Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-07-03

and over he fell. When he tried to gel
up cry of pain ESCAPED MIN, and he
found that be 5ould not take step.
'rHere's pretty state of things" he
said aloud, lapsing unconsciously into
the language of Koko. What's fell
low to do?' p '-' t-.'b
He knew that the barn had been
locked long ago and that William, the
man, had gene home, so there would be
be. help from that quarter. There was
nothing to do but get himself homo as
best he could-a slow and very painful
process which it took some time TO &C
uomplish.
He reached the house just as the
lights were about to be put out and the
doors locked for the night. His moth
er's surprise and terror when Jack
crawled upon the piazza and she saw
his white face can better be imagined
than described.
Mr. Harrington carried Jack upstairs
while Uncle Ned hurried off for the doc
tor; and while his mother was cutting
the stocking from the badly swollen
ankle and getting the foot into hot wa
ter he told her how it happened.
sit will be all right in the morning,
won't it, mother2" he asked SO anxious
ly that Mrs. Harrington hadn't the
heart to tell him that she feared it
would be many mornings before he
could use it.
"a pretty bad sprain," DR.. Rogers
said, half an hour later, and he ordered
the ankle kept in hot water for an hour
and then bandaged with hot COM
presses.
Jack finally fell asleep with his
mothers hand smoothing his hair, and
all night dreamed of fire-crackers and
big red letters, which seemed to be
alive and possessed of legs, dancing the
widest kind of jigs in the orchard,
while he himself was going Up like a
rocket only to be pulled down by Dick
Torrey's seizing hold of his ankle with
such grip that he awOke, calling out:
''Stop that, old fellowg'
The sunlight was streaming into his
room, and he heard soft whistle under
his window; he started up, remember
he was late for the "Serenade, b but a
twinge In his ankle reminded him of
last nights experience, and he sank
back on his pillow, buried his face I'M
der the sheet, and-will you think any
the less of him If tell you of it2--yes
actually cried, But no one knows of it
to this day but you and me, for Jack
scorned tears, and had been heard to
say only the day before, when Emily
had had some slight disappointment,
that ''only girls and babies cried"
So he dried his eyes very quickly
when he heard his mothers step. and
swallowed the big lump in his throat,
and said, in an off-hand way, when she
came into the room: 81 guess I'm in for
it, You'd better tell the fellows"-for
the soft whistles had grown by this
time into loud calls of "Wake up,
sleepy-head!' Hurry up, lazy-bonesr'
You're nice one to sleep over on
Fourth O. July!" and various other COM
plimentary salutationS.
Mrs. Harrington went down and told
the boys of Jacks accident, and they
walked SofroWIully away.
The doctor came soon after breakfast,
and said that Jack could be carried to
the piazza and lie in the steamer-chair,
but that on no account must he take a
step that day.
1t was hard, wasn't it, boys? 1 won
der how many of you would have borne
it as bravely as Jack did!
Every one was kindness itself, and
can not describe the attentions and ten
derness shown him by his family.
Birthday presents were showered
upon him, the tender-hearted and for
giving Emily emptying her bank of its
contents in order to buy a five-bladed
knife to give him in addition to her
other present
The gang" came around and tried,
in their oyish ways, to show sym patty:
they offered to bring all their fire.
crackers and fire them off in Jacks
yard; but this was little mora than
human nature tat least Jacks human
nature) could bear, and he said,
politely:
mo, thank you; the noise might dis
turb the family"
But do you think no victories were
won that day? Let me tell you. Toward
noon the thought of those dozens of
packages of frecrackers lying I'M
touched in the sugar-house appealed to
Jack, and he said to Emily:
'You might as we'll get some of those
ire-crackers, and if we see Tim Reilly
or any of those kids Il am sorry to say
that my hero did talk slang) who didn't
expect to have any, why, just toss out a
few to Them
The lunch which had occupied so
large a place in Jacks thoughts was
served on the piazza, and Mr.. Rarring-
ton and Uncle Ned tried their hardest
to be entertaining, and were so success
full that Jack forget his pain and disap-
pointaent and laughed as merrily as
any one.
IL wasn't easy to see the party of for
the circus Dick Torrey magnanimous-
ly offered to stay with Jack and play
checkers, but am proud to say that he
wasn't listened to for a moment; and
when they all went of down the street,
Jack waved his hand as cheerfully as
il he hadn't been thinking of it day and
night for weeks.
There was quite fight with selfish
ness as night came on. Several Of his
fathers and mothers friends had been
asked to come and see the fire. wsrks in
the evening. bgt it seemed to Jack that