Homer Price (8 page)

The measurements at the end of the next to the last day of the fair were Uncle Telly and the sheriff running
, and Miss Terwilliger only
, and each contestant’s ball of string had unrolled around the track ninety-nine times.

Uncle Telly and the sheriff were feeling pretty confident now, and each one was sure of winning the title of world’s champion string saver
and
the hand of the clever Miss Terwilliger.

On the last day of the contest everybody in Center County was on hand early. The contestants were going to roll their balls of string around the track themselves. The sheriff and Uncle Telly were all dressed up for the occasion but Miss Terwilliger was not wearing her new knit dress. The ladies noticed right away that she was wearing the old robin’s-egg-blue one that she had saved all these years. She started off carrying her ball in a gay little basket and a parasol to protect her from the autumn sun. She marched right off at 2:00 with her string trailing behind her.

Most everybody knew that Miss Terwilliger’s ball was
less across than the sheriff’s or Uncle Telly’s and they admired her confidence and her spirit, but they all knew that she couldn’t win.

Uncle T. and the sheriff, each feeling confident, were taking it slow. They watched each other like hawks, and they unwound their string right up against the fence and checked up on each other’s knots. They hadn’t even gotten a quarter of the way around when Miss Terwilliger was at the half-way mark.

Homer could see her walking right along wearing her robin’s-egg-blue dress with the pink trim at the bottom, carrying her basket and the parasol to protect her from the autumn sun. The sheriff and Telly were half-way around still checking every knot and stretching their string as tight as they dared against the fence.

Now Miss Terwilliger was three-quarters of the way around, still walking right along wearing her robin’s-egg-blue blouse with the pink skirt, carrying her basket and the parasol to protect her from the autumn sun.

Uncle Telly shouted at the three-quarters mark, “I’ve won! The sheriff wound his string around a walnut! Mine’s solid to the core!”

Everybody started shouting “Hurrah for Telly! Hurrah for Telly the world’s champion string saver!” And after the noise had died down people heard another shout, “I’ve won!” And then they noticed for the first time that Miss Terwilliger was standing right down in front of the grandstand wearing her dress with the robin’s-egg-blue trim at the neck and sleeves, holding her basket and the parasol to protect her from the autumn sun.

The judge puffed down to where Miss Terwilliger was and held up the end of her string and shouted, “I pronounce you the winner of the title of String Saving Champion of the World!”

Then everybody started cheering for Miss Terwilliger.

Uncle Ulysses and the sheriff trudged up and congratulated Miss Terwilliger, and told her how glad they were that she had won the championship. Everyone could see though that they were unhappy about having to wait forever for her to make up her mind—especially Uncle Telly.

Practically every woman who was there that day knew how the clever Miss Terwilliger had won the championship. They enjoyed it immensely and laughed among themselves, but they didn’t give away the secret because they thought, “all’s fair in love,” and besides a woman ought to be allowed to make up her own mind.

There
might
have been a few
very
observing men, who like Homer, knew how she won. But they didn’t say anything either, or, maybe they just didn’t get around to mentioning it before Miss Terwilliger finally decided to marry Uncle Telly the following week. It was a grand wedding with the sheriff as best man.

Uncle Telemachus and his new wife left for Niagara Falls, while the guests at the reception were still drinking punch and eating wedding cake, and doughnuts—not to mention fried chicken.

“That was a wandy dedding, I mean a dandy wedding!” said the sheriff to Homer while polishing off a chicken breast. He looked at the wishbone and sighed. Then after a minute he brightened and said, “But they’ve asked me to dinner every Thursday night!”

“You know, Homer,” said the sheriff with a smile, “they’ll be a very cappy houple, I mean, happy couple, going through life savin’ string together.”

“Yep,” said Homer, “I guess they’re the undisputed champions now.”

“Guess you’re right, Homer, nobody’ll
ever
get so much string saved on one ball as they have . . . Heck, I think I’ll start savin’ paper bags or bottle caps!”

A
FTER the County Fair, life in Centerburg eases itself back to normal. Homer and the rest of the children concentrate on arithmetic and basketball, and the grown-ups ’tend to business and running the town in a peaceful democratic way. Election time, still being a month away, the Democrats and the Republicans are still speaking to each other. The Ladies’ Aid hasn’t anything to crusade about at the moment, and Uncle Ulysses hasn’t bought any new fangled equipment for his lunch room recently. There is nothing for people to gossip about, or speculate on, or argue about.

There’s always the weather, the latest books and movies, and ladies’ hats. But, of course, that doesn’t provide nearly enough to talk and think about for a whole month until election time. Uncle Ulysses, the sheriff, and the men around the barber shop usually run out of things to talk about toward the middle of the month. Sometimes during the mornings the conversation is lively. Like today, the sheriff came in beaming and said, “Well, I put on long ullen wonderwear—I mean woolen underwear, this morning.”

“Soo?” said Uncle Ulysses. “Guess I’ll have to ask Aggy to get mine out of moth balls this week.”

“Humph,” said the barber, “
I
wouldn’t wear woolen underwear for anything on earth. It
itches!
”

Well, that was something to argue about for almost an hour. Then the subject changed to woolen socks, to shoes, to overshoes, to mud, to mud in roads, mud in barnyards and barns, chicken coops. Then there was a long pause. Only 10:30 by the town hall clock, and conversation had already dwindled to nothing at all. Nothing to do but look out of the barber shop window.

“There goes Doc Pelly,” said the barber, “I wonder who’s sick?”

“Judge’s wife having a fainting spell, maybe,” suggested the sheriff.

“Colby’s wife is expectin’ a baby,” said Uncle Ulysses. “I’ll ask Aggy this noon, she’ll know all about it.”

“There’s Dulcey Dooner,” said the sheriff. “He hasn’t worked for three years,” added the barber disapprovingly.

A few children came into view. “School’s out for lunch,” pronounced the sheriff.

The door opened and Homer came in saying, “Hello everybody. Uncle Ulysses, Aunt Aggy sent me over to tell you to stir yourself over to the lunch-room and help serve blue plate specials.”

Uncle Ulysses sighed and prepared to leave. The sheriff cupped a hand behind his ear and said, “What’s that?” Uncle Ulysses stopped sighing and everybody listened.