The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-07-28
HOW Tidy DROVE THE COWS
HOME,

hOhLs
"Where is that boy 'Bimelech?" said
Aunt Huldah, in an aggrieved tone.
"There amt chore done, and the
white turkey has gone across the field
TO steal her nest again, and the guinea
pigs are squealing for their supper
enough to deafen you, and the wood
wantin' to be chopped, and Jonas gone
to see his mother. Why he couldn't
have mother livin' in this town in
stead of ten miles off | don't see; but
hired men have no consideration for
other people, any more than boys have.
/ should like to know who is going for
the cOwsr
Aunt Huldah was little cross, but
then-poor woman!-she had had q
hard time to manage the farm and
make both ends meet since Uncle
Joshua died And although she did
,scold sometimes, she was very kind to
'Bimelech and Tidy.
'Iwill 90 and bring home the cows, -
said Tidy. Il can ride Lightning
bare backed / have done it ever so
many times.
81 don't think poor old Lightning
will ever run away with anybody" said
Aunt Huldah. ''But it's hard work
for you to take down the bars and put
them up again. | don't believe in
girls doing such things, when it's what
boys are for. But there's no telling
what time that boy'll be home Per-
haps you may as well 90. And you'd
better hurry, for it's lonesome road,
and it will be dark before long"
Tidy had old Lightning out of his
stall and was on his back in twink
ling. But there was no such thing as
hurrying old Lightning. He knew as
well as Tidy did that they were only
going for the cows, and he didn't mean
to hurry his stiff old bones on any such
commonplace occasion. 1t was long
time ago that Lightning had earned his
name. Jonas, the hired man, said he
was ''slower than stock-still'' now.
Tidy broke off a beech switch, and
tried that as a persuader. She did
want to get the cows home in good
time, so that Aunt Huldah need not
think too much about 'Bimelech's alb
sence. He had bright new half-dollar
that he had earned by picking berries,
and there was circus over at Gran
berry Center. Tidy didn't bnow that
he had gone there, but she was pretty
well acquainted with boys. You couldn't
have 'Bimelech for q brother without
being.
Instead of having his pace quickened
by the beech switch, Lightning, not
being accustomed to such things,
stopped short, and turned his head
around to look at it. Then he twitched
it out of Tildy's hand and serenely
munched the green leaves.
After that Tidy returned to moral
suasion, and told him how important it
was to have the COWS MIXED, and the
milk taken care of at the proper time,
for OF the cream was to be made Aunt
Huldah's goldenest, sweetest, fragrant
est butter, that was expected to take a
prize at the Agricultural Fair. and out
of the prize money Aunt Huldah had
promised to buy her, Tidy, a new cam
brio dress bright blue with tiny spots
to wear to the Sunday picnic.
can't say that old Lightning was
touched by these arguments, but he did
begin to go a little faster, and before
Tidy had fairly decided what color to
have the hat trimmed with which Aunt
Huldah might have money enough to
buy her, to go with the dress, she had
reached the pasture.
Instead of being close beside the bars,
as they usually were at night, the COWS
were huddled together in a distant
corner of the field, as if they were
frightened, and suddenly as she stopped
lightning at the bars, he began to
shiver and pant with terror.
"What can it possibly meanP" said
Tidy, aloud. But before the words
were out of her mouth her heart seemed
to have stopped beating. From behind
clump of bushes there suddenly APP
peared a huge shaggy brown creature,
that walked with numbering gait
straight toward her.
Tidy knew in moment that it was
bear. 'Bimelech was very fond of
natural history and knew as much
about animals as the school-master him
self, and he was always showing pict-
ures of animals to Tidy and explain
ing all about them.
A bear he certainly was, and big
one, but how he could have got there
was a question Since the days of her
great grandfather Tidy knew no bears
had been seen about there.
She had not much time to think, how
ever, for Lightning, quiyering in every
limb, dashed over the fence Lightning.