The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-07-12

/ felt scared and lonely. A new I'M
/ known depression weighed her down.
/ 1t grew steadily; something was hap
/ pening, something constant and mourn
/ ful-What? Suddenly she knew. II was
a steady, recurrent noise, a buzzing.
mOnotonous click. Now it rose. now it
| fell, accentuating the silence dense
about it.
''Zig-a-zag, Zig-a-Zag," Then a rest.
"Zig-a-zig! Zig-a-zig-a-z
She looked restlessly at Mrs. Slater.
''Wha's 'at?" she said.
THAT? On. those are katydids. /
s'pose you never heard 'em, that's a
fact. Kind O. coy, 1 think. Don't you
like emp
Nav" said Ardella.
Another long silence interviewed. The
rocking chair swayed back and forth,
and Mr.. Slater snored. Little bright
eyes glOwed and disappeared now
high, now low. against the dark II
Will never be known whether Ardelld
thought them defective gas lights or
the flashing, changing electric signs
that add color to the night advertise
ments of her native city, for, contrary
to all fictitional precedent. she did not
! inquire with interest what they were.
| She did not care. in fact.
After half an hour of the katydids
| William spoke.
]
! lot t'day," he observed.
/ Was he?" asked his mother, pausing
a moment in her rocking.
yep"
( Again he smoked. and the monoto-
/ nous clamor was uninterrupted
"Zig-a-zag! Zig-zig! Zig-a-zig-a-
zi=l"
/ Slowly. against the background of
| this machine-like clicking. there grew
! other sOunds-weird, unhappy, far
away.
"Wheep, wheep. wheep,"
! This was a high, thin crying.
"Burooml Brrrooml Broom"
This was low and resonant and SOL
/ emn. Ardelia scOwled.
"Wha's 'at?" she asked again.
That's the frogs. Rull frogs and
| peppers. Never heard them, either, did
| We? Well. that's what they are"
/ William took his pipe out of his
mouth. Come here. sissy, n I'll tell y
I a story" he said lazily.
/ Ardelia obeyed. and. glancing timor-
! oUsly at the shadows. slipped around
to his side.
"Onc't they was an oil Teller comm
/ along cross-lots late at night, an he
/ come to a pond. an he kinder stopped
/ up an says to himself. Wonder how
/ deep tn OF pond is. anyhow He
was just a leetle-weu. he'd had a drop
HAD what?" interrupted Ardelia.
He was sort o. rollin' 'round-he
didn't know just what he was
/ dom -
"Oh. Jagged" said Ardelia. compre-
/ heDdingly.
Il guess so. An he heard a voice
ssingin' out; Knee deep! Knee deep!'
/ Knee deepi"
William gave a startling imitation of
] neannTE- hfcrf, -F,-
wall.
oh. well, 8 he. IF it's knee deep
] I'll wade through, an ne starts in.
Just then he hears a big teller sing
in out, Better go rrround. Better 20
rrrround! Better goround!"
William rolled out a vibrating bass
note that startled the bull frogs them
! selves.
" Lord says he is it deep's that?
] Wen. I'll go round, then ~ of he
starts to walk around
Knee deep! Knee deep Knee
! deepi' says the peppers.
An there il was. SOOn's he'd start
to do one thing they'd tell MIN another.
Made up his mind he couldn't, so he
stands there still they do say. askin'
/ EN- every night which he better do"
Stands where" Ardelia looked fear
/ fully~Sehind her.
"Oh. d'know- Out in that swamp,
! meNbe"
1 Again he smoked
Time passed by. To Ardelia it might
have been minutes. hours or genera
/ tons. An unspeakable boredom. an
ennui tnat struck 70 the roots of her
soul possessed her. Her muscles
twitched from nervousness. Her feet
ached and burned in the stiff boots.
Suddenly Mr.. Slater coughed and
arose. ''Well, guess III be gettin' To
bed" he said. Come on. boys Hello,
little girl. Come to visit with us. hey?
Mind YOU don't pick poison vine"
He shuffled into the house and the
boys followed him in silence. Mrs
/ Slater led Ardelia upstairs into a little
] hot room and told her to get into bed