The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-03-05
ANNALS q The p. O. CLUB

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ana I've Kind o half suspected FOR sew
crnl years tina, if Willard had been !,
man instead Of 4 jackass he'd ha' bccn
comm around nights to call | seen Al
play oncct down TO hosting where 4
tackass fell in ovc with Il fairs queen,
and as watched Mnlard's bcllaviul'
when Sairy Was around il sometimes
seemed u me as ii wc had another ease
of that same sort q thing on hand IG'd|
sort Of stand an gaze at her with III
!moony loDlI in his eyes. anu every oncct
in a while Willie She was dom some
Kind o work around the Vegetable Yutoh
Willard 10 sneak up behind her ana give
her a gentle sort uf {. Ioke with his Head
anu then wait until Sized scra tchcd 1t
before turnin' back 10 his feed Now
ana then SairN'd take the rake and rub
II up and down his spine Il half dozen
times, and Willard Id stand there l3olliil'
like an angel IN a jackasS heaven, with
4 dreamy look in his eye that il sc ever
saw II III q mans eye would make it
entirely iiitii' to ask What he meant
aud last winter when Snity went up to
WatcrVilc for Il couple o. weeks nc was
the doWncastost donkey y'cver see
Wouldn't eat nuthin' for two :lull days.
an kicked out at everybody us come
within twenty feet q those hind logs -
hisn. He got drooilicr an droopler
every day, until wash day come along,
ana guess that saved his dyin' Of q
lonely an broken heart for the minute
Mad washed Sairy's blue singham an
hung II out on the line AIillurd come a
irottin' MP to it, ana stood .longsidc Of
II all that day, givin it an occasional
put with his head and sccInin' to TAKE.
2 good deal o comfort from the thought
that Sairy WAS somewheres inside"
He wouldn't ha' been the first Jack
ass around here that's fell in love With
a pretty Eirl" put in the Postmaster.
Fact is when them summer bcardcrs
IS around 1t seems 10 me that's their
chief ockypation in life"
WA al" continued silas, things went
on this way until that mclod con come
into the family and for a time il really
looked as though Sairy'd gone mad over
il. She used to sit down at all hours o.
ne day and night to practise. She
Cidnt KNOW one note from another but
after about five weeks She got so she
could play it pretty We'll with one finger
ana after that she gradually got the
other fingers goin' until come Christmas
time she could play both ends Of it TO
oncct with tollabc good results The
onhaDpY part Of 1t was that by slow
degrees she let the melodcon cut out
poor Willard Fillmore Stead O. goin'
out every mornn' first thing after break
fast and rubin Millard's ears for him
and fecdin him q carrot or two, she'd
set down to the mclodcoll an try to
coax few tunes out OF it with her
thumb. ontil finally even jacliass like
Miiiard couldn't help seem that suthin'
was wrong. o. course he didn't know
what it was because he never come into
the house. but he showed in Il good many
ways that he knew suthn' was up He
got as cross as a bear with sore head.
and the minute anybody'd so near him
he'd lay his ears back, and swing his
off hind leg sort O loose like, up and
down like the pendulum OF clock, in
a way that made ye feel that that end
Of him warn't altogether in harmony
with the world. An so things went on
til night before last. when right in the
middle OF Yankee Doodle, which Sairy
was playin with both hands, we hecrd
a woof at the winder. and. by Hockey,
there was Millard He'd broke loose
from the barn. an had come snoopin'
round like Il thief in the night on an
inycS tigatin' tour He scared nc ,Ooct