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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 1902)
2S THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JUNE 8, J902. Unknown Ghosts and a Houseful of Girls . THE TERRORS OF ONE SUMAfER AS RELATED BY ONE OF THE TERRIFIED. ,BY R E. HOWSON Y fE made our ghosts' acquaint ance In Australia, where Fath er's business (he is a partner In a bicycle firm) had taken him. Harry and I and little Ike were delighted 'when Father decided to take us and Mother with him. Wo expected the elx months we were to bo away from homo to be a picnic, indeed, and we were not disap pointed. I will pass Over the trip across the continent from Cincinnati to San Fran cisco; the long sea voyage, broken by stays at Honolulu and Auckland; the few happy days we spent In Sydney and Mel bourne, and commence when we took possession of the furnished house Father rented for us at Maglll. five miles out of Adelaide. He had to locate us camc whero while he travoled round - doing business, and chose Adplalde because his college chum, Ralph 'Ingraham, was a member of the Adelaide House of Assem bly, having, alas! given up his nationality and made his home in Australia, and this house In particular, because It joined the home of Mr. Ingraham, and we should have the company of ills family, go would not be lonesome in Father's absence. The Ingraham family consisted of father, mother, two sons, one at Cam bridge University, England, being made a genuine John Bull; the younger, Har ry, was a, a boarding school in Mel bourne; one daughter, Sara, a girl of my age IS devoted to cricket, tennis, qycllng, horseback riding and entirely free from, nerves. No sooner had we taken possession of the fiouse than business called Father away from His. He had been gone but jl few days when a telegram summoned Mother to join him in Melbourne; he had been seized with an attack of sciatica, and could not got along without her. She departed by the next train, leaving us to the care of the Ingrahams and the good-natured Irish woman who had con sented to run our domestic machine. "Shure, mom, ye needn't be feared to lave the childer with me. I'll take good care of the bhoy and kapc the men folk from runnln off with the young ladies, bless their pretty eyes," she had said to Mother. Our troubles wore not long in com mencing, and Biddy, notwithstanding her line promisee, proved but a poor ally, but of that more later. I will now de scribe the house. It stood in the centor of a large or chard and was a wide ono-story brick building with a veranda on every side. Thi veranda was raised about two feet from the ground and was carefully board ed round, concealing the foundation of the house. When we took possession the bell rope was broken, and as Father had to leave so hurriedly, and It was dif ficult to get a man 00 far out of town, It remained unmended. The evening Mother left there was a resounding pcal from the bell; forget ting that the rope was broken, and thlnk Irg that Sara Ingraham and one of her toy chums had como over to cheer our loneliness. I ran to open the door. The voids of eager welcome died on my lips, for no one was to be seen. Thinking Sara was trying to play a trick on me, I ran round the veranda, expecting to And her hiding In some corner. No one was there. Then I remembered the broken bell rope, and returned to the house, puzzlod and nervous. Harrie laughed at my fears, and Biddy declared that one of us "childer" had rung the bell. That night when I went to put 4-year-old Ike to bed. the little fellow said, "Why is it, Jennie, that when you go out the washstand lifts up its leg and knocks V "Nonsense, Ikey; a washstand couldn't do that." "Woll, it must have been the bureau, then. There it goes again" He sprang up In bed. and clung tightly to my neck. Tee, sure enough, there was a sound of knocking. Again thinking it must be Sara, I opened one of the Fiench win dows, only to be disappointed and puz zled once more. "And something squeals, too," said Ikey. "Last night I thought Biddy's sister must have left her baby, and it was cryin'. I asked Biddy, and she bald: 'Shure, an it was a dhrame, child; nlver a baby did me sister lave at all, at all.' " Scarcely were the words out of the child's mouth than a piteous walling commenced followed by the most ghoul ish, horrible muttering I have ever list ened to. This lasted for about three min