The Sunday Oregonian., January 21, 1906, PART FOUR, Page 47, Image 47

THE SUNDAY OBEGOXIAX, POKTLAXD,
Trials ahdTfiumphs of Poorhbuse Joe
CHAPTER IV.
TP" HE legless man bad told Joe lo. get
I a good slee p that night and prepa.ro
himself foiwhat was to come, but
tho lad was so nervous at the thought
st running away from. the 'poorhouse that
he did not sleep for an hour all night.
long.
He was thinking things overhand won
dering .what would berall him In the fur"
ture'. He believed that he ought lo fol
low the advice of Mr. Phillips, and yet he
was frightened of the Selectmen and of
the superintendent- If he ran away and
was overhauled he would certainly receive
a severe punishment.
The boy tossed about on his bed of
straw all night, and when morning came
he was renvous and worried. This
brought him misfortune.
He went into the field to work with
Tompkins, as usual, and the man met
him with a scowl. He was ueicrmineu
to find fault with the boy, , and Joe re
alized this, and it made him more nerv.
ous. They were repairing a rallJcnce.
and the boy had to lift one end of tlio
rails. As a very heavy one was being
lifted tin ho lost his hold and let his
end dron. No harm was done, but;;
Tompkins cast his end on the ground
also and hopped about and shouted':
"Boy, you let that rail down, on my
foot on purpose, and I shan't get over
hobbling for a month!"
"The rail didn't hit vour foot at all."
laid one of the small boys who was pull-'
lng up weeds near by.
"Who asked you to speak, you young
Cauper?" demanded Tompkins. "I say
e dropped the rail on purpose to smash
my foot, and at noon I shall tell the su
perintendent and get him a good hiding."
"Please, sir, but I didn't mean to,"
raid Joe.
"Don't talk back to me. You wanted
revenge on me for the licking you got
last night, so you dropped the rail and
smashed all my toes. At noon you will
get such a dressing down as you never
had before. As for Jimmy, here, he will
get one, too."
It was no use for either of the boys
to say another word. They knew the
man lied, but they also knew the super
intendent would believe him. At noon
"BCXTOO LET TrKT KKL'ttHH,
OK Kf KKT OK Rgppg" ,
Tompkins went to the superintendent,
and when he came out of the office he
said to the frightened boys:
"You can get ready for a real, old-fashioned
hiding. The boss will cut our
hide to ribbons this Umc."
The ,-superintendcnt waited until after
dinner bofore calling Joe up to the whip-'
ping-room. He had the .same whip, and
one look into his face showed the boy
that he 'need expect no morcy.
"I didn"t do it on purpose, sir." said
Joe when sternly ordered lo take oft his
coat.
"Don't think to lie -to jiio." said the
superintendent. "Mr. Tompkins says you
.deliberately threw ydur ond of the rail
down in hopes to smash his fooC and you
.have smashed It- He may have to havi
it amputated."
"But he is walking around the same as
bofore, and Jimmy .will' tell you that the
rail never touched his foot."
"What! You disputa the word of an
honest, truthful man like Mr. Tompkins!
Boy, you are bad all tee way through,
and I have got to take yotf in hand m
earnest. If am bow going to lick the bad
ness out of you if It takes all the after
noon." He seized Joo by the collar and began
to lay the whip bver his shoulders, but
ho had not struck more than threo or
four blows when his wife- camo run
ning upstairs to say that there- were vis
itors at the office -and he must go .down
and receive them.
"V,cry well." he said as he threw the
whip aside. "I have got to go down,, but
tonight I will finish with this boy. 1
would have- you whip him. but I want
the blows laid on extra strong. Joseph,
you can go back to the field."
Tompkins had done a mean thing and
was satisfied with It He sneered at Joe
many times during the afternoon, and
kept talking about the whipping to come
In the evening, and when 6 o'clock came
Joe's mind was fully made up to follow
the advice of the legless man and run
away that night. He had no chance to
speak to the man until after supper.
