The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1873-04-18

as she was putting her work away, there
was tremendous pounding overhead
There Jack is sick" she said to
herself I" / thought at supper time he
was eating too much cake !"
And she hurried up stairs with her
lamp, and the bottle of peppermint.
There stood Jack ON the floor, in his
little white night-shirt, all of a tremor.
Oh, Kate !" he cried, as soon as he
saw her, there is something alive in
that bed. When / move about it is
quiet, but when try to go to sleep, it
rustles and dances up and down. What
is it ?"
Why, we'll look and see," said his
sister, pulling down the sheets. The
mattress above the feather bed had been
freshly filed with oat straw, and the
oats had been thrashed out. She lis
tened. Yes, there certainly was a noise.
She followed up the sound with her
hand, and it moved along to- the far
thest corner of the bed. There it stop
ped, and in minute more out sprang
little gray mouse with bright frightened
eyes, and ran as hard as he could go
through the door into the garnet. Kate
laughed, and so did Jack.
"There, you won't hear it again, so
go back to bed," she said and Jack
obeyed, sure that now he should fall
asleep in five minutes. Kate went down
to her room again, and took book to
read, but she had not turned over many
leaves before she heard the pounding
repeated again overhead, not quite so
loud as before. Up she went and found
lack tossing restlesslv abOIlt
81 keep hearing the queerest noises,
Kate" he said mot in the bed this
time, but in the wall, and on the win
dow. What do you suppose it can be ?"
"I don't hear anything" said Kate.
wind you hear"
Maybe it is" said Jack but he
moved his head around SO uneasily on
his pillow, that Kate asked if she could
do anything for him.
81 shan't sleep wink, L know" re-
piled Jack, "but think / could bear it
betterifyouwoul leave my light burning,
and bring me my Robinson Crusoe."
81 can't have you reading in bed,
said Kate, decisively; "you'H set the
house on fire.
81 won't read, not one word" prom
Used Jack ; I" / only want the book to lie
by me here, where L can touch it for
company"
SO Kate brought Robinson Crusoe, and
left the light burning. Then she babe
Jack goodnight once more, and was not
disturbed again, though she woke and
listened several times in the night.
But the next morning Jack slept very
late, and when he came down stairs, an
hour after breakfast was over, he still
looked sleepy. He had lain awake till
long past midnight, he said, but what
with the light and Robinson Crusoe, and
the consciousness that Kate was in the
room below, he had managed to endure
it, and felt quite heroic.
"Ive found out what made the noise,
Jack" said Kate, as she came i'll from
an errand, some time later. "Ihe
boughs of the larch tree touch the house,
and you heard the little twigs brushing
the wall as the wind blew. L looked up
and saw them just now"
Would you like to take that room
for your own, Jack ?" asked his mother,
smiling. You may change if yoa
want to-
"No, no p said Jack, shaking his
head. "When | go to bed l want to
sleep and there is nothing like my own
little room, down stairs, for that p
,SchOolday Magazine.