McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1884-12-04
1JVO POLYOPTTCON PARTIES.
The Reason Why Jack Lee Gires Free Shoivs
Ecery Christmas Zee.

| oCuCCo VI tIc ltCG tudb SllOkc luulcdteS
a fire somewhere, even if the smoke was
only smell on her small boys mis-.
chievous hands.
''YOu've been playing with fire again,
Jack?'' she inquiringly affirmed on one
particular day, just before election.
''Did you see mep" asked Jack, with
out raising his honest blue eyes.
Mrs. Lee was wise young mother,
so she said reassuringly:
''Tell mamma all about it, Jack!
Did you have an awful nice time?"
The effect of the invited confidence
was electrical. Jacks face grew abso-
lutely brilliant with certain mirthful
recollections as he answered, boy-like:
'You bet! We had a bully good
time! You just ought to have seen us
making daisy fires in tin cans, and
when we saw the cops coming, we ran
down the back alley, and then 1 came
home. Oh, it was funr'
81 say, marm," he continued, insinu-
atingly, "won't you please give me that
busted barrel out in the yard to make
bonnie of on lection night, if the best
man is 'lected, cause / don't want to
have to steal a good one from other
peoples back gate, like some of the
other boys do
Neither did Mrs. Lee care to have the
family name furnished, so she said:
eyes, Jack, you can have the barrel, :"
with the mental determination to have
her small boy rather more carefully
guarded, for he was not yet six years
old, and he seemed just little too pro-
gressive for his age
1t was really wonderful how often
those tiny never-clean hands proved
traitors, and disclosed the workings of
their youthful masters busy brain; and
in time Mrs. Lee learned, from the pc
culiar smell, to tell Just what manner
of fire Jack had been tampering with.
Once, the combined odor of gas and
matches rather mystetied the little
mother, but the usual cheerful inquiry
revealed the nature of her darling's in
vestigations.
81 was only getting my alligator to
going" he said.
Mrs. Lee was perplexed; what did
Jack mean?
'Why, don't you know, mamma
don't you member when we were going
up in the alligator at the store the other
day, how it shook funny, and the man
told us about the gas, and he pulled a
cord, and we rode up and down? So l
made one most like it; come up stairs
and see''
No second invitation was needed, and
sure enough! there was an impromptu
elevator; small bed drawn near the
window where the curtain cord was
within convenient reach, as the lighted
gas supplied imaginary steam.
The rather pleasant smell of burnt
sugar always told on the lighted candy
cigar, and one day the never-idle hands
were strongly impregnated with kero-
sene.
"Jack," said Mrs. Lee, who had one
of her happy thoughts, ''what have you
been doing with your Polyopticon?'
Just getting it ready for my party"
Jack unhesitatingly answered.
s.Did you try to light the lamp"
asked the anxious mother.
"Course not! Didn't you tell me
never to do that, and didn't promise 1
wouldn't? No, marin; tell you just
fixed Poly up for the party
Mrs. Lee breathed free again; but the
party! What could the boy mean?
She found out soon after dark, when
dozens of boys and girls-Jack's play
mate-came trooping in-a regular sur
prise party; but Mrs. Lee was equal to
the occasion. Jack had arranged the
Polyopticon-his amusing and instruc-
tive wonder camera-upon the table all
right. So Mrs. Lee secured the white
screens to the heavy curtains in the bay
window, lighted the lamp, and then the
show commenced. But just before Mrs.
Lee put out the gas, she was astonished
by having fifty cents in five-cent pieces
slipped into her hand by the small door
keeper, who had offered his services for
the occasion.
"What is that for, Roberto" she
asked.
swell, you see, Mrs. Lee" Robert
bashfully answered, ''Jack said this was
to be free show; but he told us the
other day that his papa was not very
we'll, and he 'sposed he was kinder tired
out; so me and Will Jones made it up be-
tween us to charge the rich boys five cents
piece for coming in TO this party, but
don't be uneasy, we let the girls and the
poor boys in for nothing; and if you
please, just use the money l gave you to
help Jacks papa out little.'
And these were the two very boys
Mrs. Lee had often spoken of as ''bad
boys" but she took it all back, as she
stopped and kissed the brown forehead.
What pleasant time the little folks
had!
1t was real amusing to hear their orig
inal remarks as the odd shadow pictures
were thrown one after another upon the
white screen. Never had the Polyopti-
con worked so delightfully."-, and it was
such surprise when the baby brothers
and sisters of many of the children APP
peared in various attitudes before them.
That, too, was Roberts thoughtful
work; he had secured the photographs
because Jack had told him that ''his
magic-lantern did not have to have glass