's you're born, the very day Fiddy went away to be married to
Dixie, that mornin' she drawed that everlastin' numhead of a flour-food
peddler out into the orchard, 'n' cut off a lock o' her hair, 'n' tied
it up with a piece o' her blue ribbon, 'n' give it to him; an' old Mis'
Bascom says, when he went past her house he was gazin' at it 'n' kissin'
of it, 'n' his horse meanderin' on one side the road 'n' the other, 'n'
the door o' the cart open 'n' slammin' to 'n' fro, 'n' ginger cookies
spillin' out all over the lot. He come back to the Maddoxes next
morning' ('t wa'n't his day, but his hoss couldn't pull one way when
Fiddy's ribbon was pullin' t'other); an' when he found out she 'd gone
with Dixie, he cussed 'n' stomped 'n' took on like a loontic; an' when
Mis' Maddox hinted she was ready to heal the wownds Fiddy 'd inflicted,
he stomped 'n' cussed wuss 'n' ever, 'n' the neighbors say he called her
a hombly old trollop, an' fired the bread loaves all over the dooryard,
he was so crazy at bein' cheated.

"Wall, to go back to Dixie--I'll be comin' right along, boys." (This to
Brad Gibson, who was taking his farewell drink of ginger tea preparatory
to beginning work.)

"I pity you, Steve!" exclaimed Brad, between deep swallows. "If you 'd
known when you was well off, you 'd 'a' stayed in Boston. If Jabe hed a
story started, he 'd talk three days after he was dead."

"Go 'long; leave me be! Wall, as I was sayin', Dixie brought Fiddy home
('Dell,' he called her), an' they 'peared bride 'n' groom at meetin'
next Sunday. The last hundred dollars he hed in the world hed gone into
the weddin' tower 'n' on to Fiddy's back. He hed a new suit, 'n' he
looked like a major. You ain't got no idea what he was, 'cause his eyes
is dull now, 'n' he 's bowed all over, 'n' ain't shaved nor combed,
hardly; but they was the han'somest couple that ever walked up the broad
aisle. She hed on a green silk dress, an' a lace cape that was like a
skeeter nettin' over her neck an' showed her bare skin through, an' a
hat like an apple orchard in full bloom, hummin'-bird an' all. Dixie
kerried himself as proud as Lucifer. He didn't look at the minister 'n'
he didn't look at the congregation; his great eyes was glued on Fiddy,
as if he couldn't hardly keep from eatin' of her up. An' she behaved
consid'able well for a few months, as long 's the novelty lasted an' the
silk dresses was new. Before Christmas, though, she began to peter out
'n' git slack-