The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1907-12-28

He sent his valise on by the same
red dray, and walked slowly up the
street, recognizing various familiar
objects with a mild delight. At the
meat-market he paused to shake
hands with the butcher, the father Of
his former playmate. The butcher
asked him, as they stood under the
same yellow-coated ham in the door,
way, what he was doing now, and in
sisted upon shaking hands again when
he revealed his connection with the
pork-packing establishment. At his
relatives gate he noted the identical
flower beds upon which he had once
trampled, and his ears tingled at the
memory, for his aunt had descended
upon him from the front door on that
occasion. and
Here she was descending upon him
again, her eyes beaming welcome
through her spectacles. She kissed
him twice upon the mouth, and held
him at arms length while she re-
marked his pallor and his skinniness.
Then she led him into the house-not
by the ear, as she had led him before
and presented him to his uncle, who
was rheumatic in both legs and not
given to greeting visitors in the front
yard. And that night he slept, peace
fully as he had slept before, in the
same white bed in the same attic
room, with the dormer window look
ing out over the green valley to the
towering hills.
On Sunday, which was the next day,
he went with his aunt to church, and
his mouth opened wide and his eyes
grew round, as he recognized his old
friend, the butchers son, in the pull
pit. He had not dreamed of this, for
the butchers son, as he remembered
him, was of distinctly mundane in
clinations. George would have been
less surprised had he seen him in
court of justice, answering to charge
of something. In the choir he OBJ
served other familiar faces, notably
that Of dumping who was a dump
ling no more, and another, the nose of
which had lost its resemblance to a
push-button, although the eyes were
still blue.
He met them all after the service.
And when the congregation had dis
persed, the four of them, under the
bond of childhood memories, passed
from the church together. talking and
laughing. George asked the young
lady at his side If she had forgotten
the day when, clad in pink pinafore,
she had wounded his feelings by call
ing him names, and the young lady
looked into his face archly, and con-
fessed that she had not Then the
butchers son, who had overheard,
turned and shook his hymnal at
George.
Il have not forgotten it, either" he
said. You won every marble / had
in the world that day, and / staggered
home under weight of woe that
tested by strength to the uttermost.
l resolved that night never to gamble
more, and I have kept the resolution.
but-but, by lingo! l would like to get
even with you. You-you haven't any
marbles in your pockets, have your"
And that was but the first day. The
time which came after that was filled
with the simple pleasures of a country
life among refined people of simple
tastes. George quite forgot his
germs. His languor and his pallor
vanished. He was in fit condition to
resume his labors upon the books of
the pork-packing establishment, but
still he stayed. And the tints of au-
tumn had begun to show in places
upon the trees. and the night winds
had taken to themselves a chill, before
he shook of the spell which bound
him, and announced definitely his in
tention Of returning to the city in ore
week.
He made the announcement to the
dumping one sunny afternoon when
they were strolling on the river bank.
and the dumping said, with an encour
aging hesitancy, that she was sorry.
He said he was sorry, too. And then
neither said anything for as long an
interval as is required to walk a hun
dred yards. At this distance they had
rounded bend In small stream, and
were invisible to the other picnickers,
who were sitting upon log, fishing.
An hour later they walked back again.
My DEAR said the reverend butch
er's son to his sister, looking, with
mock severity, first at the dumping
then at George, 'ycu have been gone
from US an hour, and your left ear is
infamed. VIII you please, as a sub
stitute for the apology which we
should require Of you, tell us how this
came to pass? For" he added, wind
ing his line and glancing at the girl.
whose nose resembled a push-button