Any one of them stories might of done all right; but I hadn't decided WHICH one to use.

And, of course, I run plumb into Martha.

She was standing by the gate, which was about twenty yards from the veranda.
And all four lies popped into my head at oncet, and got so mixed up with one another there, I seen right off it was useless to try to tell anything that sounded straight.

Besides, when you are in the fix I was in, what can you tell a girl anyhow?
So I jest says to her: "Hullo!" Martha, she had been fussing around some flower bushes with a pair of shears and gloves on.

She looks up when I says that, and she sizes us all up standing by the gate, and her eyes pops open, and so does her mouth, and she is so surprised to see me she drops her shears.
And she looks scared, too.
"Is Miss Buckner at home ?" asts Colonel Tom, lifting his hat very polite.
"Miss B-B-Buckner ?" Martha stutters, very scared-like, and not taking her eyes off of me to answer him.
"Miss Hampton, Martha," I says.
"Y-y-y-es, s-sh-she is," says Martha.