Show countr cou IOME Y ti so 1 Cure I vj v Tim THE STORY THUS FAR Amos Croy settled eWed on a farm In to Missouri where he married and a son eon Homer was born Sunday meant church company for dinner dInner dinner din dIn- ner and steer teer weight guessing Dehorn reborn Inc ing of the e calves curing curIo of hams wean wean- Ine Ing of calves sausage making and helping help help- Inc ing Newt break bruk In the mules were aUpart aUpart aU all part of his hIl work lie He won a prize for writing his most unusual dream It seemed that everything was going wrong and the entire Croy family were In the dumps damps Mrs Croy suggested a visit to the poor farm When en they saw law the misery mis er cry ery there they decided their troubles were not to so serious or Important after all aU That was her way to make the men realize their lot was not too bad j C CHAPTER PTER XU XII He was swinging his trunk and in inu ina u Ii moment would be on top of me I r jumped up But a man next to tome tome tome me put his hand on my shoulder and said Sit down You wont won't be hurt I saw other people were risking their necks so I did sit down none too comfortably The circus procession procession pro pro- I cession turned a corner and missed me seemingly by inches As I looked more carefully I saw the whole thing was a fake It wasn't a circus circus procession at all but only a picture I had heard vaguely of moving pictures but they had always always al al- always al- al ways seemed off at the other side of the world and had nothing to do with me personally But here they were and I was seeing them In two or three minutes the parade was over and I was out on the street again As I was standing in front of the building trying to decide which way to go there was a commotion among the people and a great sight seeing carriage drew up A few people got out and immediately that they did others scrambled into their seats A man sitting at the front called out Come on and take a aride aride aride ride in a horseless carriage I studied the situation and saw it was free By this time there was no place left except in the front row beside a man wearing a pair of gauntlet gloves and sitting beside a wheel as big as one on a corn sheller except this wheel was parallel with the ground and was fastened on an up-and-down up rod I squeezed in and andin andin andin in a moment the man shoved some things down and pulled other things up and the great topped open-topped carriage carriage carriage car car- began to move A man also sitting on the front row stood up and put his hands to his mouth and shouted Clear the path I Clear the path People turned terrified to see our giant conveyance bearing down on them and darted out of the way as we chugged and jolted past But I had to pay for every chug and jolt because I was wedged in so close to the driver that every time he hauled at the wheel he dug an elbow into my ribs But that was all right Everything Ev- Ev Everything Everything Ev Ev- in the world was all right At last we came to a kind of starting starting starting start start- ing station where we all had to get out and where new people got in I felt tremendously triumphant for forI I knew very well I had had a horseless horseless horse horse- less carriage ride and that it would indeed be something to talk about I But u movi moving g pictures well pictures e well no one n had ever heard ot or them or carea cared about them Thus by an unusual combination of circumstances I saw my first motion picture and had my first automobile ride within an hour While we were there my mother said she wished she could see a kindergarten kindergarten kindergarten kin kin- so Mrs Day found where there was one and took my mother The next morning at breakfast my mother was still talking about it At last our stay was over and Mrs Day came to the depot with us and we got on the train When we got off the neighbor was there thereto to meet us and when we got home Phebe had supper ready She sat w with th her rimmed gold-rimmed glasses andl and l little up turned-up nose listening while we recounted the wonderful things wed we'd seen and done Ma said the most interesting thing she had seen was the kindergarten I was glad after I had gone 99 miles Id I'd seen something more exciting than a kin kin- Pa said the most interesting interesting interesting inter inter- esting thing he had seen was the stockyards I felt sorry for him We had an aristocracy founded on land Our people did not judge each other by clothes or education or family even by money A person person person per per- son may have been known to have money in the bank or stocks or bonds but we felt these would probably probably probably ably slip away from him and hed he'd end up living in an L with a rela rela- tive If he has stocks and bonds wh why doesn't he turn them into land we asked and it was a question question question ques ques- tion hard to answer The only safe and enduring possession was land A man who had a quarter section did not stand as high as the man who