Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-12-18

son into his wagon and left
~ Arkansas for Louisiana. His
visible wealth was 40-odd dol
lars, a wagon. Rhoda. the young
white mare. and the old black mule,
Tom.
In seven years Lige had cropped on
FIVE plantations i'm as many parishes.
He kept moving on from farm to farm.
because there never was anything no
ticeable left after he had sold his cotton
and paid for his supplies. 1t seemed
to him that things worked in vicious
circle, so far as he was concerned.
If the crop was good, the price was
low, and, If the price was high. the
Weld was scanty. 1t Infatuated him
to think of it. Hits the beaten est
thing" he would say to Amanda, his
gay eyes blinking rapidly. Maybe,
On another plantation, things would
go better.
He had with him now not only the
boy, Kilmer, but a daughter OF four,
Peruna. His wife had died.
Lige's spirit did not recover from
the blow of her death. There was
rear him not single person inter.
ested in the details of his life and
work. and he was very lonesome and
full of something he called "jandice,"
and so, year after her loss, he start.
ed back in his wagon for the Arkan-
sas hills. where he said he had kim
folks" The old black mule. Tom, had
laid his body down permanently one
Spring night following a hard days
blowing, but Rhoda's son, Buster, now
q leggy yearling, yellow and very
tame, took his place.
Kilmer did most of the driving and
whatever other work was necessary.
Ii Low N haddlnQ under
the canvas cover, while the wagon
worked slowly northward. Lige had
waited to gather and sell his crops.
SO that IL was December when the
Dunklins reached Asphodel, in south
ern Arkansas.
Having crossed the State line,
Lige's spirit revived somewhat and
he began calling up at Kilmer on the
high spring-seat to get along faster.
Leaving Asphodel late one afternoon,
the Dunklins camped for the night
on the bank of bayou three miles
north of town. The next day Lige
could not go on, and the following
week he died.
For a few days Asphodel was keenly
interested in Dunklin affairs. The
sheriff put the wagon and team in
Beamer's wagon-yard, pending the
settlement of the Elijah Dunklin
estate, including the bills OF the doc.
tor and the undertaken. While vague
efforts were being made to locate his
unknown relatives in the hills, whose
surnames and addresses Kilmer did
not know, and while letters were be-
ing sent to several institutions that
cared for orphaned children, the r.
year-old boy was taken in by one fam
fly and Peruna by another on the op.
posite side of town.
She received an outfit of clothes,
mostly new: of which she was ecstati-
cally proud, and Kilmer, too, was
polished up considerably. A barber
removed the whitey-colored shag of
hair that almost covered his ears and
extended well down over his coat COL
lar. His brass-toed brogans. his trou.
sers that had been cut down from a
pair of his pappy's. so that the two
hip pockets stood abutting each other
and were no longer exactly hip peck
cts, his ancient and holey felt hat, all
these and more were replaced with
things entirely new. since the two
sons Of his host were smaller than he.
RUT, within week, the two little
Dunklins had lost their delightful
CSulcf-SldSt pOSiLlOilS IOE iSpuOuCi
adults and children alike. The grown
ups were busy with other matters,
and the children with whom Peruna
and her brother Kilmer came in con-
tact were soon subjecting them to
various Juvenile barbarities by way
of initiation.
Peruna dared not pour out her
grievances to the awesome adults of
the family that had taken her in. but
Kiimer came over every day to see
her anG, at some time while he was
there. she would get him away from
the other children and passionately
unburden herself.
Many things struggled in him to
get said. though he could find few
words in which to put them: besides,
he talked so slowly that the more
articulate Peruna had run on into
new subject before he had barely
touched the one a minute older. Still,
he could sum up what he wanted to
say by slipping his arm around her
and squeezing her hard against him;
and she understood. for. always after
that, her wistful little kitten face
would relax and brighten and present.
ly she would be light-heartedly play.
ing with the temporarily friendly
enemy.
There was no comforter for Kilmer.
Before his father died, he had felt
responsibility touch his shoulders, and
he had unconsciously braced himself
to meet the strain. Vaguely he had
the notion that now he was the head
of the family; that he was the court
of last resort as to Dunklin matters.
and that there was no one to whom
he could complain or to whom he
could transfer his multitude of wor.
ries. The childs necessarily stole
philosophy was developing rapidly.
Adult Asphodel would have been
amazed to know that he had any wor.
Ties; he and Peruna were deemed
children of luck, the hills being held
in scant esteem by the lowianders.
Kilmer covered his troubles with a
sallow mask. his gray eyes seeking to
see all things and to reveal nothing.
For he was among strangers. he was
suspicious, and he had caught dim
intimations of something appalling
that was about to befall him and
Peruna.
ONE night at supper he noticed
that Mr.. Turley looked meaningly
at his wife and then at him. She sent
her own three children to a neigh
boris house across the street with a
message about the Christmas tree to
be at the Baptist Church. When they
were gone. she began talking in a
voice sweeter. 1t seemed to Kilmer.
than she had ever used before to him.
Wouldn't you like to go away on
the train, Kilmer. an live in a great
big buildin' with lot of other nice
boys, an learn to be carpenter or
somethin'? Wouldn't that just be
-, .s.,l, IA
maybe. an come back an take care
OF your little sister. an buy her
all kinds of pretty things. Wouldn't
you just like to do that?'