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Show POULTRY "ROOSTERFELT." C S. Gorlinc. .i It was i bleak day in January. The wind blew in raw and chilling from the ibay. Men with overcoats buttoned but-toned tight to the chin hurried by. Down at the Square the midrwintcr poultry show was on. Long drawn crows and a noisy chorus of cackles attracted the attention of the shivering shiver-ing public. In front near the main entrance with face glued to the window win-dow stood a small boy. His shabby coat, two sizes too small, with collar drawn high, was buttoned close about his throat; under one arm he carried car-ried a roll of papers and from the homely freckled little face beamed a pair of keen blue eyes that gazed longingly through the glass at the long rows of birds in their gaily decorated de-corated coops. "Hi, you I Gear out of' that," shouted the Hall Superintendent from the entrance. "Don'.t allow any dirty kids loafing around hcrcl" . Tjic startled boy's sensitive mouth quivered at the rough words and as he turned with a sob he caught the eye of a gentleman about to enter the building. "Hellow, Son, what's the row? Is Grumpy Joe after you?" asked the gentleman and the cheery words and smile caused the boy to halt. "Sell me a paper and tell mc about it," coaxed the pleasant voice, and freckled little Sam's lip trembled as he said: "Please, sir, I wanted to sec the chickens and the man there won't let me look at them through the window." win-dow." "Want to see the chickens, do you? Bless mcl" said the gentleman. "Well, my boy, I'll let you look at the chickens; I'm the Secretary of this show. Come right along with me," and big Tom Mcrritt led the bewildered boy in among the coops. "Go where you please, Son, and look as long as you like." "Can't see what he wants a kid like that hangin' around here fer," growled Grumpy Joe, the Hall Supjerinten dent. t Sam wondered among the coops and reveled in ccslacy; lie was unfa miliar with the bneeds and varieties j but he admired them all. He paused before a pen of White Plymouth Rocks and noted their sizsc and admired ad-mired the snowy plumage, the clean golden legs and the bright red faces. , Again and again he returned to their pen to gaze enraptured at the pretty sight. "Please, sir," he timidly inquired of an attendant; "What would a pair of those chickens cost?" The young man Uiughcd. "Too jnuch for your pile, Sonny; guess1 you couldn't buy one of those birds for less than a hundred." Poor Sam's face fell. The man laughed again. "Better commence with some eggs if you want that kind of stock; they'd be chcatcr." "A'nd please, sir, how much would the eggs be?" asked Sani. "Dollar a piece," laconically answered ans-wered the attendant; "them birds ib New York prize winners and' the feller fel-ler that owns them paid such a big price he'll have to git his -money back some way." ) Again Sam's face fell. "Tell ycr what, Kid," the man continued; con-tinued; "I got a couple of eggs out that pen yesterday and one this morning; morn-ing; I'll' sell you the three fer 50c. t if yer want 'cm; now there's a chance fer you to git cheap icggs." Sam's dirty little hand went into his ragged coat pocket. "I'll take 'cm," he said and drew forth the scant earnings from the sale of his papers a few nicklcs and dimes. An hour later Sam bounded up the steps to the attic above his home. "Uncle Pete, Uncle Pete," he called to the old darkey as he burst into the small room. "Uncle Pete, guess what I got." "Lord bress my soul, Honey, what yo' done got?" demanded Uncle Pete. Sam opened his hand and displayed a handsome brown egg; slowly from the right pocket of his coat he took another ' and fromi the left pocket came another egg and he placed them in a row on the table before the ? "Sammic, whar you got dem aigs?" "Bought them, Uncle Pete," and the boy's eyes datfeed. "They are from a pen of New York prize winners; 1 bought them at" the poultry show.' , ,'Am dat what you done; 'an wjhar- i fore you brung 'em tow me?" 1 1 a "Going to set them Uncle Pete and hatch sonic of those big white chickens that always win at the shows." "Urn, huh I ''An' yo' done brung tow me knowin' my ol' Blackic just ( been set; now, what foh we gwinc do yid dem aigs she been scttin' on?" . "Oh, uncle Pete, I'll sell papers and pay you for those eggs; sure I will' begged Sam. "Yo' gwicn tow sell papers and pay Unc. Pete mean 'nuff foh dat an' yo' Pa way off in dc Phillcpincs fightin' dem Span-yards? Yo' tink Unc. Pete mean 'nuff tow charge yo' for hatchin' some aigs? No, sahl 01' Blackic gwicn tow git huh aigs changed townight, sho." In due time old Blackic became the mother of two little fluffic balls of white. Uncle Pete excitedly called Sam to the wood-shed to see thm. When the chicks were a few days old, the smaller one droopicd and died. Thc remaining chick received all of the hen's attention and as the weather grew milder, he grew very rapidly. In patriotic pride, Sami had f named the chick Roosevelt, but little brother Bob had insisted the name was "Rooster-felt" and Rooster-felt it remained. By autumn, Roosterfclt had dcvcl-i dcvcl-i oped into a ibcautiful bird and it would hove been hard to say which admired him the more, Sam or Uncle Pete. "Dat fellow sho gwicn tow be a sho-bird, sho-bird, Sammic," Uncle Pete would say. "When Father -comes home, won't he be proud if I win the first