utes, during which Ikej' clung so closely to my neck that he nearly choked me. "Don't leave me alone, Jennie," he pleaded; "I'm so scared." I wrapped him In a blanket and car ried him across the hall to the parlor, where Harrie, who was lying on tho sofa reading a book, received our story with derision. She went into the bedroom a few minutes later for a box of candy, and returned with a frightened face, refus ing, however, to say what had scared her. While Ikey 6iept we girls sat tremblingly expectant for hours. No ghosts appeared again that night, how ever, but from that time forward they gave us little peace. They were worst in our bedroom, but could be heard In other parts of the house also. Mysterious knocklngs, hor rible cries, piteous heart-breaking wait ings and sobbings, fiendish gurgles of suppressed laughter, ghoulish mutterlngs made rest an impossibility. Hushed foot steps sounded down the long passages; often have I sat up In bed breathlessly listening while the stealthy footfalls camo slowly down the hall and paused at the door. At other times the footsteps ap peared to be In our room. They would pause beside the bed and Harrie and I would lie trembling, hot. daring to open our eyes lest some awe-lnsplring form should meet our gaze. Then would fol low a horrible, fiendish, smothered yell, and we would cover our heads with the bedclothes and He sweltering through the hot Summer night praying for morning to dawn. One night when our tormentors had been unusually quiet and we hd fallen into the deep alcep of exhaustion, Harrie was awakened by a soft knocking, seem ingly on the glass of the French window. Forgetting the ghosts and thinking Father bad come home unexpectedly, she sprang out of bed and opened the window. No one was there. Hastily bolting the window, she crept back to bed, and was awakened by her clinging to mo sob bing as smothered peals of ghoulish, mocking laughter sounded through the room. Ofton the ball would ring without cause. About midnight one Sunday there was a sounding peal which made the whole house ring and brought Biddy from her distant room off the kitchen her room and theikltohen were additions to the house, and must have been built much later than the original structure She was angry, and would not believe we were not playing a "thrlck" on her. When we told her of the ghosts she laughed, and said: "Shure, It's dhramin' ye are. Amerl kins ought to have more 6lnse." In an unlucky hour, thinking she would bo some protoctlon. we Invited Biddy to spend a night in our room. The ghosts' were even more lively than usual that evening, and not all Biddy's Ave Marias and Pater Nosters would exorcise them. "Shure. Vho dlvll himself Is in the house," she said, "andawful bould the ould glntlemen's gettln', for he laughs in tho mfddle of me prayhV." One night in our room was enough for Biddy; she even talked of leaving us, but on our beseeching her to remain and reminding her of her promise to Mother, she consented to stay if she was not asked to go into any part of the house but the dining-room. To this we agreod. We thought of deserting tho house In a body, migrating to Biddy's room, and living In that and the kitchen, but came tq the conclusion that Biddy's room was too small for four people, so abandoned the Idea. Biddy, however. Insisted on taking Ike's cot Into her room. Numberless were the discussions we had with the Irish woman as to the cause of the house being haunted. "Shure and those wicked convicts must have been up to their thrlcks here. Many's the tolme I've listened to stories of how those men would escape from prison, run wild In the hills, catch the eettlers, and aftficr tormentln thlm, roast thlra In bul lock hides." "But. Biddy," said Harrie. who was of a studious and inquiring turn of mind, "South Australia was never a convict col ony. There were never convicts here." "Well," answered Biddy, "thin It must av been tho natives. Shure the black crit ters used to kill the white men and roast and eat them. Before Ivor this house was built they've had a feed of man's flesh on the very slto of It, and now the spal peens, beln' dead, com back to enjoy their wicked deeds, the owld gintleman wld them, bad cess to him." Here the Irishwoman crossed herself and looked fearfully over her shoulder. "But, Biddy," said Ike, lifting his great Inquiring eyes to her face, "how do you know It's the blacks?" "Shure and it must be