The Corral, Volume 17, Number 2, March 1927 Page: 7
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THE CORRAL 7
"TWO -BIT" DAVE
By Julia Leggett PickardThe street car clanged and moved away from
the street car station as four college boys ran and
jumped .on. "Say, Kid, be a sport and pay all our
fares with that new quarter you have there," said
one boy to another as the latter produced a quarter
with which to pay his fare.
"Nothing doing, Son, I was reckless with one
of these once. First one I ever had, too. Match you
next time, but this little two-bit fellow has to
stretch today."
The boys settled into one of those calms that
sometimes come to boys, and only the face of the
owner of the twenty-five cent piece underwent a
change. A smile, with just a hint of pathos covered
his countenance. His thoughts went back some half
dozen years.
It was on a farm in the sandy land of Parker
County. A boy, sleeping under the eaves of a farm
house roof, was awakened by his father's voice.
"Dave, wake up. Hurry, we must load that wagon
of melons. You ought to be on the road now.
First melons in town will bring the biggest price.
Get down in a hurry."
The boy stepped into his overalls and growled,
"Gosh! I hate watermelons." The nearer he came
to the field where the melons were piled and cov-
ered waiting to be put into the ready wagon, the
stronger his hatred grew. "Can't even grow in
decent ground, " he muttered, as he shook the sand
off his feet. "Pa says folks pay a big price for 'em
in big towns. Just imagine! They ain't fit to eat."
Aloud, "I'm coming, Pa, gosh! can't you wait?
I'm 'bout sick from pilin' 'um last night."
His father's remarks that the melon crop was
their chief source of income made no impression
on him. Every melon that he put into the wagon
grew more odious to him, and he wished in his
heart that he might cause a mighty force to destroy
all the melons over the face of the earth. When
the wagon was loaded, father and son went to the
house.
Now, and just now, was the day beginning to
arrive. Its approach was heralded by the creatures
of the barnyard. The cows mooed for their calves;
the horses nickered for their oats; turkeys and
chickens stretched and flapped, the males of which
became as noisy as possible. The boy's dogs came
from the shed wiggling bodies and tails in greet-
ing, but even this failed to cheer him.
"Ma" had a second cup of coffee for them and,
while drinking this, the father told Dave that if
he would get the melons to town in time to be load-
ed in Mr. White's car on the T. P. tracks, he might
have two-bits of the money. At this, the boy's spiritsrose. "Kin I, Pa? Honest injun?" said the boy, and
seeing assent in the man's face, he arose, picked
up his cap, said, "Bye, Ma," and got on the wagon.
It was seven miles to the town, but Dave Bronson
thought it a short ride. Never before had he experi-
enced the anticipatory joy of spending money of
his own. His father was a well-to-do farmer. He
and his mother labored steadily year in and year
out, but money wasn't plentiful. He had thought
that some day he would have some money of his
own, but he hadn't expected any this Summer
morning. The thoughts of spending an entire
quarter thrilled his whole boyish being. He cracked
the whip, spoke lovingly to the horses, and whistled
with cheer.
With little exclamations and joyful sighs he
wondered what he would buy. He wanted to go
squirrel hunting next Saturday; maybe he'd better
buy some cartridges for the shot-gun. Next Sun-
day the Robertson family was having a picnic re-
union at Spring Creek. Sally had asked him to go
He didn't think that he'd go, but, if the fellows
didn't call him sissy, he'd like to have a pair of
those silky looking socks. No he'd rather have
a baseball. The fellows were getting up a team at
Pleasant Hill, so Jim Kew had said. Oh! Jim was
going fishing Saturday. That's it! He'd love to
have some hooks. He had cut a good pole, but had
no hooks and line. Then this boy's mind wandered
to shelves and shelves of wonderful articles in the
hardware store, and, of course he was 'most too
big for the things in the toy store, but he'd look at
the games there. Yes, he would look in every store.
Dave reached the little town early and found Mr.
White, his father's friend superintending the load-
ing of a freight car. He bought the boy's melons,
paying him a portion of the purchase price, accord-
ing to his father's instructions. The youth singled
out a quarter, holding it in his hand, and pocketed
the remainder, which was to buy "Ma's" groceries.
Soon every store in town was visited by the
farmer boy. All morning he walked from store to
store. He stood around, awkwardly viewing the
contents of every store until hunger drove him to
his Aunt Mary's house for dinner. After dinner the
treasure hunt began again. His legs tired and his
hands were black from handling the two-bit piece;
however, he couldn't decide what to buy. He had
seen many, many articles that he might like, but
he always walked away from them with his quarter
unspent. When the town clock struck five, the
youth stopped with a start and exclaimed, "Gosh!
(Continued on Page 17)
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Simmons University. The Corral, Volume 17, Number 2, March 1927, periodical, March 1927; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth109415/m1/9/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.