St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-11-10

for Tommy. one of the boys, had an
nounced that he was going to make
Jack o. Lantern and VIII asked her
very particularly to come over, saying
that if she could come, they would have
a :" candy-pull.'
Now if there was anything in this
world that Bessie enjoyed. it was a
"candy-pull;" not that she cared much
for it by herself in grandma kitchen.
but only with q merry party of boys and
girls who enjoyed it as much as she did.
And then she did wish SO much to see
/! the .sJack O. Lantern" for never in
her whole life had she set eyes on such
| thing, and she had been told that they
were very funny. But she knew that it
| would be of no use to ask grandma if
she might go, it was such a very cold
night. Then Abby had a sore throat
and could not 90 with her Joe was
very busily engaged in mending a har-
ness which must be ready for use in the
morning, and grandpa was hardly
able to stir with an attack of rheuma-
tism. So Bessie ate her supper in
silence and with very doleful little
face. Grandma noticed it, and pro-
posed that they should pop some corn,
there were such nice Goals in front of
! the fire place, and told her that she
would show her how she used to pop it
when she was a little girl by covering it
up in hot ashes.
| But Bessie wasn't interested in corn
popping just then. She said that she
was tired of popcorn and wished she
had some one to play with. Then she
scratched little bit of the frost away
from the window-pane and peeped out
of. doors, and, if it was dark, it seemed
very CHEEKY, and not bit what Abby
called pokerish. A red lantern was
flashing along the road. There was a
sound Of distant sleigh bells, and the
wind was blowing merrily. A sudden
idea flashed into her mind. She might
steal out of doors and run down to Aunt
Mary's, and no one would know a thing
about it. She would wait until grand
ma got asleep over her knitting in the
sitting room, and Abby got settled over
her apple-peeling in the kitchen. Then
if Abby missed her, she would think she
was in the sitting-room with grandma,
and if grandma woke and found that
she was not in the sitting room, why,
she would conclude at once that she
was in the kitchen with Abby. And it
was not long before an opportunity IA
vored her to do as she had planned.
It was awfully cold out of doors, to be
sure, but Bessie ran very fast and
did not mind it much. Sometimes the
wind almost took her breath away,
but what was that when one had such
delights before herr Then, when she
got undep the hill out of sight of the
lights on grandpa's house, and out of
sight of any house, she commenced to
feel 8 little frightened and to wish that
she was safe at home. If she had only
taken old Carlo with her, she would not
have felt so lonely. But still she trotted
bravely on and finally reached the little
lane which led to Aunt Mary's house
and past it through stretch of woods
into another road. The lane was shell
tered by great trees, so that it was not
so cold, and Bessie's spirits rose again.
Her hand was upon the latch of the
garden-gate, when, on looking up, she
/ beheld a sight which fairly curdled her
blood with horror. 1t was, in reality,
Tommy's Jack o. Lantern which he had
just finished and stuck upon the gate
post, hoping to startle his mothers
servant-girl when she came in from
milking. But to Bessie, who had not
the most distant idea what it was. it
| seemed like the head Of some frightful,
grinning monster, whose mouth was al
ready open to swallow naughty children.
She uttered one loud, agonizing scream.
dropped the latch, and ran on toward
| the woods as fast as her feet would
carry her. Not for the world
would she have gone through that
gate which was guarded by the horrible
thing. But the people in the house did
not hear her scream, for the wind was
doing the same thing, and she went on
and on, never needing where she went,
| caring nothing for the darkness of the
woods, conscious Of nothing but the
dreadful fear that the monster was fol-
| lowing her. She dared not look behind
| her; she had not strength even to cry.
In some places the snow was deep, and
the effort she made in running through
! it was very exhausting for little thing
| like Bessie. 1t was warmer in the
| woods than out in the bleak highway,
but still it was bitterly cold; and it was
SO dark in some places that she ran into
the trees
"Oh, what should she do! Wouldn't
she get out Of the woods soon and find
some house with good, kind people in
it, who would take her home to grand
map she said to herself.
But it was whole mile through the
woods, and that is q good way for a
little girl to run on wild winters
night; and just before she reached the
end of it, she sank down quite ex-
hausted in the snow. She was horribly
cold at first, but this sensation soon
passed away, sense of drowsiness
stole over her, and she was soon quite