the blacks, for though they growl and yell and mutter all night nlver a word If their lingo can ye make out. The moanln and cryin' Is from the poor critters waltln' to be cooked. There's a child among them, and one's an Irishman, for didn't I hear him wld me own ears cryin' 'Ohonel Ohone!' God rest his sowl. but little he's likely to rest knowin' his body's In the stomach of one of those black critters." I tried to broach the subject of our nightly visitants to Sara Ingraham, but the mere mention of the word "ghosts" brought a pitying and superior smile to the sun-browned face of that athletic maid. "And do Americans still believe in ghosts?" she asked, with a supercilious lifting of her black eyebrowF. "We Aus tralians don't. Ghost stories are Old World fables. Don't .let Biddy stuff you with her Irish fairy talc." I wished I might have tested her In credulity and courage by making her spend a night, with us, but doubtless she would have snored through our noc turnal visitors? orgies, and laughed at us next day. Mother had now been away ten days, and though Harrie and I were getting quite worn out with terror and want of sleep, we did not like to send for her to tcome back. To telegraph that the house was haunted seemed so silly. Our one hope was :n Harry Ingraham, who was expected home for tho Christmas holidays. He was a boy, and so would be more sympathetic to us girls than his sister, and of course he would not be scared evon by ghosts. On the appointed day he arrived, and In the evening ran In to make our acquaintance. He was as lively, handsome and nice aB we expected, and he, I, and Harrie were soon fast friends. Tho spirits were quiet for n day or two after ho came, so we did not mention them to him. On tho fourth night after his return, however, they carried on so ter ribly that we could not sleep a wink, and going out to the henhouse next morn ing to feed the chickens, we found eight of our best laying hens lying dead, with out a wound on their bodies or any sign to show by what manner they had come to their death. "It's as plain as daylight," said Biddy, as she sorrowfully viewed the feathered victims, "this Is the work of the frhosts. The black spalpeens made believe the chickens were white folk. If ye don t shift out of this haunted house, ye poor children, ye'll be kilt lolko the chickens." This was not consoling, and we deter mined to tell our troubles to Harry at the first opportunity. He came over that evening, and had scarcely seated himself when our enemies commenced. At the first sound Harry exclaimed: "Ca " then seeing our frightened faces, he quickly interrupted himself, crylnsr In stead: "Rats, alligators, crocodiles! what's that?" Then we told our story. Though there was a merry twinkle in his nye and he threw himself back In his chair now-and again with a smothered guffaw, I am happy to say he did not laugh. "And. oh, Hal," said our Harrie, "the poor chickens! Do you think the ghosts really killed them?" "Think? I don't think at all about It. I know they killed them. Never mind, girls; to to bed, sleep woll, and leavo everything to me. I'll warrant the ghosts won't trouble you much more. Can I have the little veranda room? I'd like to sleep here tonight." "Of course." we both cried, glad to have anything in the shape of a man within call. "Well, I guess I'll tell mother. Good night, girls." ' He made such a wry face as be went out of the door that I thought he must be 111, and followed him Into the garden. He disappeared among the trees, but I found him rolling over on the grass plot In such paroxysms that I felt sure he had a fit. Going close, I found ho was laughing so that the tears rolled down his cheeks. "Harry!" I cried. Indignantly. "Oh, Jennie. I have so wanted to see a live ghost. You can't tell how merry and glad It makes me feel to think I am to have my wish. If you are a good little girl and go to bed now you shall see one yourself tomorrow," and, jumping up, he ran off to his own home. Whether It was that the ghosts really did give us a rest or that the sense of having a protector near eased our nerves, certain It Is that Harrie and I slept dream lessly that night, and when we awoke next morning the ""sun was shining Into our room and the birds carolling gaily with out. Just as we finished dressing Harry, who said he had been se'eral times to the door to listen for a sound, knocked boldly at the French window. As