Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-09-15
By Ellis Parker Butler.

swatty thought awhile and We
waited. Then he said:
II didn't make their old laws, did
I? How do know why they made
their old laws?"
OF course he was right about that
People just make laws because they
want to make them. So then we asked
Swatty what his wife was like, and he
told us lot about her. She was an
Indian princess and when you nrst
looked at her she looked all right, but
pretty soon you saw she wasn't
tame Indian, but wild one; she had
a tomahawk in her belt and the edge
Of it was all. dried over with blood.
because she had had eight other hus-
bands before Swatty and she had got
them and scalped them. She had an
album on her parlor table. but instead
Of photographs in it she had the
scalps of her husbands, and when the
down the album and turn over the
pages and show the scalps and tell
about them. Swatty said there was
just room in the scalp album for one
more scalp and that every once in
having his stockings darned, she
would look at his head and sigh
Swatty said the scalps in her album
were brown and yellow and red hair,
and all kinds of light colors like that,
looked at his black hair made him
think she just wished she had an
excuse to kill him and get his black
scalp to sort of complete her collec-
ton.
Swatty said her name was Morning
Daisy.
Well. we talked it over and swatty
made US promise never to tell any
one he had been married, because II
his mother knew it she would take
him out in the stable and whale him
with strap. because he had married
an Indian. So he said that was why
he didn't dare take any girl to the
new school reception, because If his
and she would come down and toma-
hawk him and maybe kill him. And il
she didn't kill him his mother would
notice his scalp was gone, the next
time she washed his head, and she
would guess he had married an In
dian and would take him out in the
stable and whale him with strap. So
we saw swatty had pretty good ex-
cuse Tor not taking girl to the re-
ception, only he ought to have remem-
me and Bony he would take girl.
Well, my mother helped me dress
Tor the reception and tied my necktie
bow and she went to the front door
she gave me twenty cents to spend at
own she didn't know about. So I
started off.
1t was dark already. went along,
kind Of dragging my hand along the
pickets of the fences and wishing I
was dead or something, and it got
darker and darker. The new house
Mamie Little lived in was away out
over Grimes Hill, and when I got to
the hollow. where the lights ended,
stopped. I didn't like to go any far
Their: it was SO dark. So went home.
When my mother heard me come
into the house she said:
why, George! What's the matter?
II got headache" said.
"Nonsense!" she said. "And if you
have. it makes no difference; when
for her, you've got to CO."
So guess I began to cry.
i don't like to go through the hol.
low" said.
So then my mother said she would
go with me as far as Titles gate, and
she did. I went the rest of the way
alone, and when I got to the door
Mr.. Little and Mamie were just get
ting ready to come out, and Mr.. Little
said:
well! Here is our cavalier. after
ALL" and he leased me some about be.
ing gallant that came late, and a lot
of things. until I felt pretty cheap,
and then he said we'd better be start
luSs % we started.
Mamie and me walked in front and
1t wasn't as bad as thought it would
be, but l kept feeling sort of chilly
when thought Of going into the re-
ception with Mamie. But before we
got to the schoolhouse Mamie said to
me:
Say, George"
"What?"
Say. papa gave me circus ticket
and said could give it to you"
said aw! i didn't want to take her
ticket away from her, but she said she
had one, too, because her father was
eoltor or the paper and he got them
complimentary. So she said that If I
didn't nave anybody to go with could
wait at my gate until they came by
her and her father ala mother-and
we could see the parade from her
Fathers office and then go to the cir
Gus together. So I said I would, So
then we talked about the circus and
we got to the schoolhouse,
AS soon as we got inside Mrs. Little
said:
Now. you children run along and
enjoy yourselves"
Mamie said, right away:
What shall we do first: shall we
get some ice cream first?"
l said that would be all right be-
cause we were right near the ice
cream tables and people wouldn't no.
tice was with Mamie Little and think
l had brought her il she sat down and
mad Ice cream, So we sat down at a