Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-03-09

by himself. 10 this QaV 0lS leIt IOr0-
finger shows a network of scars intersect-
ing each other; each the memento of
some time when his knife slipped and the
blood flow ed dripping off the end Of his
finger until it got tired of flowing; and
his dear mother sewed up the finger in a
rag, white when 1t was put on, and so
awfulIy grimy when it came off again q
few days later.
At last he says, very loud:
''Somebody-' But the next thing
is he jumps up and runs out of doors for
fear his mother will hug him and cry
over him.
at school he observes some secret eX-
element all around, and at noon-spell a
friend whispers:
''Big Bill has got one OF your water
wheels in bis pocket -
What could he do? Attack the great
brute and get a beating in addition to
the other injury? Complain to the
teachers ? Appeal to the other boys ?
Complain to Big BIIl's low father Tell
his own mother? All vain, vain, impos-
sible, useless. The-weak and iuoffensive
are the sport n prey of the strong OPP
pressor; men side with the wicked and
God lets him flourish.
He asked his Uncle Johns advice.
Sweeter music never struck a boys
ears than the patter- patter- patter- patter
of those paddle wheels. He could lie on
that bank all q summer Sunday after
noon dreaming of-oh, 1t is impossible to
tell all the fine thoughts! Mechanical
inventions, fortunes earned, poems
written, heroic deeds done, conQuests
over nature and circumstances. He
could even go to sleep, and wake up
II --,A -atSz- -rNAn
patter-patter; and, surprised to see how
low the sun had got, run home in time to
20 for the COWS and not keep supper
waiting very long.
"Well, Jerry, I'd like to catch Big
Bill and lace him within an inch of his
life. If you say so III go and see his
father and tell him about it and that If
he doesn' It lick Bill I will. What do you
say?'
The picture of Bill writhing and howl
ing under merited punishment was very
alluring. But then not coming straight
from him, the injured one, it would not
be perfect. Then, too, Bill's father,
Capt. Grimes, was a strong, tall, long
armed, h~ard-hittiug gang foreman, who
had stopped a fight in the gang by knock
ing down both combatauts. He had
been made captain of the Buckram ar
tillery because he could crook his elbow
under the muZzle of the annon and lift
the wheels right off the ground. Suppose
but that would be too dreadful! So
Jerry just shook his head in silence.
''Then, Jerry, there is another wav to
look at it. This is a good chance for you
to show manliness, endurance, ability to
keep cool and abide your time"
So thought Jerry, and so he did. And,
in fact, he noticed in the days that fol-
lowed that the boys didn't side with Big
Bill so awtully much. a good many
paid more attention to him than they did
to Bill.
Fourth of July was at hand. There
was TO be a picnic in the asylum grounds,
singing, band-playing, speeches, can
non-fring aud dinner in the grove. The
deaf-and-dumbs would march in process
sion and some of the older ones go
through their silent pantomime theatre
Gals. Jerry got up the mare when he
turned out the cows, and, after rubbing
her Town n giving her a feed
of corn, she looked really pretty well
when she was hltched to the agOn.
(Some strings showed where the harness
was mended, but Jerry linked them all
Over.) Mother and Uncle John and he
got III duu uTONo 10 Lue SfOIuuS WILL GlA
the other folks-on foot and IN wagons
and carriages; more than the road would
hold almost. After Dolly was tied to the
fence uncle took the basket in one hand
and the cold coffee Sin the other and
mother took the shawls.
''Jerry, you bring the umbrella"
"0h, motherl The old, big UNI
b~rella?"
ssJerryI Nv sonI''
"But, mother, its almost as tall as I
am"
Every well, Jerry, give it to me. IN
carry it, And she threw all the wraps
over on her other arm and held out her
hand. OF course Jerry kept the horrid
old umbrella. Uncle John and mother
ven straight on toward the picnic arbor,
but Jerry fingered to see the crowd
gather. A few minutes later he was sorry
he had done so, for big Bill Grimes came
along and shouted:
''HeIlo, Old Umbrella! Where ye goin'
with that leetle boy?'
The people filled the grounds. The
cannon was standing, loaded and ready,
a little way back; its horses, harnessed
to the timber, stationed not far behind
it. The long procession of deaf-aud-
dumbs Of all sizes, oldest at the front and
the suldll tOuuleFs "a STo6L uedA suOFLer,
some of them, even than jerry follow
ing after. Some of the oldest of them
were scattered along the line to keep the
others in order, while the headmasters
led the array and the other teachers
brought up the rear. It was a glorious
sight, altogether.
"Bang!'
'tThat's the signal for the beginning
of the celebration. How the people neal
the cannon are shouting snd screaming.
But what is it they are saying.
"Heigh! Height Whoa! WhoaI
Stop them bosses! Stop 'em before they
kill sOInebody!'
The team, with the heavy two-whseled
timber behind them, nave been. startled
by the cannon shot and are tearing along
at full gallop right this way. Jerry
ism t frightened-he can get out of the
way easily enough, but-oh dear!-they
are headed right for the middle of the
line of the poor deaf-and-dumbs who
can't hear a world There comes the
principal running back and waving his
arms; but they only look at him, not be-
hind them. Can Jerry get to the line
and make q break IN il before the team
gets there? He can try. Run, run,