I opened It and stepped out on the veranda, I heard a curious, harsh growling, and Harry, with a theatrical wave of his hand, cried: "Behold the spirits of the black canni bals!" In a large wire trap placed In front of a hole In the boarding below the veranda were four lithe, felinely graceful little animals, yellow In color, spotted with white. They were smaller than domestic cats and of a different form. "They never It Isn't possible that these little animals made those awful noises!" cried Harrie and I in one breath. "But they did and killed the chickens Into the bargain, by just planting their teeth in the poor things' necks and suck ing their blood. The teeth marks were so small that you did not notice them." He led the way round the house. There had been two holes In tho boarding; he had made two more. At each of these holes he had placed a trap, and in each trap were some of the little beasts two In one and three In the others. "But," I cried, "the bell ringing, the knocking and the soft footsteps?" "The wildcats are responsible for those sounds also. The bell wire goes under the floor; though it Is broken at the door, it Is tight under the house. "See," he said throwing himself on the ground and mak- 1 Ing me 6toop to look Into one of the holes, "the foundation Is low, tho house Is raised but a little above tho jrround. Tho cats have caught the wire in their paws J and rung the bell. The knocking was caused by the bones they were gnawing striking against the floor, and the stealthy icoisieps weu, x. iouna a aoie uic gnosis had made In one of the unoccupied rooms; through this they came Into the house, and you heard them pattering down the passages. Biddy did npt hear them be cause her room Is an addition to the house, and being raised very slightly from the ground, the cats could find no harbor under It." At that moment Biddy Joined the group around the cages. "And is it cats ye call them bastes?" asked she, "It's dlvlls they arc; see the evil eyes of thorn! The big one that switches his tall and bites tho little ones when they get Jn his way Is the ould gin tleman himself." Harry laughed. "Shure. can't he take tho form of a How !r&&3Y,rVcC0TAnr.Y CUM. LETS CO SHOO ,ING I HEN a man says he Is a trapper the hearer thinks Instinctively of beav ers and otters, but tho fact Is that tho beaver Is practically extinct In the United States and otters are too scarce every where to make pursuit of them profitable. Trappers in the North are now gener ally In search of mink, skunks and musk rate; Jn the South and Southwest they are coon trappers. There are many men who make livings good enough for them by catching coons in the wilder parts of the South, mainly along tho iower Mississippi River and its confluents. The coon trapper leads a life that to him Is Ideal and It would not be disagree able for a while to civilized men having a tasto for outdoors. He lives generally within 10 miles of a store at which ho can trade bis skins for meal, bacon, cof fee, ammunition and whisky. Often for months at a stretch his- con verse with human beings Is confined to his dickers with the storekeepers. Ho lives In a cabin If he can find one conve niently placed that has been deserted, or has the industry to build one; oftcner he rn 1 .1 " ' 1 F lar&rvcCOTAnr.Y clHt LETa CO SHbOUNCk f f r ' . " ' t e '" .I 1 I. 1 1 f . . j I eOON TRAPPING THE DOROTHY BROWN PAINT PICTURES r "" i - iiiuux rarimn j BorolhyJl&mires tj2Couraseo Dotcfe Cl2idrxi2 VH. DOROTHY AND REGGIE IN HOLLAND From France the children went to view the land of dike and wooden shoe A land that hide behind a wall for fear the eca would nwalloir all. "" - And this Is true. Indeed; the sea Is ever watching hunprily. ' Dearly 'twould like to rise seme night and swallow Holland out of lcht. In Holland children are sedate and walk & quiet, proper rait. And Jhat is quickly understood, when one denotes their shoes of wood. Windmills and tultps everywhere made Dorothy and Bessie stare. They looked with all their eyea. They knew It was the last thine they could view Before they took a home-bound ship, for 'twas the ending of their trip. "" Paint windmills white with roofs of red; the sky a light blue overhead. Please paint the Dutch child's cap In blue; Its sown Is of a dark blue, too.t The boy's shirt paint in drab and blue; his trousers in a soft brown hue. Sweet Dorothy wore sold and blue; Reggie wore sarmenta