Each egg was closely examined and as the last egg was found to have no chip in its surface, Janet sighed heavily. Just then, the egg slipped and fell upon the ground. Instantly a most dreadful odor filled the coop and drove Janet outdoors.
“Dear me! I suppose I have killed the chick that was in the egg, by letting it fall upon the floor,” was Janet’s thought, but she ran to the house to consult Rachel about it, and learn why a chick should smell so badly.
Rachel listened to the story and asked: “Does that ole hen leave them aigs fer long at a time?”
“She has been getting off the nest quite often the last few days, but I don’t know how long she remains away.”
“Den somethin’ is wrong wid dem aigs. No settin’ hen woul’ leave her nes’ fer nuttin’ ef she was gettin’ results f’om settin’!” was Rachel’s verdict.
As Janet knew nothing of the ways of setting hens, or the chicks that would surely follow from such devotion on the part of the hen, she made no reply. After a few moments of thought, Rachel added:
“Did Farmeh Ames sell you dem aigs foh fertilized kind?”
“Fertilized! Mercy no, Rachel. Natalie and I got the eggs from your pantry. We were in a hurry to get the eggs under the hen so we used the store eggs. But we made good the next day when Ames brought in the ones he had promised me.”
“Yoh diden go an’ set dem aigs what comes in pasteboard boxes f’om Foh Cornehs?” cried Rachel, astounded at such ignorance.
“Of course we did. They were the only eggs in the house, that night we wanted to set the hen.”