Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1914-04-02
cuAprEn xII-cnntInnad

Till the sun was high John Valiant
lay on his back in the fragrant grass,
meditatively watching a b~ucaneering
c~hicken-hawk draw widening circles
against the blue and listeniSg to the
vibrant tattoo of a "pecker-wood' on
a far-away tree, and the timorous wet
whistle of q bob-white. The whole
place was very quiet now. For just
n thrilling moment it had burgeoned
into sound and movement: when the
sweaty horses had stood snorting and
stamping in the yard with the hounds
scampering between their legs and the
riding-coats winking like rubies in the
early sunshine!
Had she recognized him as the
smudged tinkerer of the stalled car?
"She saw me drop that wretched brute
through the window" he chuckled. 81
could take oath to that. But she didn't
give me away true little sport that
she was. And she won't. / can't
think of any reason, but I know. Was
she angry? %wonder!"
At length he rose and went back
to the house. With a bunch Of keys
he had found he went to the stables,
after some difficulty gained access,
and propped the crazy doors and win
dows open to the sun. The building
was airy and w~ell-lighted and con-
tanned a dozen roomy b~ox-stalls, a
spacious loft and a carriage-house.
The straw bedding had been .unre
moved, mice-gnawed sacking and
rotted hay lay in the managers, and the
warped harness, hanging on its pegs,
was a smelly mass of mildew and
decay. He found a stick, moved away
the fe~stooning cobwebs, and moved
the debris piece-meal.
"There!" he said with satisfaction.
There's a place for the motor-if
Uncle Jefferson ever gets it here"
1t was noon when he returned, after
a wash-up in the lake, to the meal
with which Aunt Daphne, in a costume
dimly suggestive of a bran-meal poul-
tice with a Bingham apron on, RECALLED
him. Fried chicken, corn-bread so
soft and fluffy that it had to be lifted
from the pan with a spoon, Drowned
potatoes, and to his surprise, fresh
milk. "Ah done druv ouah oil COW
ovah, subj explained Aunt Daphne.
lease she gotter be MIXED. er she
run dry ez de Red Sea TO- de chillon
OBJ Izril."
Aunt Daphne" inquired Valiant
with his mouth full, what do you call
this green thing?"
Dat? OATS ies' t%urnip-tops, sub,
wild er hunk er bacon in de pot. Laws
ERNIE, ct cer'n'y do me good ter see
yo' git arter it dat way, sub. Reck'n
yo' got err appetite! Hyuh, Hyuh!"
II have. | never guessed it before,
and it's a magnificent discovery. How
ever, it suggests unwelcome reflec-
tons. Aunt Daphne, how long do you
estimate a man can dine like this on
well, say on a hundred dollars?"
"Er hun'ed dollahs, sub? OATS err
right smart heap O. money, deed ct is!
Well sub, pens on whut yo' raises.
Eff yo' raises yo' own gyarden-sass en-
chick'ns en- aigs, All reck'n yo' kin
live longah dan dat ar Methoosalum,
en- still hat mos of it in de oil stock
in"
"Ah! l can grow all those things
myself, you think?'
"Yo' cert'n'y kin" said Aunt Daphne.
"Ev'ybody do. De chick'ns done peck
fo' deyselves en- de yuddah things-yo'
o'ny gotter courage 'em en- dey jes'
grows"
Valiant ate his dessert with a
thoughtful smile wrinkling his brow.
AS he pushed back his chair he smote
his hands together and laughed aloud
Back to the soil!" he said. John
Valiant, farmer! The miracle of it is
that it sounds good to me. l want to
raise my WI grub and till my OWL
soil. l want to be my own man! And
I'm beginning to see my way. Crops