_Don't_ jump, doctor! That's the supper-bell. 'Tis purty loud, but
that's on account o' my mother-in-law. She's stone-deef--can't hear
thunder; but I told wife thet I thought we owed it to her to do the best
we could to reach her, and I had that bell made a-purpose.

Now, some men they'd slight a mother-in-law like that, an' maybe ring a
dummy at her; but that's thess where I differ. I don't forget where I
get my benefits, an' ef it hadn't 'a' been for her, the family circle o'
Deuteronomy Jones would be quite diff'rent to what it is. She's handed
down some of Sonny's best traits to him, too.

I don't say she give him his hearin', less'n she give 'm all she
had--which, of co'se, I'm thess a-jokin', which is a sin, an' her
stone-deef, and Sonny thess come thoo a death-spell!

Me havin' that extry sized bell made thess out of respects to her
tickled her mightily.

Come along, Sonny! He heerd the bell, an' he knows what it means. That's
right--fetch the clock along.

Sonny's cheer is toler'ble low, an' he's took a notion to set on the
clock mealtimes. I thess lay 'er face down'ards in his cheer, 'n' I
don't know ez it hurts her any; 'n' then it saves the dictionary, too.

She did strike that a-way one day, and Sonny was so tickled he purty
near choked on a batter-cake, he laughed so. He has broke sev'ral
casters tryin' to jostle her into doin' it again, but somehow she won't.
Seem like a clock kin be about ez contrary ez anything else, once't git