North Carolina -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Short stories, American
The whistle of the east-bound train blew, a mile away. I had overheard
enough to know that Bake and his mother would leave the train at
Carson and motor over the new highway, out and down to their lowland
home--that highway, monstrously magical, so rapidly obliterating the
Unakasia of my intimate care and delight. Within a few years, the ways
and customs of Atlantis would not be more dim in time.
While the whistle of the train was still keen in the air, Elmer Jenkins
walked on to the platform. He spied Baker Lindsay, and went to him at
once.
“I saw you at the funeral yesterday,” he said.
“I saw you too,” said Bake, his smile implying that no one could have
missed the master of ceremonies. Mr. Jenkins was pleased, and his
glance of response included the pretty, white-haired woman at Bake’s
side. When he was introduced, the lawyer would have offered his hand,
but Ann, unfledged in new air, was too timid to note the gesture.
“I suppose you were out yesterday, Mrs. Lindsay,” he said, and she
dropped a soft negative.
“Too bad you missed the ceremony! It was unusual in a district so
remotely rural. I was glad to be instrumental in getting a good
turn-out from the Carson lodge, though Mr. Ponder had not been
in attendance for some years. These fine old mountaineers are
passing--passing. It was a very interesting funeral. Very.”
“I reckon it was,” said Ann, as Bake, gently dominant, lifted her to
the train.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Perceived typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account