gray in hue. ' i basto It it -phizes b!m?" cried BJddy, in dignantly. "Well, Biddy," said Harry, "the 'ould gintleman and his crew had better pre pare themselves, for their youls will bo back In Hades tonight. Their skins would make a nice mat for your feet, girls serve, too, as a souvenir of -your ghosts." "Shure, bad luck will come to ye If ye kill the critters. The ould gintleman at least ye might lave." "Well, If you feel so badly about his death, Biddy. I'll let you have Satan for a pelbut lfce. skins ot the others I must havo." There is little more to tclL Vhe ghosts being laid for they troubled us no more we gave all our attention to having- a good time, in which Harry, who left school, and entered his father's office, greatly assisted us. Perclval came home from England a genuine B. A., and except for a Cambridge accent and a few Angli cisms.' which Harrie and I set ourselves tho task of eradicating, he was worthy of his American descent. I am back In our home in Cincinnati now at this moment at my writing table, my feet on the skins of our "ghosts" but I'm afraid I won't be here for long unless I can make an American of Perclval. He writes that he Is having the haunted house renovated and newly furnished, and that he la coming for me by the next steamer, leaving Biddy and tho "ould gin tleman" In charge of our future home. As to the. Harries they can tell' their own story. for a, lorvcs time I ceroid not tell growrv - yps knew our ways ooivervowoir secrets seem To lie Vide open to the growrv-up eye ; 1 ve fcLsked so rrfoxvy all about How tkey Vd iome to f irvd it out Arwd tKeJA would -answer , yli know A little jair die toldrrie so'T a I tkoxgkt first iKeyere "fo3irg me , ButiNowedKbi: 1 clea.'cjy' see Xke birds sit atfte wires: Kigk Ard jryscyr our secret words gotjy. x has a ragged tent; often he lives under a lean-to of boughs which keep out the rain only Indifferently. Every coon trapper has a mongrel dog and a muzzle-loading rifle. The dog hunts coonfi when the man Is on his round?, trees them and announces success by barking In a certain manner, and then the coon Is shot. The trapper will get one-fourth of his coons In this way. Despite tho war waged against them these animals do not seem to decrease. They are gone in large measure from the settled regions, but the vast, damp, wood ed areas afford them much protection, and they are fecund, Tho coon trapper, if ho let whisky alone, can amass a sum that would be Independence to him by the time ho Is 40. His clothes cost him next to nothing; he pays no rent or taxes; he owns no master; his living expenses are possibly 20 cents a day; coon skins are worth from 20 to 0 cents apiece, according to their size, color and condition; it of ten happens that he will take four or five skins in a day; if skilful and Indus trious he can catch fifty coons a month. Whatever he makes he is nearly so much - - - - - - - . T - T r r. T1TT-n.-rj.(r Tick Went Away and How He Came Back , TRUE STORY OF A COCKER SPANIEL AND THE FIDELITY OF HIS YOUNG FRIENDS ' . ABOUT a year ago there appeared .at tho door of a hoiise up In Pleasant avenue an intelligent faced black cocker spaniel, whose affec tionate manners and excellent deportment gave rise to the suspicion that he was the prodigal canine pet of some one who was at that moment bemoaning- his abeence. Whatever ho had been. Tick became at once the Idol of the three children into whose family he had strayed. Every child in the block snd around the corner, as well, scon became devoted to the little black fellow, who could play hide and seek with all the vim of any boy or girl, ind whose -ability to catch a ball caused him to bo frequently pressed into service when a gamo was on. The grown-ups. too, save one grumpy old man In the flat at the corner, wbre well-nigh as enthusiastic over his cunning ways. The butcner always had a bit of h so well, j ahead; ho is, in fact, better off than many a city man who earns and gets $2000 a year. Coon traps are the ordinary spring trap with a round disk of iron, pressure upon which releases the spring. The bait Is attached to this or near it "by some huqters; others fasten the bait en tirely separate, so placing it that the ani mal must step upon tho trap In order to reach It. The machines are almost hair-triggered. They are placed commonly on the edges of streams, where tracks show that tho coons have been fishing, or at the