The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-04-24
,ext vear." ventured aga1n.

next year." ventured again.
 Doubt it," was all he would answer. The field back of him did not look en- couragirg. Despairing finally of get ting any information from him, drew rein, preparing, to join Bud, adding, however, before leaving:
 ''Well, that's too bad.'
 With sudden animation he stopped whittling for a moment to look up and remark:
 "'Tain't as bad as you think, my friend. I don't own this land"
 II rode off, laughing at this quaint conception of the value of land. He had not intended to be either witty or humorous, but was sincere in trying to disabuse my mind of false 1mpres- sion I might have of the extent of his troubles. When Bud rode up he ex- plained to me that the man farmed only on shares and had he owned the land he would have been held respon- sible for the interest on the mortgage. Indeed, he said that to own certain of the land around that section was re garded as a calamity.
 | That ride with Bud gave me much material for letter, and when I went ito my room wrote, until after mid night. T touched only on the general condition of the planters and petty farmers and made use of such apt com ments as I had chanced to pick up away from the Pines. I read and re read my letter to make sure it could not be traced to Oglethorpe or it's inn mediate vicinity. was satisfied that 1t would describe many of the older counties in the state; but, looking back now, it seems to me that I was too general in my deductions and that the 1llustrau tons, while unique, did not give a proper conception either of the man. ners of the people or of the conditions of the country save in the exceptional case. But I had been trained to look for the exception, fear, which think is the main fault of all young people who have a pen put into their hands, who are prone to point out the rfdicu- lous side of life instead of seeing the manhood and the strength which often underlie conditions, no matter how strange they may appear at first.
 But my work for that week was done, and I arose the next morning with the feeling that I could do with my time as wished without trying to remember incidents or conversations which might make interesting reading matter in Boston. I rode to the sta tion and mailed my letter, and on my return I found Miss Ellen engaged, as she said, in putting the house to rights, ''For if we leave all until the last day, very little will be done,'' she said, and so I spent the day lending a hand here or lifting piece of furniture there. Miss Ellen mended many an old lace curtain that day, while I would sit, pipe in mouth, watching her fingers move backward and forward and keep ing my eyes on her face when her own were fixed on the work in her lap I was on the point several times of tell ing her why I had come south, to con- Jess that there was no kinship possibly with the Kentucky Palmers, but after several efforts, which really got no fur ther than planning them, I would fore go all determination to play a strictly honorable role, and then, too. I feared it might put Colonel Turpin in a false position as well as myself, or so I chose then to think. That evening Miss Ellen played more beautifully than I had ever heard her play, before, and she sang some old time melodies for us too. Her voice was sweet, and she sang simply and without effort. Before bed time we had gathered around the piano and sung glees, even the colonel remem- bering enough from his old Princeton days to lend discord occasionally. It was an uneventfuI but happy day, and 1t swept me many leagues nearer to the goal to which had been drifting unconsciously since the first minute I had seen Miss Ellen and looked into her honest brown eyes.
 The next morning some of the young men of the county, Buds friends, came for me to go hunting with them. I got into some of Buds hunting togs and with his gun on my shoulder rode with them to the hunt Ing lodge, from which point we SCOUT ed the country for many miles tbat day. The sport was new to me on ac- count of the game we found. I had indifferent luck, however, though the others filed their bags with blower, robins, doves and larks. There were plenty of blackbirds, but we scorned shooting these, though I was told they make 8 good pie, which is favorite dish with the colored hands on the farms. I saw something of each mem. Der of the party during the day and