Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-05-30
NEDDY's CARELEssNEss.

NEDDY'S CARELESSNESS. 's
This is true story, and his real
name was Neddy. He was generally a
good boy; that is, he was not a very
bad boy, only sometimes little care
less. be did not tell naughty stories,
he seldom quarreled with his little
sister, he was not selfish; and he only
got into the sngar-box aud jam-pot once
in great while. Now, l do not mean
that he got into the sugar-box and jam
pot, but his fingers sometimes found
their way to the sugar humps and jam.
Neddy was i've years old. had brown,
curly hair, blue eyes. and wore a blue
gingham dress the day he not only
alarmed the neighborhood but aroused
the whole town into a commotion. 1t
was through carelessness; but, dear
me! if he had not been careless should
not have this story to write. 0
Neddy's mamma had gone to pay
some calls, leaving him, Mt home with
his sister Fanny, baby brother, and Jane,
the nurse. At first they all were In the
yard. Jane swung baby in the ham,
mock while Neddy and Fanny shoveled
sand into their little cart, and, pretend-
ing it was full of coal, took it to Kena,
the cook, 10 sell. Presently Fanny
wanted drink of water, so Jane took
baby in her arms and went with Fanny
into the dining-room to get the drink
for her. -- RI ---.r q,
They were only gone a few minutes,
but when they went back into the ward,
Neddy was nowhere to be seen.
Jane called him-"Neddy, y Ned
dyn No answer Then she went into
the house to look forhim. She looked
in the pariors, library, upstairs in the
bedrooms, and down in the kitchen,
but he was not in any of them. Then
she called him again -'.Neddy! .Neddy!
Where are you?' Still no answer. By
this time Jane began to be frightened,
and, giving the baby. to .Kena, she ran
out into the yard, searching every-
where. She looked into the coal and
wood bins; she peeped down the we'll;
and even looked under all the currant
and gooseberry bushes; but no. Teddy.
Then she ran into the neighbor's
houses on either. side of them, and
gazed up and down the street every
where. Not a vestige of little boy of
his description be seen anywhere. ~
Then poor Jane was at her wits endi
What should she do nextP What had
become of her darling Neddy! Certain
ly some dreadful thing had happened
to him, for he had never been known
to go outside of the gate without per-
mission. Perhaps lie had fallen into
the well, and was now lying at the bot
tom of it, white and cold! Or, perhaps
dreadful thought!-he had, been
stolen by some gypsies, and they were
beating him 10 stop his crying. She had
heard the day before that there waa a
gypsy camp Just below town, and sure
ly they had stolen her Neddy away.
The more she thought of it the moe
positive she became about it.
Then she happened to remember the
telephone, and ran Immediately to Ia Z.
form Neddy's papa of what had oo.
CURED. "Neddy is lost" she sai.,
talking through the queer little box. II
can't find him anywhere, and Pm afraid
the gJpsies have stolen him., He had ON
. blne bingham dress, and wore no
hat" Then she ran out on the sidewalk
again and found Kena rushing frantic
ally up and down with baby in her
arms, crying wildly and alarming all
the passers-by. Nearly everybody on
the street stopped to inquire what was
the matter, and in few minutes nearly
a dozen people had started on the
search for lost Neddy. Mrs. Brown ran
in one direction, Mr.. Smith in another,
and Mr.. Jones jumped into his buggy
and started towards the part of The
town where the gypsy encampment was
said to be.
You can imagine how enlightened and
unhappy Neddy's papa was when he
heard through the telephone that Neddy
was lost. He put OF his hat and started
for homo as fast as he could go. Pretty
soon he met a policeman and stopped
20 tell him about it so that he could as
sist in searching for Neddy. He told
the policeman how Neddy was dressed
In blue gingham frock and wore NO
hat. and the policeman telephoned the
description to his chief, so that before
long it was known all over town. Each
police oificer kept on the lookout for a
little boy with brown, curly hair, who
wore n blue ginsham frock and no hat.
Neddy's papa was all this. time ,hiir-
rying home. as fast as possible. He
finally got there, all out of breath from
walking so fast, and just as he opened
the gate he happened to look up, and
there stood Neddy on~the front porch.
Jane and Kena and half "a dozen neigh
bors were crying over him and kissing
him. His mamma was there, too, and
looked as if she felt like laughing; and
as for Neddy himself, he looked rather
crestiallen. Where do YOU suppose he
had been all this timep will tell Won.
When Jane took Fanny In 10 get a
drink Neddy ran to the front gate and
looked out. Just as he popped his head
out of the gate he saw his mamma 90
ing into neighbor's house about half a
block of. The hdyNyhose house it was
lay quite i'll and his mamma was going
to sit with her q little while. Neddy.
seeing his mamma going in there, ran
after her. forgetting all the while that
Jane would mot know where he had
gone. His mamma saw him come in
the neiyhbors gate. but surprising tina,
Jane had given him permission TO Come,
thought no more about 1t. and sent him
into the back yard to play with the
neighbours little BOY while she talked to
the sick lady. Thus she WAS unaware
OF the commotion in. the street. as the
blinds were all closed in the LADY s
room, and she could not see Kcna,
Jane and the rest of them rushing wild.
ly around afterlost Neddy. By and by
she got ready to go. called Eeddy, who
had been very happy making mud pies,
aud. they went home. -
. Il assure you no one could, have been
more surprised at the exitement he had
created than Neddy himself; and i am
inclined TO believe he, thought it rather
q good joke, too. As for his papa and
Jane and Kena, they were all so glad to
find him safe that they readily forgave
him for being so careless, and Kens
sealed her forgiveness by Immediately
making him an apple turnover. sflr-'
1t was some time after that before the
excitement concerning Neddy's mys-
FERROUS disappearance died away. In
deed. the very next day, the morning
paper had half q column devoted to the
affair, and headed N-Child Lostn' z 5 .
That night before Neddy went to
AnA - Il = -