Anyway, you can't complain that this
town has spent much a-celebrating. We
haven't never had a sign of a celebra
tion!"
"Gracious goodness, I should hope not FR
said Sam. "I have tried to scrape too
close to get forehanded to have my
money thrown away for nothing. My
wife was bound to go up to my brother
in-law's last year oh Memorial day, you
know it is quite a place where they live,
and so to pacify her I went. You never
see such fool nonsense! I stayed around
till about ten o'clock in the forenoon and
then I harnessed up and came home, for
I couldn't stand it any longer! I thought
I'd seen fools before, but I hadn't. What
4o you suppose—why they had wreaths
made o' laurel, such as will p'sen sheep,
and any old sort of trash like apple blos
soms and such! And they put them on
Rob Kendall's grave and sung some sort
of a hymn over him. I guess he had
never heard a hymn before."
"True, true," said Jason, "there was
some poor trash among the soldiers, but
even Rob is remembered for his one
brave act, and I don't see what hurt that
can do! Nobody had set him up for
wrong, but because he did a worthy ac
tion!"
"I'm thankful," said Sam, "that we
haven't any soldiers' graves in our
town. I suppose if we had. somebody
would try to make a splurge!"
"They want to celebrate this year,"
replied Jason. "The young folks think
we ought to do something, and then
there is Jerry Long I know he feels the
way we do. He lost his arm as a soldier,
and the town don't care enough about
him to even have the church bell rung
on Decoration day."
"Jerry Long," answered Sam, strik
ing out viciously with his hoe. "Jerry
Long was another fool. He went and en
listed. I remember all about it, and
he's been a cripple to pay for it, and
had to sneak out a living as he could,
selling things in his little store. Sup
pose I had-enlisted and come back
with one arm why I should have had
|o shuck along just as he has. Thougtt
WiUak
rl^k
"Pbr
tyar
Srd-f/
Tfip vJiryif, a.cro? h(er tferdu.re'pA££/
*Weep spACe oJerl^ead
b/\ie d£o\?e & l^tion^. d«AS.
