The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1880-12-01

lent thud which jerked the reins out OF
Lesley's hands, and pitched him for
ward, so that he clutched the horses
neck to save himself from falling.
Then began such rearing and plung-
ing, such mad jerks and wild leaps,
that Lesley, dizzy and weak, began to
feel that his last hour was at hand His
grasp on the animals neck was grow
ing weaker, and he could not much
longer retain his place. The horse now
began u frantic gallop round the yard,
and Ed, terrified at this unexpected
performance, threw up his arms to stop
him.
4 At this the horse swerved aside and
sprung at some high palings, caught
his hoofs in them, and crashed over on
the other side.
Fortunately for Lesley he fell clear of
the animal, and though the blow stun
ned him for moment, he quickly sat
up, feeling very faint and in much pain.
But even dizzy as he was, it seemed
strange to him that Ed. and Moore, af-
ter brief glance at him, devoted them
selves to getting up the pony, seeming
hardly to care whether he was hurt or
| not.
The pony was rhbbed and commiser-
ated, and there was an animated dis.
cussion as to who should be employed
to attend him. The only words Ed. be-
slowed upon Lesley were,-
what on earth did you drop the
reins and hold on to the pony's neck
forp You've given him scare he'll
never get over. You've come near kill
ing the horse, and I'm not especially
obliged to you for it,"
Lesley was indignant. He struggled
to his feet and cried out, as he limped
| off,
1T doesn't matter whether I've been
killed or not, | suppose. 0 no! | think
l know what your pretended friendship
is worth. l was fool to come herem
He realized this thousand times
over before he reached the school
house. The scholars were in their
seats, and he was obliged to conceal all
expression of pain when every bone in
his body was aching. He felt bruised
from the crown of his head to the soles
of his feet. With pale face he went
haltingly through his lessons, knowing
it would never do to excuse himself
from recitation on the plea of sickness,
for then inquiries would be made as to
the cause of it.
Fred. Moore had sneaked demurely
in, and every time he glanced towards
Lesleys desk he seemed struggling to
repress burst of laughter. Lesley
knew well what it meant, and remem-
bered how often he had himself enjoyed
Moore ludicrous pictures of the mis-
fortunes of some of his companions. A
talent for ridicule was the only one that
young gentleman possessed, and he did
not allow it to rust.
When recess came, and the boys
trooped into the playground, Lesley
remained at his desk. He said he had
headache, which was certainly true.
His head was very painful, but the dull,
heavy weight at his heart was worse.
As he sat there he heard the boys
talking and laughing outside, and knew
what they were laughing at. In fact
part of Fred. Moore's conversation
reached him, for the window was open.
1T was rich, boys" said Fred's loud
voice. "You can coax him to anything.
No catching me in that snap. The
minute | saw that hog-eyed brute, |
said to myself, "A softer head than
mine has got to back you, my fine fell
low But, bless you, the soft head
was just there! We put Les. on the
chestnut to show off his PAGES,
''t1a, ha! / recon he went more PAGES
in few minutes than he ever dreamed
of! He just hung to the pony's neck
like bag of wool. You should have
seen his face; it was as white as sheet.
He just choked the horse he held him
so tight, and there he was humping up
and down. Well, the pony took the
palings, and we saw Lesley's heels fly
into the air, and that was the last till
he landed head-foremost. 1t was bet
ter than any playI ever saw. He knows
something about horse now.h
| Laughter followed, and Lesley half
rose, with the intention of infiicting
summary chastisement upon the mock
ing speaker; but his aching head and
limbs forbade the attempt. In fact,
before school was out, he was compelled
to ask permission to return home,
OF course he said nothing to his faith
er about the cause of his headache, but
quietly went to bed, and bore the pain
Of his bruises as best he could He was
rather pale the next day, and when his
father laughingly said,-
"Well, Lesley, can you make the
rule of pleasing, work both ways-sat-
isfy your friends and fulfill your duties
tooP'
Lesley answered rather savagely, at
isn't worth while to please friends, sir.
i don't believe there is such thing as a
true friend"
Certainly one, is never gained by q
sacrifice of right, my son. Distrust all
such"
Now one would naturally suppose
that this lesson of the pony would not
be forgotten by Lesley. am sorry to
say that he thrashed Fred. Moore at the
earliest opportunity, and then held
himself aloof from his companions. He
found no difficulty, either, in uttering
the obnoxious word no so long as his
relations with the boys continued SO
cool; but a natural defect, or weakness,
cannot be overcome by one lesson,
however severe. He soon fell back in