ends ) of logs which cross streams, the bark showing the marks of claws. The bait used Is sometimes fresh neat, sometimes bacon, often a bit of mussel meat, that being the Southern term for the flesh of the fresh-water clam. Fish Is highly attractive to the coon, as Is old cheese The full-grown coon will give almost any single dog a handsome argument and lights with desperation when escape Is totally barred. If the trapper had sport ing blood in him he would use an axe when the game was treed and witness a "battle royal, but using an ax on an oak hackberry, ash or pine means work. a , n m m m m m n M H008AY ! WE WONT meat laid by for him. and the baker would feel that he had neglected some special duty if he had not saved a bun or cake for the little fellow. Tick felt his Importance and was great ly chagrined when 'the grumpy old man would "shoo" him off with his stick when he went toward him on the street or throw atones, at him when he Jauntily trotted up the steps of his house. This conduct On the old manjs part was not productive of good manners on Tick's side. Ho would bark furiously and give every indication of a desire to bite the old man's legs. Therefore, it was not sur prising that the Society, for the Preven tion of Cruelty to Animals was Informed one day that there was a vicious black dog without a license running at largo on Pleasant avenue. One morning tho dogcatchers wagon appeared on the block where Tick was wanaerlng happily up and down, and Vhen tho children camo home from school they learned that their pet had been captured. Never had there been such weeping; never such indignation. Not only wero Effle, Johnny and Hal bowed down with grief, but every child friend of the little canine captive felt that woe too deep for utterance had set tled upon the community. Such a trag edy called for immediate action. Some one told them that Tick could be re covered for $2. But J2 was a sum far beyond 'the resources of Tick's little owners. Papa and mamma needed every penny to buy shoes and clothes for Effle, Jack and Hal, and there was no chance of getting such a tremendous sum aa $2 from the slim .pocketbook mamma had so .frequently to open for tho baker, tho butcher and tho landlord. A sorrowful group gathered at the lamp-post Saturday morning, and tho awful catastrophe was dlscusccd in tho most excited manner. Finally, a plan presented itself, upon which they Im mediately proceeded to act. A public subscription was at once started, and every one (save tho grumpy old man) who knew the little dog was importuned to contribute to the fund for Tick's re lease. The baker and the butcher each gave 10 cents. A. little girl whose father was a policeman dared the parental Ire by waking him from his sleep to tell him of the sad case, and secured a quarter, even though he did not seem to be very HOW BOBBIE PREVENTED A PANIC 5A ISS Winston opened the door of the AV first grade room one Monday in an swer to a faint rap on the outside, to And a slim, white-faced boy standing there. "Good morning," said the teacher, pleas antly. The boy glanced up timidly, then drop ped his eyes again, and the color came and went in. his cheeks. "You are a new pupil, I believe," Miss Winston said, adding, as he nodded his head, "I think you are too old to join my little folk." "I'm only 9. I've been sick." The boy's .lips quivered and his cheeks grew redder than before. Miss Winston dropped her hand lightly upon the boy's shoulder and drew him into the room. "Will you take thisseat until recess?" she asked. "And what Is your name, dear?" "Robbie Barbour." The next day Robbie was accompanied by hlsmother, who remained after les sons were over to speak tp Miss Winston. "Robbie's sickness has kept him indoors so long that be Is shy about mingling with other boys," Mrs. Barbour said to tho teacher. "Ho is a dear little lad, very obedient and attentive," Mlsa Winston replied. "I am sure he will outgrow his shyness." But In the beginning, going to school was a dreadful trial to poor Robbie. If another boy looked at him he turned away. If a girl spoke to him, he answer ed, because he was always polite, but it was In a low voice and always with the tell-tale color coming and going In his face. "He's a girl-boy. He don't know nuf fin' what ho ought to know," said Billy Tcmpleton scornfully. Billy was short and sturdy and had a big brother who played ball with, him and showed him how "to do things." And then Billy added: "I'm brave. I ain't afraid of nuffln' like what Robbie is." Robbie heard all this and held his head CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF DANIEL BOONE ON the first day of January, 1T78, Boone went with a party of 30 men, to make salt at Blue Licks, on Licking River. In the account of what happened after ward the Kentucky hunter says: "On February 7, as I was hunting to procure meat for the company, I saw a party of 102 Indians. They pursued and took me and brought me back to the licks, where 27 men were still, three hav ing returned home with the salt. I, knowing it was impossible for any men to escape, gave them notice at a dis tance, and ordered them not to resist, but to surrender themselves captives. "We proceeded as prisoners to old Chll licothe, the principal Indian town on Lit tle Miami. During our travels the In dians entertained us well, and their affec tion for us was so great that they ut terly refused to leave me In captivity to tho British, a3 they left my men. "At Chilllcothe I was adopted, accord ing to Indian custom, Into a family as a son, and had a great share of the affec tion of my new parents and brothers and sisters. "I was exceedingly familiar and friendly with tho Indians, and because I appeared cheerful and satisfied they put great HOW A SPIDER HANGS IN ITS, WEB Jli OST spiders build wonderful traps or A homes of fino spun web. These web3 are stretched In all kinds of places. Out In the fields they almost canpet the grasses and weeds with a spread Intended to catch the teeming Insect life. They aro thrown across the roadways and In the open glades In the woodland. Every one has seen tho great round, fat bodies of the spiders as they hang motionless In the center of these large cir cular webs. Every child has seen the black and gold fellows which make, huge scrawling lines of white across the webs In the garden corners and among the graperines. The children call them "writing spider?"; and really the white lines bear a close resemblance to hand writing when viewed at a short distance. Every student and observer In nature soon learns that the spider remains In the center of the web that it may feel the sllgbest motion caused by any luck less Insect which has been caught in the pleased at being roused from hl3 first nap after a long all-night beat. Tho huckster, the tcemah. the janitor, ti e kind-hearted doctor, the cigar-store m'n all gave something, while the children themselves scraped together as many pennies as they could until the much desired $2 limit was reached. "With the pennies, nickels and dimes tied In a handkerchief, they started for the Shelter, over on the East River; but. alas, on reaching there, discovered that $3 instead of ?2 was needed to bring Tick back with them. It was a sad little procession that wended Its way up Pleas ant avenue, but It was a determined one. The Immediate vicinity of Tick's former residence having been thoroughly can vassed, they decided to branch out into more distant quarters, and. ringing every doorbell, state their case, and perhaps enough pennies could bo begged to mako up the other $1. In every house where there were children the greatest Interest In the project was shown. By 3 o'clock, when they had at last secured the $3, tho rescuing party consisted of about 50 lit tle folks, each, of whom, having con tributed toward 'the captive's release, felt that Tick was partly his or her personal property. The man at the shelter laughed as ho counted out the money, and then, going Into an Inner room whero there wero scores of dogs and cats, opened the door and led Tiqk out. With a rush he threw himself rapturously on every one of tho children in turn, licking Effle'3 faco with, canine ecstacy and barking and capering so wildly that all the dogs inside wlia were not so fortunate set up a dismal howl until the din was deafening. Then the triumphal homeward-bound proces sion started. The people at the windows along the avenue gazed in wonder at tho crowd, asking their neighbors what tho commotion was all about. The baker and Ihe butcher had to come out Into the street to pat tho returned wanderer. Tho policeman, who was just going out on duty, thought something needing his presence was going on until he beheld tho small black dog capering so joyously In the midst of his admirers. The grumpy old man who was curious to know what was the