Show h r-j. r HOMER i i SERVICE CE t TilE THE STORY STOR THUS FAR Amos Croy J settled seWed on a farm In Missouri where be he married and a son Homer was born t t Sunday meant church company for lor dinner din t ner ncr and steer weight guessing Dehorning Dehorn fug ing of 01 the calves curing of 01 hams weaning wean wean- ing lug of 01 calves sausage making and helping help In ing Newt break brcak in the mules were all J part of 01 his Jobs lie He won a prize for lor writing about his most unusual dream The swimming party was an annual i event The women would swim first and andi i after they were in the house the men would go to the pool It would never do dolor for lor the men to see the women In wet bathing suits Watermelons were served after alter the swimming Then everyone left to attend to their chores CHAPTER XI XII XII XII I see you h have ve Tom Pa would say gratefully Sometimes if you ou get horses down you need to get the hames lames off ofT in a hurry Have you got an indelible pencil pencil pencil pen pen- cil it It wouldn't be long till the harness would be in our wagon and wed we'd be bei beon beon i on the way home Once in a while I Pa would turn around and look proudly at the harness When we got home he would call for my mother to come out and see what he pe had He would hold up the I I I harness and she would say it was very fine harness indeed Of course I she didn't really reany know But Pa liked to have her look at it anyway My mother was not only the quietest quietest quietest qui teacher I have ever known but as I have said one of the most effective About this time there came one of those periods when everything everything everything ev ev- ev- ev seemed to go wrong The sows were rooting under the fences and getting out and the steers had warbles There was a sudden squall and the head on our windmill was broken This seemed the last straw It It meant that we would have to tomake tomake tomake make a trip to town if the machin machin- store ery-store owner didn't have a head to fit he would have to write to Chicago and there would be a wait Meantime I would have to pump water for the cattle by hand It soured me on life My mother watched us feeling sorry sorry sorry sor sor- ry for ourselves watched us mooning mooning mooning moon moon- ing over Sunday dinner was usually a happy time but today we hardly talked at all Another batch of sows was probably out Tomorrow Tomor Tomor- row I would have to hill the sweet potatoes Then go and pump water for those damned cattle They'd probably get blackleg and di die before we could sell emMa emMa emMa em Ma broke her silence Its a nice day Lets Let's all go down and visit the Poor Farm The inmates were supposed to be beat beat beat at their best on Sunday But what a best There were about thirty sitt sit- sit t ting sting in the yard or rocking on the thet t porch or puttering around There was a squirrel cage in the yard it had a cylinder so that the squirrel could run round and round Two or three of the old people were watching the squirrel for it was al almost almost almost al- al most the only thing they had in the way of entert entertainment There was a f bo boy about my age a paralytic who when he walked dragged one foot A bell rang l later ter from all over the yard the wretched people got up and started toward a room that served as a dining hall An old man was was in a wheel ch chair ir but he could not propel it himself and had to defend depend depend de de- pend fend on others So I laid hold of the chair and pushed him over the grassless packed hard-packed yard and up upa a kind of ramp into the dining hall Then into a corner of the room where a l lapboard was leaning against the wall Picking it up he placed it before him and waited for the other inmates who acted as waiters to bring him something to eat After supper the poor old wrecks went back to their places on the porch or on the benches in the yard with nothing to look forward rd to till the next me meal 1 Those who didn't go h had d to stay and help wash the dishes As Pa and Ma and nd Phebe and I walked about the yard we could see seethe seethe the miser miserable ble old people washing dishes and hear them banging the pans One by one as s they finished their jobs they came limping back to the porch and to the benches Someone had got into another's seat and a qu quarrel arose First one person person person per per- son spoke taking sides then someone someone someone some some- one answered pretty soon they were all quarreling One old man h had d an looking evil-looking pipe He had whittled a piece of wood into a sort of tamper which was tied with a string and dangled I from a button on his coat He fished some crumbs of tobacco out of his pocket and nd tamped them down with his little wooden stick At last we started home depressed by the sights we h had d seen Little by little as we got away from the place we began to talk More cheerfully cheerfully cheerfully cheer cheer- fully th than n we had talked in d days ys When we s sat t down to our