On his head he wore a Chinese
straw helmet; which was as ugly as anything could conceivably be,
but he was as proud of it as he was of his green suspenders. In
summer he wore no coat at all, and even in pretty cold weather he
left his vest on his wagon seat, not being able to bring himself to
the point of covering up the red and green of his attire.
It was noticeable that the women of the neighborhood always
came out, even on washday, to see that Claude (his name was
Claude Willlams) measured the cream properly. There was much
banter about this. Mrs. Kennedy always said she wouldn't trust him
"fur's you can fling a yearlin' bull by the tail."
"Now that's the difference between us," he would reply. "I'd trust
you anywhere. Anybody with such a daughter as your'n"
He seldom got further, for Lucindy always said (in substance),
"Oh, you go 'long."
There need be no mystery in the matter. 'Cindy was the girl for
whose delight he wore the green and red. He made no secret of his
love, and she made no secret of her scorn. She laughed at his green
'spenders and the "red shoestring" in his shirt; but Claude
considered himself very learned in women's ways, by reason of
two years' driving the creamery wagon, and be merely winked at
Mrs.
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