The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-06-22
THE STlLT-FEVER.
IT'S First Violent Svmptoms-How "Jot"
Was Cured.

Its First Violent SvmptomS-HoW "Jot"
Was Cured.
One spring Jot Brown (his name
was Jonathan) had the stilt-fever.
Was it any thing like scarlet fever?
Bless you, no! But it was almost as
bad, and awfully contagious. Why,
Jot caught it by just hearing of anoth-
err boy who had it more than three
miles of. And from him it spread
and ragged through the neighborhood
all summer, not only the boys taking
it, but some of the girls, too. and
their mothers just had time of it!
Did any of 'em die? Not quite. but
one of the boys-Jot Brown-came
pretty near it, and it scared dear
grandma nearly into spasms.
Jot's fever came on the first of April,
and for nearly week he was confined
to his chamber over the kitchen the
greater part of the time, with a
couple of ash saplings, his fathers old
draw-shave, and a big jack-knife.
After a time strange Earrings and
thumpings and jolts would sometimes
make the kitchen quake and the dishes
chatter IN the "dressers."
What upon earth is the boy up to?"
grandma would cry out, hopping
nimbly out of her chair, as heavier
jolt than usual would threaten to break
a hole through the ceiling, and let Jot
through upon her head.
But no one could find out, for Jot
locked his door and hung his hat over
the key-hole. An length, one morn
ing, as grandma was up in the cham
Der looking over the dry apples, Jot's
round, freckled face came bobbing up
to the low window under the caves.
Grandma caught sight of it as she took
her head out of long bag.
Mercy! What-h ow-stilts! Oh
dear mel" and grandma sat right down
on the bag and laughed till her cap
border trembled, as Jot went prancing
gaily off on his long wooden legs.
At sight ofshis young master the
hair on Old Towser's back stood up
stiff and straight, and he growled and
barled and bit the stills till Jot
tumbled off into the mud. The cows,
all with tails in the air, ran for life
every time they caught sight of him.
But Jot had jolly time. He could
go right through all the deep pools
and mud-holes dry-shod, his head was
away up in the branches of the apple
trees-for he kept frightening his legs
he could peep into the birds nests
without climbing, and put his hand in
to all the swallows nests under the
low caves of the old barn.
The other boys soon had stills, too,
then races were run, resulting in many
misfortunes. One boy got a twist"
in his ankle. another sprained his Cd
bow, and, alas, one broke his nose by
falling against the caves of a one-roofed
shed.
But nothing worse than severe
bruises happened to Jot till near mid
summer.
He used to go after the COWS on his
stills, for they had now got quite ac-
customed to his odd appearance. One
night they had strayed away to the
farther side of the pasture beyond
Black brook. He could not think of
going away up to the bridge, half
mile, to get across. So into the brook
Jot splashed, thinking how convenient
stills were.
He reached the middle when one of
his stills plunged into deep hole.
.Jot tottered, gave wild lurch and
down he went into the stream with
a great splash, sending a whole row
OF "paddocks'' into their holes under
the flags, while his wooden legs sailed
away down stream.
Jot scrambled upon p stone in the
bed of the brook, thus bringing his
mouth out of water, and his cries and
shouts soon brought grandma, who
was strawberrying in the burnt
patch not far Off 1t put her in a
greAt panic, but she tore her shawl in