The Arizona sentinel., 1888-10-20

boy?"
 | Jack started as if he had been shot when this request awoke him from the
 reverie in which he had been plunged. He was perched on top of one of the l high old-fashioned gate-pOsts, so lost in thought that he had not noticed the carriage rolling rapidly along the dus. ty road until it came to a sudder stop beneath the branches of the old elm.
 s'Yes, sir" he answered, scram.
 bling down from his perch ir
 red confusion; and in few min
 utes he had drawn a bucket of coo
 water from the old moss-grown vel and brought some to the carriage in the only glass the modest home afforded.
 Jack shyly shuffled his bare feet in the hot sand while he waited for the glass, only giving one swift glance at the occupants of the carriage-an old lady, with white soft curls framing her kindly face, a gentleman, and boy about Jacks own size, but as different from the sturdy, bare-legged, sum- burned boy as daintily clad delicate invalid could be.
 ..Much obliged" and the carriage went on its way again, while Jack turned the silver dime the gentleman had dropped in the glass over and over in his brown hand.
 'Oh! if could only get a dollar somehow" he said, presently. ''This is a start toward it, but 1 know I'll never get the rest in time. Faint no use trying; might as well give up at once. Things ain't fair in this world nohow. That boy in the carriage has every thing he wants, and can't have any thing"
 The usually bright, boyish face was wrinkled up into an expression of dis content as Jack compared his lot with that of the little invalid in the carriage. forgetting the story of suffering that the crutches told. As he turned toward the gate, he saw something that looked like 6 erumpled bit of green paper lying in the road. Stopping down, he picked it up; and as he opened it with trem- bling fingers, he gave a long, low whistle of delight and incredulity.
 Five dollars! Just at the very time when he had been wishing so earnestly for some money, or the way to earn it. He turned two or three somersaults by way of working off the exuberance of his delight, and then he perched him self on the gate-post again to spread his treasure out, and accustom himself to the possession of his new riches.
 ctrPE,Uc0- must have dropped ii" he said to him. self when he began to reflect upon the manner in which the bill had so OppOr- tunely come into his possession. With this thought came another one that Jack strove instinctively to banish with out paying it any heed. He had no business to keep the money, for it did not belong to him; he must return it to its owner.
 sI won't," Jack said angrily to him. self, with a stubborn look on his face. sI found it, and it's mine, and I'm go- ing to keep it, so!'
 "Thief! thiefr'
 Jack started guiltily. It was only a cat-bird swaying on the branches of the elm, and looking down at the boy with its inquisitive black eye. Jack flung his brimless hat at it in his irritation.
 For long half-hour he sat on the gate-post, while the sunbeams filtered down through the waving leaves, and fell in shimmering fiecks of light upon the brown curls. A hard battle was be- ing waged between desire and duty. This money meant so much to him, but was it worth stealing?
 ''No, sir!" rang out in clear, emphatic tones at last; and Jack swung himself down with a look of determination, re- covered his dilapidated headgear, and started off for Rose Villa, dusty walk of two miles.
 The summer afternoon was drawing to close, as Jack opened the iron gate, and walked slowly up the graveled walk. He was hot and dusty, and tired too; for he had had to fight against temptation all the way.
 The family were sitting on the front porch, as Jack, with red face, came up, and held out the bill he had been tightly clasping ever since he left home.
 Here's your money, sir. You dropped it when the carriage stopped in front of our house this afternoon. Leastways, I guess you did, for found it as soon as you had gone"
 There was peculiar expression up- on the gentleman's face as he glanced at the bill.
 "And so you took this long walk to return lost property" he said, looking keenly at Jack; ''did you start as soon as you found it?"
 ''No, sir!n confessed Jack bravely. "LI meant to keep it first, but then 1 thought better of it. I was just want ing some money so bad that it was aw- ful hard to bring it back"
 ''What did you want it for?" the gen. tleman asked, not unkindly.
 ''I wanted to get some books, so 1 could go to school next term," an- swered Jack. "I thought this after noon, if I could only get a dollar would get some candies and things, | and sell them at the picnic they always | have out at Glen Rock on the Fourth of | July, and then I could make money | enough for the books; but when found | this money, thought 1 was sure of the l