The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1921-10-14
CHAPTER XVII.
Bill Dale Laughs.

Us " teS
the other side Of the river the bowling
wind s%natched sprays of blue wood
smoke. The Morelands had gone to
farms lying around Cartersville In the
lowland, on each Of which u fair-sized
first payment had been made. the Dor
r0wed capital was to remain borrowed
for another year. The MOrelands were
already losing their OutIandishness
and growing into universal respect.
David Morelsnd's dream was al last
being realized.
Then Dale frOwned heavily. II only
he could do as much for Babes peo-
plel But he couldn't. The men Of the
L%ittlefOrds. still worked the coal mine.
They received almost twice the custom
airy wages. but even that wouldn't buy
them farms and educate their children.
Under his eyes lay two unanswered
letters from his parents. He found
little pleasure 10 answering their let.
tiers. for he was still somewhat bitter
toward them-tOward his father he
cause Of his fathers Ill treatment OF
David Moreland and David MOreland's
people; toward his mother because she
had let him go hungry for mother-love
as a baby. as a child, as q boy. and as
a man toward them both because he
had been reared a dO-nOthing.
The door opened suddenly, and By
Heck came stamping in with a gust OF
cold air at his back. He carried In
one hand the mail satchel Ia the other
was his ever-present rifle. After throw
ing the satchel TO the floor at Dale's
feet, he turned to the glowing wood
stove.
I'm dang nigh friz, BILL" he chat
tered. "Ny gosh. / couldn't be no cold
er'n what I EN- eff I'd ma elm the
nawth pole neck-ed. Say, Bill, why'n't
We burn coal Std o. wood? IgOd. it's
hotter"
Goal Is worth money. Wood isn't"
Dale ran through the mail hastily.
He. threw aside a letter from the Alex
ander Crayf1eld Coal corporation. which
took the entire output of the mine at
an extraordinary figure, and picked up
a letter which bore the pOstmark OF his
home city.
1t was from Babe L~ittlefOrd. S'u"e
ne paid so little attention to the letters
Of his parents, they had requested her
to write to him-they wanted him TO
come home for Christmas dinner.
Wouldn't he conner
He arose and paced the office floor
for two or three minutes, then he sat
down az his desk and dashed off a let
ter that contained only two sentences.
BY Heck sat beside the stove and
watched his god with thoughtful eyes.
He understood. he believed. How any
woman on earth could turn down Il
man like Bill Dale was utterly beyond
him. By Heck was q great deaf Ike 8
g~oOd-natured dog.
If Bill would only laugh. II would ne
good for him. 1t had been so long since
he had heard Bill laugh iiy Heck de
cided that he would make Fiji Dale
laugh.
"Old boy"
"WeIi?"
"DO We want me 70 tell Sc \ funny
tale?" drawled Heck. He barely heard
the answer:
81 guess | don't mind, BY"
Heck's sympathy made him gulp-
Put he swallowed the lump that came
up In hfs throat and began bravely
Zone time the vas a Teller named
Smith. Odd name. Bill. amt u? 'Hoss-
fy' Smith. they called him. cause II
was said at he could easy shoot 8
hossfy often q hOss's ear and never
break hide on the animile. He was q
heliiOn, too. One time HOssfly. he was
a-tryin' to git appointed the chairman
o. some sort o politics dOin's. and on
that same day he was a-drinkin' sort
O. tol'able heavy. They agreed to
make him the Temporary chairman, but
Hosshy, he didn't want that. So he
hops right up in the middle o tie meet
In. and he holIers OF and says:
"'Fellcr citizens he says, I van
to be the permanent chairman amt
a-goin 10 act In the capacity OF @
burned temp'rary chairman: ! absc-
~d--n-lutely ain'tr
His old inemy. Eb Wright. he yells
back and says smart-ike: Set down
thar. HOSsfly.' says Eb-'yOu're drunk.
and you don't know the difference q
tween Temporary and permanent!
well, they knowed Eb had It q
comm to him right then, and they lis
tened TO- it. Hossfly. he addresses the
whole meetin', and this here Is what
Hossfy says:
"'FelIer citizens says ne. 'Eb
Wright thar lows I don't know the diff
ference atween Temporary and perma-
nent. I'll prove to you that ! do know
the difference. Eb Wright says I'm
drunk. | am. That's Temporary. Eb
Wright Is a poke-nosed idjit. That's
permanent ="
Heck finished with q lazy laugh:
"Haw. haw. haw! Hee-haw. ~hee-haw"
THAT story" Dale said YEARLY,
has been told on dozens Of politicians.
- - - thn Lir1 49, -