THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN. PORTLAND. -3IAY 13, 1900.
17
Chapter I.
WHEN men said that Luke Taylor
was almost too lazy to draw
his breath they were not ex
aggerating much. He was so lazy that
he spent half his time in bed and the
other half in eating and wishing he
was rich. He was so ra&ged that peo
ple hooted at him, and if he ever start
ed to use an ax or a hoe the handle
was sure to break before he had been
working 3 0 minutes.
When men said that Luke,. Taylor's
two boys, Joe and Tom, hadn't a lazy
hair in their heads and deserved a bet
ter father, they were right.
Joe was 14 and Tom was 12. They
liad been motherless lads for two
Mars. Instead of their father keeping
house for them, they kept it for him.
The three lived on a small farm
bout a mile from the village of Dal
fcon, Pennsylvania. The house was In a
Hvretched condition, the land out of
cultivation on account of the father's
laziness, and not even a chicken was to
t found around the place.
The two boys had gone to the vil
lage school before their mother's death.
JAfter that there was work around
liome for the younger one, while the
elder earned what he could here and
there.
. The boys knew what folk thought of
their father, but they treated him with
respect and continued to' do their best.
He was never out of.-temper, and he
never struck one of them . a blow.
When there was anything in the house
to eat he would help to eat it; when
there was not, he would turn over in
bed and say:
"Vell, my sons, I hope to have
money some day, and we shall all be
rich and can have what we wish. To
morrow I will look around for work
and bring home plenty to eat."
Among the men who used to tell
Luke Taylor that he ought to be
whipped for his laziness, and at the
same time had words of praise and
ncouragement for his two boys, was
Constable Johnson.
He was a man who was always
chaBlng those who broke the law, as it
was his duty to do, but at the same
time he hsd a kind heart and was a
irood neighbor. He also had a small
farm, but it was a far different place
from the other.'
It was on that farm that Joe earned
many a dollar during the season of
work. While Joe .was In the cornfield
earning BO ocntssa day, and Tom in
the woods after roots and barks to sell
to the village druggist, the Constable
would, drop in on the father and give
him a lecture about his shlftlessness.
It was always taken good-naturedly,
and the man would say in his own. de
fense: . " ' '
The Wonderful Magic of Red Feather
THe children of the town of Gunwa
were out in the street playing
hotkey, when a bright red feather
came floating just above them. Now this
feather was not really a feather at all,
but a wicked magician who lived in a
neighboring mountain and had a grudge I
against the village people because they
used to go hunting on the mountain slope
without his permission. So on this day,
when he thought that all the people of
Gunwa were in the village, he changed
himself into a red feather with the in
tention of capturing the whole lot of
them and taking them away, into the
mountain as his slaves.
The boys, of course, did not know this,
and one of them reached up and' grabbed
the red fcatlier, crying: "See what a
nice red feather I have." But his glee
soon W08 changed to terror, ' for 4ihe
feather began to lift him from 4the earth,
kifid when he; tried to let go - of it, fie
could not do so -: . '
"Oh, catch htld of me. somebody." he
shouted. "The; red feather is carrying
me away.", V t
One of .Uio other-boys rushed to this
assistance and-was just able to seize his
leg as he moved upward. But the sec
tmd buy found that. -hp, too, was being
drawn upward' Then, a third boy grabbed
the second boy's leg and- suffered a slip"-'
liar fate;, and so. on,' until there was . a
whole strwig of boys in the air, all cull
ing for HJflp. .. -.. '-.---The
lhen and women" and girls of the
town rushed out' In 'great -exoftewnent and
each in turn tried to pull down the string
ot boys, and -each in turn was lifted up
from the. ground, until the whole popula
tion was hanging ihere in a long,,waving
line, nnsrsle to let go and unable to pull
the string back to earth.' ' ;
Then Red Feather, flew away with
them to his mountain home and made
them his slaves,
Now the daughter of the chief "of the
Gunwa people, hid recently married a
young man and jcone to live at his house
near the ooeait. The morning after' Red
Keather had carried off the villagers the
chie.f's daughter and her -husband ar
rived at the -town, intending to make a
visit to her father. They were surprised
to find the village deserted, but thought
that perhaps the people had all cose
-I
THK.RE WAR A WHOt.E STRlTMi or BOYS
" " ' ' "FOR HFXP.
