ole and
greens, or the piece of 'possum he was eating, while his mouth remained
a fixed abyss until the doctor came and restored it to a natural
position by an exertion of muscular power that would have well-nigh
lifted an ox.

Uncle John Quarles, his home, his farm, his slaves, all were sources
of never-ending delight. Perhaps the farm was just an ordinary Missouri
farm and the slaves just average negroes, but to those children these
things were never apparent. There was a halo about anything that
belonged to Uncle John Quarles, and that halo was the jovial, hilarious
kindness of that gentle-hearted, humane man. To visit at his house was
for a child to be in a heaven of mirth and pranks continually. When the
children came for eggs he would say:

"Your hens won't lay, eh? Tell your maw to feed 'em parched corn and
drive 'em uphill," and this was always a splendid stroke of humor to his
small hearers.

Also, he knew how to mimic with his empty hands the peculiar patting and
tossing of a pone of corn-bread before placing it in the oven. He would
make the most fearful threats to his own children, for disobedience, but
never executed any of them. When they were out fishing and returned late
he would say:

"You--if I have to hunt you again after dark, I will make you smell like
a burnt horn!"

Nothing could exceed the ferocity of this threat, and all the children,
with delightful terror and curiosity, wondered what would happen--if
it ever did happen--that would result in giving a child that peculiar
savor. Altogether it was a curious early childhood that Little Sam
had--at least it seems so to us now. Doubtless it was commonplace enough
for that time and locality.

V. THE WAY OF FORTUNE

Perhaps John Quarles's jocular, happy-go-lucky nature and general
conduct did not altogether harmonize with John Clemens's more taciturn
business methods. Notwithstanding the fact that he was a builder of
dreams, Clemens was neat and methodical, with his papers always in
order. He had a hearty dislike for anything resembling frivolity and
confusion, which very likely were the chief features of John Quarles's
storekeeping. At all events, they dissolved partnership at the end of
two or three years, and Clemens opened business for himself across the
street. He also practised law whenever there were cases, and was elected
justice of the peace, acquiring the permanent title of "Judge." He
needed some one to assist in the store, a