Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1912-04-25

down the wash basin he asked Mrs.
Duncan a question.
Mother Duncan, do kisses wash
Off"
Lord, ma, Freckles!" she cried. "At
least the anes We get from people ye
love dinna. They dinna stay on the
outside. They strike in until they find
the center Of your heart and make
their stopping place there, and naeth-
ing car take them from ye-I doubt if
ever death. Ma, lad, We can be rect
sure kisses dinna wash off,"
Freckles set the basin down and NUT
tered. II needn't be afraid to be wash
ing, then, for that one struck in."
""I WISH" said Freckles at breakfast
morning. that 1 had some way to
be sending a message to the Bird Wo-
man. I've something down at the
swamp that I'm believing never hap
pened before, and surely she'll be want
ing it,"
"What now. Freckles" asked Mrs.
Duncan.
"Why, the oldest thing you Eve
heard Of" said Freckles. The whole
insect tribe gone on a spree. I'm sup
posing it's my fault. but it all hap
pened by accident-like. You see. on
the swale side of the line, right
against me trail. there's one Of these
scrub wild crab trees. Where the
grass grows thick about it is the
finest place you yer conceived of for
| snakes. Having women about has set
me trying to clean out those fellows a
bit. and yesterday l noticed that tree
in passing. 1t struck me that it
would be a good idea to be taking it
out. First 1 thought I'd take me
Ratchet and cut it down, for it amt
thicker than me upper arm. Then
remembered how it was blooming in
the spring and filing all the air with
sweetness. The coloring of the bios
SONS is beautiful. and L hated to be
killing it. l just cut the grass short
all about it. Then l started at the
ground. trimmed up the trunk near
the height Of me shoulder and left
the top spreading. That made it look
so truly ornamental that, idle like. l
chips off the rough places neat, and
this morning, on m soul, it's a sight.
You see, cutting off the limbs and
trimming up the trunks sets the sap
running. In this hot sun it ferments
in a few hours. There isn't much
room for more things to crowd on
that tree than there are, and to get
| 1r,1p1yar isn't ovov Doeeih1o"
"Weel, I be drawed on" exclaimed
Mrs. Duncan. What kind of things
do We mean. Freckles"
"Why. just an army of black ants.
Some Of them are sucking away like
| old topers. Some Of them are setting
up on their tails and hind legs. fd-
ding away with their fore feet and
wiping their eyes. Some are rolling
around on the ground. contented.
There are quantities of big bluebottle
flies over the bark and hanging o. the
grasses about. too drunk to steer a
course flying. so they just buzz away
like flying and all the time sitting
still. The snake feeders are too full to
feed anything, even more sap to them
selves. There's a lot Of hard backed
bugs-beetles. I guess-colored like the
brown, blue and black Of a peacock's
Gail. They hang on until the legs Of
them are so wake they can't stick a
minute longer. and then they break
away and fall to the ground. They just
lay there on their backs, fably claw
ing air. When it ear off a bit, up
they get and go crawling back for
more, and they so full they bump into
each other and roll over. Sometimes
they can't climb the tree until they
wait to sober up a little. There's a lot
Of big black and gold bumblebees, done
for entire. stumbling over the bark
and rolling on the ground. They just
lay there on their backs, rocking from
side to side, singing to themselves like
fat, happy babies. The wild bees keep
up a steady buzzing with the beating
of their wings.
"The butterflies are the worst old
topers of them all. They're just a cir
beauties: They come every color you
could be naming and every shape you
could be thinking up. They drink and
drink until if I'm driving them away
they stagger as they fly and turn SOM
ersaults in the air. If l lave them
alone they cling to the grasses. SILVER
ing happy-like. and I'm blest, Mother
Duncan, if the best Of them could be
unlocking the front door with a lead
pencil, even"
81 never heard Of anything sac sur
prising," said Mrs. Duncan.
cts a rare sight to watch them,
and no n ever made a picture of a
thing like that before, I'm for think
ing" said Freckles earnestly.
"Na." said Mrs. Duncan. Eye can
be pretty sure there didna. The Bird
Woman must have word in some way
if We walk the line and I walk to
town and tell her"
Freckles took his lunch and went
down to the swamp. He could find
no trace of anything. yet he felt a
tense nervousness. as if trouble might
be brooding. He came around to his