Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1882-09-21
THE SMALL BOYS STORY.

hcJ anu ooiiS hiesuO w oohO huopS ico'
sons.
Thompson gave me the key when he
was leaving last term. l don't know
how he came by it, or what good it was
TO him as he never saw a train except
when he went home for the holidays;
but he was always talking OF the con-
venience of having such thing when
you were travelling, and limiting at the
mysterious penalties the company
might inhict if they caught you using
IL.
He gave it me in exchange for bit
of Letty's hair (she's my sister, and
Thompson was dreadfully in love with
her) and scrap of the bonnet trim
ming she wore in church. stole that
but had to ask her for the hair, and
she brought out whole bundle and
said i might trade away the lot if
chose. Hair wasn't worth much now
Music was another thing altogether.
Herr Otto Finke was an old friend of
my fathers, and live. at LuckbOrO' our
market town.
He took a fancy to me-bother him;
and actually persuaded my father and
mother to let me come over to Luck
boro' every market-day. with my faith
er, for lesson In German and music.
l didn't mind dining with him first
(uncommonly queer messes we had, land
lots of jam with them but the music
was simply disgusting-(in the holt
days, too!-and the lessons generally
ended by Finke getting to the piano
himself, and warbling songs of his
Vaterland by the hour. He did so
once too often though-and now have
got to my story.
We used to come and go between
Mosslands and Luckboro' by omnibus.
There was a Mcsslands station ON the
line between Luckboro' and London,
but by father never went by 1t if he
could help it. When he did, though l
had the key with me never dare use
it, and began to think had made a
bad bargain with Thompson.
One Tuesday, however, last winter,
Finke got so carried away by his own
sweet singing that he kept ON long af-
ter / ought to have gone to meet my
father, and then got so remorseful that
thought he was geing to cry; or per-
haps want to keep me all night.
Look here l said, 1T doesn't matter.
There's a train that gets in as soon as
the bus. can catch it if l run
Good.byr And off scudded, one arm
in and one out of my top-coat, for l
was sure he'd object, or want to see me
of. l had money, and there was a
train, which came up long before l had
seen all / wanted about the station.
l made dash at carriage. 1t
wasn't locked, as half hoped it might
be, and in scrambled, but was nearly
blown out again by volley of the
strongest language 1 ever did hear.
The train started and jerked me down
into seat before I'd time TO get my
breath. / was not used to bad express
sions, and my fellow-traveller' remarks
made my blood run cold.
There were ladies in the carriage,
but he didn't seem to mind that. He
had red, scowling face, with heavy
red eyebrows and bloodshot eyes. All
the rest of him was mass of railway
rugs and wraps. l had tumbled over
his toes into the middle seat opposite,
where l sat scared and speechless, till
/ caught the eyes of the lady next to
him fixed on me.
Ughl such bad old facet A tight
cruel mouth, with all sorts of coil-lines
about it, and wicked, sharp gray eyes
that screwed into one like gimlets.
didn't care much for Redface by this
time. l don't believe he would twist
my neck and chuck me out Of window
as he suggested; but hated her al
over at once, from her sausage-curls-
grixzly-gray, two on each side-to heI
hooked claws of fingers that were
twitching away at her knitting-needles
in and out of big gray stocking.
Hush, Sammy she said quite sweet
ly; the poor child means no harm, an(
he can easily get out at the next station
Where are you going to, lover
could only cape in reply and sh'
must have thought / was softly, fol
she twisted my ticket clean out of my
hand before 1 knew what she wa
after.
Mosslands. Very good. That's tn
next station. I'll see him safe out
Sammy, dear.
Sammy growled an inarticulate re
Spouse from under his rugs.
The third passenger had neither spo
ken nor stirred. She sat on the sam
side as the other two, covered with
big plaid rug, and blue woollen vel
tied over her head. could make moth
ing out except that she seemed aslee
in very uncomfortable attitude.
sat in the middle opposite the oil
woman. 1t was so disagreeable, 6ndin
her sharp eyes on me while her needle
clicked on just the same, that though
/ might as well pretend to 60 to slice
too. So curled myself up, and CAV
one or two mods, and then dropped m
face on my arm so that she couldn
see it.
Presently 1 heard the needles goin
slower and slower. peeped, and sa'
the big bonnet and sausage-curls 81,
ing lurch forward and then bacl
ward, once, twice; then a big snor'
81 tIox, aba xxyao on TOO