"The. fact is, I've got a sister. In New
Hampshire who is going to leave me a
lot of money when she dies, and so
there is no need of killing myself with
hard work. If I don't get that money
pretty soon, though, I must go to cut
ting wood for somebody. I can't have
you all saying I'm the laziest man in
the state."
One day things came to an end. It
lij&h. - BIT 1 H0PE.YW fflll NOT 6ET EXCITED OVER TT I
was in the last days of 'September, and
both the Taylor boys were cutting corn
for ConBtable "Johnson. .There were
many men out of work and anxious to
be employed, but the big-hearted man
wanted to help the boss along all he
could.
1 He was working with them when a
man drove up in a light wagon and
called him'to -the fence and talked to
him. for, a few. minutes. The boys kept
"on wUh .their work, btif after a bit the
Constable called them to him and said:
"Boys. I have some bad newa to tell
you, but I hope you will not gjet excited-
over it."
"Is it about father, sir?" asked Joe.
"It is. I am going home with you.
It seems. that he has hurt himself some
fishing, or were on a picnic somewhere
in the woods. So they made themselves
at home in the chief's house and waited
for their return.
"They will.be home at night." said
the chief's daughter. But when night
settled down over the lonely Arctic
shores, no people came back with talk
and laughter to the deserted village. Iay
after day they waited, wondering what
had become of the Inhabitants of the
town, the chief's daughter mourning for
her father and her relatives.
There were good houses and stores of
food in the village, and so the couple ;
settled down there and the years passed i
until they had ten children nine boys
and one girl.
One day a little wrinkled old beggar
man came to the village and asked for
food. When the woman had given it to
htm, he said: "You are a chief's daugh
ter ,and have magic. I am a sea-otter
changed, into what you see by the arts
of Red Feather, the black magician. It
was Red Feather who carried away your
people and still holds them In the moun
tain." And then he told her all that had
taken place.
"Now," continued he, "wave your
hand three times over me and say,
Haskwa.' Then I shall be changed back
into my proper shape. Also, if Red i
Feather conies after your children, let
them say 'Haskwa! and they will be
changed into anything they wish and so
escape him."
The chief's 'daughter did as the old
beggar man told her and in a twinkling
he was changed into a black, smooth
sea-otter, and went sliding and running
back to the water.
That night the mother told her children
all that the sea-otter had told her. and
warned them not to touch any red feath
er which they might see floating about.
But they soon forgot the warning, and
one day. when they were playing hockey,
the eldest boy. seeing a red feather float
ing In the air. reached up and grabbed it.
At once the feather began to draw him
up and he remembered, and cried out,
nasKwa: wisning at tne same time
that he might be transformed into a
shaving, for in that form he thought he
might settle back to earth again with
out hurting himself. So a shaving he be
came and fell to the ground.
Then the other boys became excited
IX THE AIR. AM. CAMMING
way. We'll see how bad it Is before
we send for the dootor." .
He had been . told by the man who
drove up that Luke Taylor was dead,
but he did not want -to tell the boys" of
their misfortune .''too suddenly!. It
seemed that the father had gone .out
to an old shed barn to. pry off some of
the boards for firewood. The building
was :So -tid .and -" rickety that' as , he
worked "awav it fell down on him,' and
he was fatally injured. His cries were
heard, but before the beams and
boards 'could be taken oft he was dead.
Everybody stood back when the boys
arrived and went in to grieve.'. He had
been a good father to them in all but
shirking his work, and it was only
natural that their hearts and eyes were
full. So far as they knew,--hey had
not another relative on earth. After
the lapse of half an hour the Constable
entered the house and said:
"Well, boys, we are all sorry for you.
but you must be as brave as- you can.
You can go over to "my house and stay
all night, and we will see -.'to thlng3
here. We shall bury him tomorrow."
On the afternoon of the next day
there was -a funeral, at which only half
a dozen people were present, and when
the body of the' father had been laid
away the Constable sa,id tO'the boys:
"You arc to com home -with me until
I see what is to be ' done "with you.
