JOHN B. PENNEPACKER
packer, and he put the five dollar note in his pocket. Then a merry twinkle came into the eyes which had been stern, and he said:
“Vell, now, vasn't dat funny? Ven me and my brodder, ve settled up dat estate ofer dere, and eferysing vas all fixed, and dere vasn't nossing to do any more, den dere vas dat olt pag of teeds. And I says to my brodder, ‘Vat shall ve do wiss dese?’ And he says, ‘Ach, dey are no use any more, ve vill chust chuck dem into de fire.’ I vas chust about to chuck de pag into de fire and den I says, ‘Ach, I vill keep dat pag and maybe sometime dey vill pe some goot? And now you comes along and you gifes me five tollars for 'em.”
He had shown more foresight and got more out of the estate than his brother. Perhaps no two people ever concluded a bargain with more mutual satisfaction than he and I did. The incident was recalled and so it happened that I put my query as written above, to John.
“Yes, I knowed him fery vell. He vas my cousin and he owned the next varm to vere I fifed. He could take his own bart ven it come to svearin' and vas awful rough dat vay, but he vas a goot neighbor. He vas a creat man to smoke. He smoked a bipe. Vonce ve vent to see him in de efening and he vas in ped alreaty. Den he gets up and ve could hear him upstairs hammerin' de tobacco into his bipe pefore he comes down. He filled it four times vile ve vas dere. He had von pad hapit vat I nefer could pear.”
“What was that, John?”
“He vould smoke his bipe in de parn. Olt Dan Hunsicker vas a director in de pank at Pottstown. Dere vasn't any pank at Schwenksville den, and Uncle Sam Pannebecker — he vas fadder to James — put his money in dat pank. Olt Dan, he knowed it vas dere pecause he vas a director, and he asked Uncle Sam to lent de money to him and he did. After a long vile I knowed how sings vas and I told Uncle Sam: ‘You are going to lose all dat money.’ He says, ‘Vy?
