Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-07-21

anomalous way of his own he liked
them, and he knew of nobody else who
did, and when he gathered them he
took the range of all the neigh boring
pastures. He was half a mile from
home.
He gathered them into milkpan. He
found them in scattered clumps, whitley
visible, though not, to Squar' Browns
falling sight, at long distance. Toad
stools. interspersed them freely, but he
knew mushrooms amply by their great
eer whiteness, their faint salmon-pink
Innings, their greater plumpness of
stem. When yet in doubt he twitched
at their edges; if they peeled he put
them in his pan.
Pastures are not the nea nest spots of
early October morning. Squar'
Brown had come up and down gentle
hills and through lanes and over and
under fences. His slow steps left
trail along the dewy grass. which was
ali but frosty. The surnac was getting
brown, and wild asters were past their
purple prime. Dew-strung cobwebs
wheeled themselves thickly among
patches of dry weeds. When the wind
so much as stirred it raised white clouds
from the burst milkweed pods. A
clumsy-legged, dull-eyed heifer had
kicked up her heels and gone off at an
uncouth gallop at Squar' Browns ap-
proach; bat the cows, beyond mild,
long looks, paid no attention to him.
He reached around their hoof5 when
necessary.
Such things Squar' Brown noticed
approximately. He found q considera-
bile part of his pleasure in life in out
door contemplation. He was seventy
odd years old, tall old man, slender
and spare; his face was delicate, with
blue eyes and pleasant, wide mouth;
he bore the marks of age in wrinkles
and redeemed eyelids and traceable
veins, and he had only two teeth at
wide distance on his upper jaw.
He had got his pan full and had
turned back. The salient thing about
Squar' Brown was his hat. 1t was n
beaver, almost napless, and sharply
bent in the crown. Nobody knew how
long ne had worn it. but with the ten
acity of habit which marks the old he
wore it always. It's broken dignity
was like the squar's. He had been
justice of the peace once in the village
four miles away, but overpowering
causes-growing age and the loss of
what money he had and his having no
children TO look tO-had settled Squar
Brown and his wife here. His was a
serene nature. He had never been dis
tinctly unhappy, nor would be. He
did odd jobs for his meager living; there
was nobody in the neighbornood any
poorer than Squar' Brown.
In taking a certain route homeward
he appeared to have an object; he went
as fast as he could, and Pickering
smile gradually spread. He went
through a cattle-lane and barnyard
and, clambermg slowly and pufingly
over another fence or two, sat down on
"a low rail and wiped his warm face.
He faced field, strip around the
edge of which was freshly turned up
for winter wheat; the rest showed a
green busting of new grass and shoots
of the recent crop. The pillow came
slowly from the other end till its driver
saw SONAR Brown.
Hello, square, he called out. His
loud tones sounded far, and loud
laugh followed He dropped the lines
and went and joined Squar Brown on
the rail. His readiness, the slouching
attitude he fell into, aud his loose,
broad smile went far to evidence the
laxity which was his as distinctively as
-Squar' Browns upright purity was his.
While the SQuar' held his title always,
Sylvester Sawdey, dozen years young
'er, was widely known as old Vet Saw
dey, and as an Incorporate old scala
wag Familiar friendship with him
would have hurt the fame of anybody
but Squar' Brown. They saw much Of
each other
The squar' sat with his pan on his
knees, and opened and shut his mouth
in an attempt to begin on some subject
other than that which engrossed him
He could not.
''Tm expecting to go to Pomeroy next
week, Sylvester" he said, aud his smile
became bare gummed grin.
''Oh, you got ready to git 'em, have
yea" Vet responded. His face, coars
rened and red to purpleness, manifest
,.,..e'1s.,r,,. GIL. AsNSE