Mexico weekly ledger., 1922-11-23

came the low and drowsy murmur Of
the cane.
Drace vas enchanted with the scene,
the sweet air. Beside him Shottle
lOng-legged his way, his neck stretched
out.
"YOnder comes Uncle Howard, the
General" he said.
Toward them, with q slow but firm
and emphatic step, came a tall, spare,
erect old gentleman and as he drew
nearer, Drace saw that he wore a u
tache and whiskers trimmed neatly
down to a sharp point. The soldier
within him predominated, the profess
slonal soldier, who is often gentler
and more kindly than the volunteer.
ShOttle hailed him, and he quickened
his pace.
swell, well, Liberty Shottle! Wei.
come, sir, and your friend
"Uncle, this is Virgil BRACE, my best
friend"
The old man Strengthened, held out
both his hands and made Liberty's
friend welcome most Hospitality.
Now they walked toward the house,
the General with his hand on Braces
arm Over the yard fence poured a
stream Of hounds. and al old 'possum-
dog. "barked up Sfottle as If he had
freed. The double hallway doors stood
open. The General conducted BRACE
into the library, a room that looked
big enough for a tennis court. Then
he hastily withdrew, and Shottle
spoke:
"Gone to find Aunt Tycie. You'll like
her. No hickory tree sap is any sweet
er than her disposition. She was a
Shottle, my fathers young sister.
She's young, as l. told you. And she
looks younger now than when she
married. Did you Eve notice that
when a young woman marries an old
fellow, she always tries to look young
err? Here they are"
Presently the great plantation bell
on a tower in the yard rang time for
the evening meal. The General arose,
and bowling to his wife, gracefully Of
fered her his arm. To Drace 1t was a
pretty ceremonial, and he contrasted
1t with the more brusque customs Of
everyday life in the North.
When an opportunity offered, Drace
inquired of the General, as casually as
possible, if ne knew anything of an
old fellow named Stepho la Vitte, who
was reputed to live somewhere in the
! vicinity.
The General seemed somewhat sur.
prised at the inquiry. "Yes," he said,
81 know something of him. And l be
lIeve there are rumors that he is some.
times seen. across the River nea here.
During the war he was a guerrilla and
cast much blame on the Confederacy
l met him once, after the war-near
X your fathers house, my dear. My
mules were tired, and / had halted In
the shade to let them rest, when up
! anne two men; n put his hand OF
the wheel Of my buggy and said that
my mules were his-that they had
been stolen from him. / laughed, but
meantime l had the muzzle Of a pistol
between his eyes. He didn't finch nor
wink. He looked at me and said that
he may have made a mistake. l told
him I thought he had. Then, taking
his hand of my wheel, he bowed him.
self back and said that he would see
me again, to apologize. But I haven't
seen him since"
In the evening how still and sweet
was the airl From the quarters came
the weird drone Of the negro's chant,
for the habit Of the slave had not fal.
len with his chain. In the parlor Aunt
Tycie sang, In this house a custom to
be dreaded by the learned ear; but
Braces ear was not learned; Shottle's
was as an oyster-shell clapped to his
head; and In music the General could
not distinguish intention from accom-.
pIishment. It was a song Of love
"Hast Thou No Feeling to See Me
Kneeling?" and when Its last note had
found a dark corner wherein to die,
Drace requested her to sing it again,
She gave him a grateful look the Gen,
eral smiled at him; and as the song be
gan again to mourn Its way, Shottle
said to himself:
"If Providence will lend virtue to q
scheme, that will cost you money, vir
Gil. Came here to rest after going
through more than Stonewall jackson
could stand, and this is what / get
Oh, it's respectable and ought to BIZ
endured, and so Is a casket lined with
satin, but 1t doesn't suit me. Lord,
but this atmosphere is u~nsympathet'
icp
II you have patience to wait, bed
time always comes; history is strewu
with bedtime. It came sloR.footed fol-
Shottle, but quickly enough for Drace
with his nerves Of steel wire. And
how delighted he was with his room, q
museum Of antiquity, a great four
poster bedstead with a canopy heavy
enough to have served as deadfall t.
some medieval giant. a chair thai
looked like the oaken throne Of an an
cient Briton, a wardrobe wherein Blue
beard might have hanged his wives
a rough-hewn mantelpiece remindful Of
a beetling cliff-these were featured
In the light Of a hanging lamp BIZ
enough to turn the ashes Of a ere
mated dragon.
The night was warm, and through
the windows the air came cool and
iulllng from the Gulf; but Drace lal
until daybreak before he slept, ant
when he awoke the noontIme bell wa,