The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-02-19
THE UNDREssED KID,

to as the Brat, the infant, and that
Young Cub" had been playing some
prank on the grizzled and testy Mr. Barr,
and Hank, by way Of delicate reference
to the palpable fact that the parental
bed Stat or trunk strap had been allowed
to get dusty between whaling" when
the infant had been of yet more tender
yoals, SosSv" - ,.pV1 his toTslcntoT The
sObrquet by which he was ever after
known.
1t was not that the Kids years were
so few-he was twenty two-but he was,
oh! such a "kid." He had evidently
mingled with men for several years, but
the association did not seem to have rub
bed off any of the marks of extreme
youth, at least in his behavior, AMI no
one ever thought of smiling, even when
Shorty Fleming, the boss's youngest
brother, aged eighteen, addressed the
Kid by any one of his numerous diminu-
tives.
One could not help liking the Kid, in
spite of his pranks, for he was always so
good natured and obhging. If he was
ready to cut up hair brush and scatter
the bristles in some tired fellows bunk
about bedtime, he was just as ready to
do double duty in case his victim hap
pened to be i'll.
There were a few chickens at the ranch
and one of the Undressed's chiefest joys
was to feed them corn with a string and
and stick attachment, and laugh him
self almost to death at their frantic eff
forts to kick themselves loose. But if
one of those same chickens happened to
be hurt or i'll he would nurse it just as
W man might.
On the occasion when he stuck shoe
makers wax on Hank Bars saddle, and
Hank came into supper without the
basement of his jeans and made sarcas-
tic remarks, the Kid felt himself born
humoriSt, and one would thought that
capers of this sort were his highest aim
in life, but it was he who, after a cold,
hard days work, rode twenty miles on a
stormy night to get a surgeon to set the
leg Hank had broken in the evening.
But FRANKS are panks and the prankee
seldom takes the same view of them as
does the prankist; and thus it came that
the Kids lightmindedness jokishness,
brought upon him the scorn of his fell
low laborers at the GIN" They all
liked him well enough, but that was all.
They never considered him or included
him in their plans, except when there
was some uncomfortable duty to per
form. In fact, they paid very little at
tention to him. Briefly, he acted like a
fifteen-year-Old and was 50 treated.
The next spring Miss Mary Brooke APP
peared on the scene as visitor to Col.
HanfOrd's, six miles south of us. She
came, she saw-and the rest of 1t. Wo-
men were very scarce in our vicinity, es-
pecially young and pretty ones, and to
our unaccustomed eyes Venus, and the
three Graces, and all the rest were in
it with Mary Brooke, and we bowed
down and worshipped like lot of half
fedged idiots
We were all serious too. 1t was re-
markable how many business transac-
tions Boss Fleming had to talk over with
the Colonel all of a sudden, and how |,
the Scribe, took such fancy to reading
and discussing Browning with Mrs. Han
ford, who was slightly deaf, and there
fore not easy to converse with. 1t was
not long, however, before Boss Fleming
and had the running all to ourselves.
Fleming, as a near neighbor, a big ranch
owner and II wealthy man, had a strong
hold on the Colonel, and |, the Scribe,
having stuck to my desk in early youth,
and being therefore able to talk little
on such subjects as interested Mrs. Han
ford, had quite captivated her, and the
boys, perceiving this state of affairs, dis
creetly withdrew and spent their even
ings as of yOre.
All but the Undressed Kid He, being
from Boston, Miss BrOOke's home, also
came in for share of her smiles and
conversation, but as he showed no signs
of change in his youthful wavs we didn't
pay much attention to him, except to
consider him much in the same light as
one might nuisance in kits. He was
in the way, of course, but he didn't
cause us any worry.
To be sure, we wondered how it was
that Miss Brooke could tolerate his non
sense and chatter, for she was somewhat |
staid in her ways and a person whom |
one would hardly suspect of liking for |
leYity. The boss and | were both sure
that the Kids constant presence would |
begin to pail very soon-briehy, he would |
make Miss Brooke tired, and we two !
could fight it out solely between our
selves.
But, somehow, this state of things
didn't come to pass. The Kid managed
to get in as many calls as did the boss
and |, and what was worse usually had
Miss Brooke pretty much TO himself,
worse luck to the old folks; and it made
Fleming and myself very weary to hear
her laughing at his time worn Jokes I'M
I'll the tears rolled down her cheeks.
That the Infant had serious intentions
never entered our heads. OF course it
was undeniable that Miss Brooke liked
him; but that we assured ourselves, was
in a spirit of mere good natured toler-
ance. Besides, who ever knew of the
Kid ever having a sweetly solemn
thought?
Providence came to our aid about the
middle of July in the shape of tele-
gram, stating that the Kids wealthy ia
ther, with whom he had not been on very
good terms-that is, no terms at all
had gone the way of all humanity, and
that the Kid must come home at once to
look after affairs.
We we're at the Hanford's, Fleming
and |, that evening when the Kid, who
had preceded us by an hour or so, took
leave of Miss Brooke. He was not going
back to the ranch, having had his things
sent to town in order to start early In
the morning, and he left shortly after we
arrived.
Even if we had expected otherwise
there was nothing touching in the Kids
While not so light in his
speech as usual, he could hardly have
been accused of seriousness, and he
shook hands with Miss Brooke in the
same hearty way as with the rest of us.
Well, the Kid was Off not for good
for several weeks at least and the boss
and l we're alone in the field and both
resolved to make hay while there were
no clouds Obscuring Sol We spent a de- ,