Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-08-07


Mickey's excited fancy were the words:
Playing hockey! Playing hockey
In some mysterious manner gladness
seemed to go out of the day for little
Mike at this cruel taunt The odors of
the flowers were just as sweet as they
had been before, the moss at the foot Of
| the pine tree was as vivid green. the
swallows dipped as gracefully over the
field of billowy wheat, but the charm Of
all this beauteous panorama was gone.
His toe began to hurt again. With
dropping head and limping gait, Mickey
plunged deeper into the woods. At the
foot of big rock he found a spring.
Lying at full length upon the sward he
put his lips down to the water and drank
deep of the champagne of the woods
| The reflection of his face in the spring
grinned sardonically at him. And from
the brown eyes shining from the cool
depths came reproachful glance which
seemed to say:
The leather strap is waiting for you
in the kitchen!"
All that afternoon he wandered
through the wood seeking happiness, but
finding none. He flew for refuge to the
birch tree, but the bark had lost all its
cid time sweetness. The sassafras root
which often had tasted like honey in his
mouth now took on the favor of worm
wood. As he retraced his steps to the
stone wall where he had hidden his books
the awful consciousness came to him that
ne would be obliged to tell lie in order
to escape a whipping. Like a thief in
the night he sneaked down the steep hill
side up which he had climbed so cheerilY
in the morning, and five minutes later
entered the shanty. So downcast was he
and SO furtive in manner that his moth
er's attention was attracted to him. Just
at this moment big humble bee wearing
black velvet vest with yellow stripes
blundered into the room.
care We sick, Mickey" said his mother,
solicitously.
mo; I'm not sick, mother" said little
Mike, ''but me toe is hurtin' me-"
'Well, what makes we act SO quare?"
This was uttered in such a tone of So
icitude and with so kindly look that
like Mixes eyes began to overflow as his
mother try to ''shoo" the humble bee
out of the room.
I'm glad you're not wicked little
by, Mickey, like thin Doolans," con-
tinued Mrs. Finn. IF We were I'd be
thinkin' that humble bee 'ud be afther
stingin' We. Shure that's fwhat humble
bees does be doin'-stingin' little b'ys
fur their sinsP'
Slap went the end of Mrs. Firms tassel
against the wall and away sailed the bee
out of the window like an animated
jewel of Jet and amber.
Little Mike was oppressed with fears.
The haunting consciousness of wrong
doin;, weighed him down IKE the guilt
of murderer. He felt a great load
taken off his conscience when the humble
bee flew out of the window, for he be-
lsved implicitly that the insect had
flown into the shanty for the purpose Of
singing him because he had played
hockey. He busted himself about the
& yard, milking the goat and chopping
wood. He was SO unusually jealous in
this work and SO quiet that his mothers
suspicious were awakened.
"Faix," said she, '"I'm afeerd me little
b'ys been up TO mischief, he's actin that
quare. Shure, he has berry stains on his
face, an thares no berries at school.
Musha, I'm afther thinkin' he was play
in hookeyr'
Just then Mickey came into the shanty
with another armful of wood. His
mother looked at him closely, unobserved
by the boy, and saw that his knees were
stained with grass juice and that to the
back of his jacket chung some tell-tale
pine needles. But she kept her own
counsel and awaited Developments, salts
fed that Mickey would confess his guilt.
Another armful of wood had been
thrown under the stove, and little Mike
looked up to catch the expected approx
ing glance of his mother, when Mrs.
Finn cried in alarm;
LUX out, Mickey; here comes the
humble bee fur yer'
Again the fears of the boy wero awak-
ened, and turning quickly he struck
frantic blow at the bee. This evidently
angered the insect, for it avoided the
blow, few over the boys head and stung
him on the back of the neck Having
punished the truant and satisfied its
vengeance the humble bee flew out of
the door. AS Mrs. Finn bound handful
of mud upon the swelling wound little
Mike looked upin his mothers face, and,
with trembling voice full of remorse
and pain. said in hoarse whisper:
"M-m-m-otherr'
"Yis, Mickey" said Mrs. Finn, know
ing that the time of confession had
come. The boy continued with culver
ing lips:
Il know why the bee s-s-tung me. Be-
kaSe L bekase- mother-I-I-I was
neutrality-suspicious. '-hookey"
As be hid his face IN his mothers dress
she STOPPED over him and her lips touch
cd tho bronzed, berry stained face in the
fond kiss of forgiveness. AS her warm
breath dried the brine upon his cheek /
the humble bee was sucking honey from
a blue and white morning glory which |
hung like an infant bell over the door
wav.-Ernest Jarrold in New York Even |
ing Sun.
Autograph Collecting.
ah-a vo,, FOND of autoor,phs Mira 4