Fantil clucked his tongue and shook his reins, urging just a bit more speed from his reliable team of chestnut draft horses. “It would seem that I w...ill lose the pleasure of your company soon, Alicia.” “I want to thank you again, Fantil. Knowing my father, it is all too likely that I will not have opportunity to do so later.” “It was my pleasure, Alicia.” The merchant leaned around the side of the wagon and gestured. “I know your father as well, and have little doubt you are correct. I should. On the front, it had a classy embossed image of a Jack-O-Lantern that was wearing an eerie grin. The inside read: You and a guest are cordially invited to attend Mr. Hugh Tamsend’s masquerade ball! All guests are asked to come dressed in full costume. Everyone without a mask will not be admitted. This was followed by various bits of pertinent information. Time, Address, etcetera. She’d just finished reading when her attention was drawn to the sound of an engine in the driveway followed by the. But then he was a professional journalist quite capable of exercising critical judgment. The journalist was comfortable knowing he’d produced from his heart and mind to the best of his ability and to hell with the critics, though the constructive ones served a useful purpose for which he was thankful. He thought about themes and characters in those forty-nine short stories and was aware he’d written to appeal to readers who apparently like firm-breasted women and broad chest males who can. The sketchbook was like that. The first half dozen pictures were of the same rock in a stream not far from our house. Then there was a picture of a tree trunk, one of a sign that I recognized as being about a mile from our house, one of the abandoned barn out in Wilson’s back forty. There was even a picture of a chipmunk. I couldn’t figure out how he’d got the little critter to hold still for so long. It was like Tony was discovering the world in a new way.”“Rev. Larkin quietly leafed through.