own Sund Sunday y supper our low spirits had mysteriously disappeared We laughed and joked as we hadn't done in d days ys The steers still had w warL warbles war war- r- r L bles the sows were probably out the windmill he head d wouldn't be along for d days ys But that was all ll right It seemed to us we were the luckiest people in the world Nothing had changed Only ourselves My mother sitting at the end of I Ithe the table by the kitchen looked at atus atus atus us ch chatting and l laughing but s said id nothing Th That t was her w way y On the railroad right of way th that t tran ran past our farm was a marker which said Omaha 99 miles How many times I had looked at that and wondered what Omaha was like In 1898 Omaha announced it was going to have an Exposition and soon the papers were filled with stories about the Exposition By the time summer arrived everybody in our neighborhood was talking about the Exposition Some h had d alre already dy gone and h had d brought back breathless tales of what they'd seen Enoch Day a neighbor who lived h half lf a mile from us had sold his farm and gone to Omaha Pa said an anybody body who sold his farm and moved to a city h had d seen his best days Ma had always corresponded with Mrs Day so now Mrs D Day y wrote and said that if we would come to the Exposition we could stay with them To my great delight delight de de- de- de light Pa said that as soon as wed we'd h harvested wed we'd go Omaha Id I'd actually see it with my own eyes At last the great day came It was arranged that Phebe was to stay at home to take care of things one of the neighbors was to come in and chore So we got inthe in inthe the hack and the neighbor who was to do the chores drove us to Wilcox and we got on the train As many times as Id I'd watched trains roar past our farm Id I'd never been on one But now I was on one and it was racing along at an incredible speed Cinders beat through the windows on the red plush seats and smoke filled our eyes But that w was s sall all right We were going to the Exposition Every now and then ki i f y I Ih h r r I 1 t ter terR A R Little Egypt Pad say got good corn through here or They run to white-faced white c cattle through here or hed he'd shake his head and say Were go goin in through a strip of hardpan You cant can't raise anything on hard- hard pan We arrived at the depot where there was a fearful ringing of bells and blowing of whistles and people hurrying in all directions Runners Runners Runners Run ners for rooming houses pounced out and seized our grips saying they would carry them for us Dont let em shouted Pa Dont take any ch chances Then we saw Mr and Mrs Day Mr Day was a small man with a large must mustache che and Mrs Day was wasa a very large woman but how good they looked to us In a few minutes we were on a streetcar the first I ever saw r racing cing through acres and acres of houses Pa cautiously asked Mr Day how he was doing Mr Day worked at atthe atthe atthe the stockyards and it developed that he was doing better th than n he h had d on the farm P Pa l was shocked through and through The next day we started to the Exposition grounds FI Flags gs were flying flying flying fly fly- ing bands were playing and great stages filled with g gay y people dashed by us the drivers shouting at the horses and nd warning people out of the way Pa shook his head gloom gloom- ily By Somebody will be killed before before before be be- fore the day is over he s said id We found it w was s almost impossible ble to keep together so we arranged for a pl place to meet at noon and I eat the tile things Mrs D Day y h had d put up Here Homer Pa said is half hail halfa haila a dollar I dashed away like a colt out of a st stable ble It wasn't long before I saw sawa a supreme sight sight General General l Nelson A A. A Miles the Indian fighter dressed in ina a l blue uniform covered with braid Hanging at his side was a gold sword that h had d b been en given him for capturing ing the ferocious Geronimo I was the t until he awed by gre great man I st started to m make ke a speech Then I I saw his line was Indi Indian n fighting I IThe The crowds the excitement the sense of freedom filled me with an intoxicating pleasure There were many exhibits which said that if the visitor w was s interested and would le leave ve his name and address the company would after he got home horne mail him full information 1 rc reg d everywhere delighted at t the I chance to get big m mail il I Suddenly I heard the most weird titillating noise I had ever encountered encountered encountered in my life and saw something th that t made my eyes pop pop pop-a a procession pro procession sion of camels with Arabs perched on them each Arab w wearing aring a red fez On the swaying and lurching camels were the musicians ns who were producing the exciting unbelievable sounds I fell in behind along with many others The procession turned into a section of the Midway c called The Streets of Cairo Both sides were lined with baza bazaars rs selling oriental