The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-01-31
TWO HAIR RINGS.

A Story With Neither Beginning or End.
FRAGMENT TOLD ON THE TRAIN.
"Yes, sir, it's a queer thing about
that ring, as there's mate to som 'eres.
l dunno as | ever told any one how L
come by that ring, which the way of it
was little peculiar, but | don't mind
telling YOU if you'd like to hear it.
1'Al right, then, sir; put your feet
up onto that box o. mine if you can
ride any comfortabler- hathaway.
ThanKee, sir, / don't care if l do, see
ms you offer it. You carry better CT
CARS nor mine, suppose, but then you
see, sir, mine is to sell an yours is fer
your own smoking, won erful difference
that Epakes-you bet. .,....'
Well, as you see, sir, my bizness is
riding up an down the line sellin'
newspapers, weekly an monthly pubs,
syaller backs and SIGH. Make much
at itP' Well, yes, a goodish pile in the
long run, but not very Inueh at time,
sir! Well an /, so in the course of my
route, YOU know, Isee asight o. differ
cnt people-course nothin' naturaler
You'll say-but what mean is, see the
.diff'rance in 'em. Now good many
reg'lars we have, goin' up an down,
an, fer al / hardly ever speak to any of
'em, nor them to me, 'cept in the way
of maxim change or SIGH like. Still |
believe could tell you as much about
the nature ofthem' fellers as their own
families could, p'raps more. That
comes o'takin' notice. Hows'ever that
,haiu,tthe story of this here ring, tho
bearin' on it. NJ
1.-The first time ever / laid eyes on
this we're ring was about-lemme see
yeep--about seven years ago. was
new on the line then. an took power
ful sight of notice o. what was goin' on,
tho p'raps take jest as much now,
only in different way.
81 Il was in the fall o., the year, jest
about this time, mebbe a little earlier,
lnebbe little later; any way the drop
PIN leaves was thick.On the track where
fer miles it runs through that stretch o.
woods as we'll come to presently, an
-recollek of standin' on the rear plat
form svatchin' them futterin', red an
brown an gold colored some of 'em, an
the draft of our FLYNN Forty ketchen'
'ein an, tumblin' 'em over an over, till,
way in the back distance with the sun a
shinin' on 'em they looked like red-hot
Goals, a bobbin' aIongsa after Us, tryin' to
ketch up fer tothave it out 7ith us fer
disturbin 'em Queerish kind of fancy
that, too, come to think of it, but that's
the way they looked to me, any way
"There's little shanty about mid
wav ia them woods-we'n come to 'em
soon now, an you can see for yourself
as the train hands call Stump Station, ;
cos there haint nothing there sides the
shanty but stumps. Sometimes the
shingle-weavers and bark-peelers as
camp out way back in the woods come
cat there to board The train, or to git
provision, which is expressed up to
them from the city, an sometimes in
the shootin' season city Teller or two
come up to hunt, gifts off there, but it
haint no regular station, an nobody
stays there am SO its very seldom we
stop.
'sBut this time I'm telling you of, and
while / was standin' out there on the
platform tryin' TO calculate how long
it would be at the rate l was maxim
money (times was better them before |
could say some words had in my mind
To say, as soon as / was well enough
fixed, to a certain little dark-eyed gal,
as / was sure was waitin' patient and
expectin' of me to say 'em. Don't mind
tellin' you this now, you see, sir, cos
that came out all right long ago, an
Owe never had cause to be sorry for say
in them words, but kinder think they
was the most sensible ones l ever said.
Well, as was a standing there, out
comes a young teller as had come up
-1zitAIas -fran Philadelphia. He was a
nobby-looking teller, dressed cut all
regular in shootin' coat, peaked hat,
high-top boots, dogs an guns, an big
.hampsr in the baggage-cars-q quiet and
civil, 4 regular ID % ded gentlenaah you'd
san at krstsight, an hesYas very good
lookin' with his wide-open blue eyes,
and brown, curly hair and beard, but
stin i didn't qniteli i'm; not but what
he was pleasant an decent enough to
ME, but whenever he spoke his upper
lip had fashion of lifting up Aind o.
sharly likeyn phen hefanghed, which
he did of'eA Ah,sasy, it1was4aI reg liar
out an out snarl, an looked jist like
/ ssse of them ere dogs you've mebbe seen
with their upper teeth stickin' out over
raRpuEa~UResT-theyesn biteyno ways.
/, J, ,sl,1s- Aid IN n star1 RIla i