Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-07-25

the name OF Doctor Smith shora ;,
letters on q sign-board. gu
Before Phil could make up his ~.
what to do, Mr.. Folger had runr mM
bell, and the door was immad;. ls
opened by q pleasant-lookinr rsass
man in spectacles. e'uQs
"Ah, DOCTOR" said Mr.. Folger; ~
glad to find you at home. Here i AN
young friend, Master Peter GrubbsA ny ny
says he knows some one who is w. S ~
and who, in his anxiety to find a dos.l ",
Just now rang my door-bell as thonapTs,
had been a fire-alarm. C%onsiderinS.s,S
apparent urgency of the case, II. ,as
myself brought him to YOU" Nas
And then MI. Folger thrust pb;r.
into the hall, and, with an odd r, Np
pucker about his thin lips, took hi s' \.
parture, leaving the boy STANDING es
tremely red and embarrassed, il ~
presence OF the doctor, whom he lr as
very we'll by sight-for Doctor SmSiaN
was sometimes called in to see PhTal
family in sickness, and he had a nr pn
little daughter named Hetty, abos,
Pills own age, whom the latter s sa,
valentines, though without his 1a 1ra'
for he was very shy with the girls.
"NNhy, Philip" said the doctor, ASH
door closed on Mr.. Folger, 81 am so ,r,
to hear that any II is sick. And ho,
came the old gentleman to call yon
Peter Grubbs? Isn't there some nix IHs
take?"
"Yes, sir" answered the boy, fas,
ing considerably ashamed, but Think,
it best to confess the truth in order, :
get out of this scrapc-"yes, sir; il is,
"a mistake. There's nobody SICK .,
home, and 1 didn't come after you, sir
but
And here his courage failed him, and
he stammered and stopped short. and
looked as embarrassed and as shecpib
as a boy could we'll do.
son. said the doctor, eood-bD.
moredly, 81 understand! You came ~
| pay us a friendly visit? Well, wall
into the parlor, Philip. lam sure we ara
all very glad to see you. Here is Mrs
Smith and my daughter, Blanche, and
Hetty and Tom. You know Hetty and
Tom, don't you?"
The doctor had opened the parln
| door and led Phil into the room whoa
the family were all assembled. Tina
boy was very red and the picture q
confusion as he took the seat Offered
him. How could he explain here, befou
them all?
So he sat, nervously turning his hat
round and round, and feeling hot and
cold by turns, and almost wishing that
the earth would open and swallow him
up; for he was perfectly convinced that
the family imagined that he had come
to see Hetty. Indeed, he saw Tom
Smith, some years older than himself,
grinning behind the book that he had
been reading, and caught a glimpse Of
Hetty herself, ~blushing, on the opposite
side OF the center-table.
Mrs. Smith asked after his mother,
and the doctor pleasantly inquired about
his school and his studies; and present.
ly Miss Blanche placed checker-boau
on the table, and asked him if he
wouldn't like to play with Hetty: and
then she brought some cake and fruit,
which nearly chokcd Phil whe he tried
to swallow them; and the checkers
rolled on to the floor, and when he and
Hetty both stopped to pick them up, hs|
butted his head awkwardly against hers,
and Tom grinned again, until Phil felt
as though his face were in a furnace, it
burned SO.
IL think I must co." he said, rI
ing.
Mrs. Smith asked him to come again,
and Miss Blanche sent her love TO hi,
sister, Helen, and the doctor, as he
shook hands with him, said that they
would all be very glad to see him st
any time; and no sooner did Phil find
himself again outside of the front-do0
than he started off, and ran across the
| street into the very deepest shadows Of
the linens, where the boys had been all
this time, watching for his appearance,
for they had overheard what had passed
between himself and Mr.. Folger, and
greatly enjoyed Pills predicament.
ooh, my! you caught it this time
said one.
Rather, old Folger caught you
said Will Hart.
And then they all broke into a laugh
which SO eNasperated Phil that, in bis
eHcltement, he rushed in among them
and struck right and left, while they
lodged behind the trees, and laughed
and seemed to think it all a capital
joke.
"Ill never ring a door-bell again 70,
a joke as long as I live," he muttered
to himself, as he walked homeward.
And it is very probable that he has
far kept his word. al
But to this day, whenever Mr.. FoIgs'
meets Phil Hampton, he stops and ad
dresses him AS ''Master Peter GrubIs'"
inquiries after his mother, then passes
on, with a grim pucker about his mouth
and his little black eyes twinkling ma,
liciously. The old gentleman has had
his revenge.-Susam Archer Weiss. f"
Golden lays.
"A story, ocp,ac fron, Ca1pnOTi1.