oriental ori ori- goods and with fortune tellers and there were signs over doors advertising shows put on by whirling dervishes I stood entranced but afraid th that t some way or other this was going to cost me money For I kept asking How can they let a person see such wonderful sights free Then something even more titillating titillating I l lating ting took place before my astonished astonished astonished aston aston- eyes On a platform in front of one of the buildings there was a burst of oriental orient l music and as I edged up I saw two d skinned dark men sitting on their haunches their I knees as high as their shoulders playing strange musical instruments Over the building was a banner with witha a most voluptuous dancing girl painted on it and the words Little Little Lit tle Egypt In a moment the curtains curtains curtains cur cur- parted and a girl in a veil swayed out and my eyes jumped again Then she began to undulate in time to the music her hips moving moving moving ing rhythmically from side to side I and ending in a little jerk As if that wasn't enough she suddenly began to sh shake ke and quiver all over a thousand muscles twitching and pulsating and her hips going faster and faster My lips grew dry it seemed to me I could hardly brea breathe the A m man n shouted through a megaphone megaphone megaphone mega mega- phone You see on the platform before before before be be- fore you the famous Little Egypt who danced for millions at the Worlds World's Fair in Chicago As he het t talked he drew us in closer me very willing to be drawn Then he dropped his voice and in a confidential tone began telling about the in intriguing intriguing intriguing in- in wonders to be seen within Behind those curt curtains ins is a stage and when Little Egypt comes out on that stage to entertain you with her captivating dances all the clothes the little lady will have on can be sent anywhere in the United States for a two-cent two postage stamp Little Egypt then gave a afew afew afew few more wiggles and went inside I whereupon the ticket seller began to shout at the top of his voice I 1 stood hesitating torn between right and wrong trying to gaze past the I curtains into the alluring seductive beyond But it would cost a II ter Could I afford it I decided I could I entered my heart already thumping Men were seated on folding folding folding fold fold- II ing chairs but on the sides some men were standing all looking at atthe atthe the bizarre curt curtains ins After a few I minutes the curtains were drawn re re- reI I I what it seemed to me a true- true to-life to oriental harem The music began again and two or three girls c came me out swaying from side to side and making their hands go like snakes Never had I dreamed such sucha I a thing existed in the world I felt guilty and a little ashamed but also I tremendously stimulated a and n d aroused At last the curtain fell and the show was over But not quite for fora a man stepped out and nd told us we hadn't seen anything yet and that there was going to be another show which would make the one we had seen seem as s tame he s said id as s swashing washing dishes He described just what was to be seen my mouth getting getting getting get get- ting drier and drier But this show would cost fifteen cents Could I afford afford afford af af- af- af ford it I decided I could Ag Again in the curtains parted and again Little Egypt c came me sw swaying ying out But this show wasn't nearly as exciting as the first The curtains dropped with little or no ceremony ny and the perform performance nce was over A terrifying thought laid hold of me wh what t if my mother should be bep p passing and should see me Later as I was going p past st the Montgomery Ward Yard Building a man with a megaphone called out Come in come in and see what it itis itis itis is I paused and studied the situ situation tion I could see it wasn't going to be another Little Egypt for no one was playing oriental orient l music and there were no fezzes But people were going going going go go- ing in and seemingly not paying However to be s safe fe I edged up and said How much is the price The man put the megaphone to his lips and bellowed as if I was half half- mile a-mile aw away y Its free free as the theair theair their air ir around you I went in promptly I discovered when I got in th that t tit it w was s a hall and that it was p packed So packed th that t an n usher led me down to the front row I must have been the l last st one in for before I Iw Iwas Iwas w was s re really lly se seated ted the lights were turned off leaving the hall in complete complete complete com com- darkness Suddenly from behind behind behind be be- hind me rue a d dagger of light sl slashed shed through the darkness I looked nervously nervously nervously ner ner- at t the source of light to see Vh what t they were up to then turned around facing the front again g in still blinking and nd to my terror s saw w an elephant coming he head on on d-on tow toward rd me TO BE CONTINUED I J |