Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1888-07-14

. the scene he had, in fact, got his knees
and hands together on the sill, and IN
that critical attitude looked up at her
with immense surprise and the dawning
of grin on his face, as she burst in up
on him with her weapon brandished.
For the fraction of second thay faced
stop for question or parley. With one
scream tLat would have done credit to q
COmanche Indian, she lifted her broom
and brought it down on the top Of that
ancient beaver with whack that sent
the hat not only down over its owners
eyes and ears but over his nose as well.
and even over his mouth. Her victim
gave one protesting roar as his extin-
guisher came down over him, but his
subsequent outcries were buried in his
hat. He lifted one hand to try to pull
it off, but, in so doing grew unsteady on
the window sill, and, aided by second
blow from the broom. fairly lost his bal
ance and toppled over in a struggling
heap, but, unfortunately, not Oh the
ground outside, but insiie on the pantry
floor.
At this unforeseen disaster even Lizzy's
|
broom and fled to unbolt the front door.
The two children in the kitchen set up
a louder scream, if possible, at the sound
of the tumble in the pantry. The un-
fortunate intruder grunted and groaned,
and, writhing into sitting posture,
tugged at the hat, which stuck to him
as if he had been melted and run into
it.
"For goodness gracious sake" cried
Mrs. Milham's voice, as she hurried up
the front walk, "what as going on here z"
A scream from all three children as
they rushed to her for protection was
her only answer, but, looking through
the open pantry door, she saw remark
able sight. There sat the strange man
on the floor. He had at length succeed
ed, not in getting his hat back over his
nose, bodily, but in tearing the stiff
brim from the upper part, and freeing
his mouth 50 as to get a breath of air.
Fiery red in the face with exertion and
suffocation, his short gray hair standing
up all over his head, his eyes dilated
with amazement and indignation, the
rim of the hat hanging round his neck
! like an old-fashiOned ruff-he was q
/ sight TO 1rlgiiten any one.
And vet it was something different
from fear that made Mrs. Milbam start
back and then stand as if she were para
lyzed, staring at the stranger.
Good landy compassion" she gasped.
"Uncle Patterson !"
The children stopped their screaming,
and gazed from her to the tramp, uncer-
tain. Lizzy was the first to realize the
situation, and to see what she had done.
This was no tramp! This was the very
uncle on whose coming they had been
counting SO long, and whom they were
going to receive in such polite and
lady-like way! This was the rich uncle
who had come meaning to take them
home with him to ''live in clover" and
this was the way she had welcomed him,
All the lofty castles in the air which she
had been building during the past week
were shattered to pieces and tumbled to
the ground, SO to speak, by the blow of
broom. 1t was too dreadful! She
cast one despairing glance at the wrecked
hat and the red face, and then, sobbing
out, "Oh, mamma, thought he was tho
tramp thought he was the tra-a-dmp
buried her own face in her mothers
dress, and cried as if her heart would
break. The other children joined in the
chorus, Bess loudest of oil, and it seemed
as if Bedlam had broken loose to the
distracted Mrs. Milham.
She finally got voice enough back to
begin, "Well, really, Uncle Patterson. 1
don't know how to apOl-" but at this
point she was interrupted by new de-
monstration on the part of their peculiar
guest. At LiZZy's cry, 81 thought he
was tramp his angry and surprised
expression had changed to grin-a
new light seemed slowly to dawn on
him, and finally he broke in upon Mrs.
Milham's confused excuses with
tremendous "Hal ha! ha !" that fairly
shook the little house. Even Lizzy
stopped crying in wonder at the sound.
The old mans amusement was irresisti-
BILE; even Mrs. Milham, in all her morti-
fication, could not help joining in. The
children began to think it all very funny
when their mother would laugh, and
made almost as much noise this way as
they did before in their alarm. At last
Uncle Patterson gathered himself up
slowly from off the floor, and said:
"Don't ye say another word Thought
I was q tramp, did shel Haw haw!
haw! Never mind, little gal, we've got
right good spunk, and l like spunk
wherever see it, Coin to knock me
on the head, was shel Haw. haw!
right for comm IN on We that way And
there amt no harm done, except to the
hat, and CUES it won't do me harm to
git new one anyway"
aye see, Betsey, he went on, taking q
chair in the kitchen. II got chance to
ride over with one OF your neighbors by
the name O johnson, and walked over
from his house. Thought I'd save the
stage the trouble. But when got here
it was SO hot that it seemed as if / must
git in somewhere or roast. So. thinkin'
nobody was to home, l made free to
climb in your window, but got caught
i'll my burglarizin here he looked
with twinkling eye at Lizzy, who hid
her face-''and good enough fer me-"
What a merry time they had together
that evening. Their peculiar introduc-
ton took away all stiffness between them.
The children played about in their usual
way, and Mr.. Harwood Patterson
softened and waru ed to them to de-
gree that astonished even himself. And
at last, when Garry and Bess had gone
to bed, and he and Mrs. Milham and
Lizzie sat in the moonlight together, he
said:
"Wa'al Betsy, I guess we might rs
well settle it about your comm to live
with me before we sleep. If you're
agreeable, lam. Really, 1 don't see how
I've got along without your company so