Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-17

up and down his leg and stared furtively
at the children.
| Cooking your breakfast" said the
colonel.
NAV, sir. Maxim soap He had
a melancholy, thin little voice. One
would say he was not older than ten.
"What did you have for breakfast,
Larry, anyhow"
Mary. Hain't had breakfas' - said
Larry.
"Weu, sir!''
"He,' jerking his little spear of a
thumb over his shoulder, ''he ain t up
yit. -
"Why? Up late last night at festi-
val?'' SAID the colonel, grimly, and then
| repenting of questioning a child, he held
| out quarter.
'Well, good morning, boy, come and
| see me if your uncle will let you. Go on
| Ally!'
But Ally was rumaging in that bewil-
| dering pocket of his. He emerged finally
| triumphant, with hard biscuit, a de-
mOralZed slice of cake and black lump
| of gum. 'There, was master Ally s
! breathless comment, ''put the cracker
in for myself and took the cake home for
ma. Maybe you can make out for a
| breakfast with that. The gum 9 store
gum fine! Good catch? G lang, you
Bess!'
This time the horses did go--rapidIy.
ooh, laws!" was the single answer of
| the boy; but he stood still, not attempt
| ing to eat, watching the wagon until it
was out of sight.
''The rest of the road is all good; it 8
on our plantation, - said Sally.
II was pOO6 fact OarpaDfibla in the
speed of the horses.
Soon cabins and farm houses appeared :,
then the schoolhouse and the store, at
| last the high bank of the river, and over
| the river among the wooded hills Cecil
could see the columns and carved pedi-
ment Of the porch, the spacious white
walls and gabled roof of 1.-the big
house.
The ferry was waiting for them, fiat
boat on wire rope, with grinning ne
gro boatman.
Col. Seyton instantly demanded the
news and received Aunt Valleys story
with diverse mutations and adornments
and one important omission; Rufe did not
know of any one being killed.
Across the ferry, they drove swiftly up
the winding avenue of live oaks, and at
the house door a slender lady with q
sweet smile and bright, dark eyes took
Cecil into her soft arms and kissed him.
1.-The dear boy! How glad we are to
have you! How much he LOOKS like his
father, - she said.
CHAPTER VI.-THE TELEGRAM.
Cecil was awakened next morning by
food of golden light and the rattle of
sticks on the hearth.
For a moment all he could see was
plaided back and a woolly head framed
by the flames which Vance was blowing.
He awoke with that dizzy sense of deiec-
ton which comes to anyone who has for
gotten a trouble in sleep, as soon as his
oblivion is gone.
''Oh, yes, - he muttered, "I'm here,
and dad is gone!''
The interest which he had taken yes
terday III the novel surroundings, the
queer excitement which had met him,
the pleasure of distributing his gifts, the
tiattery of welcome-somehow all had
dropped fat. Yesterday there was a
kind Of romance about the old mansion
built before the war. One pictured q
rude, half feudal magnificence belonging
to those old days when every guest was
offered his valet and his horse as he is
offered his hot water in the morning now
a-days.
Cecil was fond of reading stories of
knights and ladies and Journeys. He
had Though he kept it shyly to hImself)
great notion of chivalry. He wished
that he had been born in time to follow
Richard the Lion Hearted to Palestine.
He wouldn t have run away from him.
Never!
Last night there was faint reminder
of his dreams in the stories which he
heard. The slaves might serve for re-