The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-04-21


fully, and in his thin, pale cheeks
were uggly spots of scarlet. When
they told him he was sick and in
need of q physician, he smiled
YEARLY, and said: ''Only a little
bilious, that's ALL" And on the
days when he felt so weak that he
dared not venture out days that
came quite frequently in that lazy,
lethargic September weather-be
was alwsys ready with some plaus-
ible excuse to conceal the real
cause Of his staying indoors. He
consented finally to allow another
printer to take his place in the
Clarion office-temporarily, and
as his Sub" only, for the editor
would not like 1t, he said, if he
should give up his cases "merely
because he wanted to loaf a few
days and get the malaria out OF
his system" He visited the office
from time to time to see how his
''sub" got along, and to take a
look at the exchanges. They
showed him the first number of
the new paper at Konomo, which
was to be the Clarion's contestant
for the county printing, and he
curled his lip at sight of its doub-
led advertisements, and said the
grave yawned for a paper that
started out by leading its selected
matter. Some days he would re-
leive the "sub" for half an hour,
or read couple of galleys of
proof for the overworked editor;
but usually he remained only a
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.
He had abandoned his customa
ry rambles nearly a month before;
and this fact, though no longer
new enough to be in itself remark
able, served to give unusual interest
to the report that, Perky had been
seen going leisurely down the
road towards the woods the morn
ing of that important Saturday
when "the grim chieftain," Gener-
al Jim Lane, was to deliver his
first speech in Seward Center.
Aunt Naomi Seybold had called ia
him three times from her open
window, nut he paid no attention
to it except to quicken his pace s
little, and she watched him ssas
stiddy as if she had a. bin a settin
for to have her picter took" she
said, until he passed the Widow
Hainline's and disappeared over
, the hill. Then, she fastened ur
to the store and the printing offic'
to tell what she had seen, and ar
hour later the surprising even
! was the talk of the town. With
, the afternoon, however, came tn
, 'sgrim chieftain" with his speech
E and after an early supper they hat
: a bonfire and another speech, an
in the novelty and agitation of i
, all, the incident of the morning
before mentioned, was forgotten
e and nobody noticed that Perk
e did not return. T. must haye BEEF
: quite four o'clock of Sunday even
ing when his absence was first OF
q served. That some har m had be
+ fallen him seemed the only reason
able solution of the matter; an
there was no time to loose in de
lay or speculation. The: edito
o accompanied by such townsfol
h as he could readily get togethe
promptly started in search for hin
. They called to make inquiry c
y Aunt Naomi Seybold, and sh
y went on with them to the Wido1
I Hainline's repeating to them a
f she walked along her story of til
day before. The widow coul
o give them ne additional inform.
o ton; indeed, the whole of it Wa
an establishment and a shock t
q her, she said, and she question:
them very eagerly about it, Will
= Benny listened with an indefinit
= dread aud wished they would g
q on and look for him before nigl
Z came. They started directl
= down the road to the river. Bel
4 ny went with them, upon his ow
h suggestion, to point out the place
o where he had been with Perk,
n and as he glanced back from tt
Il old leaning bench half way dow
n the hill, he saw that his moth,
and Aunt Naomi were folloWin
closely, after them.
" They found him just where Be
1t ny had fancied they would fin
8, him. 1t was hardly a stone
t. throw from the road and the for,
Y but such quiet, soothing, vii
20 some little nook that it migl
g have been a fragment of some OF
I'd er world. He was lying upon ii
d grass, with his arms under
d head, and his feet hidden fro
= sight by the fallen leaves.
;e could almost have reached the ri
a. er with his hand, but the murmu
n ing of it there in the bend amor
is the bewildering roots and ston
g. was so soft and SO uncertain tn
a. it seemed only an echo. A clust
k of haw-bushes, bending benea
r.. al ONCA SAAo Ok anu SuEltt
he ing woodbine, shut off the visiC
w on the south, and the river-bar
a did on the west and north; but {
ut the east, up the steep bluff, beyoI
b, the massive decaying tree trul
N that lay in the edge of the thick
% of hazels like some great broke
t. hearted giant, was the little arb
in in the rear of the Widow Hail
ke lines house, where the honeysuc
no les grew,and where the widow oft,
eD sat in the cool OF the afternoon wi
to her sowing. When they rous
IN him, Perky turned his eyes in th
ke direction a moment, then clos
he them again, and said as if in n
erie, 81 must have been dreaming
ly They stood waiting around
ew some minutes in an undecided Wa
Id and then the editor genly rails
i'm him to a sitting posture, and
er- tried to smile as he looked fro