Your father may not have told you. but
I am sure he had 'a: brother near Lan
caster. That brothei will lye-i bur uncle,
of course, and it' will be for him to
take chaxge'of you. I hope that he is
a good man, and that he will give you
both a good home."
-To be. continued.) ..
and - each in turn grabbed the feather,
thinking that he would be able to
hold It
Each in turn was drawn ' up." and
each in turn wished to be changed, one
into a piece of bark, and so on, so that
they might fall back to the- ground with
out being hurt. Finally the youngest
boy grabbed the feather, crying out;
"Haskwa! I wish I were a crabapple
tree." And a crabapple tree, with deep
roots, he became at once.
This was a pretty tough position for
Red Feather. He pulled and he pulled
and he pulled. Finally the tree held by
one root only. Then the little sister, who
had been watching, got a hatchet and
climbed up Into the branches.
As soon as Ked Feather grabbed a
limb and began to pull, the girl .chopped
the limb off. This tired Red Feather all
out, and when she saw he was becoming
weak the girl got a piece of rawhide and.
throwing it over the feather, bound it to
the tree,
Red Feather begged to be released and
promised that he would grant anything
tne girl asked if she would untie him.
She made him promise to release all tbe
Gunwa people whom he held in captivity
in the mountain and change her brothers
back Into their original form, after
which she let him go.
Red Feather did as he agreed the peo-
pie came back to the village, the boys
became alive again In their original
snape, and tnere was great rejoicing in
the village. The boy who had been smart
, enough to change himself into a crab-
j apple tree was made a chief, and the
I girl, when she grew up. -was married to
a powerful chief of the neighboring town.
As for the magician, a small red feather
can sometimes be seen floating in the air
over some -Alaskan village.' but if it
comes near a -crabapple tree it whirls
about in evident fear and is blown rapidr
ly away toward the distant mountain.
Old Mr. Bull Frog-
Henry and William Were .small twin
brothers. Their mother was very sick,
and they were anxious to do something
for her, but they were not allowed' to
go into her room, and to save their, lives
thoy could not think of a thing that would
do any good.
At last they heard the doctor say to
their father that their mother's appetite
was very poor and what she needed was
something to eat that was out of the
ordinary.
That gave them an Idea. A small creek
ran through the woods behind their home
and they had often seen little minnows
swimming through it. Why not catch her
some fish? was their thought.
They needed only a minute to shoulder
their cane fishing poles and make for the
creek. They fished all the afternoon, but
fish did not seem to be biting well. They
tramped up one side and down the other,
droppingihir hooks into every hole and
eddy, buJot a bite did they get.
Tbey fettTdiscouraged but kept on fish
ing till nightfall. It was getting dark,
and they had to start for home, feeling
very badly.
As they crossed a small marsh on their
way, Henry's foot struck some dark ob
ject which said. "Pok." The thing gave a
tremendous leap and landed directly in
William's path. William fell; -headlong,
and as his body struck the thing, it said,
"Brup!"
William jumped up, badly frightened,
and he and -Henry bent down to look at
the thing. - .
. It was an enormous bullfrog, and seemed
to be--as big as a water bucket. It was
flattened out, killed stone dead by Will
iam's fall.
They picked it up and carried 'it home
between them, each holding to a hind foot.
They felt very .good-indeed, for they had
caught something, anyhow. Their mother
had frog's1 legs for supper that night, and
it was Just -what she wanteti.
Freddy? Kind Ideas. ,
- "When I grow up lno a man . '-
I hope that I will be .
Much nicer to all little boys
Than big folks are to mo.
I will not rumple ud th?ir hair '
And trjr to make them fret.
By klnjr thlnic!i In joRTaphy.
That most small boys forget.
I II. just iiv to. little hoys: ..
"Hnw would you like a dime?"
I hei that they will he real glad
To see me every time.
Mister Kite's
0U.' -MISTpW KITT--tqod hjgh.'in !
