had been caused by the deluge of water from the rain
of the night before, as I had neglected to provide a way for the water
to pass through the box. The chickens that escaped drowning had been
suffocated. We threw the dead ones into a side ditch, and hastened to
the city. No time was lost in disposing of the ten dying fowls at about
half their original cost.

We held a consultation and agreed that the chicken business was
disagreeable and unpleasant anyhow. Then and there we decided to
withdraw from it in favor of almost any other scheme either might
suggest. While speculating on what to try next, the grocer to whom we
had sold the chickens remarked that he would give eighteen cents per
dozen for eggs delivered in quantities of not less than one hundred
dozen. I felt certain I could buy them in the country so as to realize a
fair profit. After demolishing the chicken rack and loading our wagon
with a lot of boxes and barrels, we started on our hunt for eggs. We
soon learned that by driving several miles away to small villages, we
could buy them from country merchants for twelve cents per dozen.

We bought over three hundred dozen and started back with only one dollar
in cash left to defray expenses.

On the way our team became frightened at a steam engine and ran fully
two miles at the top of their speed over a stone pike road. We were
unable to manage them, but at last succeeded in reining them into a
fence corner, where we landed with a crash, knocking down about three
rods of fence, and coming to a sudden halt with one horse and half of
the wagon on the opposite side, and the eggs flying about, scattered in
all directions.

I landed on my head in a ditch, while the wagon-seat landed "right side
up with care" on the road side, with Rollin sitting squarely in it as if
unmolested. The mishap caused no more damage to horses and wagon than a
slight break of the wagon pole and a bad scare for the horses.

But it was a sight to behold! The yelks streaming down through the
cracks of the wagon box.

I felt that my last and only hopes were blasted as I gazed on that
mixture of bran and eggs.

We were but a short distance from the city, whither we hastened and
drove immediately to the bay shore.

[Illustration: THE EGG DISASTER.--PAGE 50.]

There we unloaded the boxes and barrels and began sorting out the whole
eggs and cracked ones. After washing them we invoiced about twenty-six
dozen whole, and four dozen cracked