One afternoon, late in the fall, the gentleman was standing on the corner waiting for a car when the groceryman called him.
“You said you would like to see what Jimmy, the newsboy, was made of. He is up to some mischief now. He just bought a sack of hickory-nuts, and I’ll bet a cooky he is making some one unhappy.”
Two blocks away was a large lot, with a high fence around it. Scattered about the lot were a dozen or more hickory trees. The gentleman saw Jimmy climb the fence, walk to the farther side of the lot, and when under a heavy foliaged tree he stood for some moments looking in every direction. Finally he began to scatter hickory-nuts under the tree. Very carefully seeing that they were dropped all around this particular tree. Sometimes he would take a handful of leaves and cover over a lot of nuts. To the gentleman this was an unusual transaction, so he walked around to the big gate and followed a path across the heavy grass, and went to Jimmy.
“I have a curiosity to know what you are doing,” said the gentleman, “and if you have no objections I would like to have you tell me.”
Jimmy took him by the hand, that he might hasten towards the sidewalk, and when away from the tree, he said.
“You see, mister, termorrow is Saturday. There’s no school. Across the street lives a whole lot of little boys and girls, and some of the boys don’t like me very well, but that doesn’t cut any figure with me. They comes over here every day after school and particularly on Saturday and hunt for hickory-nuts; but these old trees don’t bear any more; they’s dead. But that one over there, with the leaves, sometimes has hickory-nuts, but this year nary a nut is on the old tree. So I bought these here nuts an’ scattered ’em all around the ground, an’ termorrow I’ll sneak around the fence and watch the girls an’ boys gather them. Won’t they be happy?”
“I should think they would,” replied the man.
“They are real hickory-nuts, too,” added Jimmy, “I blowed in fifteen cents at our grocery store. If you want to you may come termorrow an’ I will guarantee you will see the happiest bunch ever gathered under a hickory-nut tree. Will you come?”
“Well, I should be delighted to come; and I will be there before you will,” replied the gentleman kindly.