Osage Valley banner., 1881-04-21

and the cOachman, returning To the
box, drove rapidly away. the boys eyes
opened and fixed their frightened gaze
upon the lady's fsce. Preoccupied
with her own thoughts. she had not no.
ticed the queer bundle in tho dark cor
ner. But now, her attention attracted |
BY some slight movement ON his part, |
she turned her eyes slowly toward him, |
and then. with suppressed cry Of sur |
prise and alarm, laid her hand upon /
the door. The rattle OF the wheels 4
and the roar OF the wind prevented its /
reaching the ears of the coachman; 1
aud Tom, RAPIDLY unwinding himself, |
and covering down in the bottom of |
the carriage, said, with a frightened |
sob:
III didn't mean no harm | was aw-
full cold. Say, just open the door, Miss
is, and III jump out You needn't stop
the kerridge"
The lady, with her hand still on the
| door, demanded:
"liow did you get in hereP'
"The door was open, and clum in"
he answered. at was awful cold"
! The lady took her hand from the
door. Come nearer" she said. LET
me see your face"
/ Tom drew his ragged sleeve across
/ his ewes, and looked up at her over his
shoulder. They had turned into a
brilliantly lighted street, and she could
see that the tangled yellow hair was
soft and fine and that the big, frightened
! eyes that raised themselves TO hers were
not pickpocket's eyes. With a sudden
( impulse she laid her gloved hand light
/ ly on the yellow head. "Where doyou
livcp" she asked.
Something in the voice and touch
gave him courage. "With Nanny
SAL he answered, Strengthening up
"me and some other fellows. Some
times we begs, sometimes we take the
barrels. When we get haul it amt
so bad, but when we don't we keteh it,
She's drunk tonight, and she drove us
out.
She pushed the heavy hair back from
his forehead. els Nanny Sal your
motherp" she asked.
Nor cried the boy. almost liercely;
and then added sullenly, " amt got
none"
Slowly the gloved hand passed baek
and forth over the yellow hair lhe
ladys eyes were looking far away; the
boys face was like, so strangely like
another face.
"Are you hungry?" she asked sud
denly.
The wide-open gray eyes would have
answered her without the quick sob and
low "Yes'm."
The carriage stopped, and, the monu-
ment again accomplishing a descent,
|. opened the door, aud stood staring in
blank amazement,
II am not going in. john said his
mistress. ''Drive home again" And
she added, smiling, This little boy
crept in out OF the cold while the car
, riage was waiting. l am going 70 take
! him home, Drive back as quickly as
: possible"
AS the bewildered coachman shut the
door and returned to his perch, the
, boy made spring forward.
, sLemme outr' he cried II don't
7 want to 90 home Lemme outH'
, ''Not your home.n said the lady,
} gently 'my home. "
, Tom stared at her in wonder. and,
, too much overcome 10y the announce
ment to resist, let her lift him up on the
, seat beside her.
my home she repeated, 'where
} you can get very warm, aud have good
, dinner, and a long, long sleep, on a
. soft bed. viii you like that. "
, Tom drew long slow breath, but
4 did not answer. 1t was too wonderful!
7 He-one of Nanny Sal sboys--to go to
( the lady shouse where the children lived
. whom he had seen go in that EVENING" He
looked up suddenly, Were those
Q children yournP' he asked. With a
7 sudden movement she drew him very
< close 10 her. and then answered softly:
mo, not mine. / had little bog
once like you, and he died. y
When the carriage stopped again Tom
. was fast asleep; so fast asleep that the
! still bewildered coachman carried him
/ into the house and laid him on bed
. without waking him. The next morn
inc, when the boys eyesopened, he lay
4 looking about him. hardly daring Ia
/ sneak or move. don't believe he had
. ever heard anything about the fairies
9 or he would certainly have thought
; himself in fairyland. Best of all, the
! lady of the night before was standing
0 by the bed smiling at him, and smiling
4 back, he held out his arms to her.
: / wish you could have seen him lit.
Q tie later, when, arrayed in Jacket and
3 trousers that made him think with dis.
2 dain of certain articles of the same de-
{ scription which he had but yesterday
gazed at lovingly as they danged be-
e fore old Isaacs' clothing store, he sal
Q before a little table by the sunny win
4 dow, taking short, a very short pre-
) liminary view of gigantic beefsteah
' still Indignantly sputiering Ito itself {
1 mountain of smoking potatoes, an i'm
y posing array Of snowy rolls and COLDER
1 butter and pitcher Of creamy milk
! And I wish, too, Nou could have seer
5 the same table still later; for the table