The Washington herald., 1921-05-15

They took their hats. and took my
departure. ~
! went to a druggist and showed
him the prescription.
TT will be s2s7 for an ounce bot
tle," he said. L.,
"Wili you give me piece Of your
wrapping cord?" said I. g y
made a hole in the prescription.
ran the cord through IL. tied 1t
around my neck. and tucked II In
side. All of us have a little super
stition, and mine runs to a con-
fidence in amulets.
or course there was nothing the
matter with me, but / was very Ill.
/ couldn't work, sleep, eat. or bowl.
The only way l could get apy sym
pathy was to go without Shavins
for four days. Even then somebody
would say: "Old man. you look as
hardy as q pine knot. Been ur for
jaunt in. the Maine woods. eh?"
Then, suddenly. I remembered that
I must have outdoor air and exer-
else. So I went down South to
Johns. John Is an approximate
relative by verdict of preacher
standing with . little book in his
hands in a bower of chrysanthe-
NUNS while a hundred thousand
people looked on. John has a coun-
try house seven miles from Pine
Vile. It Is at an altitude and on the
Blue Ridge Mountains in a State
too dignified to be dragged into
this controversy. John Is mica.
which is more valuable and clearer
than gold.
He met me at Pineville and we
took the trolley car to his home. 1t
Is . big neighborless cottage on a
hill surrounded by a hundred noun
tains. We got OF at his little pri-
vate station. where Johns family
and Amaryllis met and greeted US.
Amaryllis looked at me a trifle
anxiously.
A rabbit came bounding across the
hill between us and the house. /
threw down my suitcase and pur-
sued 1t hot-foot. After I had run
twenty yards and seen It disappear,
/ sat down on the grass and wept
disconsolately. .
II can't catch a rabbit any more -
I sobbed. I'm of no further use In
the world. I may as well b dead
"oh. what is it-what is It., Brother
John?" heard Amaryllis say.
Nerves q little unstrung," said
John, in his calm way. Don't
worry. Get up, you rabbit-chaser,
and come on to the house before the
biscuits get cold" 1t was about
twilight. and the mountains came
up nobly to Miss Murfree's descrip-
lions of them
Soon after dinner I announced that
n hIl
two. including legal holidays. So
was shown to a room as big and cool
as flower garden. where there was
a bed as broad as a lawn. Soon
afterwsrd the remainder Of the
household retired. and then there foil
upon the land a silence.
had not heard a silence before IN
years. 1t was absolute. raised
myself on my elbow and listened to
1t. Sleep, I thought that IL I only
could hear a star twinkle or a blade
Of grass sharpen itself could com
pose myself to rest. thought once
that I heard a sound like the sail
of catboat Tapping as II veered
about In breeze. but I decided that
II was probably only a tack in the
carpet. Still I listened.
Suddenly some belated little bird
alighted upon the window-siIl. and,
in what he no doubt considered
sleepy tones. enunciated the noise
generally translated as Cheap
I leaped into the air.
Hey! what's the matter down
there" called John from his room
above mine.
"Oh. nothing answered, Eek
cept that I accidentally bumped nv
head against the ceiling
The next morning I went out on
the porch and looked at the noun
tains. There were forty seven: Of
them in sight. I shuddered, went
into the big han sitting room of the
house, selected "Pancoast's Family
Practice of Medicine" from the
bookcase, and began to read John
came in. took the book away from
me. and led me outside. He has a
farm OF 300 acres furnished with
the usual complement of barns,
mules, peasantry. and harrows with
three front teeth broken of. I had