The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-06-05

85 Ing in Junel
~ Two old men sat under the
n ySgfs,ss5YI shade of the maple trees In the
29Gg front yard while the church
bells tangled and Jared and doomed over
the housetops and out across the valley,
Pears to mo like church bells SCUM
44 PARTIES when you's away or from EN-.
two o' three miles, say volunteered the
old man with the billy goat beard. he
whom tho boys effectionately called I'm
Gle Joe" XII
same way with brass band" OBJ
served Uncle Billy, he of the smooth
shaven face. You git up close an 1T sort
ofrasps your nerves an breshes your fur
all the wrong way. But git away off,
8 say bout half a mile OF a still even'r-an'
kin shet my eyes and imagine ! hear
the heavenly hosts a-rwangin on their
harps an poundin' their cynlbals. !"
Yes. I've noticed the same thing, Bill.
Say, do you remember when we WIS
little codgers. when we first begin, to go
partners I'm heerd q church bell the
frst time? We'magined 1t said, Come,
oh come Jest as plain as spealin.''
"Shorely. shorely! An that reminds
me, It's gittin' mighty near church time,
an must be polsin' along. Joe. ] wisht
old as you air. tool wisht you'd go to
chllrch-oftener."
Old Uncle Joe nodded.
II s'pose you do, Bill. ] s'pose you do,
I'd like TO, real we'll, but not to-day--l
can't go to-day. Fact is, Bill, don't
wanttyou to&do anything ag In your con-
science, but I've laid off to take. q walk
To-day, a Tits; walk out In the country.
Az As ii said, don't want YOU to do any
& thing ng'in your conscience, but Id. kind
80 set my mind on havin you so witt
St, me-
Much oh'eged, Joseph much obliged
but ] couNInt think of It, haven't
missed church for nigh on twenty years.
~ ;f, Ill ~,
derin' off that wagon Sunday? Do you.
4t now?''F
Right! Shucks! OF course it is! Lock
here Bill! Fer the sake OF argument,
4 say we take a walk We go out along
the green hedgerows. We see the wild
roses bloomin' an the CROWN corn. We
hear the mockln' birds a-srgin' ut to
kill. We take great, big. full hreaths OF
country air. Same as we used to when
we We're partners. Don't you remember
how we used to see who could make his
chist swell the biggest? 44ealthy, wasn't
it? All them things is innocent, an all
them things is good. Who made emf
God What fer did he make EN-? Fer
you an me to enjoy! How can we enjoy
'em here in town? We jest can't. Which
f. is worst. now? You go to church an you
sit there on a hard seat, an by an by,
Std o. listenin' to the preacher, the fust
thing you know you feel the soft air
bird song foats IN on the air. an it
makes you feel good all over. An then
the fust thing you know you don't know
blessed thing the preacher is sayin'.
III Amt that so, now, William? Amt that
SOP"
II don't know but that it is-some-
times" teebly admitted Uncle Billy. h
"Of course it's SOL trlumphantly ex-
claimed Uncle Joe. Now let me tell you
what, Bill! You go with me to-day Let's
take q walk. Let's take our dinner along.
Let's go out fer an oldfashioned, good
day OF enjoyin' ourselves, an when we
git back-an I'll leave it to you, Bill.
IL you say we haven't had good time
Ia rale old-fashioned enjoyable time,
like we used to have when we were
boys-au' pandners-w'y I'll go to meetin'
with you reg'lar every Sunday fer six
months" Uncle Billy paused hesitated,
and the man who hesitates-you know
the rest OF the proverb Uncle Joe was
once again the dominant power in the
partnership that had begun when they
were boys, years and years ago.
While the second bell was calling.
Come, oh comet" two bent forms crept
A stealthily out through the suburban or
chard, climbed the fence very carefully
and stole down the inside OF the hedge
row. along a turning row." toward the
river.
AT the end of the hedge they paused
for a moments rest.
Uncle Joe famed himself with his palm
leaf hat. Uncle Bllly looked at the wap-
ing dark-green corn with appreciative
eyes Then he grew reminiscent.
Joseph" (when Uncle Bllly said Jos
eph" In the way he said II then. 1t meant
he was going TO say something not quite
commonplace. Joseph 1t was just such
u a day as this when my first wife-~whcn
Mary and Twas waikiki home from
ineeting--down In The old neighborhood--
when mustered up courage to ask her
IL she'd have me The brown thrushes
was lngln, an the wild roses was in
bloom remember, cause she asked mo
10 gether a bolSay Of EN-. | had no
jack7knife. an pulin' EN- off tore my
hand on a big, prjekly briar She tied
up my scratched hand with her hand
keschief an when felt the touch OF her
her to let me take her hand until death
should part us, An she did--nntil death
parted MS"
strange light burned dinlY in Uncle
Joe's eyes as he listenedra light that
Iiickered for an instant and died out, even
as a. tiny fame will sometimes shoot up
and die out from a deserted camp fire
smoldering by the roadside in the dark
ness
lie, too. in the long ago, had Worship.
ed al the shrine Of Mnry~but Billy had
never known,
gentle wind stirred the hedge leaves
and sent ripple after ripple across the
whitening wheat fields,
Purity. Amt !ta' remarked Uncle Joe.
waving his hand toward the wheat fields.
HEut let's keep piuggln' along toward tho
river, There's nlcs shady place by the