Then he said:
"I have made up my mind and am go
ing." "That's right, my boy," was the hearty
response. "Here's the dollar, and don't
you let anything stop you from going.
The visitors are here yet and may bo
for two hours more. Then It will be so
late that the superintendent will put off
the whipping until morning. By that time
you will be far away. You won't be
mifscd tonight, and so you will have a
good start. You are now going out to
count the sheep and drive them Into their
fold for the night. "When that Is done
away you go without coming back to the
house. Here Is the dollar and here Is
your bundle of clothes. Put the dollar In
your pocket, and I will throw the bundle
out of the window and you can pick It up.
Keep walking all night and get as far
away as you can by morning."
"I shall always remember your kind
ness," said Joo as they shook hands.
"I know you will, and I hope -some day
to know that you have succeeded. Re
member what I told you last night. Be
honest and truthful and industrious. J
Don't get Into the habit of swearing. It
Is a bad one and disgusts your best
friends. Don't get Into the habit of
drinking anything worse than -tea or cof
fee. A drunkard is almost as bad as a
pauper. Now, boy, off you go. and may
heaven help you along the road.
Joe gave him another shake of the hand
and went downstairs and outdoors, feel
ing that his career as a pauper was
ended. -
(To Be Continued.)
Nightmare of Mazeppa, the Donkey-
l CAREFULLY HE J?fJT ONK PAW DOW AND THEN' ANOTHEK.
.FTT T T--T-" - - - - J
tfyou wouLDN'rVuppbSE'X fat
ff i'Ll fellows, here I am again, I trap, but when we cot to 4eadine about
W and you can Just bet: that me I It we saw. that it would take an awful lot
trees and build a pen with them so the
Dears can t break out.
We almost gave it up then, but Jus:
1w.f, .. .MM ... I 1 y
fellows to was a real wild place, like the , H peachy-Jog cabin in the wooas It was
Kind that you read about in books bv I stronir nis iron. Am!
' ELL, fellows, here I ' am again.
and Dave had a great" time.' It
wasn't slow. llkcttheway.- 'guess i- was
hero while we were away.
That place that Dave's uncle took us
happened, that we bad caught a bear and
a panther at the same time, and they was
fighting to the death.
So we ran back like anything and wc
told some of the -men and they got their
guns and hurried there, and what do you
suppose?
You'll never guess; so I'll toll you. It
was Dave's uncle that was caught!
Think of a man as old an him not know
ing any better than to wjdk into a bear
trap! He up and said that he had been
out walking and that he seen the cabin
and went In and stepped on something
and 'down came the door, and he tried
to break out, but he couldn't. That shows
what a good job we xnado of it.
Most men would be glad If boys that
they knew could build a trap as good as
that on the first to. Buff Dave's undo
didn't seem to have any sense about it at
all. He kapt on hollering and hollering,
and all at once, when me and Dave went
In and Dave shouted where did the meat
go to, and all the men commenced to
laugh. Dave's uncle just ran for us. and
we ha1 to go like anything to get away.
You wouldn't suppose a fat man could
run that fast.
Afterward wo found that he had gob
bled the meat raw while he wag In there.
I don't see why he shoutd of got mad
about that. As Dave said to me. it was
us that had the right to get mad and not
him.
So Dave's uncle he sent us home next
day and hero we arc But wc certainly
had a peachy time.
AAZBPPA stood In the stable yard
with his eyes shut, bis tall motion
less, one long ear out of action and
the other set a little forward a sort of
advance guard to warn him of anything
that might attempt to disturb his slum
bers. ,
Three of his hoofs were set squarely
on the ground, but the joint of number
four the left hind one was slightly
bent. That was Mazeppa's rear guard
a strong and ready pne, and a -grand pro-
ectlon; a forceful argument; too. when
anyone wished, to cross his inclination.
