The log cabin Democrat. [volume] (Conway, Ark.) 1901-1982, 1908-08-06

| for the marsh frogs, rambling chant
| slowly gathered volume. 1t swelled
| into a chorus and soon swallowed all
| other noises of the night in grand
| wave of sound which reverberated
| back and forth between the black for
| ests circlng like giant sounding
| boards upon either side of the marsh.
| The sound waves rose and fell like the
, breathing of surf. Once, in lull a
| single voice, deep and rolling, left the
| others and sounded several sonorous
| notes. as though leading the chant.
The old resident had been listening
| for that. He laid his hand suddenly
upon the visitors shoulder and whis-
| pered eagerly: you heard it,"
His companion nodded.
That's the last of the 'Reedyille
quar1ette' said the old resident as
| he rested his arms upon the top rail
of the little causeway, and settled his
pipestem comfortably in the dropping
corner of his mouth.
Il know his voice all right. I'd
know it in a thousand That's Bill,
the basso, out there.
You surely must have heard of
'Padgett's Reedville Quartette'? Why,
man, the fame of that little band
spread for miles around and there's
few in this part of the eastern shore
who haven't heard it sing.
when old Abe Padgett came from
down east to live in Reedville, he
brought. with him about the most com
plete menagerie that was ever seen
about these parts. His monkey was
educated better than some of the folks
who laughed at it, and the parrots
could say about anything they wanted
to. There was ciphering pig and two
white rats that could play on the plan
ner-a real little one, you know about
as big as a harmonica.
"Padgett had a mania for training
animals, and the more difficult they
were to handle the better he liked it.
He had been with a circus most all
his life, but had become too old for
the road, and had come to Reedville
to wait around until time to shuttle
off the coil
settled down at the old Rutherford
place over there where you see that
light at the end of the marsh. They
lived happily for a while, and then dis
aster overlook them. The climate, or
maybe the malaria, proved too much
for the menagerie, and one by one a
little row of graves over on the brow
- hot oarlr ha tir0 n1o
OF Padgett's friends.
The old man was all broken up by
his loss. The neighbors offered him
other pets-cats and dogs; But he
didn't take any shine to them at all.
1T was while Padgett was listening
to the marsh chorus one evening that
he suddenly conceived an idea. He
called it an inspiration, and began to
perk up right away. After this he
was away from home more than ever.
When occasionally visitor would
drop in, lusty halloo would bring
Padgett splashing from the marsh,
muddy and wet from head to foot, but
looking as happy as a 12-year-old
school boy on Friday evening. He al
ways carried net and a closed basket
during his prowls, and some Of his
neighbors wanted to know if he was
going to start frog farm.
Along in the middle of the summer
it was noticed that all of the best frog
music was over on Padgett's shore.
There was still some musical croaking
at other parts of the marsh, but 1t
usually drowned out by the melodio~es
chorus from Padgett's.
Ray Slocum, the mller's son, sprang
sensation about the postofiice one
day by saying that he had been up by
Padgett's the evening before and had
heard band playing somewhere
around there, and had seen the old
man jumping around the yard waving
his arms like mad, but saying not a
word. Someone suggested that the
place was haunted and that its pro-
prietor was out of his head.
curiosity began to get keyed up
pretty high when one morning Padgett
marched up to the postoffice and ASKED
for his mail. He hadn't been there
was quite number of letters, but
Padgett paid little attention to them,
showed them carelessly down in the
tail of his coat and said TO Perkins,
the postmaster: L would like to rent
your hall for next Saturday night, as
| want to give a concert there which
will kinder shake up Reedville a bit,
reckon, the idee being new an origi-
nal
Perkins and he fixed it up between
them, and Padgett billed the town that
same afternoon. The posters were
short, home made and to the point.
AS near as | can remember, they stat
ed that the concert would be the great
est novelty of the age, and that i'm
ported musicians would render all the
familiar airs and many that We're not
so familiar. Ten cents admission
would be charged. 1t is needless to