ys fairly pestered the life out of him tryin' to do somethin' for
him, but he was obstinate, said 'at his clothes was clean, an' he
didn't intend to take 'em off till they got dirty. They bothered him so
that finally he made me bring him one of his guns, an' he swore he'd
use it before they got his clothes off. "I want to be buried in 'em,
Happy," he said to me, most earnest. "If I die with 'em on you won't
let 'em take 'em off, will ya?" He had a lot o' fever, so I humored
him; but I wished, myself, he wasn't so set in his ways. His salve was
the bulliest stuff I ever used on a bullet hole, an' my arm begun to
mend right from the start. His shoulder was splintered purty bad, but
still, it didn't seem as if it ought to have bothered his legs none.
The next day he was a little wobbly in his head, an' it seemed to rest
him to hold my hand. He didn't want no one else in the room, so I just
sat an' talked nonsense to him, an' twice Barbie came in to see him.

In spite of his ugly face the child wasn't a mite afraid of him, an'
she would smooth back his black, coarse hair; but she didn't talk to
him much--just looked into his eyes an' smiled.

"I wish Melisse was here," she said to me once when Monody was dozin',
"she'd cook somethin' nice an' tasty, an' she's such a good nurse."

"Melisse?" sez Monody comein' to, "who's Melisse?"

"She's my old nurse," sez Barbie. "I told her a story--just a little
one--an' she wouldn't whip me for it, so Daddy told her to clear out
until she was willin' to do her duty. He thinks she's gone for good,
but I know where she is."

"Melisse, Melisse," muttered Monody. "Well, after all, it might be.
The' ain't nothin' too strange to happen."

I see 'at he was a bit out of his head, so I didn't question him none.
"Where is she, Barbie?" I asked in a low tone.

"I don't know just exactly where she is or I'd go bring her back, of
course," she sez; "but I know 'at she's somewhere hereabouts, 'cause
the day before my birthday--why, it was only day before yesterday,
wasn't it? It seems years ago. Well, day before yesterday I found a big
pan o' cakes in my playhouse, an' no one can't bake 'em but Melisse."

Monody didn't say anything more until after Barbie'd gone from the
room, and then he made me tell him all I knew of Jabez, which was
mighty little. He lay there a long time without speakin', an' then he
sez: "O' course the' may not be anything in it, but if ever you an'
this Jabez lock horns,