-;the ,.alr-a't; iJasthe! ,M4 ..twha't vtj 1
-Actual tostandfrig'ln-'the "case of a"
kite, -for he was quite,-motlonless and -he
did not even..vag; Ills lengOail of brightly
colored ragvv " 1;'
" Mister, - KJ- imain'Titea-ht- -iter- had
climbed up" -"into his" ""nigh position'
through his own talents. He could not
explain what the string that was at
tached to him meant, so he said to 'him
self : -. .
"It is not polite to talk about it at alL"
He looked around him proudly and no
where could he see anything so big and
fine as he. So he said:
Without doubt I am the King of this
place. I wish someone would come, so
that -I could show him how mighty I
am."
Just then a little person came trot
ting along, snuffling and cryrag. , J3.e
had a tattered cloak on, and his1 short,
trousers were all frayed and had great
holes in the knees.
Halt!" said Mr. Kite, "and bow to
me and tell me where you are going- and
who you are. I am the Klrig here."
The little person fell on nis knees sob
bing harder than ever.
'Alas, kind sir," said he, "l am nothing
but an humble little gust of -wind from
the foundling asylum where they put the
little winds' that are left behind by the
tempests. Please do not nurt me.
was just crying because I know that
they are going to spank me when I get
back. They sent me out to blow some
dust away, and I wasn t able to because
sprinkling cart came along just Deiore
I "got there. What a grand-looking per
son you are, sir! Tou must be a great
nobleman In your own country."
"They call me a kite, said Mister Kite
proudly. "If you will look down to the
earth you will see a small boy holding a
string. The boy is my slave, and he
dares not let go the string until I give
him permission." -,'
"Oh, dear me," cried the little person.
trembiin-"Here comes the East Wind.
I must run away before he sees me."
Bast Wind wore a great black cloak and
a long Spanish sword, and he had a long
black beard, which; "was blowing in all
directions constantly. He looked very
like a cavalier, which was Quite natural,
for he came straight from Spain. He
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Adventures
took off his wide-brimmed plumed Bat
and bowedvlow 'when he saw 'the kite.
"That Is right," said Mister Kite.- "It
is well for you that you bowed, for I
am King here and I have decided not
to let anyone pass without showing me
proper deference."
East -Wind started to laugh, but he'
stopped himself and turned away.
How alarming you are!" said he, mak
ing believe to tremble. "I really think
that I shall have to run away."
Off he swooped, but he did not run far.
As soon as he was out ot sight of the kite
he called aloud, and in a moment three
great men appeared. One came gallop
ing along on a snow-white horse as big
In a morntntthree
CTW.
oreat men appeared
as a mountain, and its mane was like a
snow storm and its tail was like a white
cloud. The rider was white, too, with
an immense icy beard and long white hair
that looked like a blizzard. The only
thing that was not white about him were
his eyes, and they were bright blue, like
a Winter's sky on a clear, cold day.
The second man was all dressed in
black armor, and his horse came rush
ing on like a black rain cloud, and
every time its hoofs came down they
struck fire that played around him in
lightning.
The third" man was as tall as either of
the others, but instead of being terrible
to see and armed as they were, he was
fair and smiling, and his horse was as
gentle as ho. He bore a harp and a
great armful of flowers and all around
him were birds that sang as he rode.
These three were North Wind, West
Wind and South Wind. And when East
Wind told them with roars of laugh
ter about the Kite that thought he was
King, they all laughed, too, till the clouds
thundered.
"Let us pay him our respects," shouted
they, and off they went galloping.
When Mister Kite saw them approach,
he said to himself.
"Aha! They Jmow what is good for
them. I shall make them get on their
knees to me and crown me.
The four winds approached humbly and
said: '
"Hail, great King! Permit us gracious
ly to blow on. you!"
"You may, if you do it very respectfully
lnaeeo. said Mister K-ite.
Immediately the four winds began to
blow at the same time, and the next in
stant Mr. Kite was flopping first east
and then west, and then south and then
north, and then east again, and back and
forth till he was so dizzy that he tumbled
around and stood sometimes on his head
and sometimes on his side.
His beautiful long tail got all twisted
around the string, and the' small boy
down -elow sawed up and down with the
cord and said:
"I wonder what's the maiteV with that
lop-sided old thing! I guess I'll have to
pull it in."
