The Arkansaw traveler. (Little Rock, Ark.) 1882-1???, 1889-03-23
CHAPTER VII.

CHATTER VII.
September came with a russell glow. The corn
fields were turning brown, and the rag weeds were
rank where the watermelOns had grown. Yellow
jackets and honey bees buzzed about the cider
in the orchard and the negro boy, who had added
pair of cottonade trousers to his wardrobe, lay
under an apple tree and played with lazy dog
The quails no longer mated, had organized them
selves into socialistic focks and the melancholy
dove sat on the stack pole where the wheat had
been threshed When the sun went down, the
hungry hog, squealing in response to the "pig
OO-e-e" of the negro who carried q sack of corn,
ran precipitously through the woods.
Shortly after Fred's return it was decided that
1t would be better for him to travel and not caring
to go abroad, he went to California. He did not,
except on one occasion, speak to me with regard to
his unfortunate marriage, and that was the
morning of his departure. lie had come into my
room and had begun to tap, with comb on the
marble slab of the bureau, and, recalling, as could
see, the time when he had first told me of the girl
turned about with his old air of embarrassment
and said
"Of course l was fool, Mr.. Burwood, to fall in
love with a woman so much older than am ; but
l reckon it's about as natural for young fellow to
fall in love with woman older than he is as it is
for an old man to fall in love with young girl.
am glad to see mother all right rgain. Oh, we'll
forget all about it pretty soon. There wasn't any
need of getting a divorce-didn't seem so to me,
when we didn't even know the real name of the
woman-but thought it was better to let pa and
ma have their way"
GLOW long do you expect to be gomez" l asked.
al hardly know, but l reckon I'll knock around
out there as long as find anything to interest me"
The "History of Shellcut County" was making
very fair progress; and, traversng the many
unforeseen by-paths that in the direction of an
interesting general result, had, in the produc-
tion of manuscript, gone far beyond the colonel's
original design The old gentleman seemed to
think that there could not be too much so long as
the matter was interesting, while l, well pleased
with the employment, offered no advice that might
tend toward the shortening of my engagement.
One Saturday afternoon, when q spirit of doze
pervaded the house, went out and sat under the
ilacs in the garden | sat there with a book, and,
although the very air was full of dreamy incent-
ive yet was wide awake for the book that / held
the work of that grand and sweeping old pirate
-Montaigne. l heard voices, and looking up,
saw Lucille and Boyd Savely coming toward me.
He was surely graceful fellow. What an easy
swing-what undisturbed air. an air of perfect
confidence in self. He dressed in gray and still
wore his broad brim white hat.
"Ho, Burwood," he said, coming forward and
extending his hand. We shook hands, and seating
himself beside me, he took off his hat threw it on
the ground and clasped his hands back of his head
"You are polite" Lucille remarked.
excuse me-" he replied, moving closer to me.
"Sit down."
"No, prefer to stand"
gall right. Stand up, as the fellow said, and
grow taller. How are you getting along with the
book, Burwood?"
"Very well"
"Pretty tiresome, amt it7"