Odum's Fault

A Georgia correspondent says: My neighbor Odum was in the habit of leaving his large cotto baskets in the field at night. One night he left seven of these baskets in the field. Next morning two or three of them were missing. It had rained tho night before, and it was not üifficult to follow the track of a one-horse wagon that had evidently carried away the baskets. Mr. Odum, with a trusty negro, who was also interested in the cotton, pursued, following tho track without difflculty till it brought them to the humbl residcnce of George Washington, a coloree! citizen. whore they found cotton spread out pon the floor, and wet - evidently but rccently placed there. The man and his wife denied that it had been stolen; said it was their orm cotton, and so far it seemed nol Ole to inacntily the cotton. However, thoy secured George and then contiaued to follow the wagon track to beyond the house about half a niile, in the woods, where they found the wagon and empty baskets. This was too muck for the namesake of the immortal patriot, He owned tip, and said: 'Gentlemen, I cannot teil a lie- I stoled dat cotton, I couldn't help it. It wasn't my fault, It was Mr. Odum's fault. He had no busine to put dat cotton so fair to be took. I can't tell no lie 'bout it. I took dat cotton, and the only thing dat troubled me at the time was dat my waggin wítsn't big enough to take all dern baskets. I'd a tuck all seven if I had been had room in dat one-horso waggin. It was Mr. Odunrs fault,"