Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1890-06-19

know. You wontssd, will your" Rseon-
tinued, piteously.
Mr.. Binns thought that Tom was eff his
head, but his impressive face betrayed no
surprise.
Certainly, sir. ANY other messsgs?"
mo! that wil2 do-and, Binns, come
back here at once; I want you to dosome-
thing else.
The message caused some little sur
prise and much sympathy.
Poor fellowI" said Miss Alice; cit all
comes from working SO hard in those
terrible slums, and never taking q holi-
day."
When Binns returned, Tom asked him
in the same agitsted whisper:
Did you notice tall, thin gentlsman
"a clergyman-standing beside the drag
just now2"
sYessir."
DO you see him zow?"
"Yessir, said Binns, almost whispering,
hes a-standing close here"
Good gracious!" murmured Tom.
Look here! come and tell when he's
gone"
And Tom pulled Up the other wooden
blind half way and covered on the floor
among the cushions and dust cloaks. 1t
was terribly hot and stuffy, but he dared
not move until Bins 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.
Mr.. Baxter, Sir, whispered Binns,
the clerical gent, sir; he's on the roof
of our drag"
You don't say SOL" groaned Tom
he is indeed, sir. He and master
seem very thick; they're talking over old
Cambridge times. never waited on him
before, sir"
@Of course. said tho curate in despair.
Il see it now. Old Septimus was at Cam
bridge. so was Heathcote. They are old
friends. How in the name of providence
am to get out of this? I say, Binns,
do you know I must stop here until he
goes. You will keep it dark-now won't
your"
Most certainly, sir" said the sym
lunch, sir? Nobody will know"
Tom smiled in his misery at the idea.
After all, why shouldn't he?
We'll, Binns, 1 really think will"
And the trusty servitor disappeared to
return with huge plateful of cold pie.
bottle of champagne, and some straw
berries.
Thank ye, Binns," said Tom, CRATE
fully; now go away and don't come back
till the clergyman has gone. Whew!
Now hot it isl"
1t was hot and no mistake. On .
scorching day the interior of 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
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 60 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-
BILE. 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 bowledi" We'll caught" and
sometimes, more maddening even than
these sounds, there was deep hush of
suspense in the noisy crowd or distinct
ly 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
blind to catch glimpse Of the players. He
could, however, see nothing but forest
Of black hats and variegated sunshades:
Binns returned not; Tom dared not quit
possessed his soul. Suppose I'm here
for the afternoon. Holy Moses, how APP
palling hot it is" Heat is apt to relax
the propriety even of a curate's language.
Wish dared to take some more of my
clothes Off" And then his eye fell on the
champagne bottle, which was nearly half
full. We'll, 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 a big man
and the space was small, and by degrees
he finished the bottle. If only had a
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 overcoats
till he found a cigar case. When he had
lit cigar he felt comparatively 1T ease.
1t was very hot, he thought, but peace
full feeling stole over him; the hum of the
crowd grew fainter and 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 q rough shake
and a shout in his ear Of Hi, wake up!"
Returning to semi-consciousness he in
distinctly heard EXPLANATIONS of Shame
full" "Disgusting!" Who would have
thought it?" And then a familiar voice
said in somewhat quavering accents:
II So