Mazeppa possessed all the willfulness of
a long line of donkey ancestors, who had
made their way forward through life by
kicking backward. Ho had made up his
mind .that morning- that ho would sleep
tm noon, ana wnen jjiiiy aoy attempted
to show him how nice It would bo to be
harnessed 'into the little cart and driven
around the village-with Billy Boy at tho
reins Mazeppa. used his rear argument
with such strength of purpose that the
cart retired from the field with a smashed
dashboard, and Billy. Boy was fully per-
Adventures of Dearest Dorothy
D
EAREST DOROTHY was a nice per
sonvery extremely nice, indeed.
It stands to reason that she must
have been, because otherwise It Isn't at
all likely that she would have been called
Dearest Dorothy, now. is It? But she cer
tainly was not "dear" about-' some things.
For example. Fhe would forgot to say
"Please" and "Ma'am" and "Sir" and
"Thank You." and words like that, which
are very nice.
Dearest Dorothy told him that shc-bjvd
asked him, and he said: "Strange!
strange! I did not hear you."
He looked puzzled a moment and then
lie said suddenly: "Can It be that you for
got to say 'Please' to me? You must know
inni i can never near any request unless
the word please Is In It. It's a very
queer ailment. I have tried the best phy
sicians for It. but they do not seem to be
aoic to cure me.
Captain Cook and Roosevelt It was full
-of bears and wildcats and things. You
couldn't ace tliero. because they tarc awful
shy, and they only cgineout at night,
and there ain't any strept'lamps at all'
in the woods, and so. you couldn't see
them at -night. ' ' . ' .
I sawr something that looked like a
bear one, day In. tho middle of a terrible
thick wpods, but it went away insuch a
hurry that i couldn't tell exactly. But
me nd .Dave used to wake up nights, and
wc could hear them howl all around the
farmhouse where we was staying.
Mo and' Dave borrowed the farmer's un
a whole lot of times,' and .we had some
great hunting trips. Only It was awful
heavy and you couldn't aim with It very
good unless you rested it on something,
and. 'most. every time wc saw a rabbit, or
a bird, or an .eagle, or something like
that,.. there wouldn't happen to be any
place where you could rest It, and so the
tiling would get away.
Once I rested the gun on Dave's shoul
der and aimed at a big animal. I think
that it was a raccoon or a chipmunk, or
something like that. And I would of shot
It sure if Dave hadn't up and tumbled
flat the -minute the gun went off. He
carried on and said that his head was
busted In two. and he kept feeling his
ear the one that was, nearest the gun
and hollered that he couldn't, hear with
It, and that it was broke. But it got bet
ter all right. Dave 'ain't as strong as
me. you know.
Well, after that Dave he didn't seem
to care so much any more ' about hunt
ing at least he didn't care to hunt with
the gun and so we sort .of agreed to go
in for trapping. Dave said that It tpok
more cunning, anyhow, to be a trapper
than a shooter.
We kind of thought of building a bear
and nailed loss across the windows, and
then wc fixed the door the way the book
on trapping says.
We hung the dpor uh with a rope and
put logs on It to. make It-heavy as lead,
so it would fall down like anything when
the rope was pulled "from inside. And
then w fixed aejgee up in the cabin
Just where the bear would have to step
When he went In. and when he stepped
on that the rope would gh'e way and
down would come the door.
Then we borrowed a hunk of meat from
the farmer and" we fixed up the trap and
wc covered our .trail that's the foot
marks you leave, you know with snow
and then wo went buck lo the farmhouse
and we said to -ourselves that wc would
wait about-three day before we went to
it, so as to give the "boar plenty of
chance.
We didn't got around to it, though, be
cause about two days after that there
was a terrible lot of oxcilcmont around
the place o'er Dave's tlncle. He went In
tho woods and got lost, and nobody could
find him. and we went oft with the other
men and hunted through the swamps and
every where,, and we couldn't find a bit of
him.
Dave and me looked In a lot of cavo
for his bones, because Dave said that he
probably got eaton up by a panther. But
when we couldn't find anything, not even
blood on tlie bushes. I told Dave that
most likely he had been carried off by an
eagle.
Well, the hunters kept looking for him
the next day and the nextj and. me and
Dave got tort of tired of. It, because it
didn't, seem to do any good. And so wet
we"nt to look at the bear trap.
