The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-04-04
asREprisinEzAdEenturess of=lIaSler,.
Charles SummertOn.
ny DRET HARTE.


co. at twenty-five minutes past 0 he
had been observed by the butcher anus.
ing himself by going through that popu-
lar youthful exercise known as turning
the crab" a feat in which he was singl-
larly proficient at a court Of inquiry
summarily held in the back parlor dt
1915, Bridget, cook, deposed TO have de-
tected him, at twenty minutes past 0, in
the teloniOus abstraction Of sugar from
the pantry, which, by the same token,
had she known what was .a.comin', she'd
have never prevented: Patsey, q shrill-
voiced youth fromaa neighboring alley,
testified TO- have seen "ChOyley,n at half
past 0, in front of the butchers shop
round the corner, but as this young gen.
tleman chose to throw out the gratuitous
belief that the missing child had been
converted into sausages by the. butcher,
his testimony was received with some
caution by the female portion Of the
court, and with downrightscorn and con.
tempt by its masculine members. But
whatever might have been the hour Of his
departure, It was certain that from 10t
a. m. until 0 p. M, when he was brought
home by q policeman, Charles Summer
ton was missing. Being naturally OF q
reticent disposition, he has since resisted,
with one exception, any attempt to Wrest
from him statement Of his whereabouts
during that period. That exception has
been myself. He has recfted TO me the
following In tho striCtest confidence.
His intention on leaving the doorsteps
OF his dwelling was to proceed without
delay 10 Van Dieman's Land, by way Of
Second and Market streets. This project
was subsequently modified so far as u
permit visit to 0taheite, where Captain
Cook was killed. The outfit for his voy-
age consisted Of two car tickets, five
cents in silver, q fishing line, the brass
Gaping Of spool of cotton, which, in bis
eyes, bore some resemblance 10 metallic
currency, and a Sunday school library
ticket His garments, admirably adapted
to the exigencies Of any, climate, were
seYeraly straw hat with pink ribbon,
o striped shirt, over which O pair OF
trousers, uncommonly wide in compari.
son to their length, were buttoned, striped
balmQral stockings, which gave bis youth.
full legs something Of the appearance Of
wintef-green candy, and copper.toed
shoes with iron heels, capable Of striking
fire from any ilagstone. This latter quail.
ity, Master Charley could othelp feeling,
would be Of infinite service to him In the
wilds Of Van Dieman's Land, which, Us
pictorially represented in his geography,
seemed to be deficient in corner groceries
and matches,
Exactly as the. clock struck the half
hour the short legs and straw hat Of Mas.
ter Charles Summerton disappeared
around the corner. He ran rapidly, part.
ly by way Of fnuring himself to the ia.
tigges Of the journey before him, and part.
ly by way Of testing his speed with that
OF North Beach car which was proceed.
ing In that direction. The conductor not
being aware Of this generous and lofty
and being somewhat concerned
Of the spectacle Of pair Of very short,
twlnkllng legs so far In the rear, stopped
his car and generously assisted the youth.
full Summerton upon the platform. From
this. point q hiatus Of several hours dura.
ton occurs ii Master Charles narrative.
He Is under the impression that he rode
out not only his two tickets, but that he
became subsequently indebted 10 the com.
pany for several trips TO and from the op.
posite tormini, and that at last, .reSolutely
10 give any explanation Of his
conduct; he was finally elected, much 10
his relief, on q street corner. Although,
as he informs us, he felt perfectly satisfied
with the arrangement, he was compelled,
under the circumstances, 10 hurl after the
conductor an opprobrlous appellation,
which he had ascertained from Patsey,
was the correct thing in such emergencies
and possessed peculiarly exasperatlhg
properties. .lI ~
We now approach thrilling part ofthe
narrative, before which most oil tho nd.
ventures ofthe Boys Own Book" pale
into insignifcance There arc times when
the recollection Of this adventure causes
Master Charles to break out into q cold
sweat, and be has several times, since It's
occurrence, been awakened by lamenta.
tons and outcries in the night season by
merely dreaming oft. On tho corner Of
the street lay several empty sugar hogs.
heads. A few young gentlemen disposed
themselves therein, armed with sticks,
with which they removed the sugar which
still adhered to the joints Of the slaves,
and conveyed 1t to their mouths. Finding
a cask not yet pre.empted, Master Charles
set 10 work, and for lew minutes revGl.
led In a wild saccharife dream, whence
be was finally aroused by an angry voice
and the rapidly retreating footsteps Of his
comrades. An ominous sound smOte his
ear, and the next moment lie felt the
cask wherein he lay upliIted and SET up.
right against the wall. He was prisO-
ner, but rs yet undiscovered. Being salts.
fed in his mind that hanging was the
systematic and legalized penalty for the
outrage he had committed, he kept down
the cry that rose to his lips,
In few moments he felt the cask lift
cd by q powerful hand which appeared
above him Of the edge Of his prison, and
which hGConcluded belonged to the fero-
cious giant BlundeTbore, whose features
and limbs he had frequently meAin color.
ed pictures Before he could recover
from his establishment, his cask was placed
with several Others on cart and rapidly
driven away. The ride which epsued he
describes as being fearful in the extreme.
Rolled around like.a pill IN box, the
agonies which he suffered may be hintsd
at, not spoken. Evidences Of that pro-
tracted struggle were visible. an his. gar
ments, which were Of the consistency OF
syrup, and his hair, which for several
hours, under the treatment Of hot water,
Welded q thin treacle At length the cart
stopped on one Of the wharves, and the
cartman began to unload. As be tilted
over tho eask in which Charles lay, an
exclamation broke from his lips, and the
edge oil cask fell from his hands, slid.
Ing It's late occupant upon the wharf. To
regain his short legs, and to put the great
sst possible distance between himself and