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Show NICKEY AND HIS PRIZE ROOSTER The following stpry was written by Editor John King of the Hemet (California) News, and was printed in his paper recently. He is the Johnnie of the story. "Nicky" Huggins was the village Nasby some forty years ago. The postoffice had few ramifications in those days and rural people seldom wrote or received letters. The church chur-ch paper and the county-seat weekly constituted the bulk of the mail, and "Nicky" had plenty of time to run his grocery store and engage in pastoral pursuits. He was a chicWen fancier. In those days the word had but one definition, so the reader will not misinterpret. He found out that the Indiana Farmer would send a pair of fancy chickens to anyone securing twenty-five subscribers. By systematic combining of the village and its environs the requisite nuin' ber were obtained. "Nicky'' sent in the money and calmly awaited the arrival of the chickens. In a village all of the denizens and the. countryside know about everything every-thing that happens, whether it is true or not. The village joker afterward af-terward a prominent North Dakota lawyer, who reached the river that marks the unknown shore only a few weeks ago put up the job on "Nicky." The joker picked up the scrawniest rooster and hen he could find, pulled out their tail feathers, battered their combs and contrived otherwise to mutilate these sorry specimens of the poultry tribe. He packed them in a neat box, nailed slats over the top, and had the village vil-lage job printer print a tag, which purported to show that the chick-I chick-I ens had come from the Indiana Farmer. Far-mer. When the plotters had completed com-pleted the job, the box was taken to ; the railroad station, and the agent : entered into the spirit of the occasion. occa-sion. He sent an official notice that a. box of poultry had arrived subject to "Nicky's" order. Right here is where I entered the story. My recollection is that up to this point I was entirely innocent of jany connection with the conspiracy. ! But I happened to be at the post .office when the notice arrived. "Nicky" was a little near sighted. He saw the card and reached for his specks. After a profound study of ! it, he looked around and saw me calm : ly sitting by the stove eying furtively j the .long row of glass jars containing contain-ing stick candy. "Johnny," he asked casually, "what kind of candy do you like?" I didn't know whether it was an ; offer or merely an effort to extract ; unimportant information. I told him that the wide blue and ; red striped variety looked good to me. He took down the jar, took out two sticks of the delicacy, and continued con-tinued : ; ''Take that wheelbarrow, go over to the depot and bring my box of ' : chickens: " Of course I went. My arrival was the signal for the agent to go out i into the highways and byways to gather the crowd. When I got back to the post office with my precious burden of fancy chickens the room was filled with anxious spectators. ' "Nicky met me at the door, took the box and walked triumphantly to the rear part of the room, informing the .'crowd that they were about to se the finest chickens ever brought to country. A hatchet quickly unloosed the top slats and "Nicky" haulod out first the miserable specimen of a rooster the practical joker had put in the box. Speechless with astonishment, as-tonishment, he reached in and with his other hand brought forth the rooster's sorry consort. The chickens were literally kicked out of the front door. Though "Nicky" was not ordinarily profane, the audience witnessed a Heance of plain and fancy swearing never he-fore he-fore equaled in that community. The Indiana Farmer was consigned to the nethermost regions of perdition without benefit of clergy. The crowd laughed, of course, but. "Nicky'' "Nic-ky'' was not put wise until the next day brought the sequel as well an the denoumont, The real chickens arrived, and the station agent brought them over to the postoffice. "Nicky" didn't understand un-derstand at first. He studied the tag and soon a great light appeared. I happened to be present on this occasion, oc-casion, also. "Nicky unslatted the chickens, and they were large and beautiful specimens of the Plymouth Plym-outh Rock variety. Very soon "Nicky" emerged from behind the counter. There seemed to be an untoward fire in his eye. As fast as he could reach us youngsters he kicked us unceremonious! out of the front door, and most of us landed land-ed well beyond the sidewalk. Our sense of fun was tempered by sore spots on various portions f ourt anatomy. Every now and then, on occasion of i infrequent visit to the old home town I am reminded of "Nicky Huggins' I chickens. ''Nicky was long ago gathered gath-ered to his father, but I want to pay 1 bini the tribute of having one of the whitest souls the world has ever produced. |