had a half section After all people had to be weighed on some sort of scales and land scales were as good as any We had a love of the soil as have havethe havethe havethe the peasants in France but I dont don't believe ours was as deep or as touching For in France they lived generation after generation on the same farm while ours was a changing changing changing chang chang- ing country Our people bought a farm tilled it a while then discovered discovered discovered ered what seemed to be a better location location location lo lo cation and moved on to that A farmer might try hog corn tle farming in our section then feel he could do better in Iowa and move there Or he might want to try the hardpan in Kansas and so give that a whirl Or he might want to try Oklahoma red and move down there where he would have to raise kaffir corn To us in our section section section sec sec- tion we considered kaffir-corn kaffir farming farming farming farm farm- ing about as low as one could sink Or he might want to try wheat in Nebraska or South Dakota so trade his land and take his chance on wheat Or OJ he might want upland farming and move to eastern Colo Colo- rado Now and then one of our people people people peo peo- would pick up and go to Texas where it was not farming but ranching ranching ranching ranch ranch- ing which was was something we didn't understand at all One of the Sewells Sewells Sewells Sew- Sew ells moved to Texas and bought an onion farm No hogs corn or cat cat- tle We Ve felt it was a family dis dis- grace One who sooner or later came up against aristocracy of land was the hired man Our hand ate with us usand usand usand and nothing was thought of it if If a family poked its hired man off oft into the kitchen everybody in the neighborhood neighborhood neighborhood neigh neigh- would have been outspoken n. n Evenings he sat by the same stove and took part in the family conversation conversation conver conver- if the stove wasn't going to suit him he threw some cobs in if it was going too briskly he turned the damper and took care of that i TY l I II I t tI ti tr r i I Exciting sounds rang through the room There was a difference when company company company com pany was heard outside He might get up to go to his room but usually wed we'd say You dont don't have to leave Dell Stay and visit with them Usually he stayed One spring Pa began to hunt around for a hand He went to town and on the street he stopped the people he knew and told them he was loo looking ng for for a good reliable man man- He tie went to the me hardware store and left word there then to the bank and asked Joe Jackson if he knew of any changes in help Then to the livery stable to see if the proprietor knew of anybody looking for a place But he didn't go to the pool hall anybody who hung around a pool hall hail wouldn't be any good When he came home he said hed he'd heard of a man who seemed promis promis- ing His name was Renzo Henzo Davis he said a man from the east side of the county A day or so later a wagon spring-wagon with two men in it turned into our drive lot but we did not connect this with our new hand for usually a new hired man came on horseback with a couple of suitcases tied to the saddle If he came walking across the field carrying carrying carrying carry carry- ing just one suitcase we regarded him with suspicion A man with one suitcase wasn't going to stay long Especially if he wanted to see his room first Or if he asked how many cows It Tt r ir did not take long to til see why Hn Renzo h had d- d do come o in i- i a wagon spring p ing for he had a trunk and to our surprise surprise surprise sur sur- prise a violin case He had got a friend to drive him over soon the friend departed and Renzo Henzo our new hand was left with us After supper we sat around talking talking talking talk talk- ing going through the process of getting getting getting get get- ting acquainted Renzo Henzo told a about out outcrops outcrops crops on the other side of the county and prices things were bringing He told about a big farmer who had put in a hay tedder It was the first time I ever heard the word I see you brought your fiddle Pa said finally Would you mind playing us something Ill Til try it said Renzo obligingly obliging obliging- ly and began to tune tunc up plucking plucking plucking pluck pluck- ing one string after another with his thick work-hardened work thumbnail He got some rosin out of a paper box and ran the rosin along the bow then I put his violin under his chin anddrew anddrew and anddrew drew his bow across the strings In Ina a moment his foot was going up and down and our living room was filled with the first fiddle music of its whole existence Renzo Henzo rested his violin on his lap and talked a while Then back went his fiddle and again the thrilling exciting ex- ex exciting exciting ex ex- citing sounds rang through the room When Renzo Henzo went off t to his new bed our room seemed lonesome It was the best evening wed we'd had in months Well wait and see how