tprizc," Sann would say. But one day dreadful news came to the little home. The name of I Private Woods appeared upon the records of the Nation's dicad, and Sam would never sec his father again. The child's grief was hardly less pitiful piti-ful than that of the white haire-d' old darkey. "Unc Pete gwinc tow be good to dat boy, sho now; Unc Pete all dc Pa he got left," he mourned. When the mid-winter show was announced, Uncle Pete went with Sam to the Secretary's office. A new Secretary had been elected and he Ioyed the two qucstioningly, but Sam bravely filled out the entry blank and paid the fee. "Sam," said Uncle Pete on their way home, "we done got to git dat chickin' in de best fix possible if yo' gwicn gjtif dat .pjizc; we got three weeks to dp it and yo' jist watch yo' Unc. Pctc.V When they reached home Pete put on a pan of water and while it was heating, got out a couple of tubs and a bucket. One tub was half filled with water as warm as the hand could bear it; another tub was half-filled half-filled with lukewarm Welter and the bucket filled with water nearly cold. Roosterfclt was brought up and plunged into the tub of hot water and thoroughly soaked; then his plumage 9 was rubbed with white soap and scrubbed until perfectly clean; the water was all squeezed from the feathers and the bird dipped into the second tub and thoroughly rinsed; then he was plunged into the bucket of cool water into which a pellet of bluing had been dissolved. When the bird1 had been well soaked with the blue rinse water Uncle Pete held him up and allowed the water, to drip, when the bird was put into a clean coop, in the ibottom of which had been spread dry gunny sacks to catch the water. The fire in the stove was kept going and in a few hours Roosterfclt was quite dry. The bird was then transferred to a clean coop in the shed into which had been put plenty of chaff and fresh straw; there was also a little box of grit and a. cup of clean, fresh water and the bird was put on an allowance of whole wheat and cracked corn. In four days the bird was again washed in the same manner and this was kept up until a week before the show. "Dis am dc las' wash we gwinc give dat fellow," Uncle Pete explained. After the last wash, when the bird was thoroughly dry, Uncle Pete produced pro-duced a little box of powd'ered chalk and proceeded to carefully dust Roostcrfclt's feathers. This was kept up every day until the day of the opening, when the bird was placed in a light coop prepared by Uncle Pete which he had covered with muslin mus-lin to keep out the dust; preparatory to taking him to the show, Uncle Pete had given the feathers a last dusting with chalk, the bii 's shanks thoroughly groomed and his comb and wattles washed in a solution of alcohol and water. When Sam presented himself with the coop at the show he was met by Grumpy Joe, the Hall Manager, who carried the coop with no very good (Continued on page 15.) fc '7RdOSTERFELT.M IV (Continued! from page; 11.) grace to the department piloted to Plymouth Rocks, but when he opened the coop and saw the bird, his eyes opened with astonishment. ''Whelrc'd you swipe that bird, kid?" he asked sharply: "Didn't swipe him," saidi Sam. "I raised him." "Whcrc'd you get the eggs?" "Bought them," answered Sam, "and paid for them, too." An attendant sauntering iby stopped and laughed. "That kid's all right, Joe," he said; "he was in here one day last winter and I sold him three, coop eggs from the New Yorkers." "What will you take for that bird, I little man?" asked a gentleman stand ing near. "I don't want to sell him, thank you sir," saitl Sam. "But you surely would take some I rice for him?" Sam shook his head. "I don't want to sell him, sir." On the last day of the show Uuclc Pete and Sam went down to see ' R'oostcrfclt, and sure enough, there was a blue ribbon on his coop. As 1 they proudly looked at the bird two men approached them. "Arc you the boy that owns that tjjiru?" one of them asked. W Sam looked up indl saw it was the fnian who had wanted to buy Roost-.grfclt Roost-.grfclt on the first day of the' show. 2Ycs, sir," he said. ' W "I'll give you seventy-five dollars or him," he said. ''" Sam shook his head. "Better take it, Sammic," whispered .jUnclc Pete; you could buy lots of ggs for $75, and have money left." t "Uncle Pete," said Sam, "I wanted ;io raise Roostcrfclt to show Father l'hcn he came back, and now that he ivont ever come back, I just couldn't 'sell him." -.;- That evening Sam carried Rooster--Tclt home in triumph. "Mother," he shouted as he burst into the room audi sat the coop down, "Roosterfelt took the first prize, and " Sam stopped abashed, for a Abroad shouldered man with whiskers .all over his face sat in the rocking chair holding little Bob, while his mother's eyes shown with such a jjlad and happy light that he paused u?' 'astonishment: "Sammic, my my, don't you kr.v your father?" the stranger asked, and Sam rushed into the out stretched arms that were waiting to receive him, whereupon Roo6terfelt unvt ven to 11 long drawn crow. " mm0mM The Vicar. Is it true, Samuel, that your father allows games of chance to be played in your house? The Boy. There ain't no chance about it, zur thoy all cheats 1 Ltm-elon Ltm-elon Opinion. Thunder and Lightning came last H The Stork in a bag he hauled 'em, H Perhaps our twins are not named H Bui that's wlmt rnqfa call'em H |