The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-12-11
THE BOY THAT TALKED TO HIMSELF
by JOSEPH


dishes. She had to call him away from all
sorts of books. at all sorts OF times ana
places.
Stories! What heaven they were! Es,,
p~eeially stories of s%trensth, courage ana
endurance. He himself WAS the tall, strong,
bravo hero for days together. Not only
chiefly did he in his loneiv minutes ana
hours spout the hsro'a words, he spouted
other words of his own in the same line.
"Marmion to the rescue" he cried as
with lance in rest he dashed after the p'es
that had gotten into tho garden. "Avaunt,
cGterersI' the had gotten "catifs" and
traitors" mixed somehow. When snow
was blowing he would fancy it was bullets,
His father had gone to the war before
Perry was born and been killed in his frat
battle. So he would say ma he shut the
house door behind him.: "Follow me, my
brave boys, We will give them steel for their
leaa-bayonets for bullets" and picking
up an axe he'd whale away at the wood
pile till the chips few like snowtiaSes.
Some story tells of an Arab horseman
who had u mare which could be excited to
miraculous speed by the whisper of a single
secret word from her rider. lie wished ne
knew that word. Not knowing it, he had
to make up Observation-Disclosures
and tried to teach it to old Dolly by repeat
ing it every tima ho touched her with the
switch, and finally he got her 80 that when
ever he leaned forward, stuck his bare
heels into her ribs, iourished the stick and
shouted "Perrydollyqaiokakhbar-a-r,"
she wonld really trot n step or two without
his absolutely touching her with the stick.
At first he could go In swimming In the
mill-pond with tho other boys, but one
summer he found he couldn't go.
No, he couldn't. His legs mi arms were
as long as ~theirs-but his body-well. his
body was different. Yes, different; that 10
the word. So he would wait till after dark,
when they had all gore home. and walk
quietly down, not through the street. you
know, but around through the woods, and
get to the dam that way; and undrass all
alone and then stand on the spring board.
throw in a branch he had cut in the woods
and call out (pretty loud): Fair unknown
you shall be saved; l am here! Perry Haz-
ard il nere!" Ana then he would dive of.
swim under the water as long as he could,
como up unde the branch, clasp it to his
breast. and swim ashore. or oourps his
being undressed was a drawback to the he
roic feat, but no reflected that whom the
real occasion came he would have on all his
clothes save his coat and vest, which he had
hurriedly thrown off while rushing to the
scene of the accident where all the rest wero
looking on in agonized and noisy helpless
ness. Having saved her he would lay her
in her friends arms and, proudly declining
their thanks and praise, refuse to give his
name, and vanish from their sight forever.
Whenever mammy-swset would hear
Perry talking to himself she would scold him
a little and say that anybody else who heard
him would say he was daft, foolish, half
crazy. Sometimes he would break himself
of the habit and not say a word alone. out
loud, for days together, NO matter how
hard it was, or how lonesome 1t made him
feel. But mis- thoughts kept piling up all
the time, and ends of sentences would kesp
coming out, until he would find that he
had forgotten his resolution and was talk
ing AVA as much as ever. he wished he
could stop, because ne thought perhaps
then he would be a little moro like the
other boys in the district school; and that
they wouldn't keep themselves to them
selves so much, maybe, if he weren't SO
different-like. He would love them 1t they
would let him. But nobody seemed to lovs
him except his mother.
(Then he drew one of those long breaths.
Well, if he could not keep from talking
to himself, he could look out that nobody
should hear him or see him.. And he de-
vised a way of hiding it when he was going
to get caught.
If hs thought somebody coming towards
him had seen his lips move. he would take
care to be whistling when they met. II
somebody might have heard his voice he
would be singing.
Lift up your heads, Responding freemen,
Lift up your heads and dry your tears,
For the great nation Washington founded
Win rise and shine 8 thousand years.
The singing school teacher said he sans
like a nightingale, and wanted him to sins
that very song at the exhibition; but when
he asked his mother about it a look of sud
den pain came over her face, and she sale
after q minute Or so:
Sing for me, my d~arling-only for mo.
| should be jealousif you stood up and sang
before q crowd" SO that put a stop to it.
All this time they did not seem to have