When we got in sight of it,, Dave
caught hold of me and says that we had
a bear' sure onough. Say! you ought to
been there and hoard It. First oft It
would be a whole lot of roaring like, and
then It would be a sort of whining, and 1
said right away that I knew, what had
Dearest Dorothy's hurt stonned bv this
time, find Mlatr Plnc r,.t lm. i.i
So ono day at dinner. Dearest Dorothy J agaIn and troUcd on. soon thev came to
said: "I want some more chocolate pud- a high fence, and Mister Picas ran
ding." She said It just that way. And ' straight at it and vaulted over without
Big Father looked at her from the head , ig me uiuest nit of attention to
of the table, and he looked stern; that Is.
"TIIEV GOT THEIR GO'S A2fD HURRIED
fooian,cL)w,cimi
he Jooked as .stern as Big Father ever
could look, which was not so very. And
Sweetest Motlier frowned a little frown
that made her look prettier than ever. But
just the same, it was a truly frown. And
she said to Dearest Dorothy:
J'Leave the table."
"And Dearest Dorothy, who was not a
bit disobedient, even if she did forget nice
words, went away .and climbed up to her
own room that had rosy paper on the
walls and a cunning rosy carpet, and she
threw herself down on the little bed and
sobbed and sobbed, just dreadfully. And
that wa3 mostly because she had been
sent away by Sweetest Mother and partly
because she did so want another halplng
of chocolate pudding, which she loved just
frightfully.
So she sobbed and sobbed until sho
sobbed herself tight, fast asleep, and then
all at-.qiicc she opened her eyes again and
there .stood the ver very -funniest little
old man that you ever, ever, ever could
imagine,., if -you imagined with all your
might for . whole year, day and night.
.He had short little legs and bright blue,
trousers around them, and his waistcoat
was yellow, and his coat was so long that
It touched the floor, and It was bright
pink, which added im-rnca-sur-ably to his
looks. And how he did smile- and bow!
That was something that had to be seen.
Ho bowed and bowed and bowed without
stopping a moment and politeness Just
seemed to drip from him tho way honey
drips from a honeycomb.
"Good evening. Dearest Dorothy." said
he. bowing again till his dear little rosy
nose actually touched the floor. "Good
evening. Dearest Dorothy, I am Mister
Please. Mister Please, this is Dearest
Dorothy." Then he shook hands with
himself till he nearly shook his dear old
arms off and kept saying "Delighted! De
lighted!" as fast as he could, bowing like
jnad all the time.
"Pray accompany xnc," said he, giving
one short arm to Dearest Dorothy and
trotting to the window with her. Dearest
Dorothy beld back and said: "I want to
go down the stairs if I go at all." Mister
Please paid no attention but trotted
straight out of the window wjth her, anil
down they went to the ground with a
most awful bump.
Dearest Dorothy began to cry, and Mis
ter Please said: "Dearest, Dearest Doro
thy, what is the matter?' And when Dor
othy told him that it hurt her to jump out
of tho wlndow.-he said: "Why. I am ter
ribly sorry: why didn't you tell we ib go
down the stairs? You know I am vac4
to rolnc Ota Kfftt way." Ar4 tksa
Dearest Dorothy's scream. "Tho gate Is
just to the left, a.nd T want to go through
the gate!" So Dearest Dorothv tumbled
most unpleasantly over the wall and Mls-
i tor Please nfrV-v1 Vit- tm In r-Jit
, . .. m ... btciii, uiaiicca
, ana sain: "Dear, dear, dear me! How
I : sorry I am! How sorry I am!'
, Then they trotted on. and whon they
' came to a ditch and Mister Please went
j right towards It to jump over It, Dearest
, . Dorothy said, very very quickly indeed:
. i "Please, please, let us go over the foot-
unage," and Mister Please sold. "To be
sure, to be sure. Dearest Dorothy; de
lighted, delighted." and they trotted
across the footbridgo as comfortably as
cuuia oc
And then they came to a river, and Mis
ter Please was going to jump right Into
It. but Dearest Dorothy said "Please"
again, and he Immediately went to where
a bridge wat.
