Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-06-12

| into his cheek-and how Lutte had scold-
ed because he abused his books so! She
| would have been glad at that minute to
see him drawing in Tennysons Poems, a
| present from VIII SchCfeld last birthday
| He had taken two or three of her paints to
| color the illustrations in the book Here
the Falls Of Niagara were painted bright
red with dark green sky overhead. A
party of negroes in very blue shirts We're
| cutting yellow sugaf-cane; and IN pic
ture of the arctic, regions, ship was
frozen among straw-colored and scarlet
icebergs, while orange and vermilion
Northern Lights streamed over the scene.
Out from the leaves fluttered bit of paper
upon which Tommy again vouchsated in
formation.
Erred writ that right in the teacher
had company-her Teller, | guess" he
going to put it in the post-otfice, but had
to get an envelope first Read it," And
Tommy glowed with pride at Fred's skill.
Il give him the paper" he added, swelling
with generosity.
The paper looked as if it had been cut
with dull knife from the back of an old
letter; and Lutte read
MIR. SKOFIELD | do not want you to
think what | sed about my sister was tru
| toled it to PLACE hir she get up before |
do she is the best girl in the world and |
guess YOU think so two | rote this becaws
| do not want what | sed to be ly.
"FRED RANDALL"
Teacher thought he was writin' IN his
writin' book all the time," snickered Tom
my, but Lutte didn'. hear.
1t was very still now The early twi-
Errl, bol f,iI - Il o,I~
but nobody had thought of lamps Aunt
Harriet was slowly rocking to and fro r.;
Lutte, having cried herself 50 sick that she
could cry no more, lay on the sofa, trying
hard not to think; Tommy was stretched
beside her on the floor; and Bridget, with
her apron over her head, was rocking
back and forth on the kitchen floor, moan
ing for the 1.-TWO eyes that were the light
of the house" Was that the street door?
1t shut with slam. Gus Robbins, pro
badly. Why couldn't people stay away
Just now, Somebody tumbled on the
stairs. How much that sounded like
Fred! If we could only hear him tumble
up stairs again
"Why, what are you all in the dark
for?' Everybody jumped. There was no
mistake this time for this was nobody but
Fred
In answer to Aunt Harriet's and Lute's
questions and Tommy's open-mouthed
wonder, he only said, 80, Bridget is so
stupid! We went up on Thompson's hill
after beech-nuts, and Rufe Douglass did
fall out of tree and break his arm.
When father and mother found me all
right, they thought they'd go round by
Uncle Jobs. Father told me to come and
tell you, but [ wanted to go round by Lin
Foye's and see if his doves had any squads
yet, so [ didn't get along very quick.
Been to supper? I'm bout starved,'
Supper! Who had thought of supper:
and going after squads when they were
suffering so! They didn't know whether
to give him all the preserves he could eat,
for joy that he was safe, or send him to
bed without a mouthful, they were so
veSed at his not getting along very
quick"
But | rather think JOY triumphed, for it
was reported Fred had said at school it
was ''tirst-rate to have folks think you
were drowned, it made 'em awful clever to
a teller"; and about week after, as
Bridget was scolding because Fred had
left mud tracks on the clean floor, when
he had been told so many times to wipe
his feet, Lutte wiped up the mud herself,
and said, you can't expect a boy to re-
member everything, Bridget. Our Young
F'OIks