he just puts up a high wall like the Wisners', but 'way off
from it. Then we dug down along the Wisner wall.

Folks used to go along and wonder what it was done for and who done it.
And later on some folks farther up the drive allowed it was some kind of
a new Italian garden and some of them begun to put up them walls too. It
got right fashionable. The whole looks of that part of town was changed.
But, while they had little bits of yards you couldn't swing a cat in, we
had land enough to start a hay ranch if we had of wanted to.

"I can afford it," says Old Man Wright.

And by the time he had the improvements started the real-estate men come
and pestered him to take at least three times as much money as he give
for it.

"I may sell it sometime," says he, "but not now," says he. "I like it.
My girl likes to raise crocuses, and what she likes she gets. We're
going to raise plenty of crocuses and tulips and hollyhocks," says he.

It wouldn't be right to say Bonnie Bell didn't have no friends. Once
there come quite a bunch of girls from out of town--girls she had knew
in Smith's; and they had quite a visit. They tore up the house and for a
week or so Bonnie Bell was right happy; but by and by they went away
again. Then nobody come into our place, the sort we wanted to come.

There was one man come to call on us--it was Henderson, of our old
hotel. We used to go down there and eat sometimes, and every time we
done so he'd come to stand around. He couldn't keep his eyes off Bonnie
Bell. I reckon he was about forty years old.

Now one day he come up to our house in the afternoon all dressed up,
with a white flower in his coat and a high hat on, and shiny shoes, and
he ast for Old Man Wright; and William showed him into the back parlor.
I was setting in our ranch room, so I could hear what went on--I
couldn't very well help it. I heard what Mr. Henderson said; so I knowed
what brought him there all dressed up.

"Mr. Wright," says he, "I won't waste time. I'm used to doing business
in a direct way. So today I come down--I come down--that is to say, I
come today----" says he.

"Well, for a direct man, you're taking some time to say what you want to
say," says Old Man Wright; "but maybe I can guess it if you can't say
it. It's my girl you come to talk about?"

I didn't hear him say anything, but I guess he must have nodded.

"You want to ast me?" says Old Man Wright. "Why didn't you ast her?"

"I thought it better to