Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1909-03-04
CHAPTER V.-contlnued.

CHAPTER V-contInued.
presumed likely that understood
more maybe that he thought l did.
Headache is q fair TO middllng excuse.
out / judged there was other things.
I'D seen them two look at each other
when they met, and-well, they say
q mods IA good as a wink to a blind
horse. and amt blind. / made a sort
of note in my mind to get the pumps
20 working again on Lord James next
time ! got a chance at him alone.
Hartley left me and went over to
the railroad depot and / kept on
down the road TO the shore. was
ioaflng along, going over to myself
the doings OF the afternoon and won
derinR what Van Brunt would say and
so on. when come out into the clear
place at the top OF Meeting House hill.
And the meeting house clock struck
four.
jumped like I'd set down on q
hot stove. hadn't no idea II was as
late az that. The pig and the Page
girl and the rest of the mlx-up had put
all notion of time out OF my head.
yanked out my watch TO make sure
that that clock was right, and then
glanced Mt the sky. Over to the
BASTARD a big, fat. gray fog bank was
piiing up. Twas high water at two.
Eastwich Port cove is a nasty place to
get out OF at low tide, and here was an
sasterly fog coming
AS n general thing don't take any.
body's wash when II comes TO han.
ding a boat or looking out for weather
and such. but now l was ready 20
sing small. A ten.year-old boy brought
up along shore would have known bet.
ter than to do as I'd done. Don't make
no odds how good an excuse had for
forgetting; no excuse is good where II
comes 10 sailboating. ! went down
that hill like the man in the tin cot.
an went to Tophet, "cllnketty Jingle"
Jumped fences and cut across lots.
and I'm ready TO swear right now that
there's more horse briars to the square
Inch in Eastwich Port than in any 9th
az place on the Lords green earth.
Z bust through the pines and come out
on the beach yelling: Hi! Turn out,
everybody! Get aboard now. Live
ly!"
And, by time! there want a soul in
sight For no less than twenty-five
and q half minutes by my watch
walked up and down that beach. see
tng tho tide go out and bellerlng
"Ahoy" and Where are your" at
the top OF my lungs. And then. 10
and behold you. here comes Van
Brunt and Lord James. poklng along
~ n they had ali the time there was.
Van bad been over behind the point
taking a swim and his lordship had
gone along to set on his boss trous-
ers and keep the creases in, or some
such mighty important Job.
"Ah right, skipper; all right"
drawls Van. cool as a Sunday school
boy at an ice cream sociable. You've
got good lungs and you'd ought TO be
careful OF EN-. I've heard you whoop-
ing for the last ten minutes. What
did you and Martin have when you
were up town. By the way, where IL
Martini"
He was so everlasting comfortable
and sassy and was so billing hot and
nervous that II made me mad.
Hes gone home on the train." !
snapped out. Got a headache"
Headache. eh7 Humph! What
ei6 you have up town and where did
you get itT'
Never mind whore we got H." says
I. you'll get a headache from setting
mp stuck on q shOal all night II you
don't get aboard that boat Look at
them clouds"
He looked at 'em. "Ah." he says;
Every, ike n whale"
didn't know what he meant and
didn't care.
'whaloi" says l. well, well be
lucky n we amt the Jonahs. Get
aboard with that basket. you opper
whars-your-name. win you; II you
want 10 fetch port tonight"
Lord James looked like he'd like 70
nut another '~eAd" on me, but his boas
was round and he dasBcnt talk back.
between. as We loaded the dunnage.
.Thon Van GOT aboard. deliberate
enough 10 Try = parson'a patience. ana
cabt loose and g0t sail on the Dora
asa1sett We'd made start, anyhow.
But Il turned oHt that was al Wso
made. Van conmepced 10 ask me
,aoys about Hnriiey and afore could
ten hlu, tho news about the pig race
a.,i she s'esf, the Dora Baasett ran her