The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-06-23
FRANKS FUN.

1t was up in an old trunk in the gar
'ret that Frank found them. He did not
at hrst know what the queer, ugly things
were; some of them made him laugh.
and others almost frightened him.
They were masks which his older
brothers had long ago used in Fourth
OF July frolic. He tried them on.
looking at himself in an old looking
glass which hung on a rafter.
''Ho! hor' he laughed. This looks
IKE the monkey the organ-boy had. and
this one is like giant, and here's a
| fierce fellow-one of the sort that
breaks into the house and kills all the
folks. | mean to have some Jolly fun
with these. I'll scare Bridget
He fastened on a big face with black
whiskers, and with stocking feet stole
softly down the back stairs. Bridget
was taking up the dinner as he opened
the door. Just as she turned from the
stove, with tureen of gravy in one
hand and dish of sweet potatoes in the
other, she heard strange sound which
Frank made in as gruff voice as he
could:
Observation-Disclosures
1t was not so very frightful a noise,
but no wonder poor Bridget, at sight of
the dreadful face peeping at her from
the stair door, gave loud scream and
dropped both gravy and potatoes.
Smash they went to the floor, the po-
tatoes rolling and the gravy splashing
in every direction.
''What is the matter?" cried Franks
mother, coming in haste to the kitchen
door. Bridget, with staring eyes, pointed
to the stairs.
"Och, mem! an it's a murtherin'
villains up the stairs. Sure, it's me own
blessed eyes saw him as plain as the
day
why, Bridget, you must be mis-
taken. No one can be upstairs, but to
satisfy you, I'll see" She went up,
but in the meantime Frank had quickly
and quietly stolen back to the garnet
and hidden the black whiskered face at
the very bottom of the old trunk. And
Bridget was not at all satisfied at being
told that it was all her own fancy.
81 hope Bridget is not given to such
notions" said Bridget's mistress, who
had but lately hired her, as the family
sat at dinner. "She seems to be a
good cook, and L hope to be able to
keep her.
"She must be nervous said some
one else.
"And very full of foolish fears"
No one noticed the uneasy face of
Frank, who felt as if he ought to tell of
his caper, but found, as children al
ways do, that the longer he put it off
the harder it was.
A few days after this, he went to
visit his married sister. While his
mother was packing his clothes in a
valise, he managed to slip in one of the
masks, hoping to have more fun with it
than the last one had given him.
He put it on one day and stood out
side the gate. 1t was not a very bad
looking one, and he thought it would
only make people laugh. He did not
realize how much worse the grotesque
thing looked when on him, it then hay
ing an unnatural appearance which
would startle any one.
He peeped around the corner at lit
tie girl who was coming, and laughed
at the comical face she made as she
gave loud cry at sight of him. She
started to run away, but in her haste
ran against the stone-wall humping her
head and dropping her doll.
Frank was sorry, and, forgetting how
he looked went towards her; where
upon she screamed louder than before
A boy came up who looked very con-
temptuously at Frank.
YOU'RE in big business, amt you
| 81 hnx
she's hurt herself and broken her doll
arm. It's only towards that scare
girs!''
Frank began to think so, too. He
skunk back into the yard, and was going
to put the mask away.
But unfortunately the nurse had Just
left baby alone for few moments
in the shade, and Frank could not resist
the temptation of springing from behind
the bushes to see what baby would think
of masks.
If the poor little fellow had been well
he would probably have looked gravely
upon it as only one of the queer things
in this queer world he had got into. But
he was ailing-his little cheek flushed
and his eyes bright with fever.
Dropping his rattle, he Strengthened
up in his buggy with one Mortified look.
Then he sank back with pitiful little
gasp and threw up his hands, while his
eyes looked so strange that Frank,
flinging the mask into the bushes, ran
to the house calling for some one to
come. When the nurse hurried out her
cry of alarm brought baby's mamma.
"He's in spasm Oh, run for the
doctor-quick, quick, Frank!n
And Frank run harder than he had
ever run before, with tears on his face
and sore dismay at his heart.
Hours later his sister hearing a sound
of quiet shifts outside her door, opened
it to find Frank lying on his face in the
hall crying as if his heart would break.
"Why, Frank, what ails youP Come
out hoese on the piazza and tell me-"
80, EmilyP' he sobbed remorsefully,
''it was l who made baby worse; |
frightened him with my mask"
She drew the whole story from him,
including the trick he had played on
Bridget, rather glad it was too dark for
him to see the smile she could not
avoid. But there was no smile in the
| serious talk she paye him.