Indiana University - Arbutus Yearbook (Bloomington, IN)

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TI X O X C3 -A.Xa.STJTrj S (iiiiyy lamp u ' - ' ivc nn heed. They were cni;iiissotl in a j.;aiiK ' nf dieckcrs. and were silent sa e wlien miw and then a ;L;iittural ■cimwii ini or ymir move. escaped tlieni. ■■. p sir. this snnw ain ' t like any other sn.iw. cniinned l.iitlier of the red heard. It ' s a dry simw. Ain ' t )ii l no water in it nut a dr i]i. An ' it makes the linest oi rn bread you ever el. just mix it with corn meal and hake it. Didn ' t ha e to use no hakin ' powders, sndy or i rease ; just corn meal an ' snow. L;aiii he ]iaii e l to see if hi ci mi)anions were attentive. Thev all sal -iknt for a moment and then Andy hej an to laui h. Why you old red-headed liar you. he l.hirle.l oui l.etween i.eal- of laughter, what ' r you try in ' to i;i c us? It ' s a fack. said Luther. I ' .y this time one or tun of tin- others had recovered souuwiiai fmni their astonishment, and enccairai ed hy . ndy ' s snorts declared thenisehes skeptics. .Mij lity .1401. (1 chance to hack your word. broke in the i)roprielor. There ' s |)leuty o ' snow. lie rose slowly fmni liis cliair and made lii- way to tlu- l ack door, rc- turnin;, ' in a moment witli a liandfid of liie wliiie cr -i.iK crushed compactly lo!, ' etlier. Luther loi.k tin- iiow without a tremor, lie drew a match from his pocket, touched it au;ainsl the red hoi stove ami then held the hiaze just beneath the snow-ball, which he susjtended between thumb and fore ' inyer. The ball decreased ra] idly in size. It became so small that Luther could no lonijer keep the blaze beneath it without burnin.!; his lint ers. Xoi a drop of water had fallen durin;.; the course of the experiment I Tin- l)ewhiskered citizen had luade s ' ood his word relative to the dryness of the -now ; the rest of his arj, ' ument could of course be accepted on faith. I ' ve about .!, ' ot ' che, pii)ed u)) johnny . tuart from the corner un ler the din y lamp, as he moved another man into the kin ; row. .Vobody j ave heed to his remark except hi- opi)oneni. TIh ' men in the little circle were ihinkini,;. Well. I wouldn ' t a ' believed it, if 1 ha rnt a ' seen it. Andy broke in at last, but curious thini s do happen. 1 remember a little experience 1 had once, which 1 don ' t expect any of you ' ll believe wli.n I i.ll ..ii. bni ii ' - -o. IT I XAJ JV T:JP IVErX2. S I ' X V

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rj jE t»»fr- .a.i :b tjtunS ■■Well. iKibody can say I ' m half-baked now, lor J ' ve been mig-htv well l)r..wncd. .m both sides. Mow ' s that? I ' harlie was silent. She laui;hed. any- wa ' . And here we are. hume at last. Wasn ' t the whole farce the funniest ever? I just can ' t wait to tell the Ljirls about old hobbelty Crip, mv latest. He opened the dom- and helped her out. a trifle stiffly, but gently as ever. She was on the walk. He turned and put his foot on the cab step. Hustle up. dearest, or you ' ll get left. she called. What ' s the mattei. Lose something? Though his back was toward her she could hear his voice clearly. It had a hollow ring, echoed l)ack from the cab. but was low and steady as ever. Xo, I haven ' t — why. yes. now I think of it — 1 a- suppose I have lost — something. Rut I just want to tell -ou. That ' s not so funny after all — old Crip and I having the same name. In fact, it ' s ciuite natural. ' oii see. he ' s m ' father. — R. I ' . H. Where Truth Prevails GI ' .I .. what a night it is, said . ndy Simmons, a he stepped into Jim Dale ' s little country store, and threw his weight against the creaking- door to close it against the whistling wind, which was piling the snow into long, white drifts. ■■ ' Aint ever seen such a snow since 1 was a bov, he continued, and then cursed under his breath as he tried to untie the red }arn niuftler, which was twisted in large rolls about his neck. Nope, don ' t guess you ever did see a snow like this one, replied Luther Cassidy. He jerked his chair a little closer to the stove. This snow ain ' t like any that anybody ever seen. He rolled his quid of tobacco from one cheek to the other, fired a volley of his narcotic broadside into the wooden box, which had received many such olleys, and then glanced shyly at the Ih-e men, who sat about the stove in half-reclining positions. They were very attenti -e, but the two old men who occui)ied the corner just beneath the Il ri lAJNLA. X:J2Nri ] 12. S IT V '

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TMEr I X 3 -A.ia.:exj zjNS It hapiJcned that winter 1 was in Assiiialn la. ' I ' lmi Lampkins an ' mc had td drive abtiut twenty miles just such a ni,i;ht as this an ' thmui h some n ' tlie wildest country ynu e er seen. 1 sliixei- td think alxmt it. The Imys at the camp hitched the two i ' horses to the sled while we L; it i;(Mid an ' warm. When everything- was ready we wrapped up and started. We got along all right until we hit the center of a big woods, where a pack o ' wolves ga e chase. The horses were scared as bad as us. and they did some might} good runnin ' . but those critters kept gainin on us. The nKum vas up and I could see the whole pack — forty of ' em in all — with their hmg gaunt bodies an ' hungry jaws. I pulled a gun out fnmi under our blankets and fired at the big fellow who was in the lead. Hown he went in a heap. Then lUr a moment we gained while the rest nl the pack stopped an ' et his dead bmly. Soon they were onto us again. Well, sir, 1 kept a sluKitin ' those wohes one at a time and they kept eatin ' the dead bodies till only one was left. 1 le fol- lowed us about a mile but acted like he was tired. Suddenly he turned out of the road into the woods and was gone. These gray hairs in my head all came from that trip. Xow I ' ve got ' die. Now let ' s see you move, said Johnny e.xultingly as he cornered his opponent ' s last man. The two old men leaned back and yawned, placed the checkers very carefully into a shoe box. shoved the board, on which man} ' a battle had been waged, under the counter and began to wrap up in their home-made mufflers and frazzled overcoats. This was a sign for e er}dne to mo e. The}- arose silently, and silently withdre- v into the night. .Vndy ' s story was too much for them. The store keeper walked to the cash-drawer as if dazed, lie scarcely saw the eight dollars and ninety-two cents, the proceeds of his day ' s work, as he dropped it unthinkingly into a 1)lack ])ag. Still, as if walking in a dense fog, he extinguished the light in the dingy lamp, closed the door and locked it, and bowed himself against the driving wind. At his door step, he stopped suddenly and straightened up. J-fe slapi)ed his hands against his legs and laughted. Andy ' s a liar, he said to himself. If that sti.ry ' at he told was so, that last wolf would ' a had to eat the other thirty-nine. An ' Andy said he was still a runnin ' . — F- D- iT i iA]NA. Tijj unP EfT - TTr r