But he never got it in, for the kite dived
so and the four winds blew it so that at
last It dived into the tip-top branches of
a great elm and the line and the tail
got so badly tangled around the branches
that the boy had to break the line and
let Mister Kite stay there.
' He hung there until the rains soaked
all the color out ot the paper and the
sticks broke and the gaudy tall faded.
Then a crow came along and said:. ,
"HulloSv, What have we here?" -.
"I am a King," said Mister Kite, "who
Is temporarily in difflcuftles."
"A King?" said "the crow, laughing
coarsely. --"A King? -A bundle of old
rags and paper, I gueaa you mean."
And with that he pecked at poor Mis
ter Kite and tore what was left of him
to pieces. So that was the end of tha
Kite who thought that he was a King.
'.'"". An. Ancient Quake.
Boston Herald.
A New ISngland newspaper of 1727 an
nounces that "a considerable town in this
province has been so awakened by the
awful providence in the earthquake that
the women have generally laid aside their
hoop petticoats."-- It must hare been a
shock of not immoderate violence to
change the fashions at that time.
fell on hii kmra
Pa Goes Hunting
ZTT" ft;: .t-.
"Say, kids, you'll open your blinkers, I bet,
The widest you ever have opened 'em. yet,
AVhen you hear the true tale of your pal (too Goo Bear,
A telling of things in that photo up there.
You see pa went hunting: and ma she ;ot. say
The minute the old man was out of the way.
'With dig-nified credit' to POWERS she went
And tieked up a hundred, just like an old eeut,
For table and china, a buffet and sich,
Like swell things you read of in homes of the rich.
When I coaxed, she asked Lulu my best girl to dine,
And the spread she put up, you bet, kids, was fine.-
Perhaps pa won't kick but ma will say: 'Honey,
POWERS' the store that saves yot money.' ".
Dolly's Japanese Love Story
0 MIMOSA SAN sat in the Summer
house amid the dropping blooms
of the purple wistaria. O Mimosa San
had almond eyes and gherry lips, and
her smile was fixed and placid. She
sat very still and stately, with her
arms hung stiffly at tier sides and her
feet stuck stiffly out in front of her
on the garden seat.
Butterflies and bees hovered and
hummed around the blossomy places,
whatever their occupation, pleasure or
business, eating noney or storing it.
The wistaria was sweet to them alL
Only O Mimosa San noticed nothing.
How could she, when she was only a
Japanese doll?
Even the hummingbird who whirred
above her, taking her for some more
gorgeous flower, failed to 'make her
move even one of her waxen eyelids.
One great branch of wistaria bloom
nung directly over the head of O Mi
mosa San, and the sight of her there,
so silent and lovely, thrilled his pur
ple heart to the very depths. In a
voice that sounded like raindrops on
a bed of violets he called:
"O Mimosa San!"
There was no answer.
"O Mimosa San!"
Still she sat, silent and; rigid, and
the wistaria bloom could not bear it.
He shivered all over shivered so vio
lently that his vine loosened and felL
so low that the blossoms brushed
across the face of O Mimosa San and
planted a dewy kiss right on her cher
ry lips.
At the touch the fairy soul of O Mi
mosa San stirred and met the soul of
the wistaria bloom, and they fell ' in
love with each other immediately.
She turned her' almond eyes on " the
wistaria bloom and saw that he was
good, so she snuggled her face cosily
into his purple waistcoat.
"I've been watching you for a long
time," he whispered. "Ever since lit
tle Golden-Head left you here. But
you never stirred till I kissed you."
"I couldn't. A doll's soul cannot
speak until a flower has kissed her."
"How glad I am my vine fell. Your
dress is purple, like my blossoms."
"But not so pretty not so cool and
soft and fragrant."
"But it's your face that I love, O
Mimosa San. I'll keep the sun off, so
it cannot fade you, if you'll stay here.
Will you?"
"I don't like the siin. It takes the
color out of my cherry lips."
"It shan't any more," laughed the
wistaria.
" He threw out some tendrils and they
began to twine about her. How they
grew!' How the feathery leaves un
rolled 'and hung like a curtain over O
Mimosa San! They wrapped her close
from the chill of the" night dew, and
always the blossoms hung around her
and caressed her cheek. In her Joy she
grew more and more alive, and .threw
up a tiny arm to stroke the soft
petals.
