The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-05-21
Runyan. ~ ne gathered his re.ns IN


and several ants came out Of ambush. be
ginning hopefully to lay the ground wor"
Of new Notifications
Who's tibet agassin with yeh out
front. BETH"
Miss Beth came into the mid one OF the
houses three rooms whence the voice pro
ceeded. Why | reckon yeh must hev
heerd Mr.. luke Runyan. Gene; he passed
the time o day as he druv by. an'-ast fer
you'ns."
Did. bey?" said Gene. in n thin voice
Of sarcasm He was something younger
than his sister Elizabeth. q man distorted
from his birth. drawn and shrunken Of
limb and body as if wrung out of fair
shape by nature in demoniac mood. yet
her freaks had left his head noble, as if to
add deeper hurt by showing what she
might have made him Noble as TO high
brow clear eyes. and finely modelled lips,
though the beauty Of these was stained
with querulous expression. born less Of
suffering than Of profound realization OF
his difference from other men lie sat in
a chair shaped TO his meager proportions,
before him was a table laden with odd
tools. coils Of wire sheets of paper over
wrought with diagrams, and others Of the
furniture that appertans 10 the man OF
inventive turn
He was working on small wheel, the
hundredtb continent Of his ambitious
! hopes. he set it down as he looked mar
rowly at his sister What does luke
Runyan keer Of I'm well er sick, BETH
Il reckon be Jest feels friendly, Gene. "
Hmm think 500 Don't yeh reckon
he'd feel heap friendlier ef he wuz to go
| BY some fine day an see a string o Grape
a danglin on the door knob. S Beth
I'd be ashamed to loose sech thoughts,
| Eugene Shattucl" exclaimed his sister,
Indignantly Il would 50 + yeh feel
tibet ways III go out in the kitchen.
don't hev to tex sech talk DIN yeh. an
ain goin TO.
Gene laughed little unpleasantly
| then his face drew together painfully, and
be leaned his pale forehead on one hand
"Yehd marry thet man ef twuznt fer
| to mother thot yeh wouldn't never let
nothin' come betwixt Us.
SBcths lips quivcred then she smiled
We'll / will reckon I'd wait till WIZ
ast. anyways, which I've never been yit. "
Folks can understand each other 'thout
passn words, said Gene, sharply; "an'
We alwuz he'd the fancy But no
diif'runce S'Beth, you wait, thar's more
ahead of yeh then to be dirt haaIer $
Wifc You wait till this yer wheel gets
done. tharll be money by the pile fer
every last year I've lived in this wreck of
body pinin Wen crost the seas an
ven see the hull world knowtl I've
dreamt it, Who knows, ) Bcth-thar s
great doctors beyand the ocean-whO
knows bat what they can make me like
o.hei folks,-Inake me straight an well
Quit a starin at me tibet ways. Lizabeth
Shattucl won't hev it,"
She came TO him swiftly, and shut his
eyes against her breast. Something like
amused satisfaction curled his lips.
Tibet sort O talk alwuz fetches her.
be was thinking
II didn't 60 to stare at yeh. honey.
murmured his sister. I'm only a study
in how | can DO fer yeh to make yeh
happy | want yeh to quit a maxim out
like yeh lodged | wuz hankerin to marry
away from yeh-me that Promised never
to let nothin separate us"
She was close to tears Her nature was
a familiar instrument to her brother. and
he moved the tune that pleased his mood
upon its tight drawn strings
Not long after she had gone about her
morning work Gene was reused from his
muse 10y a shrill greeting. "Aint yeh go
in to give me a bid to come in Mr. Shat
tue? Looking up he saw Looly Ann Beas
ley standing in the doorway She was Il
Young woman. whose fresh face looked as
if il had been stroked upward in the plant
time of babyhoOd. her hairless eyebrows
and dented upper lip rose abrupt y at each
center, there was even an upward turn Of
her chin, in which Nature had planted a
hard little dimple. as if by way OF vicious
experiment
"How re y'all doinT" she asked, cheer
fully
"On'y from fair to middlin' Looly Ann, ."
said Gene Come an shake hands.
lie took grim delight in forcing folks
to take his bent right hand, h9 liked to
see them bleuch at its chill touch unnat-
ural in temperature as iii shape.
Set down an tell US what goin on. ~
Miss Beasley carried the very latest
news in Shelbyvillc, and her version Of II
was fresh. fermenting and expansive =
new wine that keeps To the shape OF the
vessel while it undergoes curious changes
Gene liked to hear her talk; the distlnc;
flavor of malice that pervaded her views
pleased him with its sharp taste.
What's happened o late. Looly Ann!
he pursued
Awe, nothin' over happens hyerc- ~
she replied. with a fare of her nostrIis
thar heznt been thing goin' on in this
town fer risin month-'lcss yeh d call
the church doiAs last night sumpthin'
| went. but | don't give sna? o my
finger fer church dom s.
"Twuz d social. wuznt it,
Yes but yeh'd a thought il wuz a
cyurcus from the way people turned ont
Why, wuznt you II Beth thar all
genrully take in sech things
Il felt too pcrely, an Beth wouldn't
hyear to leavin me didn't want her 20
stay home. but she wouldn't hev II 10
other way" said Gene
well, yeh didn't. miss nothin', 'cept
one thing, an likely yeh wouldn't a no
ticed it ez ! did Ever see that niece o
Mis- Bylands thets visitin' her from
Breathtt county,
Little low gyurl-iair complectedT
"Ycs-hez yeiler hair.
81 blieve I've seen her a'passin'; don't
bo,. ,,oeo do ennetlin' funny" said Gene