THE TIM BUNKER PAPERS. 307 



NO. 84. TIM BUNKER ON REAL ESTATE IN 

 THE WHITE OAKS AND HOOKERTOWN. 



&quot; Taint worth so much by a hundred dollars as twas 

 eight years ago, when you married the widder,&quot; said 

 Uncle Jotham Sparrowgrass to Kier Frink, as he stop. 

 ped his horse to blow on Hookertown street yesterday. 



&quot; That s so,&quot; said Kier, sticking his old boot into the 

 nigh wheel of his coal cart, for a rest. &quot; But what s a 

 poor feller tu du, when property is all the while fallin , 

 and money s gettin more skase ? Ye see, when I fust 

 went into the White Oaks to live, coalin was a good biz- 

 ness, and a feller had a chance to make suthin extra on 

 swappin horses and pitchin quates. But neow every 

 body is so poor they can t pay the boot in a trade, or the 

 stakes, when they git beat in quates. Tell ye what tis, 

 Uncle Jotham, there ain t coppers enuff in the White Oaks 

 on ordinary okashuns to buy a decent glass of likker. I m 

 gwine to sell eout airly, and come on to the street to live, 

 and so keep from comin onto the town.&quot; 



u Mighty slim chance for ye here,&quot; said Seth Twiggs, 

 hauling out a tinfoil package from his pocket, and thrust 

 ing in his pipe and forefinger at the top. &quot; Ye see, the 

 widder s eighty acres wouldn t buy five here, throwin in 

 the widder, young ones, and all. Property s riz here worse 

 than emptins, the last ten years.&quot; 



&quot; Wai, I guess the old man wont hold on furever,&quot; said 

 Kier, looking up the hill, where Jake Frink still leads a 

 slipshod life. 



&quot; It s poor bizness waitin for dead men s shoes,&quot; said 

 Uncle Jotham. &quot; Better run that . coal cart oftener, and 

 swop hosses less. Pitchin quates and takin the stakes in 

 likker don t pay in the long run. Land ain t worth much 

 in the White Oaks or anywhere else, unless you work it. 



