Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1922-08-10
By John Fox, Jr.
Copyright By Charles seribnsr's SOFAS

''There they come u CRIED barDATd.
And from his window the little Ken
tucklan saw the company coming up
the path, brave with gay clothes and
smiles and gallantries. The colonel
walked with a grand lady at the head,
behind were the bellies and beaux, and
bringing up the rear was Barbara, eS-
cOrted by youth Of his own age, who
carried his hat under his arm and
bore himself as haughtily as his
elders. No sooner did he see them
mounting to the porch than there was
the sound of a horn In the rear, anu
looking out of the other window the
lad saw a coach and four dash
through the gate and swing around
the road that encircled the great trees,
and up to the rear portico, where
there was a joyous clamor Of greet
ings. Where did all those people
come from2 Were they going to stay
there and would he have to be among
them? All the men were dressed alike
and not one was dressed like him.
Panic assailed him, and once more he
looked at the clothes on the bed, and
then without hesitation walked
through the hallway, and stopped on
the threshold of the front door. A
quaint figure he made there, and for
the moment the gay talk and laughter
quite ceased. The story of hinA al
ready had been told, and already was
sweeping from cabin to cabin to the
farthest edge of the great plantation.
No son of Powhatan could have stood
there with more dignity, and young
Harry Dale's face broke into a smile
of welcome. His father being indoors
he went forward with hand out
stretched.
II am your cousin Harry" he said,
and taking him by the arm he led him
on the round Of presentation.
MRS. Willoughby, may present my
cousin from Kentucky?"
"This Is your cousin, Miss Katherine
Dale; another cousin, Miss Mary; and
this is your cousin Hugh"
And the young ladies' greeted him
with frank, eager interest, and the
young gentlemen suddenly repressed
patronizing smiles and gave him grave
greeting, for If ever rapier flashed
from a human head it flashed from
the piercing black eye of that little
Kentucky backwoodsman when his
cousin Hugh, with rather whimsical
smile, bowed with politeness that
was a trifle too elaborate. Mrs. Gen.
eral WillOughby guessed how the lads
heart was humping with the effort to
conceal his embarrassment, and when
a tinge of color spread on each side
of his set mouth and his eyes began
to waver uncertainty, her intuition
was quick and kind.
Barbara" she asked, shave you
shown your cousin your ponies?"
The little girl saw her motive and
laughed merrily:
"Why, / haven't had time to show
him anything. Come on, cousin"
The boy followed her down the
steps in his noiseless moccasins, along
grass path between hedges of an
cient box, around an ell, and past the
kitchen and toward the stables. At
the gate the little girl called imperi-
ously:
"Ephraim, bring one of my ponies !"
And in a moment out came a sturdy
little slave whose head was all black
skin, black wool and white teeth, lead
ing two creany-white little horses
that shook the lads cOmposure at last,
for he knew ponies as far back as he
could remember, but he had never
seen the like Of them. His hand al
most trembled when he ran 1t over
their sleek coats and unconsciously
he dropped into his Indian speech and
did not know it until the girl asked
laughlngly:
"Why, what are you saying to my
ponles?"
And he blushed, for the little girls
artless prattling and friendliness were
already beginning to make him quite
human.
"That's Injun talk"
Hugh had followed them.
Barbara, your mother wants you"
he said, and the little girl turned
toward the house. The stranger was
Ill at ease with Hugh and the latter
knew it.
ut must be very exciting where
you live"
"How?"
"Oh, fighting Indians and shooting
deer and turkeys and buffalo. 1t must
be great fun"
Nobody does 1t for fun-it's mighty
hard work"
my uncle-your father-used to
tell US about his wonderful adven-
lures out there"
"He had no chance to tell me-"
"But yours must have been more
wonderful than his"
The boy gave little grunt that was
a survival Of his Indian life, and
turned to go back to the house.
"But all this, suppose, is as
strange to you"
tAEo,.o