The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1881-02-17
THE REIGN OF THE GEORGES.

Tbs story has no moral. Only fables
need morals, and this is not fable.
There were two of the Georges, COM
,lonly called George l. and George H.;
not that they belonged to the House Of
Hapsburgh, or any other royal house,
but to q very ordinary-looking yellow
brick, with two front doors and two
door bells. George l. went in at the
right-hand door. and George II. at the
left-that is, when they went in at all,
for they were usually plotting together
in some convenient corner, or carrying
their plans into execution in all sorts Of
inconvenient ones. This time it was q
tramp.
Everything had been arranged be-
forehand to the minutest details, except
that they were not going anywhere in
particular, and that is just where they
had the advantage of ordinary travel
ers. They could 60 east. west, north
or south without the trouble of chang
ing their minds. Saturday morning
they seized their luncheon boxes and
rushed out at the gate with a long
drawn whoop. There was Toodles
hanging by his heels from the park
fence. Toodles saw them, but before
he could reverse himself they had dart
ed through the alley and around .
corner.
IA close dodge" said George 1.
"He'd have been an awful nuisance"
as soon have a girl along" said
George IL. By this time they were in
front of an auction store, and they
stopped to look at the crowd and at the
man on the barrel. George II. often
entertained serious thoughts of being
an auctioneer instead of hack driver,
but was not quite decided. Such
motley crowd: Two Indian squaws
bidding for gay cotton haudkerchiefs;
farmer buying an immense pair of
cowhide boots; q colored woman carry
ing away an astonishing chrome; pack
ages of spoons, warranted pure silver.
going out over the heads of the crowd
in every direction; and, of all strange
things, some old show frames from q
photographers. filed with q miscella-
neous assortment of uncles and aunts,
grandmothers and cousins, were sold to
man with taste for art and q scanty
supply of relations!
"Wish they'd put up one of those
PISTOLS" said George L.; "a pistol is q
handy thing to have on tramp
The opportunity of the Georges came
presently when the man held up what
he called AN assorted lot" and called
for bids.
lone cintr' shouted a jolly Irish
man; which bid was followed by two!
three! four! until some one offered
five, when George II. said:
"Let's we bid! it's q whole box
full" And in less than two minutes
the Georges had invested five cents
each, and found themselves the happy
possessors of two old candle-boxes con-
tanning three rusty forks, q nutmeg
CRATER, bottle of indelible ink, an
iron spoon, bunch of lamp wicks, q
patent knife-sharpener, and miscel-
laneous mixture of knitting-needles,
hair. pins, wooden pin-holders, ten
penny nails and odd buttons.
THAT'S what I call q bargain"
chuckled George l.; and tucking their
boxes under their arms they marched
toward the bridge. moved by the in
stinct that always draws boys to places
where there is chance of breaking
their necks. They stopped on the
highest arch to look down at the river
rushing along a hundred feet below.
1t was enough to make ones brain reel,
but they minded it no more than if they
had been flies, born to hang upon the
ceiling by their toe-nails. Down on
the Island was the pretty Club House,
and two Of the Boat Club we're just
starting out to practice. They wore
red skull-caps, and had no clothes to
speak of, but it was wonderful to see
how they fitted themselves into the
frail little shells, balanced the long
oars and shot away up the stream.
I'm going to make me one of those
boats this winter" said George Ii.
George II. always was going to make
anything he fancied, from a rat-trap
to a high-pressure engine. He had
been known to undertake q steam saw
mill with no better material than an
old wood-saw, two boards from the
back fence, and joint of rusty stove
pipe.
Tell you what!'' suddenly exclaim-
ed George l., "let's have stand and
sell our things"
Lets 60 peddling," suggested
George H.; .'there's more'n five dollars
worth in these boxes"
After brief discussion they turned
back to Fourth street and waited for a
car. George /. was intimately acquaint-
ed with one driver, and George II. was
on confidential terms with another; but
as neither of them CHANGED along they
were forced to pay two cents for ride
on the platform, the driver winking at
the shortage. As they came to the
foot of q steep hill, q sleepy old horse
munching hay out of q barrel by the
roadside, with one eye cooked critically
towards them. suddenly grabbed .
parting bite and trotted into line. The
driver, without slackening speed.
reached down his stick to fasten the
dangling hook into place. The new
conner helped to pull the car up the
hill, when he was unhitched in the
same fashion, and was left to walk
le;surely back to his hay barrel This
was an operation of whose fascination
the boys were never weary, and they
discussed it until they reached the end
of the car-route. where they proposed
to open business. The houses prom
ised small success to peddlers; but
George l took one side of the street,
Al