West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1879-05-31
Auutie's Robbers.

Black eyes blue ewes grey Cvcs-thrcc
pairs, all aS bright as diamonds. and all beg
giug as earnestly as did the three little
tongues below thcm-Gor auutic To tell
them story.
"in0thcr story exclaimed auntic
why I've told YOU t,co already to day"
Il know it auntic,' said hlaClI-cvcd
VIII, always ready with an answer, "hut
YOU see how it rains so we can't play out,
and sides l guess | don't feel very well
my head kinder aches
And we're drcbc tired PLAYING i'm the
nattic, ~ put i'm hluc-cycd baby Bcss and |
do want To jus cuddlc in somebody's arms,
and II keep jt'N as StiN as any little mice. ="
''Shc'd think you're big enough to say
attic stead of H0ttic, muttcrcd Robbie.
the owner of the big gray eyes; 'but say
auuuc, won't You tell us rphbcr story 4"
~ cs, yes, auntiC. robhcr story, cch-
oed Will, while Bessie ''Cuddlcd' i'm aun-
ties arms and prepared to bc frightened bv
the horrors To come. Cant YOU think of
t'uc rohhcr story with lots of fighting i'm
iti' hc added
Auntic, like the little old man. had to
scratch her head and think. for she could
not say "No' to the little plcadcrs.
"a true robbers story, he said smiling.
I
about "A band of robbers that once lived i'm
"a country u long way from here" Bessie
gave great sigh of relief at the last words
"a long way from here - "Thcy were
biz, ugly looking fellows, regular savagcs,
like all the people of those countries. They
didnot havcnicc houses like ours hut Just dug
holes in the ground, piled i'm "a lot of cocoa
nut husls, torn into strips, to answer for
beds, and that was all the furniture they
cared Tor They drank salt water instead
oi fresh water like ours, and used To carry
about with them wherever they went two
bags, of skin which they filled every morn
ing IN the ocean, which was near their
home
"Nhy did they carry water around with
them all the timci' qucrricd Will
"Wcll, think they wanted water very
often, and being away from home much of
the time, they wanted to have il handy,
replied nuntic. cit is in that country the
cocoanuts grow, which YOU children are SO
fond of and these queer old robbers like
them even better than YOU do, for they
would not cat nothing else
''No hccistcak, aunic Z" asked Robbie
Bccistcak was the chief of his dict
'No, they were vcgctarians, replied
auntic; that's what people who eat no
meat are called. But did YOU ever see any
cocoanuts rs they grow on the tree, chill
drcn ~
81 have shouted Rob, eagerly 'Thc
mish nary that preached i'm our Sunday
school showed us one. You couldn't see
the nice white part that we cat at all, only
IA big brown thing, with 'nawful hard shell
covered with "A funny kind Of stuff i do
know what you call it-hdT, ! guess
eyes, said auntic, "and that hair as
you call it, is what the robbers used for
beds, and the white part inside is what
they ate and as they had no tools, no hnm-
mcrs, knives or axes, with which To break
the hard shells, they used to climb up the
cocoanut trees, and fling the big nuts down
as hard as they could throw them: This
generally broke the shell, and they could
dig out the fruit
''But, amtic, tell about the fighting
part, said Will
ooh J the fighting part :" said auntic
"Wcll, these fellows were always called the
robbers, yet most of the fighting was done
by another tribe, and they had funny way
OF fighting too. They did not know how
to make any kind of weapons, but really they
needed none, for they had immensely
large, strong hands and when they fought
they would seize their enemy with IA terri
bic grip and then run Oft leaving the hand
and arm still clutchcd in the flesh Of their
foes
"Why auntic, you don't mean that they
could take their arms off -rcatiy' you
aren't telling true, auntic."
"But / do mean just thai-only you see
the loss Of AN arm was not much TO one Of
these fellows because a new one would
grow in a little while
'Pho! you're just making that mp, aun-
tie, said incrcdulous Will, struggling his
shoulders.
Not a bit Of it Willie, it's all real hon
est truth, replied auntic, laughingy.
''But real men don't have new arms grow
when their are cut off cause don't you
know that onc-armcd Lcggar that came
here yesterday He said his arm was shot
of in the war-and that was cvcr'n so long
ago
"Ah, Willie, boy. did not say that my
robbers were mDU They are rObber-
cr0bs, and every word ! told you about
them is true, laughed auntic, ''but
haven time 90 tell you amy more, for the
supper bell will ring iu five minutes, and
six little hands must Dee washed, and three
little heads bc brushed, SO as to bc ready in
season
"But did they carry the bags of salt vat
er auutic i' questioned win
eyes they have two large bags or sacks
attached 10 their bodies, which they keep
constantly filled with salt water, replied
auntic as she trOttcd of mp stairs with baby
Bcss pick-a-back.
e