They evidently associated the color with the term.

Once while we were at Sagamore something happened to the cherished "'spress" wagon to the distress of the children, and especially of the child who owned it.
Their mother and I were just starting for a drive in the buggy, and we promised the bereaved owner that we would visit a store we knew in East Norwich, a village a few miles away, and bring back another "'spress" wagon.

When we reached the store, we found to our dismay that the wagon which we had seen had been sold.

We could not bear to return without the promised gift, for we knew that the brains of small persons are much puzzled when their elders seem to break promises.

Fortunately, we saw in the store a delightful little bright-red chair and bright-red table, and these we brought home and handed solemnly over to the expectant recipient, explaining that as there unfortunately was not a "'spress" wagon we had brought him back a "'spress" chair and "'spress" table.
It worked beautifully! The "'spress" chair and table were received with such rapture that we had to get duplicates for the other small member of the family who was the particular crony of the proprietor of the new treasures.
When their mother and I returned from a row, we would often see the children waiting for us, running like sand-spiders along the beach.