Horse Hines looked raptly at the cold strange face.
The star over the town, the lightover the hill, the sod over Ben, night over
all.
If thats the bestyouve g-g-g-got, well take
it.
O lost, and by the wind grieved, ghost, come back
again!
She was silent for a moment, staring at the fire.
We have a right to ours aswell as any one. Then, slowly, he began to take a terrible
joy in his taint.
He was a Socialist, and had oncereceived eight
votes for Congress.
Ben lay in the parlor, bedded in hisexpensive
coffin. At Dixieland, there was an air ofexhaustion, of nervous
depletion.
In twenty years it would make our nation the proud
centre ofcivilization and the arts.
You dont want anything shoddy, said Horse
Hines.
I have known the Gant and Pentland families
forthirty years or more.
With victorious joy, Eugene thought of theflowers
above Bens grave.
He made funny speeches inchapel, at smokers, at
meetings of all sorts.
I take a personal interest in this funeral, said
Horse Hines withgentle emotion.
Were big strong men, but weve hadhard
lives.
Hines,about the c-c-c-c-casket, Luke whispered
nervously.
Or do you believe in the
belly-lessmarriage?
And among them, sick and old, leaning upon his
cane, moved Gant,the alien, the stranger.