The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1881-04-29

piece, nor one of silver, but he plunged
througha snow bank and over q ditch to gel
it,. He dug it out of chunk of ice, and cut
his hands and tore his tinger-nails; and his
honest little face took the keen and hungry
exutation of Il miners just then, though il
was neither silver nor gold, but an old bat
tered-out horseshoe.
For all the music in Mother fuckers
stocking hadn't helped his fathers leg, but
Tommy had heard say that horseshoe
honestly found was the best bit of luck to
stumble on in the world
He warmed the cold bit of metal against
his heart, and ran home with it as fist as he
could. never stopping until he reached his
| fathers bed
Cheer up, Popw lie cried See Every
thing'll come right now, I've found a horse,
shoe"
Poor Mr.. Tucker turned to look at it with
a sickly sort of smile, but the hope that il
Illuminated his boys face lent Il feeble glow to
his own.
Heaven bless the boy" he said, 'I'm
very weak, | suppose. But hang itup where
l can see it, ,. .~.s
Mother Tucker fastened it to a beam over
the foot of the bed, having the good cry over
II she'd been longing for, and out Tommy ran
to see the live stock 7'~ o.
III iupbtNl floISc lHtO SUCH u SIOW llldl
before he lett him the wheeze in swindpipe
wasn't worth mentioning, and he held his
head and legs zip in the style of Mr. Crpsus'
steed; then he fed the cows, and drove the
hens around to the manure heap, where they
could keep warm in the steaming side next
the sun and while he was hard at work he
heard terrible racket up the road, and he
thought it must be Mr. Crpsu5 himself shout
ing and screaming for dear life, while his
charger was flying along on the wings ofthe
wind. Tommy dropped his pitchfork, and
got there just in time to feel the hot breath
from the runaway's nosrils, and make spring
for the bride. They all went plunging along
together bit, then came to stand-stll,
trembling all over, all of them What was
lommy's delight to find that instead of Mr.
Crnsus, it was only their old doctor! He
trcmbled more than his horse, and pulled like
n grampus.
well done, sonny" he said. l might
have been in worse plight than your father
il it hadn't been for you My horse never
cut up such a tantrum before"
Tommy knew what it was; it was the
horseshoe. Something had be to done to soft
en- the doctors heart. Tommy plucked up
courage to beg of him to take no more music
from his mothers stocking, seeing il was
away down to the toe.
"Why, no, sonny?' said the doctor; "Il
take none out, but I'll put some in"
After that scare with the horse, nothing
would do but Tommy must 90 around with
the doctor to take care of it, and the doctor
made bargain with Tommy that paid him
handsomely for three or four hours every
day.
When Tommy reached home that night he
found his father propped up in bed making
supper off of new-laid eggs His father
said it was driving the hens round on the
sunny side Of the farm, but Tommy stuck
to it that it was the horseshoe After that it
was like the house that Jack built. The hens
began to lay; Pop began to eat and get well
and read the Psalms instead of job; the COW
had pretty calf, and began to give lots of
milk; the winter began to break and the
doctor began telling the Tucker family of
noble way of squatting out West that beat
their way all to nothing, and how there was
lots of land out there considerably better
than the sunken lots, and how, instead of
watching one lazy horse, that wouldn't run
away without there was providence in it,
Tommy might have Il whole drove of char
gers like Mr.. CrGsus's and Mr. Tucker might
raise millions of bushels of golden grain, and
he shouldn't wonder if Tommy would be
President yet, and his three little brothers
feeding away ut public crib that never gives
out.
Tommy says it's all the horseshoe but the
doctors made sum of it in this way:
PXP-P
Pluck multiplied by Perseverance equals
Prosperity. The doctor says the example is
to be followed in general sort of way, but
principally by stopping a runaway horse
when there's an old coward of II doctor be-
hind him.-Nrs. Fr0ak MCUMy, in Hn'-
pers YouHg Pe0pA.