Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-04-20
CHAPTER XIII

almost continuously with the sons of
the men they worked for. Reno had
finer streak. He thought of girls
and he talked of girls. But he didn't
go past certain point. Some in
nate fineness held him back, there.
A girl lived behind our farm; to go
to town she had to drive through our
farm to get to the main road. Each
time she went by, Reno must have
thought his thoughts, but he never
said anything that told me what was
going on in his mind. Once, as we
were trimming hedge near her
house, we saw one of her under
garments on the clothesline. It set
my mind jumping and it must have
fired 'Renzo's too, but he made only
some mild remark and went on
whacking.
The girl became aware of us,
plucked the undergarment off the
line and darted back into the house.
II guess we can do a better job
now" said Reno and although I
tried to lead him into more talk,
when we rested, it was all he would
say. It may have been he thought
was too young, or that my IA
Their would not approve; but on the
whole I think it was bit of fine
ness in humble Reno.
He bought a buggy, with the
spokes staggered in red hubs, spread
his lap robe on the back of the seat,
and asked the girls to try his new
buggy. But they found excuses. He
was too smart not to understand
and, at times, had depressed spells
-'Renzo who had always been so
cheerful and the life of our fireside.
He became secretive and wrote
letters and took them down to the
mailman and handed them to him
personally. On the day he expected
an answer he would manage to meet
the carrier before he got to our box.
But in spite of this, now and then
there would be nice neat little en-
velope addressed to Lorenzo Davis
among our farm papers and incuba-
tor catalogues. He would put the
letter into his hip pocket, as if it
didn't amount to much. Sometimes,
at the barn, I would see the ends he
had ragged off.
In the meantime he continued to
trade. In a big businessman this
would have been called financial
shrewdness." We called it "dicker-
ing"
On the Fourth of July he put in his
lapel celluloid button which said
Girl Wanted, and walked slowly
from one group of girls to another.
Other boys were also wearing the
button, but his really meant some
thing to Reno.
Finally he said he had been Of
fered job in Holt county; when
he left he had two horses and two or
three pieces of farm machinery,
and some money in the bank. We
hated to see him go. 1t was lone
some that evening without Reno
and his violin.
Two years later, possibly, he drove
up in spring-wagon, girl beside
him. How do you like herr" he
asked proudly. He stayed for dinner
and we talked over old times, de-
lighted to have Reno at our table
again. The girl, we found, was a
hired girl working for farmer who
had sickly wife. We liked the
girl. She was all right. But the
one we really liked was Reno. We
telephoned the neighbors and sew
eral of them came in. He introduced
her proudly. Once there was slip,
for one of the neighbors pretended
that Reno had spanked every girl
in the neighborhood. think this hurt
Reno a little, for the real truth of
it must have flashed before him. We
went out and had a stock weighing
and Pa let him guess the closest so
Reno could impress his girl.
When time came to leave, Reno
drove away with his own team, wav-
ing to US as he whirled out of the
lot. A bit later he sent us three
line newspaper item, pasted on his
letter with white of egg, saying that
Lorenzo Davis and Miss So-and-So
had been married and had rented
such-and-such a farm where they
would soon move and set up house.
keeping.
Two or three years passed. Now
and then we would get letter writ
ten by his wife asking US how we
were and, as she put it, express
ing my husbands best wishes" One
day we were surprised and delighted
to have Reno swirl up in our drive
lot with very dashing team COW
cred with expensive fly nets. He
could hardly wait to tell us the
news. He had bought the So-and-So
farm in our neighborhood! And he
exactly had. He hadn't had much
money to put down, but he had
made the deal and maybe with good
luck he could pull through. Well,
Reno pulled through.