Free electronic library

? ? ? ? Tom waited to think over, and see if there wasn't nothing else; and pretty soon he says:

? ? ? ? "Oh- there's one thing I forgot. Could you raise a flower here, do you reckon?"

? ? ? ? "I doan' know but maybe I could, Mars Tom; but it's tolerable dark in heah, en I ain' got no use f'r no flower, nohow, en she'd be a pow'ful sight o' trouble."

? ? ? ? "Well, you try it anyway. Some other prisoners has done it."

? ? ? ? "One er dem big cat-tail-lookin' mullen-stalks would grow in heah, Mars Tom, I reck'n, but she wouldn' be wuth half de trouble she'd coss."

? ? ? ? "Don't you believe it. We'll fetch you a little one, and you plant it in the corner, over there, and raise it. And don't call it mullen, call it Pitchiola- that's its right name, when it's in a prison. And you want to water it with your tears."

? ? ? ? "Why, I got plenty spring water, Mars Tom."

? ? ? ? "You don't want spring water; you want to water it with your tears. It's the way they always do."

? ? ? ? "Why, Mars Tom, I lay I kin raise one er dem mullen-stalks twyste wid spring water whiles another man's a start'n one wid tears.


Pages:
434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458