VIII
DAVE
AND, a little while afterward, who do you think walks in the house, entirely unexpected? Dave!
My! My old heart got stuck in my throat and nearly choked me to death. Dave laughs like a fiend and pounds me on the back, like they do children that are strangling.
"Now you better, daddy?" he laughs at last, setting me up careful, in a chair. "What was it? Meat or tobacco?"
"What do you want here," I says, "beating up the kindest and most unfortunate daddy in the world? Sit down!" and he sits down on top of me, nearly bursting me open. "Go right back where you came from, you Johnny Reb!"—just in fun, of course. I was so happy!
"I won't!" says Dave. "I ain't of age yet and you got to keep me till I am. You can be
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