St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-17
ADYENTUREIN CEYLoN.
A Boy Who Was q Braggart and
How He Was Treated.

Golden Days.

We look sharp"
And away went the two boys, with
their guns over their shoulders, through
| the garden gate, and down the steep
hillside beyond it, as boldly as If they
had been Hawkeye, the scout. and his
friend ChingachgOOk, setting off to fol-
low Mingo trail through one of Feni-
more Cooper's "pathlesS forests"
''I'll be bound, Toms up to some fun
by the look on his face" said my jovial
host, Mr.. Reginald Simpson, looking
after his son with meaning grin.
Hes going to play trick on Master
Fred. as sure as l sit here"
"Well, whatever he does" rejoined L.
81 hope it'll take down that Dragging
fellow peg or two, and show him what
a fool he's been making of himself.
am getting quite sick. of his perpetual
| growing"
$50 am I!' cried Simpson. "But |
fancy we shall not hear much more OF
it after to-day. Let my boy Tom alone
for that"
The "bragging-boy" in question was
Tom Simpsons cousin, Fred Parkhurst,
lad about year older than himself,
who had just come over from Southern
India on visit to his uncle's plantation,
among the mountains of Randy, In
Western Ccylon, where | happened to
be staying at the time.
Fred was bright lad, and had plenty
of good stuff in him, but, like many
clever boys who happen to have trav-
| eled little, and had a few exciting adj
ventures, he was rather too much in
clined to think himself AN amazingly
fine fellow, and, as his cousin Tom truly
said, talked as if no one had ever seen
| or done ANYTHING worth mentioning cX-
| cept himself"
OF his shooting Fred was more es-
/ pecially apt to boast. And when heard
him air his crude knowledge of sport in
the presence of his uncle-WhO was one
| of the best shots and most practiced
hunters in the whole district was di-
| Vided between a strong inclination to
! laugh outright and feeling of pity for
the boy himself, who, while he thought
that every one was admlring Elm, was
simply making fool of himself.
But there was now rod Ill pickle for
! Master Fred, as Mr.. Simpson had hint
ed, for Tom, who was heartily tired of
all these airs and big words, was about
| to try his boastful Cousins mettle in
way of which the latter little dreamed.
We'll have to step out pretty
| smartly now" said Tom, quickening his
pace, Just as they reached the foot of a
particularly steep and slippery ridge on
| the other side OF the valley. You don't
mind, | SUPPOSE"
Go ahead! You won't tire me-" re-
piled Fred, with grand condescension.
And. to do him justice, he mounted
the stiff slope like man. and even
reached the top few PAGES in advance
of his active cousin.
But Just then Tom Simpson halted,
ond hold nm his hand XvarItinClV
We've got to look out for the wild
bees" he whispered, as cautiously as if
he were afraid of their Oyerhearing
him. "If you happen to disturb one of
their neStS-and there are plenty of 'em
just here-they'll sting you to death in
two minutes. They very nearly did as
much for my father, in this very place,
only a few months ago."
Frederick the Great looked somewhat
disturbed, as well he might, for he, too,
had seen, while in India, something of
what wild bees can do. and had no wish
to have taste of their quality himself.
His nerves seemed 10 be even more
severely tried by the omnibus caution
with which Tom picked his way among
the clumpS of brushWOOd that studded
the crest of the slope; nor did he quite
recover his usual air of staggering self
confidence till assured by his cousin
that the danger was now left far behind.
But apparently it had vanished only
to make way for another danger more
formidable still, for, by this time, the
scattered bush clumpS had given place
to QUE If those impenetrable Eastern
iungleS. which can only be compared to
a million fSh-hOOkS and peEkniveS,
knotted together with fifty or sixty
miles of tangled-up telegraph wire.
The only visible entrance into this
chaos was a single, narrow. zig-zag
path, Just wide enough to let them both
walk abr asst.
Every here and there. along both
sides of it, twigs, and even tOlerably
thick boughs had been snapped off like
reeds, as if by the passage OF some heavy
body: and the hard, dry clay was fur
rowed with deep. round dents, almost
as large as the seat of a good-sized easy
chair.
"These are the tracks of elephants"
muttered Fred, with rather uneasy
look.
"They are" assented his cousin,
gravely; land that's one reason why Pm
very glad to have you along with me-"
Are you afraid, then?" asked the
valiant Fred, trying hard to conceal, by
an extra boldneSS of tone and look, that
"lndeed l am" said Tom, frankly;
"and l should have pretty good cause
for it, too, if an elephant were to show
up just now. We should have no chance
of avoiding him, for cat couldn't
squeeze into these thick bushes, let
alone man; and | needn't tell an old
hand like you that the charge of an ele-
plant isn't exactly the sort of thing
that one would care very much to face
at close quarters"
Poor Fred began to look as glum as if
he were going to be beheaded, and
started visibly every time a twig
cracked or leaf ruStled,tO the no small
amusement of his observant cousin; in
fact,it was now quite plain enough that.
what with the wild bees and what with
the wild elephants, Master Fred's boasted
nerves were beginning to fail him; and
Toms seemingly casual remark that
this jungle was "a great place for deadly
snakes, which killed ever so many peo-
pie every year." certainly did not do
much to steady them.
But, little by little, the great wall of
tangled b0ughs that shut them in be-
gan to grow thinner and lower, and a
hope was just drawing upon Fred that
his trials might be drawing to an end,
and that they would soon find nothing
worse in front OF them than the harm
less hill-foWl. which they had come to
shoot, when Tom Simpson ruthleSsly
cast damp over his joy by asking, in
hollow and sepulchral tone:
Are you loaded with ball or with
small shot?'
"SmaIl shot. of course, for birds" re-
piled Fred, with puzzled Ok. do
you generally shoot hill-foW With ball
in these partS?'
Draw the charge, then, quick, and
load with ball for your life." rejoined
his cousin, in freezing whisper. suit
ing the action to the word. We've
gone too far to the right, and come just
to tile very place where panther ate
up two men last week. What a mercy
you are here. who don't fear any wild
beast alive!"
This might be true, but it must be
owned that just at that moment the
fearless Mr.. Fred made anything but a
heroic figure, for his hands trembled so
that be could hardly draw the charge of
L.