Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1889-08-11
MICKEY PLAYS HOOK.
IDYLOFAFg RYBNT JULY DAY on CC0NkI
ISLAND.
Mickey IS Ne, Pos, 5l. Re Iries the Idle B1sa's.
for Himself Sung BY Bum6.sose and
5y Rsm1rss BE C0ltasses A.
his Sin.


the eye.
The air Of Cooaey Island palpisated with
the fevsnt heat Of day in July. The bot
air radiatsd up from tie meadows and the
dusty road like hsat from furnace. Even
the chickens sought the shade Of friendly
trees. and the locusts lazily chanted their
midsummer .hTenody as Micky Finn came
down Murray street with tattered geog-
raphy, q worn spelling bookand thumbed
fret reader under bis arm.
The boys lace shone from its recent ap-
plcadon of soft soap and water, 80 that
IA. f.ecklas stood out like spots OF BRICK
dust On either side o. his nose. he bad
stone bruisa OF one o. his big toes, and
was forced TO walk ca enc hsei. Az ne
Hmpe5 o'ong The roadway, nat p nile
away To- che hay perspective lie couie see
the EIfle I'd sclCOlbOuss 10 me below
with lts uono.onous Hugges'ion OF; ''C2n-
Observation-Disclosures Tes-the-dog-can-
cafch-tne-c7t
Ia fspcy he beard the dreary iteration OF
the sch9a'rcom aad saw the Glsuk, white
walls sn.c,', d ,,ith paper pitfalls 10
was E.t srd t,rcd and dusty, aud his t1e
brrt Thstruth vas thst De bad asked lis
mother .o permit him 10 stay away icom
school aud Size refused 60 allow him 20 DO
so AIr Finn's attention nad been pAtneG-
cally drawn TO tue soIe toe, and she mad
said that lha iriaIed IN mbsr would not
hurt him suy more Of c-ool than SO home.
Aud 20 One boy looked cross and felt ugly
toward The dis;asleful 'ed1icashuu,
which his mother tl-ced upon him. As b.
nmDed aio1e his disccutente1 way ne
loog-L of over tbs meadow end ss" the
naples aud piucs in LlLdsey's wood Whis-
periu, ,a -ach other as they waved 10 the
br-szs which blew flesh aud 0l from t1e
Hudsou river These a'sper5 u ckey N
terpretei as colxng Invitations, when
sounded to him as follows;
Come. ltHs nike, ald Tie under our
protectire brsncHes, Heye you viii ind
the tender birch bark ard the Juicy as-
ssfras Ioo., Upon our shady hulocSs, bid
den by go 81 green leaves, IN q tae red
wints-gtseu berries awaiting your COM
iug, The tree toad viii sing hls htle
song fer ven. the bubbling spring Is dis
tilinga sparkling liquor f.r your thirsty
lips, and ths shady coyer's OF our sylvan
deils swat. you,
With these enchanting voices Ia his ear
the tempia ion % play hockey was q
strong one. The templer OF mcr came to
aim wit RE liquid mslocy OF bilds TIE
soft wOoing Of huttering leaves, the rustic
of the pine's thi1 fingers and The gUrgle Of
brooks. And a5 be stood in tie dusty
road and Looked down into Che hollow al
the sun beaaug iercely on TIE wlId0ws
Of tae little rcd schOolDouse, 81 realizsd
how stifllg WAS the Az inside, waas Won
der that hs hesita.edl
Then tns reor0achtul face of his mother
rose before aim. As little Nike loved his
mother and feared her sobu5l uore than
he did her heavy hand, the though, Of her
zrief impsliei Gin onward toward the
school. But he could not sha, out OF his
mental sight the picture OF tce cool pasa-
disc TO the wood where tie lit,ie lake rip
pled in the sunlight and where, .ar below,
ran the wide reaches OF the Hudson river
az 10 loitecsd to the seq. And IN this en-
trancing picture his mothers face was
blotted out az with q sponge nom the
slate Of his mind. tine scho0lhoa5e vas 10y
gotten, and he limpad eagerly up the Mill
side toward the stone wall, - which chung
the riOtous wild blackberry bushes laden
with fruit. Forgotten was The sore toe,
Lost sight Of va, the loag, black strap
hanging on the kitchen wal, and lctl re-
hind was the dusty rad aud all the sag
tiOns Of work.
on srlvi8g at ih3 summit Of TIE bill
little Mike turned in bis tracks on4 looked
down upon the school house. Ha -sw tos
master come Do the door ald -ing the oeli,
aud his school mates sc3up-r ike cosralad
sheep into tte building, Ia-n Toe door
was shut sud Mickey E-1.iz 6 tEa- his SIN
was i-rev.cabls. lie tremb.gd, toe, wnen
be Thought that be wo1.l have maze
conf. Jon Oft ,o ,hep-ict ho. 40 was go
late TO -etr1ce his steps Hewa nov 10 -hs
narrow path lsad.le 10 .ie woe. he took
or HIS ta,,araa cap aud the COO. huse.s or
the breeze lifted che hai- from -.s ,ur51ead.
As he SAT- dow- o. Che gc.Ss O. striped cn'p-
munk stopped, pslpitarioC. ca The stone
wall. and httle Mikes 6uge77 ttched for
his b1w-rau. After hidiUg bis books m
the stone wall, aod covering them with
lead leaves he began picki7g ara e4d1g
raspberrils until hs biO1zsd CHEEKS we're
covered with the juices OF the icult. me
scent o. clover blooms and mesh grasses
made hrs nostrls dilaie. apd while the
birds Gang % him from ,da trees the nod
ding bu.tercups AID daisies shook their
head at him and seemed TO say
"Luue boy, you're playing hockey"
When Mickey entered the woods ne iay
down upon the hrown needles az the foot
ola pine uee ard watched The butterflies
Httirg over him on yellow wings. Aud
as he ay there tho luxury OF Incidence
stole IN upon Dis sausss. and he gentle
sougling of the pi0e3 fell with soothing
iuhuelce ulon mis- err. The ds0wsy ham
OF bees ard tte mart cuiata voices O. the
weed Jailed him to sleep. HOW long he
lay there Mickey coolI not ie.L He was
ru5ely awakscei by q big black ant which
had cnw'et OPP MS trousers leg, snd 8
great yellow. hsiry caterp'Nsr crossing
tho BRIDE 90 biz nose. AS he sat Up and
brushed arav these insects Is catbird i'm q
tree rear hv bsran To lesr 90 him wi %
what 90 Mickey excited fancy were Inc
Wosds,
playing hockey Playing hockey"
Tn some mysterious manner gladness
seemed to go out @. the day for little Nike
at this cruol auuL The odors of the flow
e-q we've i-st as sweet as t1ey bad been
before. che moss 1T the foot OF the pine tree
was GAL vivid green, the swallows dipped
as gracefully over tas fed Of billoWy
wheat, bur the chsrm ct all this beau,eous
panorama wss gone. His toe began 90 hurt
again. With dropping head and hmpug
gait Mickey plunged deeply into the woods.
AT the foot Of a big rock he found a spring
Lying nt fall length upon The sward, he
put bis lips down to the water and drank
deep Of the champagne IF the woods. The
reflection of bis iaoe in the spring gTinned
sardouicsl'y al HIM. And from the brown
ewes shining from the cool depths came s
reproachful glance which seemed TO say:
The leather strap is waiting for you in
the Kitchen
Al .h.A .L-a-r.on ha --a-lc-ad Lhrnnnh