The Washington herald., 1920-12-16
Continued from yesterday.).-


About three in the afternoou I
thrCwed my bride rein over a mes
quite limb and walked the last
twenty yards into Uncle Emsley's
store l got up on the counter and
told Uncle Emsley that the signs
pointed to the devastation of the
fruit crop of the world. In a min
ute had a bag of crackers and a
long-handled spoon, with an open
can each of apricots and pineapples
pnd cherries and greengages beside
of me with Uncle Emsley busy chop
ping away with the hatchet at the
yellow clings. 1 was feeling like
Adam before the apple stampede.
and was digging my spurs into the
side of the counter and working
with my twenty-four-inch spoon
when i happened TO look out of the
window into the yard of Uncle Ems
: ley's house, which was next to the
store.
There was a girl standing there
an imported girl with fXings on
-philandering with a croquet maui
and amusing herself by watching my
style of encouraging the fruit can
ming industry.
oAAu OAL NhC SOohNCA anu
cred up my shovel to Uncle Ems
ley
That's my niece says he; Miss
wiuella Learight. down from Pal
estine on a visit Do you want that
| should make you acquainted?
The Holy Land 1 says to my
self. my thoughts milling some as I
tried to run 'em into the corral.
Why not? There was sure angels
in Pales- Why, yes. Uncle Ems
ley / says out loud, I'd be awful
edited to meet Miss Learight.'
so Uncle Em3ley took me out in
the yard and gave US each others
entitlementS.
II Inever was shy about women.
I never could understand why some
men who can break a mustang be-
fore breakfast and shave in the
dark get all left-handed and full Of
perspiration and excuses when they
see a bolt of calico draped around
what belongs in it. Inside of eight
minutes me and Miss Willella was
sggravating the croquet balls
around as amiable as second cous-
ins. She gave me a dig about the
quantity of canned fruit 1 had eat
en-. and got back at her, fiat-foot-
ed. about how a certain lady named
Eve started the fruit trouble in the
hrst free-grass pasture-'Over in
Palestine. wasn't it? says /, as easy
and pat as roping a one-year-old-
That was how i acquired cor
diality for the proximities of Miss
Willella Learight; and the disposi-
ton grew larger as time passed.
Shewas stopping at Pimienta Cross
ing for her health, which was very
good. and for the climate, which
was 20 per cent hotter than Pales-
tine 1 rode over to see her once
every week for a while; and then I
figured it out that If 1 doubled the
number of trips 1 would see her
twice as often
"One week 1 slipped in a third
trip; and that's where the pancakes
and the pink-eyed snoozer busted
into the game.
That evening. while / set on the
counter with a peach and two dam
sons in my mouth, I asked Uncle
Emsley how Miss Willella was
why says Uncle Emsley. she's
gone riding with jackson Bird. the
sheep man from over at Mired Mule
Canada
Il swallowed the peach seed and
the two damson seeds. 1 guess
somebody held the counter by the
bride while / got off; and then
walked out straight ahead till
butted against the mesquite where
my roam was tied.
"'She's gone riding l whisper in
my bronc's ear, with Birthstone
Jack. the hired mule from Sheep
Mans Canada Did you get that,
old Leather-and-Gallop
That bronc of mine wept, in his
way. He'd been raised a COW pony
and he didn't care for snooZers.
Il went back and said to Uncle
Emsley: Did you say a sheep man -
81 said a sheep man. says Uncle
again. You must have heard tell
of Jackson Bird. He's got eight sec
tions of grazing and four thousand
head of the finest Merinos south of
the Arctic Circle
Il went out and sat on the ground
in 5he shade of the. store and leaned
against a prickly pear. I sifted
sand into my boots with unthinking
hands while j soliloquized a guam
tity about this bird with the Jack
son plumage to his name.
Il never had believed in harming
sheep men. / see one, one day, read
ing a Latin grammar on hossback.
and I never touched him, They
never irritated me like they do most
cowmen. You wouldn't go to work
now and impair and disfigure snooZ-
ers- would you, that eat on tables
and wear little shoes and speak to
you on subjects? l had always let
'em pass. just as you would Jack
rabbit: with a polite word and a
guess about the weather, but no
stopping to swap canteens. I never
thought il was worth while to be
hostile with a snoozer. And because
I'd been lenient and let 'em live,
here was one going around riding
with Miss willella Learight,
AN hour by sun they come lop-
ing h-~k, and stopped at Uncle
Emsleys gate. The sheep person
helped her off, and they stood
throwing each other sentences all
sprightful and sagacious for a
while And then this feathered
Jackson flies up in his saddle and
raises his little stewpot of a hat
and trots of in the direction of his
mutton ranch. BY this time 1 had
turned the sand out of my boots and
unpinned myself from the prickly