The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-11-13
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The Man Who Found Himself :
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,tbair snhterranean home. The little
! mounds of dust began to tremble, ana
| then the little dusty beetles came
! forth and whirled round ana rounu
in a very excited manner indeed. Inc
| boy looked his utter establishment, ana
| then exclaimed:
BILLY 1 believe you know purt nigh.
| everything,"
Billy smiled and replied: II guess
you know a thing or two yourself.
Say! Do you s'pose your ma mas
| scaled those fish yet?'
81 don't know, but ! bet she cooks
EN- all right Once my ma was SICK
and we had hired girl, and we purt
nigh starved to death! Pa could beat
! her cookin' hisself. | heard him tell
ma so. But you just wait till you
taste my mas cookinH"
! When they drove out into the
smooth road along the west side of
the section, Billy handed Tommy Has
| kins the lines and said:
"NoW you drive bit. Hold a GOOD
tight line, chirrup twice. ard | guess
Prince will not need any whip.
Tommy Haskins squared his elbows
| .hirruped twice, and the roadster shot
! forward with a suddenness that almost
! took the boys breath. Prince could
! do a two-forty clip. and it was the
! first time Tommy Haskins had ever
/ drawn line over anything faster than
one Of his pas old farm horses. The
| fence posts, the grazing cattle. the row
| of catalpa trees along the roadside. all
seemed to be flying in the opposite di-
rection. Tommy Haskins drew harder
still upon the lines, his feet Weh
| braced against the foot rail, but the
horse only sped on the faster. Tom
my Haskins gave a sideways glance of
/ alarm at Billy.
"Jc he-iS he--rnnninp off p"
But Billy only laughed and said:
''Ease up a bit on the lines and see. =
Tommy Haskins slackened the
! lines, and very soon Prince had slow
ed down to a walk. The boy turned
to Billy with delighted eyes, albeit his
voice was trembling just little.
when | get to be man I'm going
to have 81 trotting horse-iust like
! him."
They walked Prince the rest of the
way. and when they came to the strip
Of alfalfa along the creek bottom, now
! in fun bloom and ready for the first
cutting. Billy laid his hand on the
lines and stopped the horse. The
odor OF the bloom was beginning 10
/ rise with the early falling dew.
Smells mighty good. don't 1t? But
I just got sniff of somethin' a heap
nicer. Don't ~ou smell it, too-ma' )
coffee b'il'n'?'
/ When they reached the ranch house
door, Tommy Hasklns's ma met them
and started TO extend Tommy's com
! panion hearty Kansas greeting and
to say that supper was already on the
! table, when she paused scrutiniZed
! Billy's face closely, and exclaimed:
| Good land alive. If it isn't Billy
Mcguire! Pa! pa! Come here this
minute! Here's Billy MCGUIRE that L
used to go to school with back in In
diana, long before / ever saw you.
Ny memory's better'n yours. Billy
Mcclure! You don't know me? Don't
you recollect the girl that used to holG
you with one hand and wash your
face in snowbank with the other?
! Well, I'm herr"
Then Billy replied while the sound
of his boy name. spoken in an oldtime
voice, ran through his veins like wine:
Molly Briggs, sure as / live!
thought this morning that l had seen
those eyes of Tommy's somewhere be-
forei'
Tommy's pa came forward, smil-
ing. and shook hands cordially with
Billy Mcguire, and asked him if he
had just come out TO Kansas.
why, no." said Billy. 1--WE lived
at the County Seat for the last ten
years.
We'll" put in Tommy's ma. we've
y
spring, and the last six of EN- right
here on Walnut Crick. How on earth
does 1t happen that we've never heard
| tell of your Then a flash of inteli-
gence lit up her face. ''It can't be
yes, it is so, too. Pa. I'll declare if you
didn't vote for Billy last fall! Don't
you remember-'For Representative
w. II. McGuire?' l noticed the name
at the time, but | never thought once
of its bein' Billy"
After supper they insisted that Billy
had to stay all night. But Billy de-
clared that he was compelled to take
the morning train for Topeka to loo;i
after case he had il the Supreme
Court. So they did the next bess
thing. and made the most of an old
fashioned evening visit that lasted
/ until the hands on the big od-fasn-
Toned clock pointed alarmingly a. the
XII on its face
Tommy Haskins sat wide-eved al,
evening listening to the talk about the
Smiths, and the Wigginses, and the
DllllngbeckS, and about the church
FESTIVALS at the chapel, where town
against country boys, cake was voted
to the prettiest girl And the country
girl was the wilmer. And of all
things! Her name Was-Molly Briggs!
And then and there Tommy Haskins
resolved that. when he went back with
his ma to visit at gran as next fan
he would see a least two places. He
would see Wesley Chapel. where hi,
ma had been voted 'the prettiest girl"
then he would have her show him the
Identical spot where she had washed
Billy's face in the snowbank
When Billy had at last said goodbv
at the front gate. and had promised
to come back the next Sunday Week
and stay all day. the moon was riding
high in the sky, and the smooth roaa
was almost as light as day At the
Icross-road he turned to look back. ana
saw them slowly walking toward the
house, Tommy Haskins and his ma
and his pa, hand in hand.
AS he faced about and drew th2
lines with firmer grip. his thoughts
fell into rhythm with the rhym of his
horses gathering feet. and both SEEM
| ed to say over and over:
C,IiYa ;e,f