A 'week passed" 'by,- and O 'Mimosa
San and the wistaria lived in a -dream
of rapture. ' v 1 .
Then one morning there ,was no
sun, -and the rafn began to -fall. The
wistaria laughed and cried:
"Oh, I like the rain. It refreshes
tne. See, if -win refresh' you. too.""
But O Mimosa San shuddered- and
cried: ' .
"O,- shelter me, shelter me, dear wis
taria! The rain will kill roe.". ,
Closer- he wrapped his leaves- and
tendrils, and tenderly he hung his
blossoms between her and the .shower
But the drops were too, thick and
heavy. They fell upon her purple
robe, and the color began to run out
and stain the board seat: they fell
upon her cherry lips, and the red ran
down her face in streaks; they fell
upon her Jet-black hair, and it
drooped, limp and ugly, around her
waxen pate.
But the wistaria did not love her
VTA.l, fiO LOW THAT THK
and Ma Gets Gay
i M
any the less, and still he tried to save
ner.
Night foil, and the wind camo and
whipped the rain sharply against tha
Summer-house. The wistaria began to
grow faint with the struggle Now
and then a blossom was cut away and
carried out into the night on the
wings of the driving rain. He bound
his tendrils' closer.
"Good-bye," he sighed. "When my
blossoms art, all gone I shall not be
able to speak any more, for my fairy
soul will be gone. But my arms will
still hold you."
A gust of wind bit the frail stem
that held the last blossom on the clus
ter. "Not good-bye!" wliispered O Mi
mosa San. "I will go with you."
And her fairy soul drifted out with
the soul of the wistaria bloom.
Golden-Head found O Mimosa San
next day her color washed out and
ner robe ruined. Her limp little form
wa; held tightly in the arms of the
wistaria vine, but there was no blos
som to shelter her, only a ragged
stem, cut and slasned by the storm.
O Mimosa San was quite dead, and
Golden-Head buried her where the
roots of the wistaria could creep lov
ingly around her.
THE AUTOMATIC MAN
OF BERLIN.
HE people of Berlin are being vastly
entertained, and puzzled, too, just
now by a wonderful automatic man.
This figure does almost everything that
a real man can do in the way of motion.
It can walk perfectly alone, sit, bow
and Jump. It can ride a bicycle as read
ily as if it were alive. Most remarkable,
of all, it can write its own name.
The amazing effect of all this is height,
ened by the fact that the inventor of the
automatic man has dressed him in a
strange garb and has given him a most
grotesque head and face.
The automatic man is exactly as tall
as an average human being. He (or it)
is made from 365 separate pieces.
The feet are iron and the legs are mads
of steel and wood. The arms are Tfteel
and copper. t
There are seven motors in the figure.
Some of these are governed by springs
and others are electric. ' The two ihtost
powerful motors govern the legs nd
enable the automatic man to walk.?!
The -electrical energy is supplied by
14 accumulators of 48 volts power, Which
furnish 2700 amperes in an hour. '
When the automatic man is to walk,
one motor pushes the left leg forward
first. This makes the figure move; to
ward the right, and the; moment It floes
this it causes quicksilver, which act as
the' conductor for the electricity, to; fly.
against a lever. , ',
This forms a new electrical contact and
thus the automatic man immediately, re
gains his balance. The right foot moves
forward, and the quicksilver promptly
flies to the other side again, -thus shov
ing the left foot forward once more.
' In a similar way the apparatus pro
duces the other motions, but, as may
be imagined, the mechanism governing
the more intricate motions is immensely
complicated. For instance, the mechan
ism that enables- the figure to writ4 its
own name, "EnigmRrelle," on a black
board with chalk, is so elaborate that it
would require pageR of technics,l de
scription to explain it.
The inventor worked for many years
before he finished his calculations "and
plans so that he could set to work to
make the wonderful automatic man, and
after his designs were all finished he
had to .work for more "years befoaw ho
could perfect the figure so that it would
work. ,
BI-OSSOM BRI KHKrt ACROSS HKR JAriJ."