dinner, while I visited with her husband. She was sorry for me because of the chronic illness of my ox. I told her what I had named the ox and she thought that it was a cute name and how did I ever think of it. Then, before I even had a chance to say anything to Bill, she went on, “I have a book at home with a lot of cute names in it. I love to read it but I never have read it clear through. I can’t remember whether the title of the book is Huckleberry Inn or Mark Twain. I’ll bet that they had a good time at that inn.”
And so she rattled on. Bill had found my tobacco and was helping himself to it. The children were scattered all over the house in every conceivable spot and Hell was out for Sunday. I had no way of driving them out so I had to make the best of it. Bill was very sociable and told me the history of his life and many other things.
Finally, Mrs. Watson called us to a late dinner. I will have to give her credit for getting a fine meal. She had drawn up two tables that did not match, one of them being about four inches taller than the other. She had spread a blanket over the tables. The smaller children were seated at the lower table, so we all managed to squeeze in.
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