The free press. (Southern Pines, N.C.) 1898-19??, 1898-11-18


IA Heard by Our Re-.
porter.
fun in the town sometimes
<sssn warn things seem dullest' Thus
sthe other day il you had happened to
iIrop(into strihger's Bowling alley
.youa Would have heard laughing
enough to stir .even.a hypocondriac to
sr reciprocal smile. Bowling was
slack when the gggE. Press reporter
dropped in, and'dSe, crowd was slt,
ting around the cracking log iife
swapping yarns. Then somebody
gave the darky boy Tom Shaw-the
bow of all work-a lesson in arithme-
tic.
Tom sat upon a chair grinning like
a Cheshire cat.
"How old are you TomP" he was
asked. Tom thought the matter was
Joke. In fact, most everything is
Joke to Tom. His mouth split open;
Sixteen, sir, huh, huh, huh
"And what year were You born IMP"
What year, sahP | guess ! dunno,
sah.n
You don't know what year you
were born in! For Heavens sake
what do YOU know, Tom? And you
expect to 90 to Africa to teach the
people there, do you?"
Eyes, sah reckon | will, sab.
whats the use of your goingp
what do you know to teachP"
"Well, specs dey dunno nothln'
over there, sab, huh! huh! huh!'
Then you are safe, all right. Now
tell us what year you were born in.
| What year is it now?"
"Reckon dunno, sah''
"Why it's 1898, you lobster Now
take Is from 1898 and tell us when
you were born"
Tom thought while. Between
thinks he laughed.
Guess was born in 1892, sah."
"You are healthy looking six
year old, you are"
The lesson was given up in despair
The FREE PRESS reporter dropped
into C. l.. HAYES news stand one
evening, and found Mr.. Couch of the
Ozone and Mr.. Hayes talking about
well, let us say preyaricators. Per
haps 1t is because OF the presence OF
literary matter, but anyway it is 9
fact that more good stories are told
around our news stand than almost
anywhere. And Mr.. Hayes can tell 9
yarn in good style himself. Mr.
Couch and the reporter heard one
that night-a tale of New Mexico
that is printed again in this column
1t does not read as well as Mr.. Hayes
told it. For proof get him to tell il
YOU some night when the tobacco
burns good.
THE THIRD CALL.
ut is now your turn to spin {
warm we told our Returned Traveller
our six-foot, bearded giant, bronzet
by the sun of New Mexico. he wa
talking to the engineer through mis-
of tobacco smoke and did not bear us
= .Ibs,iyagina &as.listening a3tent's-
"And when they are good ant
dead he was saying, the prizes
cuts q cross through the leather o
their soles so that no one shall stea
their boots from them"
well! How extraordinary" sale
the engineer.
1T is now your turn to spin yarn'
we said again severely. We saw ne
reason why this Scotchman shoulc
monopolize our traveller.
What shall l tell youPn asked The
traveller.
Anything you like"
He thoughtfully pulled at his pipe
We were all putting at something Oh
other, pipes or cigars. The lights o
the smoking room were dim in tho
smoke-haze. Out Of the smoke-hazt
came our Travellers voice;
1--WE were riding in the early after
noon due South-our backs turned
full on home There was John Clark
and there was /, and-oh, yes,-thert
were our horses. Nothing else except
sun and sand and cactus. All was des'
olate as the wilderness towards Sib'
lath, and you know what the prophet
Ezekiel said Of that. And the silence
Lord it was then that i first under
stood the meaning OF the word,
So without speaking we rode and
rode and rode on in an empty world
of sun and sand and cactus. Off to
the left some hunnred of yards was
the bed Of dry arrayo.
BY and by Clark did speak. | did
not want him to do so, for | knew
what was turning in his head. he
edged his face nearer mine. His face
was glum and drawn.
".Look here now, Billy he said to
me, taking up our talk where we had
dropped it the day before, you can
say what you please, but you can't
make me believe that it was an hal
lucination. Damn your hallucina-
| ,;op ~