cause of the excitement bangtd down his window and was not seen on the street again for a day. "When ho did coma out he made a "pass" at Tick with, his cane, but the little fellow failed to resent It, for what did one old man a animosity count to him, "the dog of tho commonwealth?" down to hide tho tears the words brought to his eyes. Neither Billy nor the rest of the boys knew how Robbie longed wltU all his aching little heart to join In their games. Once he entered the yard mean ing to ask Billy to let him, then his heart began going plttcr-pat, and away he crept with flushed cheeks and shining, longing eyes. There was one thing that Robbie couM do that Billy could not. Robbie playcJ the piano wonderfully well for a boy of hia ypars. He loved music. It was a very happy moment for him when Misa Winston asked him one morning to play a march Mlsa Dlbb, who usually playcl while the children marched In or out, was absent. Robbie had been attending school three months, when one afternoon a fire engir-3 dashed around the corner of the building. Immediately afterward a mischevious boy ran through the hall, crying "Fire I" as he went. Instantly Miss Winston's pu pils were on their feet, making a wild rush for the door. "Children 1 You must go out qulotly." Mlsa Wlnston3 quiet voice calmed them. But only for a moment. Brave Billy Tcm pleton shrieked at the top of his voire, and In his haste to escape knocked a boy down. Othera fell over him and crl.-d out in terror. The girls clung to Miss Winston and begged her to save them. At this moment of confusion Robbie Bar bour made his- way to the piano. There was a pause, and then the stirring strains of "Marching Through Georgia" filled the room. "Children'. Get In line. March out," The command came In Miss Winston's firmest tones. Three minutes later the room was empty and the children were standing In trem bling groups In tho yard. There had been no damage from fire. But there had been danger from trampling one upon another. And It was Robbie who had saved them! After this It wag not so hard for him to overcome his shyness, for the boys could not do enough. It seemed, to make him feel one of them. That was their way of showing what they thought of hl3 bravery. MARIE DEACON HANSON. confidence in me. Often I went hunting with them, and frequently gained their applause for my activity at our shoot ing matches. I was careful not to exceed many of them In shooting, for none aro more envious than they In this sport. They showed in their countenances and gestures the greatest joy when they ex ceeded mc, and when they failed envj was evident. I slept and ate with them. "Finally, in June, I began to plan an escape. Early in that month they took me to some salt springs and kept mo thefe making salt for 10 days. During this time I also hunted some for them. When I returned to Chilllcothe I was alarmed to see 450 warriors painted and armed in a fearful manner. "I determined to escape. On tho 16th, before sunrise, I crept away in the most secret manner, and after a journey of 160 miles arrived at Boonsborough on tho 20th. During my journey I had but one meal. "I found our fortress in a bad stato of defense. We fell to work, and at length, after 10 days, our repairs were completed. We dally expected the at tacking Indians. But a prisoner -rfhom they had taken, and who escaped, told us their expedition against our fortress was delayed three weeks by my secret running away that June morning." sticky substance. Now, If one will look closely at the spider he will see that it hangs head downward. Ones day, by suddenly .frightening a spider, a man learned tho secret of Its constant position upside down In the web. It dropped head down and stopped when about half way to the ground and swung slowly to and fro from the end of a long thread of web. If it had been head up In the web it would have turned a somer sault and the web would have been broken. After the spider had .swung at the end of Its web for some time It thought all danger had passed, and turned and climbed up again. It rolled the web thread up witn its forelegs, and then threw It to the ground. This was evidently done to keep it from becoming entagled with any of the web proper or with grass or weeds near by. Any one who has touched a web knows that it Is sticky and hard to ravel when once tangled. Certainly this bit of In stinct Is not absent from the spider's brain. "
