pages 165-166

165-166

                While probing around in the far corner, what should come to view but a frilly ruffled light blue party dress.  Why was it here?  Why hadn’t mother given it away.  The light blue was my favorite color.  I slipped it on.  Yes, I could still wear it but what once looked well on me became old fashioned looking.  I turned in different angles before the mirror to see it as it really was --- the party dress fading and forgotten.   I had gone to the last party with Frank in the Southlands in that dress and to numerous other parties.  There was still some sentiment there, so I folded it neatly and put it in the bottom of the trunk.  There perhaps to remain forgotten as more years took its toll of the once party dress that made me pretty and the gay fun loving times I had had wearing it.  Mother had liked it from the day she made it for me.  That was on of the reasons it had not been discarded along with a lot of others.  I was tempted to leave it out and put it on sometime for Jim , but other thoughts filled my mind.  It had see its day.  Its usefulness was over and so decided to leave the past where it belonged.

                Now I was a western girl and miles lay between me and the south lands where I grew to young womanhood.  The Trunk was not being filled very fast.  If I found a few more things like the faded blue party dress I would be sometime getting my things from the closet into the trunk.  I began to work faster in doing my job.  I half shut my eyes to whatever came up.  I folded each garment neatly and put them in the trunk.

                Here I was packing to leave my home and my parents.  The parents I had known and loved since birth.  I stopped still thinking, a tear or two trickled down my cheek.  A few fell on the folded clothes in the trunk.  I sat down on the edge of it, took out my handkerchief and let them freely fall.  I knew this had to happen and what better place with no one looking on.  Once and for all I had it over with.  I dried my eyes and proceeded with my task.

                Mother called from the stairway, “Come on down and eat some lunch.” “O.K.” I answered, trying desperately to remove all traces of tear stains.  Finally resorting to a little face powder to finish up the job when I went downstairs.  No one was the wiser when we sat down to lunch.

                Mother brought up the subject of the party dress.  “Yes,” I said. “I found it and did fold and put it in the bottom of the trunk.”  “Well,” she said,  “I know someone it will fit and who needs it badly.  Did you want to keep it?” “No,“ I replied, “She’s welcome to it, that would be a better fate for it.”

                So after lunch mother washed the light blue frilly ruffled party dress, ironed it, and put it in a box and wrapped it in pretty paper and tied it with ribbon.  She told me to saddle Beauty and take the dress to this girl.  She told me how far and where to go.  When I arrived I saw a blond girl about the size the dress would fit.  I called her by name and told her I had brought her a present.  She grabbed the package eagerly and proceeded to open it.  She called to her mother,  “Look what I have.” “Oh,” her mother said.  “that’s pretty, much too pretty for you child.  “No,” the girl said.  “It isn’t too pretty to go to parties.  She hugged the dress close and a tear ran down her cheek as she thanked me for it.  Little dreaming the happiness and fun that dress had brought to its rightful owner.  Almost with a tear in my eye, I turned to go.  The girl grabbed my hand and asked,  “Did this once belong to you and did you wear it to parties?”  “Yes,” I answered.  As I mounted Beauty she called after me,  “I wish I could have been you.”  “Never wish to be anyone else, “ I replied.  “always be the sweet kind loving self you have been and the world will always have a place for you.”  Still she stood waving until I was out on the road and off for home.  So that was the end of my once favorite party dress.  Instead of being folded in the bottom of a trunk to become old, faded and moth eaten, It would now make glad the heart of another girl with happiness attached each time she wore it.

                When I returned, Jim was home waiting and said, “Did you know Billy Fortune was gone?” “No.” I said.  I hadn’t noticed.  About that time mother came out and said, “I saw him just as he got out.  A bunch of range horses were out by the corral and pretty soon he took off with them.”  Jim went to see what had happened and in some way they had gotten the gate open.  “Well,” Jim said, we’ve got to round that boy up before they take him too far away from home,  but we’ll let him go tonight and start out tomorrow to track him down.  He’ll get pretty wild running with that bundh and then too he isn’t branded and someone might like him for a saddle horse.  He’d make a good one too.”  Jim assisted me down and took the saddle off of Beauty.  He led her down for a drink then put her in the barn and fed her.  We walked hand in hand to the house.  He told me of the things he had been doing on our ranch.  We didn’t more than get in the house and look out the front window to see my father and brother coming down the lane.

                The three days they were gone had slipped away so fast.  Mother said.  “Well where did those three days go?”  She went out in the yard to meet them.  Toby tugged and pulled at his leash and wanted to give them a welcome too.  Father noticed and said, “What happened to him?”  Thus mother went through the whole story.  Father asked why we didn’t shoot the coyote.  Mother told him it all happened so fast and then too we could have shot Toby.  “I couldn’t have hit the coyote had I tried,” said mother.  As they carried things from the wagon to the house mother told them it wound out alright.  Just one turkey lost his tail feathers.  “I’ll say he did, “ father answered coming back out and seeing the bobtail turkey in the yard.

                That evening after supper, while we sat reading and visiting in the living room.  Toby began to growl and bark  Jim went out to see what was wrong.  He heard flying hoofs retreating in the distance.  The range horses had come back again and gone before Jim could get even a faint glimpse of them.  He figured that was the herd Billy Fortune was in and if so we shouldn’t be too long finding him for that bunch watered at Shirley Creek around two o’clock each day.  Jim said he’d go down the next morning and work at the ranch awhile come eat lunch and then start out.