128 THE COUNTRY BOY 



ahead and let down the gaps in the rail 

 fences and whether the funeral was over a 

 fellow pioneer or someone's hired man, with 

 bare head, with his white curly hair and beard, 

 he looked as fine a type of just plain man as 

 you ever saw. I never saw him look worried 

 only once at the graveyard, and that was the 

 first year the band tried to play at Decoration 

 Day exercises. The graveyard hadn't been 

 running long and there was only one soldier 

 buried there, but the G. A. R. wanted to re- 

 member him, so the band and Uncle Jake Avent 

 there with the big parade just as if the grave- 

 j^ard was full of soldiers. Jake rode the bay 

 mare ahead of the procession as usual. Part 

 of the band lived in the country and didn't 

 get into town to practice as much as they 

 should. We had just got some new music 

 and among it was a funeral dirge, the first 

 ever brought out there. It was No. 21 in the 

 new book. The country members were late 

 getting in and the big rush and the few stiff 

 beards at the barber shop put them still later 

 getting to the band hall, where the procession 

 was to form and march to the church. They 



