazed, ”hat?”
”Why, with a pair of scissors, Doc, just like you said”
The doctor stared at hiradually back to hi it off?” he inquired, in disturbed astonishment
”No, no,” said the driver, ”I ht I spent two days whettin' 'eht, but I tell you she hurt when she went through the gristle”
He sical operation, and the doctor sive no more idle advice of that kind
In the school which I attended for a period were two of his sons, Fred and Walter Both were very fond of birds, and kept a nues, as so in the various open bird-houses fixed about the yard on poles The doctor himself was intensely fond of these and all other birds, and, according to his daughter and his sons, always anticipated the spring return of many of diem--black-birds, blue jays, wrens and robins--with a hopeful, ”Well, now, they'll soon be here again” During the su to her, he was always an interested spectator of their gyrations in the air, and when evening would coathering from all directions to their roosts in the trees or the birdhouses Siin their long flight Southward, he would soli darkness they were no longer to be seen would turn away toward the house, saying sadly to his daughter:
”Well, Dollie, the blackbirds are all gone I am sorry I like to see them, and I am always sorry to lose the”
”Usually about the 25th or 26th of Decehter once quaintly added to er, and cheer up, as spring was certain to follow soon and bring the of his bird friendshi+ps was that which existed between him and a pair of crows he and his sons had raised, ”Jim” and ”Zip” by name These crows came to know him well, and were finally so hu to his family, they would often fly two or three miles out of town toon fences and trees by the way, and cawing to hireat thieves, and would steal anything fro machine, if they could have carried it They were alalking about the house, cheerfully looking for what they ht devour, and on one occasion carried off a set of spoons, which they hid about the eaves of the house On another occasion they stole a half dozen tin-handled pocket knives, which the doctor had bought for the children and which the crows seehtness of the ain by the crows, recovered once more, and so on, until at last it was a question as to which were the rightful owners
The doctor was sitting in front of a store one day in the business-heart of tohere also he liked to linger in fair weather, when suddenly he saw one of his crows flying high overhead and bearing so in its beak, which it dropped into the road scarcely a hundred feet away
Interested to see what it was the bird had been carrying, he went to the spot where he saw it fall and found one of the tin-handled knives, which the crow had been carrying to a safe hiding-place He picked it up and when he returned hoht asked one of his boys if he could lend him a knife