And so they trotted on and on. and at
last they came to the end of the world.
where there was nothing but a sharp edge
left., and Dearest Dorothy whs so interest
ed that she forgot, and so, when Mister
Please trotted straight to the edge with
out stopping. Dearest Dorothy cried. "I
want to stop I want to stop!" and Mister
nease looked at her with a polite smile
and said: -L)ia you speak?" and
Over he went!
With Dearest Dorothy!
And she went down. down. down.
screaming, "Please, please, please, dear
Mister Please. -I will never forget to say
And then Sweetest Mother caught her
and had her in her arms, and 'there she
was. safe and sound in her own room, and
Sweetest Mother said something about a
nightmare;-but Dearest Dorothy knew
oetter.
And the very -next morning at the
breakfast table- she- said. "Please, will
you please let me have some toast, -please.
1111
If you please?" And Big Father made be
lieve to fall off the chair with surprise.
t
Southwestern English.
The Kansas City Journal gives a sample
of English as'(uiey .speak it In Oklahoma.
The dlalegue was between a Guthrie ball
player and a bartender.
"Is yeu got ny smokla' tobacco?
asked the ballplayer.
The bartender 'dtaV not reply at once, and
the. aaeeUen was repeated.
"I aia't said I ain't," retorted the bar
tender.
"I ain't ast yo' if you Tiih't. I ast yo'
if ye ve- Tr le, ain t yr. "
suaded that a ride that morning would
not he pleasant.
Mazeppa took his position on the sunny
side of the stable yard and prepared -for
a solid three hours' nap.
Grimes, the old Maltese cat, was feel
ing none too nmiablethat morning. He
had cause enough, goodness knows! Had
he not .been waylaid -by Mrs. Dorking,
the gray ben, just as he was coming In
from the hunt with a beautiful field
mouse? Had not 'Mrs. Dorking disputed
his right to the possession of .the afore
said mouse- and with beak and claw3
actually taken It -away from him?
It was awfully humiliating to be
whipped in a tussle with a fowl of any
kind but for a common hen like Mrs.
Dorking to have" stolen his breakfast
that was Indeed a blow. Grimes feelings
were sore to'a state of rawness, but what
oonlrl lit. rin?
He would have liked to scratch Mrs.
Dorking's eyes out, but he couldn't strike
a lady, . a.nd. besides, she had already
eaten the-mouse.
The only thing left was. to find a nice.
soft,- sunny spot and sleep off his "mad"
until, mouse-time came round again
Where to sleep was the question. The
stable-yard wall was s,unny, but not soft,
and the hay In the loft was soft, but not
snnny, - .
He walked slowly 'along the wall, andr
looking down, bis. eye Hgkljed bn""Mazeppar
in his peaceful slujnber. Carefuly he put
one paw down, and ..then another. Ma
zeppa's ear twitched but he Old, . not
waken.
Grimes stepped down with all four
feet, taking care not to Onsheath even
the tiniest little point of a claw.
Mazeppa's back was both soft and
sunny. Moreover. It was warm. Grimes
curled down with a suppressed purr of
contentment, and passed off Into the land
of dreams, whither Mazeppa had preceded
him.
Slowly the sun went round till It hid be
hind the stable. Grimes felt & chill on
top, though he was still warm under
neath. It woke him up, and forgetting
where he was, he gave a loud, hearty
purr and stretched himself, claws and all.
The touch of those claws brought Ma
zeppa back to earth and the stabla yard.
and he realized that all was not well with:
him.
Up went two long ears and out went hia
two strong hind legs. They struck, noth
ing. That was singular. The thing.
whatever It was, was on his back, whero
he could neither bite, kick nor flick it off.
with his tail.
Mazeppa's heels came down and his
front ones went up. Grimes was awake
now oh yes! But he dared not jump
for fear of those wild hoofs. Th'ey
seemed to be everywhere. So ho clung '
with all the claws he had.