he pans out Pa said I hoped to God he would pan out I am glad to say he did He was wasa a good worker and didn't rest his horses too long at the ends of the rows and didn't mind pulling milk milk- weeds It was understood on rainy days a hand could do light York work in inthe inthe inthe the barn such as greasing a harness harness harness har har- ness or cleaning out the cobs cODs from the mangers Renzo Henzo would do more than that If it stopped raining he would dart out to the woodpile and begin to split railroad ties If it started to rain again he would goback go goback goback back to the barn and climb into the manger with his cob basket baskets We saw we had a treasure But Pa still was skeptical Now and then we would get a treasure but some night he would come horn horI hon a as drunk as hell Sometimes wed we'd have to togo togo togo go to town and bring him out But if one ever got drunk enough to toland toland toland land in jail Pa was through with him no matter how perfect he was in other respects One day Renzo Henzo told Pa that if Pa would get him some traps he would see what he could do about the gophers Never before had a hand volunteered to trap gophers for it meant additional work on top of this Pa didn't think he could trap them gophers being what they are So he gave him a steel trap and I told him to see what he could do In a day or two Renzo Henzo came in with a gopher tail Soon he had an an- other So Pa went to town and got half a dozen traps Renzo Henzo would dig a hole about a foot square until it crossed the run then get on his his knees and go through a careful process process process proc proc- I ess of covering the trap and weighting weighting weighting weight- weight ing the tongue with just the right thickness of dirt Then he would fasten the trap to the board and put the board over the top of the hole and cover it with dirt so as to shut shutout shutout shutout out the light In a day or two he would have a gopher Renzo Henzo became a most welcome addition to our family he was cheerful and had a sense of humor and could tell the simplest thing that had happened to him during his days day's work and make it absorbing I began to realize after alter a time that he exaggerated But that was all right the element of essential truth was there and by making allowances allowances allowances al al- we could come pretty close to the kernel The neighbors came to esteem him and when we were invited to a party Renzo Henzo went along as a matter matter matter mat mat- ter of course Sometimes I had the uncomfortable feeling that he was the most welcome one of us He developed a quality that few hands had Of making money in addition to his wages A horse belonging belonging belonging be be- longing to a neighbor had been shocked by lightning and was considered considered considered con con- worthless Renzo traded for him put out him by bv himself in a pasture o on soft ground and brought him out of his shakes He traded him for a better horse and pretty soon bought a set of harness at a public sale Little by little he began began began be be- gan to pick up things Gradually as his circle of acquaintances acquaintances acquaintances ac ac- ac- ac widened there came asocial a asocial I social problem He wanted to go with the girls and there the heart heart- wrench began for Renzo Henzo however deserving owned no land Personally Personally Personally Person Person- ally he was pleasing and he was ca ca- pable But he didn't own land Saturdays he would stand on the edge of the sidewalk on the west westside westside westside side of the Square where the crowd was thickest and when one of our farm girls came along he would take off oft his hat which some of our young men didn't do and speak to the girl and make an excuse to walk down the street with her Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Some Some- times he would come to the back of the grocery grocery where he knew the girl girland girland girland and her family were having dinner trying to pretend this was accidental accidental accidental acci acci- dental and make friendly advances This was all right but he mustn't ask them to go anywhere any with him The girls who had spoken to him so friendly at the debates and spelling and ciphering matches now on the streets could hardly see him He bought a black derby which was the kind of hat the city men were wearing and kept it carefully in the hatbox side of his trunk but this did not change his social status He got a new suit but even this made no difference A fashion of 01 white hands was going around so he bought heavy pigskin gloves and wore them so they would sweat his brown paws white He wore a red bandanna handkerchief drawn tight up against his neck with the ends poked through a brass ring so his neck would be white too He never spoke to me about it il except once It was at the end of oJ oJa ofa ofa a corn row while we were resting our OUI teams t I guess they look down on me But someday they wont You'll see seel TO TO BE CONTINUED |