The Red Cloud chief., 1884-04-04

her oars.
Neiged IN As uncOmfor.ably Is Cleo
patra's crew in the picture, and unable
10 row or steer, We showed her OF IN tae
heavy surf. and being both fools and
children, trusted to Providence 20 keep
Us along the shore. The first thing Ne
Old was To wobble, and as We rather
liked webbing. 4 chorus went up to
that effect in seven grateful wells. Then
We rocked 1.-The cradle in the tree-tOp
wash a circumstance TO the way We
rocked after We left of wopblinr, Then
the RAIN beat on Us in 2 sudden gust,
n the 'white ladies' loaned over the
sides Of the and in.o our laps with
a rude familiarity 10 which nc genuine
white lady should descend. Alter that
the deluge, Yes. our Heaven-ordained
nurse was flirting round some invisible
corner with the elements. after the fash
ion OF earthly maids and tangible police
men. leaving her panic-stricken charges
10 tie me-cieS OF the cruel, greedy
waves. / think even Baby Dixie real
lied that water up TO our knees meant
sinking. and that sinking meant death
and 80 Their was nothing 10 do but
shrek fer poor dear daddy. with Il
childish faith that he could save us,
and, iailin- him. to make up II seven
small minds TO sink the yefy best we
knew how, and all 20 to Heaven in a
bunch.
Ii was quite plain the crazy Old tub
had made up its mind 10 20 TO the bot
tom. and the beautiful perSistency with
which she settled 10 her work would
have sent Us down with Sichcning swift
ness, only that Providence, remember
ing lis ~ The very last moment. rushed
10 our rescue in the shape of Captain
Dan.
-
To say we adored our neNt-GOOrfa farm
er but >habbily expresses the devotion
with which We a>Sailed the preSeryer Of
our useless little lives. All along, we
had kn lwn him simply as the man with
n beard, and bothered no more about
him. but n9'c.!
Tin an Of M childhood, how full 20
stopping VT kept You with bait, Oh.
soft crabs, guiver.ng Ike unto live poul-
tees in dingy nets. Oh. fat. pHrpli>h
an-le-worm>, Oh. brown->nouted clans.
We beat up partrid-eS from the russell
hedges, and while his gun was SmOk-
ing. hunted the stubble 10 bring them
Ia him warm and wet and dead. We
let him into the secret of every nest and
bUrrow in the chaitL pines, and bis
tered ourselves in the corn-Held fighting
~marauding crows. We wen extended
our love to the old mare that had come
tnnaa r-,r., rI. rt-p- with him an yflc
and horSehair-and 10 the rusty little
fishing smack that had helped 10 save
our lives.
He never made rs feel, God bless
him, that We Were not delightful 10
gas Upon, or that we might be less az
CresSive in the way of teeth and nails
and heels. There was ALWAYS 4 br;gh:
sort OF welcome in his brown freckled
face when We scampered across fields OF
along roads 10 meet him, and his was
always the first CHEEKY word, always,
IT least. until that unlucky evening
when we met him canterinc from the
village with the alarmin.
men that Cousin TIL had come.
Cousin till meant mas niece. She
was one of those big, gorgeous looking
young women ? body calls stunn ng he
hind her bach--a Young Woman with
lots of bronze hair in 4 demoralize,l
state of puff, bang and ~frizzle, with
cheeks Ike peach-bloomS all pink and
waXy. and lips Is red and tempting u
ma ; bush of scarlet Sa~e.
She WAS rich. too. in a mild sort Of
way, dressed in milk-white frock> and
blue ribbons for breakfast. and had a
beau, MA said. for every day in the
week. For the rest, she owned a big
farm ten miles above Us, visited ma
when there was nothing better going
on. and always went of IN 4 hu!f. She
Treated Us children fairly enough, con-
sidering, and all we knew o cared
aboGt her was that she slept in mittens
10 keep her hands white. carried her
trunk key with cooperating consistency,
never tasted coffee on account Of her
complexion and wished her name was
Maud instead of Matilda all we cared
at least. until that unlucky evening
when Captain Dan would bulge no
nearer than the garden after which |
am bound TO own we hated her with 4
hatred too genuine to put in print.
Budge. he wouldn'teven look toward
the house-eyen when w chung TO his
saddle flaps and swarmrd about his
legs. and tagged and coaXed and Scold-
ed, we could get no better satisfaction
than 4 playful flip Of his riding whip as
he gave his horse tine bride and slowly
rode away. That was the beginning Of
it. We rarely saw orr preServer after
that, and never once AT the house-how
We hated her for it. and how We wished
to goodness she would have the serse
TO 90.
AT last, when things had boone 20
desperate that Captain Dan never even
scudded by in his fishing smack. nor
his old mares head into II
road-and Cousin Till kept on being
swe I as peaches-we held an indigna-
ton meeting on the back piazza and
our wrongs in speech.
"Cut her throat and bury her in the
suggested John. our harmless
who was addicted to uncomfort-
ably vivid dreams.
wy tan We put ard trabS ia her
bed anil dwown her wifi a wope,," lisped
our Borgia of six.
Better shave that head of hers
advised jim. who reslly gave brilliant
promise Of being a first-claSS villain-
Dr1,- D.. HI 80, Tel Ii IT. I