What could old Mazeppa. do? The thing"
stuck to him. Ho tried to run from It
Round and round tho stable yard he
went, snorting and rolling his eyes with.
fright. Tighter and tighter clung Grimes. .
Mazeppa darted at tho gate, but it did
not yield, and the tiling was stluwitb
him. Which of the two was the more
frightened it would have been Jaard to.
say. Suddenly a thought struck Mazeppa. .
He stopped short and dropped on his?
side. He would roll the thing off and.
crush it.
Then Grimes saw his opportunity. He,
gave a leap, and his bulging eyes and.;
bristly back disappeared, in one stable
door. Out he came at the other, down
the lane he reeled, over the lawn, ho shot,
up the grape trellis he scrambled never
did ho stop till his panting body stood
high and safe on the woodshed roof.
And Mazeppa? Poor Mazeppa! When he
felt hi3 rider drop from him he rolled
once or twice, and then raised his poor
trembling, dripping body and turned his
bloodshot eyes round the stable yard.
Nobody was there but Mrs. Dorking,
and she never said a word, for sho had.
been scared out ' of her senses by the
proceedings.
"Shades of Bucephalus;' muttered Ma
zeppa, as hp shook his steaming sides.
"I've heard the groom and the coachman
talk about Xightmare as if it were a
mighty unpleasant animal. That must
have been what I had on my back."
Isobel's Most Dreaded Midyear Examination
a.mjnations. was approaching.
"Miss Damon's girls had begun
to tremble and devote themselves
studiously to their books. At recess
they huddled In little groups and
groaned, over what they didn't know.
'"Isn't It slllyr laughed Jean Stew
art to Isobel. 'The ones that make the
most 'fuss are. the ones who are surest
to pass. Susie Latimer never worries.
She just cheerfully flunks each "time
and begins again.'
"Just the same, don't you wish't you
knew your 'ritbmetlc a little better?"
replied Isobel.
"I I'm afraid I do," Jean admitted
slowly. Then they both laughed.
The gray morning of the arithmetic
examination came. Miss van wycks
girls were sent downstairs to the large
assembly room, as all the examinations
were to be there.
Isobel had a desk to herself. After
the newcomers were -seated Miss Da
them a verv stern talklng-to.
They were to work quickly and quiet
ly, and under no conditions 10 spea.
until they had finished their examina
tion unless It was to tne teacner in
charge Any girl wno was seen w
whispor to another would forfeit her
examination paper and ne martvea a.
failure.
There was a little rustle after this
decree, and then the room settled. down
to hard work.
At the ond of the first poriod Isobel
thought Miss Van Wyck had given
them a severe test. At tne end 01 ine
second she was sure of It. When the
examination was done she had strange
feellnirt inside. Her paper was crossed
and recrossed. and she was curiously
certain that some of her examples were
not correct.
As she vias glancing over he paper
for the lost time before handing it In
Bertha Jamison came into the room .and
up to the desk where .Isobel was seal-,
ed. Isobel realized that she occupied
Bertha's place."
;Am I In your way?" she questioned
with her Hps.
' Bertha smiled and shook her head,
and took the seat behind.
"Isobel Strickland." rang .out Miss
Damon's high voice, "did you speak. to
Bertha Jamison?"
Every girl. In the room looked up
and around at Isobel. She rose, trem
bling, to her feet.
"Yes. Miss Damon. I asked her '.
she faltered. "
"Yqu wjbre 'in .the room when I said
there was to be no ' whispering?" In
terrupted Miss . Damon I
"Yes," replied Inobel.
"i'ou heard what I said as to the
penalty?" .
"Yes." replied Isobel.
Th.m j'oii may put your paper in
the wasto JjaJkct and tell Miss Van
Wyckhat ?ou arc to be marked fail
ure. - " -
Isobel walked fqrward unsteadily.
Her fac.ej.was hot Pd her eyes smart-ing-wlth
bitter tears. She dropped the
result of -her hvura of work and worry
Into the ; basket and fled out. of the
room and up the stairs.
