* * WE LEAVE PINE RIDGE * *
BY ABNER PEABODY

I-GRANNIES, our lives has just been changed all around ever since the day that Lum reminded hisself that he was a great actor. 'Course Lum allus was awful good at out-loud talkin', never needed much excuse fer makin' speeches or elecutin'. Made all the Fourth of July addresses and has allus been a outstandin' figger in our community. Then when he saw the advertisement in the magazine about "Do You Want to be a Actor", there warn't no stoppin' him. He sent away fer the book and practised actin' on everybody he met. Then he got the idy nothin' would do but he was goin' to go into the movin' pitchers. Said it would be mighty fine to jist set around all day and let 'em take pitchers of you and you git paid fer it. Mose Moots kept encouragin' him and sellin' him lots of hair tonic and moustache dye, and a drummer he met in Mose's barber shop, he told him he was a natural born ham actor if ever seen one. It got to where Lum jist wasn't fit fer no other kind of work--so there warn't nothin' else fer us to do but go to Hollywood. Before I knowed it we was gittin' ready to leave and we never seen such excitement in Pine Ridge. You'd a thought everybody in town was goin' along with us stead of jist Cedric and Squire Skimp. All the stores closed down jist like it was a holiday. Made us feel mighty big and importance. Fokes was givin' us names and addresses of friends and relates to look up fer 'em in Californy. Wanted us to be sure to see the Arkansas fokes that's been doin' right well there. Dick Huddleston loaned us a valise and Lizbeth packed all our clothes and hitched up the team to drive us down to the County Seat. When Lum seen all the people crowdin' 'round the buggy to say goodbye, he figgered it was a good chance to practise up on his actin' once more fore he got to Hollywood, so he started to elecute "Friends, Romans, and Countrymen" and some other silly talk about lendin' him their ears. And then he stumbled around and couldn't recollect the rest of it, so he jist natcherly give his speech he allus gives about the "Harp strings of memory strike a tender chord as I leave the beautiful city of Pine Ridge." I-grannies, he went on and on and took so long with his speech-makin', that we had to resh to git to the County Seat where the bus station is at and where Squire and Cedric was waitin' fer us. The bus was jist gittin' ready to leave when we got there and first thing we knowed we was on our way to Californy.