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Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion 257
" Life's on'y a fleetin' show, John, as the sayin' is. We've all got to go, sooner or later. To go with a clean record's the main thing. Fact is, it's the on'y thing worth strivin' for, John."
"Yes, that's so, William, that's so; there ain't no getting around it. Which of these lots would you recommend?"
" Well, it depends, John. Are you particular about outlook?"
"I don't say I am, William, I don't say I ain't. Reely, I don't know. But mainly, I reckon, I'd set store by a south exposure."
" That's easy fixed, John. They're both south exposure. They take the sun, and the Shorbs get the shade."
" How about sile, William?"
" D's a sandy sile, E's mostly loom."
"You may gimme E, then, William; a sandy sile caves in, more or less, and costs for repairs."
"All right, set your name down here, John, under E. Now, if you don't mind payin' me your share of the fourteen dollars, John, while we're on the business, everything's fixed."
After some higgling and sharp bargaining the money was paid, and John bade his brother good night and took his leave. There was silence for some moments; then a soft chuckle welled up from the lonely William, and he muttered: " I declare for 't, if I haven't made a mistake! It's D that's mostly loom, not E. And John's booked for a sandy sile, after all."
There was another soft chuckle, and William departed to his rest also.
The next day, in New York, was a hot one. Still we
managed to get more or less entertainment out of it.
Toward the middle of the afternoon we arrived on
board the stanch steamship Bermuda, with bag and bag-
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