Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1890-06-27

Alr. Binns thought that Tom was of his
head but his impassive face betrayed no
surprise.
Certainly. sir. ANY other message2n
@EO! that viii do-ands Binns, come
back here at once; want you to do some
thing else.
Yessir.
The message caused some little sur
prise and much sympathy.
Poor feIIowl" said Miss Alice; cit all
comes from working SO hard In those
terrible stums, and never taking hoii-
day"
When Binns returned, Tom asked him
In the same agitated whisper:
Did you notice a tall, thin gentleman
"a lergymen-standing beside the drag
just vnow?%
do you see him now?"
@Yessir, said Binns, almost whispering,
she's a-standing close here.
Good graciOus!" murmursd Tom.
Look here! come and tell when he's
gone.
And Tom pulled up the other wooden
blind halfway and covered on the floor
among the cushions and dust clOaks. 1t
was terribly hot and stutfy, but he dared
not move until Binns returned, and that
parsonage was absent for no less than
half an hour by Toms watch. The cap
tive was growing desperate when at last
a welcome face appeared at the window
above the blind.
a1lr. Baxter, sir, whispered Binns,
the clerical gent, sir; he's on the roof
of our drag.
you don't say sol" groaned Tom.
lie is indeed, sir. He and master
seem very thick; they're talking over old
Cambridge times. I never waited on him
before, sir.
"Of course" said the curate in despair.
II see it now. Old Septimus was at Cam
bridge, so was HeathcOte. They are old
friends. How in the name OF providence
am I to get out of this? l say, Binns,
do you know 1 must stop here until he
goes. You will keep it dark-noW won't
your"
Most certainly, sir, said the sym
pathetic butler. Won't Won have some
lunch, sir? Nobody Will know.
Tom smiled in his misery at the idea.
! After all, why shouldn't he?
Well, Binns, really think Will.
And the trusty serVitOr disappeared to
/ return with a huge plateful of cold pie,
! a bottle of champagne, and some straw
/ berries.
Thank ye, Binns," said Ton. grate-
! fully; now go away and don't come back
till the clergyman has gone. WheW!
| Now hot it isl"
It was hot and no mistake. On a
/ scOrching day the interior Of a drag, with
the windows shut is about as agreeable
a resting place as the Black Hole. Tom
could not let the blinds down, so he drank
a tumbler of iced champagne, which made
him much warmer than before, though it
inspired him to smile at his position.
His stiff collar was growing limp, and his
/ heavy black garments began to grow in
suPPortable.
Wonder if dare to take my coat Off"
he asked himself. The mental answer
was Yes" and he proceeded to do so.
Then he felt better, finished the plate of
pie, and had another tumbler Of cham
payne. Il feel half inclined to 90 out
and face him." reflected Tom, but his
heart failed him. He piled the dust
cloaks, coats, and umbrellas in one cor
ner and tried to make himself cOmforta-
bic. Presently, however, the match was
resumed, and then his real suffering be-
gan. Tom had never endured such tor
ture. Loud applause frequently broke
upon his ears; shouts Of Well hit"
We'll bowledl" We'll caught" and
sometimes, more maddening even than
these sounds, there was a deep hush of
suspense in the noisy crowd or q distinct
~ audible sigh of relief which told his
practiced ears that some exciting crisis of
the game had come or gone.
He Vainly peered over the half-drawn
blindtO catch a glimpse Of the players. He
could, however, see nothing but a forest
Of black hats and Yariega sunshades |
his hiding place, and despair once more
possessed his soul. Suppose I'm here
for the afternoon. Holy Moses, how ap-
palling hot it isl" Heat is apt to relax
the prOpriety even of a curate's language. /
Wish dared to take some more of nv
clothes off" And then his eye fell on the
champagne bottle, which was nearly half
full. Well, can have another drink at
all events" And again his troubles
seemed less. He stretched himself out as
we'll as he could, for he was q bic man
and the space was small, and by degrees |
he finished the bottle. IF only had
weed, he reflected; haven't smoked for
months, it seems years" And growing
bold even to recklessness he hunted in
the pockets of the other mems Overco ats |
till he found cigar case. When he had
lit cigar he felt comparatively At ease.
1t was very hot, he thought, but q peace /
full feeling stole over him; the hum of the
crowd grew fainterand fainter; the shouts
of applause more distant; even the ham
mering of sticks and umbrellas on the
drag within six inches of his head ceased
to annoy him. He pulled at his cigar
less theoretically. Soon it fell from his
lips and the Rev. Thomas Baxter slept as
peacefully as a child.
He was awakened by rough shake
and a shout in his ear of g Hi, wake up!"
Returning to semi consciousness he IN
distinctly heard ordinations of Shame
full" "Disgusting!" Who would have
thought it?" And then a familiar voice
said in somewhat quavering accents:
Z1G1Tr12,77.==7
aI'E