Rose Mary took in the situation at a glance and sank down under one of
the tall lilac bushes and looked up with adoring eyes as Stonie came
and took a spread-legged stand before her.

"What's the matter, honey-sweet?" she asked quickly.

"Rose Mamie, it's a lie that I don't know whether I told or not. It's
so curious that I don't hardly think God knows what I did," and the
General's face was set and white with his distress.

"Tell me, Stonie, maybe I can help you decide," said Rose Mary with
quick sympathy.

"It was one of them foolish turkey hens and Tobe sat down on her and
a whole nest of most hatched little turkeys. Didn't nobody know she
was a-setting in the old wagon but Aunt Amandy, and we was a-climbing
into it for a boat on the stormy sea, we was playing like. It was
mighty bad on Tobe's pants, too, for he busted all the eggs. Looks
like he just always finds some kind of smell and falls in it. I know
Mis' Poteet'll be mad at him. And then in a little while here come
Aunt Amandy to feed the old turkey, and she 'most cried when she found
things so bad all around everywhere. We had runned behind the
corn-crib, but when I saw her begin to kinder cry I comed out. Then
she asked me did I break up her nest she was a-saving to surprise
Uncle Tucker with, and I told her no ma'am I didn't--but I didn't tell
her I was with Tobe climbing into the wagon, and it only happened he
slid down first on the top of the old turkey. It don't _think_ like to
me it was a lie, but it _feels_ like one right here," and Stonie laid
his hand on the pit of his little stomach, which was not far away from
the seat of his pain if the modern usage assigned the solar-plexus be