The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-04-01


wonld be little silence and change of the
subject. Sometimes, too, Benny could not
understand why his friend stammered and
looked ashamed when making inquiries OF
him about bis mother. But there was no
distrust between them and no disagreement;
and when, as they were speaking one day oil
the boys father, and Perky said suddenly, as
If he had just thought of it, GLOW would you
like to have me for a father?" Benny Tepned,
without hesitation and feeling, "on, ina,
would be splendidp' Then they walked
home without saying another word, and
when they parted at the gate there were tears
in Perky's ewes. Benny lay awake a long
time that night wondering what 1t could
mean. and fell asleep at last to dream that
his father came ito him in the vague white
robe of an angel, with face that shone like
the sun, And the face was the face of Perky.
As the summer wore away Perky's gloomi-
ness grew upon him day by day, and he could
not shake it off. 1t seemed to him, also, that
it took very little exertion to overcome him
with fatigue. He could hardly walk to the
river ford and back as far as the Widow
Hainlines without singular trembling in
bis limbs and dizzy sensation about the
head; and he would often be obliged 10 stop
and steady himself against the catalpa tree
by the widows gate before he could 60 on,
he was so tired, and there was such blur
just ahead of him. Once, when he was stand
ing there, the widow came out of the house
on an errand to neighbours, and, as he lifted
hnr foat w hnt 10 ,,ra,o,,ded hot he had mere
~ stoo,,sS 70 d;Sannorro a wanton hrier from
bor r'oI Iress-sS;rt en5 when She bowed him
hor .hanI1s 10 stood anain lilo ON athlete
He had a harassinS coua6' too. and slept fit
fully, and in his thin, pale cheeks were ugly
spots of scarlet. When they told him he was
YEARLY and said: "Onlv a little bilious.
that's al" And on the DAYS when he fell
90 weak that he dared not ventn,e out-days
that came ouite frequently in that law. leth.
aro;c Senfemher weather--he was ALWAYS
ready with some nlausihle excuse TO conceal
The real canse of his stavine indoors. He
consented finally IN allow another nrinter to
tsLe his Mace in the CInr;on office-temnora-
Ill and aS nc seSnh, onIv for the editor
won,S not ike If he said Il he shonld oive
mn his case .smereIv hecanse he wanted to
in p ferr davis ~ oct The malaria ont of his
svstemn He visited the office from time to
time to see how his "sub'' got along. and to
take q look al. the exchanges. They showed
him the Sirst nnmbar Of the new naner at Ko-
nnmo which was to he the CInyion,s contes-
tanI for the conntv nrintino and he curled
his lin Of s;obt If its donhle advertisements
and odd the nroya vowoed for naner that
star,oJ ont 5n 1esSng ito salected matter
S"n ~, a' W a',1J re,;aTo tbe .ssnh,, sor
LIE ~ 70 w 800 to ~ throa gailevs of
proof for the oyer-worked editor; but usually
he remained only few minutes, and many
times he came only to the door, looked in as
if seeking for somebody, then turned and
went away without speaking.
noarIu ns', ro"n1b before and This fact thonob
no",iy - ~ $3.50 =. - =: ;.oIe oi
able, served to give unusual interest to the
report that Perky had been seen going leis-
urely down the road again toward the wood
the morning of that important Saturday
when "the grim chieftain,' General Jim
Lane. was to deliver his first speech in Sew
ard Center. Aunt Naomi Seybold had called
to him three times from her open window,
but he paid no attention to il except to quick
en- his pace little, and she watched him "as
Study as if she had a. bin a-settin' for to
have her p;cter took.n she said. until he
passed the Widow Hanline's and disappeared
over the hill, Then she fastened up to the
store and the printing office to tell what she
had seen. and an hour later the surprising
event was the talk of the town. With the at
ternoon. however. came s'the grim chieftain"
with his speech. and after an early supper
thew had a bonfire and another speech, and
in the novelty and agitation of it all, the Incl
dent of the morning was forgotten, and no.
body noticed that Perky did not return. It
must have been quite 4 O'Clock of Sunday
evening when his absence was first OBJ
served. That some harm had befalen him
seemed the only reasonable solution of the
matter; and there was no time to lose in de-
lay or in speculation. The editor, accompan-
led by such of the townsfolk as he could read
iy get together, promptly started in search of
him. They called to make inquiries of Aunt
Naomi Seybold, and she went on with Them
to the Widow Hainlne's, repeating to them
as she walked along her story of the day be-
fore. The widow could give them no addi-
tional information; indeed, the whole of it
was an astonishment and shock to her, she
said, and she questioned them very eagerly
about it, while Benny listened with an indef-
mite dread and wished they would 60 on and
look for him before night came. They start
ed directly down the road to the river. Ben
ny went with them, upon his own suggest
ion, to point out the places where he had
been with Perky; and as he glanced from the
familiar old leaning beech half way down the
hill, he saw that his mother and Aunt Naomi
were following closely after them.
They found him just where Benny had fan
cied they would find him. 1t was hardly a
stones throw from the road and the ford, but
such quiet, soothing, winsome little nook
that it might have been fragment of some
other world He was 1vinp I1non the grass