mistakable picnic odor--the
odor of crushed grasses and damp leaf-mould stirred by the passing of
many feet, the mingling of cheap perfumes and starched muslin and iced
lemonade and sandwiches; in his ears the jumble of laughter and of
holiday speech, the squealing of children in a mob around the swing,
the protesting squeak of the ropes as they swung high, the snorting
of horses tied just outside the enchanted ground. And through the
tree-tops he could glimpse the range-land lying asleep in the hot
sunlight, unchanged, uncaring, with the wild range-cattle feeding
leisurely upon the slopes and lifting heads occasionally to snuff
suspiciously the unwonted sounds and smells that drifted up to them on
vagrant breezes.

He introduced Dill to four or five men whom he thought might
be congenial, left him talking solemnly with a man who at some
half-forgotten period had come from Michigan, and wandered aimlessly
on through the grove. Fellows there were in plenty whom he knew, but
he passed them with a brief word or two. Truth to tell, for the most
part they were otherwise occupied and had no time for him.

He loitered over to the swing, saw that the enthusiasts who were
making so much noise were all youngsters under fifteen or so and that
they hailed his coming with a joy tinged with self-interest. He rose
to the bait of one dark-eyed miss who had her hair done in two braids
crossed and tied close to her head with red-white-and-blue ribbon, and
who smiled alluringly and somewhat toothlessly and remarked that she
liked to go 'way, '_way_ up till it most turned over, and that
it didn't scare her a bit. He swung her almost into hysterics
and straightway found himself exceedingly popular with other
braided-and-tied young misses. Charming Billy never could tell
afterward how long or how many he swung 'way, '_way_ up; he knew that
he pushed and pushed until his arms ached and the hair on his forehead
became unpleasantly damp under his hat.

"That'll just about have to do yuh, kids," he rebelled suddenly and
left them, anxiously patting his hair and generally resettling himself
as he went. Once more in a dispirited fashion he threaded the crowd,
which had grown somewhat larger, side-stepped a group which called
after him, and went on down to the creek.

"I'm about the limit, I guess," he told himself irritably. "Why the
dickens didn't I have the sense and nerve to ride over and ask her
straight out if she was coming? I coulda dr