hing to Sam till up comes Old Man Bob Crawford with about two
yards o' blue ribbon. He'd jumped over into the ring and got it from
the judges as soon as he could quit laughin'. And says he, 'Sam, I
have seen gracefuler riders, and riders that had more control over
their horses, but,' says he, 'I never seen one yet that stuck on a
horse faithfuler'n you did in that little t'u'nament o' yours jest
now; and I'm goin' to tie this ribbon on you jest as a premium for
stickin' on, when you might jest as easy 'a' fell off.' Well,
everybody looked for Sam to double up his fist and knock Old Man Bob
down, and he might 'a' done it, but Milly saw how things was goin',
and she come hurryin' up. Milly was a mighty pretty woman, and always
dressed herself neat and trim, but she'd been goin' around with little
Sam in her arms, and her hair was fallin' down, and she looked like
any woman'd look that'd carried a heavy baby all day and dragged her
dress over a dusty floor. She come up, and says she, 'Well, Sam, ain't
you goin' to crown me "Queen o' Love and Beauty"?' Folks used to say
that Sam never was so mad that Milly couldn't make him laugh, and says
he, 'You look like a queen o' love and beauty, don't you?' Of course
that turned the laugh on Milly, and then Sam come around all right.
And says he, 'Well, neighbors, I've made a fool o' myself, and no
mistake; and you all can laugh as much as you want to;' and he took
Old Man Bob's blue ribbon and tied it on little Sam's arm, and him and
Milly walked off together as pleasant as you please. And that's how
Sam Amos rode in the t'u'nament," said Aunt Jane conclusively, as she
arose from her chair and shook a lapful of bean pods into a willow
basket near by.

"Is Sam Amos living yet?" I asked, in the hope of prolonging an
o'er-short tale. A softened look came over Aunt Jane's face.

"No, child," she said quietly, "Sam's oldest son is livin' yet, and
his three daughters. They all moved out o' the Goshen neighborhood
long ago. But Sam's been in his grave twenty years or more, and here I
set laughin' about that ride o' his. Somehow or other I've outlived
nearly all of 'em. And now when I git to callin' up old times, no
matter where I start out, I'm pretty certain to end over in the old
buryin'-ground yonder. But then," and she smiled brightly, "there's a
plenty more to be told over on the other side."

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VIII

MARY ANDREWS' DINNER-PARTY

[Illustration]

"Well!"