She"
said she was a stranger from Chicago, that her husband had deserted her
and she didn't know but she would jump into the lake. Pa looked in my
chum's eye and sized her up, and said it would be a shame to commit
suicide, and asked if she didn't want to take a walk, My chum said he
should titter, and he took Pa's arm and they walked up to the lake and
back. Well, you may talk about joining the church on probation all you
please, but they get their arm around a girl all the same. Pa hugged my
chum till he says he thought Pa would break his sister's corset all to
pieces, and he squeezed my chum's hand till the ring cut right into his
finger and he has to wear a piece of court plaster on it. They started
for the Court House park, as I told my chum to do, and I went and got
Ma. It was about time for the soldiers to go to the exposition for the
evening bizness, and I told Ma we could go down and see them go by. Ma
just throwed a shawl over her head and we started down through the park.
When we got near Pa and my chum I told Ma it was a shame for so many
people to be sitting around lally-gagging right before folks, and she
said it was disgustin', and then I pointed to my chum who had his head
on Pa's bosom, and Pa was patting my chum on the cheek, while he held
his other arm around his waist, They was on the iron seat, and we came
right up behind them and when Ma saw Pa's bald head I thought she would
bust. She knew his head as quick as she sot eyes on it."

[Illustration: Ma appears on the scene p066]

"My chum asked Pa if he was married, and he said he was a widower, He
said his wife died fourteen years ago, of liver complaint. Well, Ma
shook like a leaf, and I could hear her new teeth rattle just like
chewing strawberries with sand in them. Then my chum put his arms around
Pa's neck and said, "If you love me kiss me in the mouth." Pa was just
leaning down to kiss my chum when Ma couldn't stand it any longer, and
she went right around in front of them, and she grabbed my chum by the
hair and it all came off, hat and all; and my chum jumped up and Ma
scratched him in the face, and my chum tried to get his hands in his
pants pocket to get his handkerchief to wipe off the blood on his nose,
and Ma she turned on Pa and he turned pale, and then she was going for
my chum again when he said, "O let up on a feller," and he see she was
mad and he grabbed the hat and hair off the gravel walk and took the
skirt of his sister's dres