The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-05-09

to open the doors for his masters. He
was first made to be more afraid of them
than of anything on earth; and then, the
work OF drugging being over, his Intelli-
gence was allowed to play with basket
full of old locks and keys. In a years
time he was almost an expert, and those
locks were some of the few things on
which he showed any signs of intelli.
gence. His mind appeared to be blank
OF all but fear; sometimes, if confused
memories came TO him, and he uttered a
loud word, it was only TO cover at the
sight of old Hannah's lash, and Its strong
er and more recent memories little
fellow still he had not grown tWS inches
in two years.
One twilight, a basket of crusts on his
arm-Out of which, do all they could, he
would nihble-he was told to follow
Burt into the street IAN old man with a
sack on his shoulders, and not to lose
sight of him. And when the experiment
had been tried often enough, Burt went
some way farther into the country than
usual, and little Sam was showed through
a cellar grating to go up and open the
way for Burt and those who had been
awaiting him and that night little Sam
began his career of HOUSEKEEPING.
But all of little Sans share in the
transaction was sort of inchOate terror
of what would happen to him if he did
not do as he was told. And as for what
the men did after he let them in, he had
not so much idea as the mouse in the
wainscot had; nor, if he had known,
would he have been able to see any wrong
In it. If they wanted pleasant things,
why shouldn't they have them? Being
satisfied and in good humor, they would
give him the fewer blows.
But only few months after that be-
ginning Burt and Bobbins were in their
prison cells, old Hannah's den was brok-
en- up, and Sam and the other little out
casts were homeless; or rather they
would have been had not Sans prof.
cheney with locks been known in the
craft, and he at least claimed as a pos
session worth having; and thus the series
of the most unaccountable and daring
burglaries ever known in this part Of
the country went on uninterruptedly.
1t was bright moonlight night when
the three cOnfederates pushed and SHOW
ed little Sam up the great ropes of wis
taria and wOOdbine that he might crawl
through the open crack of a small win
dow, with his customary instructions to
find door and open it for them. Once
within, he could see his way tolerably well
about the place, and he noiselessly trav-
ersed one room and another, and had
reached the great upper hall, when his
fear of the men outside suddenly gave
way to more horrible fear; for great
beast rose and was beside him with one
leap-a huge mastiff taller than himself
For moment little Sam was paralyZed /;
the next thing would be those white
fangs in his flesh; he knew he should be
Il H.
He dared not. And then the great crea-
ture had put his two fore-paws on Sans
shoulder, and was licking his face and
hands and head as if he could not have
enough of him, till the child sank on the
rug, when he subsidized, and lay beside
him, with his nose between his paws,
while Sam looked down the long length
of the hall below, and saw the swinging
silver lamps, the white statute in its
niche, the glow of the bronze knight, the
dark richness of the rugs upon the tiles,
all as if he had seen it every night of his
life. Meanwhile the dog steadily sur
veyed him in the intervals of his caress-
es. After all, Sam thought, the dog was
not going to hurt him; in fact, he SEEM
ed in some way like an old friend. At
ter all, thought Tribune, this is no place
for little boys; they ought to be in bed.
And he proceeded to show the child
the way, going off a little, then coming
back, taking a portion of his rags be-
tween his teeth, and endeavoring to lead
him on. 1t was a new experience to
little Sam. In other places the dogs had
driven them of, but this sleepy and lazy
old fellow showed nothing but hospitali-
ty. He followed whether he would or
no. The dog led him into large room
first, with wide windows, through which
a flood of moonlight fell. 1t fell upon
an open organ with white glimmering
keys. AS Sam saw it, some idea of q
singer sitting there seemed to rise on his
fancy-a singer who had one arm round
him as she sang, and held his head
against her shoulder. What should he
know of singing? Since he had seen old
Hannah, singing had been unheard. As
he moved, thei blackboard caught his
eye, half covered with some uncouth
characters in chalk. He remembered
now that he had heard of a little boy
who showed the big children what he
could do one night. He crept toward
the blackboard, and took up the crayOn
and made one or two ofthese misshapen
letters over again. Then he put down
the crayon-those men were waiting for
him outside. But the dog still held his
rags, and by gentle motions led him on,
and into a large sleepling-room, with its
three little white beds where children
lay dreaming, and one little bed that was
empty. On this bed the dog bounded,
and in every way he knew invited Sam.
But Sam turned away, and went back to
the play room; something seemed TO de
light him in the white glimmer of the
large room, as if the spirits of dead
pleasures fingered there. AS he stood
in the door the moonlight now lay full
on the great white Westinghouse, ''all
all bridled, all fit for a fight :"
and there in front of the empty chair.
He went and sat down in the little chair;
the dog stretched himself at his feet. 1t
seemed so pleasant, so warm, and com
fortableI He was not much afraid of
those men outside as he had been; the
children's faces looked at him in the
white light out of the roses on the gild-
ed trellis as if they wished him to stay;
the little head nodded and fell forward
on his breast.
But all this seemed exceedingly out of
the way to Tribune; and after a while il
occurred to him that If he
could not make Sam 60 to bed, he could
60 and speak to his mistress about it;
and it was his cold nose in her hand that
woke Mrs. Dean from her uneasy slum-
Der. In a moment she was out of bed.
There is something wrong" she said
to her husband what is the matter
with Trib. 81 And before her husband
was fairly awake, she had followed the
dog to the play-room, and there, with the
falling round him, sound
asleep, his head upon his breast, in the
little chair before the empty hearth, she
saw the child. n
For one throb of her heart, one great
plunge, she thought the worst had come,
and that now she was really eEazed.
But with another she had seized the child,
and was tearing off the rags that hid the
difference between his little white body
and his little brown face, while the child
opened his eyes dreamily, and put up q
sleepy mouth to kiss her.
at is hei It is he it is her' she cried.
NThey have cut off his curls, they have
stained his face, but they could not hide
my little Cyrusp'
And although Mr.. Dean woke the ser
wants, and reused the neighbors, and
secured the place and the region unsuc-
and never ceased regretting
that those house breakers had not crack
ed their last crib that night, vet Mrs.
Dean, in her heart of hearts, as she de-
voted herself, every day with fresh fru-
itiOn, to the task Of awakening his dor
mant intelligence, could never feel quite
grateful enough to them for bringing
back her boy.
The most honorable mention of David
Davis we have yet seen is the ridicule of