about to begin, when Aunt Olive said:

"You wait, John Hanks--you wait. I'm goin' to tell the elder that there
story myself."

John Hanks never disputed with Aunt Olive.

"Well, tell it," said he, and the backwoods woman began:

"'Tis a master-place to get married out here. There's a great many more
men than women in the timber, and the men get lonesome-like, and no man
is a whole man without a wife. Men ought not to live alone anywhere.
They can not out here. Well, well, the timber is full of wild turkeys,
especially in the fall of the year, but they are hard to shoot. The best
way to get a shot at a turkey is by a turkey-call. You never heard one,
did you? You are not to blame for bein' ignorant. It is like this--"

Aunt Indiana put her hands to her mouth like a shell, and blew a low,
mysterious whistle.

"Well, there came a young settler from Kentucky and took up a claim on
Pigeon Creek; and there came a widow from Ohio and took a claim about
three miles this side of him, and neither had seen the other. Well,
well, one shiny autumn mornin' each of them took in to their heads to go
out turkey-huntin', and curiously enough each started along the creek
toward each other. The girl's name was Nancy, and the man's name was
Albert. Nancy started down the creek, and Albert up the creek, and each
had a right good rifle.

"Nancy stood still as soon as she found a hollow place in the timber,
put up her hand--_so_--and made a turkey-call--_so_--and listened.

"Albert heard the call in the hollow timber, though he was almost a mile
away, and he put up his hands--_so_--and answered--_so_.

"'A turkey,' said Nancy, said she. 'I wish I had a turkey to cook.'

"'A turkey,' said Albert, said he. 'I wish I had some one at home to
cook a turkey.'

"Then each stole along slowly toward the other, through the hollow
timber.

"It was just a lovely mornin'. Jays were callin', and nuts were fallin',
and the trees were all yellow and red, and the air put life into you,
and made you feel as though you would live forever.

"Well, they both of them stopped again, Nancy and Albert. Nancy she
called--_so_--and Albert--_so_.

"'A turkey, sure,' said Nancy.

"'A turkey, sure,' said Albert.

"Then each went forward a little, and stopped and called again.

"They were so near each other now that each began to hide behind the
thicket, so that neither might scare the turkey.

"Well, each was scootin' along with head bowed--_so_--gun