Mlas Damon hadrung-the bell for re-
cess.-and the girls had begun to open
their luncheonu.-
- Isobel went to- Miss Van Wyck's'
desk.
"Miss .Van Wyck I " she began;
then the scaldign tears blinded her,
sobs choked her voice. She covered her
face with her nands and wept.
The next moment a kind, strong arm
went around her, and Mtes Van. Wyck
led her gently out of the room and Into
the dressing room.
She closed the door after them, and,
drawing- Isobel close to' her, she held
her In he,r arms until Isobel was able
to stammer out her difficulties, i
"It wan- too bad you forgot Miss
Van Wyck sal, soothingly. "I can
re. of course.' that you did It in tlnet-
Ivety, and had no Idea of breaking the
rule."-
"Ko-o, not the least," gasped Isobel.
"Well suppose, dear, that you Blip
on your coat and hat and run home,
and I'll go to Miss Damon after school
and see what can-be done.
'"You're so go-od." sobbed Isobel,
and hurried Into her things and away.
without waiting even to speak to Jean
Mrs, Strickland was quite Indignant,
and wanted to take Irebcl away frem
school at once. Mr. Strickland looked ( advanced to fight him, when he turned
at the trouble a little differently. tail and ran. i
Donald tnought that tne stranger waa
very brave indeed, and he felt quite suro:
that he would -not have dared to do It;
for Donald was timid.
"It was stem punishment" he said;
"it was even unjust. Yet the letter of
the-laW you" did disobey."
Isobel nodded.
"Then I should think there would
have to be ' some compromise. :Miss
Damou may. have spoken in irritation
and more severely than she meant to."
"Well, I don't think anyone ought
to teach who has a bad temper," pout
ed Isobel.
"Well, we're all pretty human, you
know," smiled Mr. Strickland.
"Next morning Isobel, rested and com
forted, returned to hor problem. Miss
Van Wyck met her, smiling.
"Miss Damon said she spoke more
hastily then she meant to. and that if
you wish to take another examination
it may be counted to your credit."
Isobel remembered the crossed and
recrossed paper.
"Ob, thank you!" she said. "I'd like
to try again.
"Wasn't that an easier test. Miss Van
Wyck?" asked Isobel, when she finished.
"Why, no," replied Miss Van Wyck.
"I thought It was evon harder.""
"Well, I guess I must have been
"wuzzy yesterday, everything seemed
so hard. I suppose I ought to thank
Miss Damon for making me destroy
my other paper."
And Isobel's mark kept her very de
cidedly from being counted a failure.
The Iilon in the Path.
Donald's mother read to him one day of
the lion in the path, and how he fright
ened everybody away till a brave stranger
The boys had found it out, and they
"picked on him" till they had the life !
nearly frightened out of him. Ono big
bully of a- boy in particular used to watch
for Donald every day and chase him, and
Donald never failed- to run, screaming at
the top of his voice for help.
The day after his mother had read the
story of the Hon in the path to him Don
ald was approaching the corner where the
bully always lay In wait, and his heart",
was going pit-a-pat. He would gladly
have taken another direction, but there
was no way home except past this corner.
Donald was so frightened that he start
ed to run before he reached the cornexv.
and he was sobbing with fear, although
the bully was not in sight.
Thus it happened that when the big boy
did suddenly burst from Ills hiding place
according to his habit. Donald's eyes were
so blinded by tears that ho did not seo
him. but ran straight at. him.
The next moment the two boys met with
a smash, and Donald Instinctively caught
hold of the bully. Then he realized what
had happened, and he opened his mouth
to let out a yell; but to his astonishment,
the bully yelled first.
"Let me alone!" shouted he. "lot me
alone! . I was only fooling. 1 didn't mean
to hurt you, honest!" Then he tore away
and raced down the street, never stopping
till he was out of sight.
"I guess I know now what a lion In tho
path Is like," said he. And after that ha.
fought his battles and soon overcame hla
timidity.
f - - - 'W
I,' I aKg r liara
bei wet Mi nK,
fell
v