The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-21
D R F T W O o D
srpH1L H. ARMsTRoNa
h search of Local Color.

l Raymond breathed sigh or reilei as he opened the big wooden gate m front of the Alabama Iarm % house h.S ana arr,ed rls missed the colered boy who had caFrieu
 As aaani1i driver" he had come from the city to this place in search or iocaA color. Tn his mind all at once there com menced to form a picture of the rustic home life. Perhaps there was a giri | Hank and awkward-red headed plen- | ty of freckles-rough skin and rougher speech.
 | Walking up to the front door he gave q knock which brought a huge prlnaie | dog out from behind the house growing his dtspleasure
 Raymond was not born" coward f9r & forefather had fought GsttysbHrg at SsbRer but he realized all in moment I that here was quite a different pfoposi- ton: To face soldiers with ncaty | musket in your hand Is one thing, put 10 meet an enraged guard dog witn noan- | ing on you but suit case that threat- ems to fly open at every moment ana hurl your linen in the dust IS quite
 So 1t took the young man just two | seconds to decide that the family name was sufficiently protected Tn the nero | line and no act of cowardice on his part I would tarnish it. | As the beast crept nearer It ran sort of chromatic scale of growls that were not in the least calculated to soothe the nerves.
 Raymond made one leap and began | to climb the nearest post. Troubles never come singly: the porch had been | freshly painted that morning and the city man got 1t thoroughly rubbed Tn.
 Nearer came the dog; higher climped
 Had no one heard him knock? He placed one hand to his mouth | while with the other he chung 10 ms
 IIa--lo---oooooop' he yelled, but there was only the echo over the noun tain.
 He first looked at his suit case which had fallen to the floor and lay wlde open displaying a deck of cards, re- yolyer, and q flask of whisksy; then e ne removed its gaze from him. 1 The humor of tho thing all at once struck Raymond.
 animal, will you kindly hand me that ! revolver so that I can blow out your brains-go on nowEgeod doggie Inat d,st
 hs ss0d s sofgs only besst and aohsd angry and the city man began to won der how long since it had dined Several times he called Hello but the silence that followed proved that the house was deserted. The family had evidently gone down en masse to meet him,
 There was nothing else to do so he | began to swear at the boy who had ieft | him to such & cruel death. It seemed to Raymond he must have | tried more than hundred times to l1ft | his body clear of the frail railing that | bordered the porch roof but each time something ereaked and yielded which I he knew would only plunge him head | foremost into those jaws. He was get l ting nervous, Suddenly the sun seemed to drop be- hind the mountain as if it had been knocked out of the sky hy cannon ball Then with a last mighty effort he plac- ed his hands on the flooring and threw his body clear over the rail and onto the roof. What an acrobatic stunt? It would have brought down the house at Keith's, however he was Very glad 1t didn't bring down the house here. Trying to raise the single window that opened onto the roof. Raymond found to his disgust that 1t would not budge, so he calmly sat down to stretch his aching limbs. Surveying his clothes I he couldn't help from laughing: He was painted a solid background of white with green trimmings here and there to lend effect. The only sounds now, as the dusk 1 gathered were the musical tinkle of the 1 COW bells in the distance and the in7 eessant chirping of katykids in the tree tops. t Raymond began to feel hungry. Smoking a cigar would have been some | satisfaction--only they were in the suit case.
 The big brute had probably long since eaten them and drunk the whis-
 Raymond went over to the window cutting slowly along the putty edge hoping to thus remove a pane of glass and squeeze through. All at once the stiffness was pierced hU mi a hlp femininR Shriak The explosion of bomb would not have astonished the young man half as much.
 Don't move sir--I-I--have a g-gun on you and-and-I will SHOOT!" ex- claimed girlish voice bravely but | weakly.
 in the dimness slender figure pointing his own revolver wobbly but determin- edly in his direction. For goodness sake. my dear girl put that revolver down--it's-it's-Ioad ed!" | Not till you tell me what you are | trying to break into our house for" she replied angrily.
 why, you see-ha-ha;-you surely don't take me for & burglar-why I'm | I'm"
 He began to reflect. No matter what he said 1t would not be believed. He must humor her.
 "Certainly-anything you say" he said Now please what are you go- | ing to do with me?"
 
 you are for if you do I will shoot you and "Trip" will tear you to pieces"
 My, I've got something pleasant to look forward to. haven't IF"
 The girl had to lower her dignity by laughing. m - o,,.. as your"
 I'm afraid not he returned. I'm mighty sorry for you-said the l girl five a great mind to let you go. | But you have whiskey here and cards guess you are pretty bad sometimes aren't your
 YesET drink blood and eat nails sometimes"
 Raymond forget his hunger, and swore to himself this was was better | than comic opera. Just then was heard the rumble of wheels and two horse wagon pulled in at the gate
 A farmer rushed up and seing the the trouble Lela-well I'll be blowed.
 Hello MT. Brown. shouted Raymond.
 Why, Hello, Raymond. "have they got you treed?"
 Then the young lady promptly faint | ed.
 Raymond was very sorry for had he been down there, he would have caught her in his arms; as 1t was the farmer, astonished at the whole situation, 1 couldn't move, and the ugly dog had the honor of catching that graceful form. | When Miss Brown came to she dldn
 say the customary "Where am I at?"
 Instead she hlushed furiously in the light of the dim lantern and said Oh
 papa you'll have to apologize to MT. | er-er--what's his name I can't"
 Miss Brown acted perfectly right
 said Raymond. She mistook me for a
 burglar getting in this house. You see
 his nibs there had me treed and l tried
 to open the window"