Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-10-24
BITTERSWEET
BY JAMES ]. MONTAGUE

, Poison ivy would have blue berries
on IL. not red.
put on your gloves when yo1
pluck it and it won't poison you.
That's right. Yes, it was poison IVY
but / was sure it was bIttersweet.
The vines do look alike from dis
tance wen drive down this little
lane here There is some here,
know.
Nonsense, this isn't private prop
erty. who would own property In
such forsaken house as this?
know there's house, but it's prob
ably deserted. Just walk right up
to the wall and get an armfuH OF
that It's the loveliest I've seen
this year.
"Tho dog isn't going to bite you,
| Talk 10 him kindly, and he'll go right
away. Wen take stick to him
then. Suppose he does bark, you
/, know how harmless barking dogs are.
| If you would Just strip off an arniful
| Of vines and hurry back, he couldn't
catch you He's on the other side
| Of the wall.
"oh, is the man coming? Well,
perhaps we'd better go along a little
! further. NO let's wait for him. He
| might be disagreeable. It probably
isn't his bittersweet anyway, but we
have no way of proving it.
t'Now mile along I know place
where there are some perfectly
| gorgeous vines It's a little off the
road, ut all you have to do is to
walk UP that lane till you come to
the second turning, and then climb
the hill. You will see it in an oak,
or maybe it's a maple or an elm,
Anyway you'll see it. You cant
help it. ~
"You were a dreadful time up
there, weren't you? Oh, fudge, these.
are. such little measly berries. Why
didn't you get big ones.
why there must have been big
ones there. There were plenty Of
them last year. Can't you go back
and look. again?
Nonsense, I'm not at all unreason-
able. You said you'd come out and
help me, and l think you might do
it a little more good naturedly. 1t
isn't often ask you to do anything
like this.
Drive slowly, you can't expect me
to see the stuff while you are going
35 miles an hour. Well, 25 miles an
1our then. TIM sure we passed
oceans of it back there. But it
looked so streaky the way we were
flying by / wasn't quite positive.
"Oh, look, there is a perfectly
heavenly lot OF it, right out there in
the center of that field. I know
there's a no trespass sign there, but
it was probably put there last year,
and has been forgotten by this time.
Do go over and get a whole load
of it, It's the prettiest I've ever
seen.
"A golf course, well what if it is?
Can you imagine golfer caring for
beauty, or anything but his old
strokes. can't, and I've lived with
one Of them for more than 10 years
now. Anyway there doesn't seem TO
be anybody. on the course. Take
those pruning shears with YOU and
the big basket. And work as quickly
as you can; it's getting late
There, that is wonderful. Aren't
you glad you went? You're really a
dear, after all Now I shall have
some to give to everybody I've
promised it to, and we can come
out next week and get some for
the living room and the sun parlor,
although perhaps we had better come
tomorrow for it may be gone by
j Sunday
!. "Don't pay any attention to these
men. Drivate along. They haven't go'
:, car. Fudge, they'd never take o9r
\ number just because we gotta little
!, bfttersweet They're probably glad
to get rid of it. I can hear what
they are saying, but we can't go back
!, now. 1t would just mean trouble
: with them
Did he say you stole his ball:
How horrid of him. He ought to
; know by the car, and by-well by
: my looks--that you're not a thiet
'sWell, declare, there is ball
tangled up in this bunch. Isn't that
: funny? You must have picked il
nm bv mistake. Golly, 1 don't wonder
the man was mad.
l "oh no, we haven't nearly enough
4 yet. Why, 1 must have promlseo
4 bushels and bushels of it, and look
the car isn't more than half fuil
of if now We can crowd lots more IN
well, we won't stop till We're out
, reach of those wretched golfers. JUST
turn down this little by way here
and see if we can'tSfind some more
!, oh, we can get through that mud
/ without any trouble. The very fact
that the mud is there shows that
many cars won't try to get through
so nobody will have been ahead OF
US. See that, I was right. There's
a big lot of it right along that wall
! ..Fidd1esticks, the car can't DC
stuck. Make both back wheels sc
= around at the same time, and Wei
: get out. Oh, bother the differential
Switch it off and turn both wheels
, ''The chains? ! told John to take
. them out Of the car. I wanted tt
? put some other things under the back
Il seat. Well, you can go up the road
e and telephone to a garage and They'll
: tow us out.
e Isn't it perfectly wonderful, We're
: home, and it's only o'clock in the
morning and we've just got loads o.
s bittersweet You were darling tt