The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1893-06-03
Ho1AnIZuBor

,
she leaned against him and looked
eagerly into the sky.
Old man Patterson, who stood near
the young people, also had his face
turned upward; but there was no indi-
cation of glec in his voice, when after
gazing for few minutes he remarked:
"And to think that them things with
such beautiful tails could do ms any
harm.''
There was no response to this re-
mark, save loud sigh from Mrs. Pat
terson, who turned round abruptly
and walked into the house, where Mr..
Patterson soon followed her.
Milly and John were still standing
and gazing ut the heavens. They had
not said word to each other; they
were happy in the consciousness of
their proximity.
II don't believe a word of lido
you?' asked Milly some minutes after
ward
''What?'
''Oh, what Schoolmaster Marten says
about this-er-comet-tha going to
break up the earth and kill all the peo-
pie on it and annihilate everything. !
don't believe it do you?"
''Bosh!'' remarked John. emphatica,-
~. II think Marten is slick fraud,
that's what he ISL he added, holding
his arm tightly round Milly's waist.
Its awful" said Milly, conccrnedly.
lies been coming here every day for
tho last couple of weeks talking about
that comet. and he's dinned into papa's
and mammals heads that the whole
world is comm to an end, and that we
are nigh the day of Judgment
Rubbish" commented John.
And he's been talking to me, too,
the hypocritc, telling me to mend my
am ever giddy, joint" she aided, in an
injured tone.
John did not reply for a second or
two. lie seemed to lie thinking.
"Pears to me, he said. after awhile,
''your father ought to know by this
time what kind of customer hos got
to deal with. Has Marten paid him
back the City dollars he borrowed last
Christmase'
mo. not he."
"Why don't you tell your father no!
to take any stock In Martcn?"
''It's no use. John. He's wheedled
them round completely to his side. It's
perfectly awful how he's talked them
into things about this comet They've
been glum and mopin'. and packin'
away things; and mothers been bury
in lot of silver in the garden"
"What!r interrupted John. THE old
folks haven't been hidin' things in the
ground and let Martcn know of it?"
"Yes. He's shown them the very
place where he says the comet won't
strike, and mothers put lot of silver
spoons in it.
"Thc fox. He's been stealin' them!'
exclaimed John.
Milly sprang to her feet and ran into
the garden. John following her. She
stopped near slight mound of fresh
clay in which two sticks were firmly
stuck and which she began to probe
gently.
Thank goodness, it's not touched"
she said with sigh of relief, evidently
nearly took my breath away with
fright, John. Mamma would go crazy
il she were so fooled
II tell you what I'll do, Milly," he
said. you keep n sharp watch on
this place, and if Marten turns up to-
morrow keep him till | get through
work. I'll come over here and we'll
see whether we can't fix him some
how"
In truth it was horrible, as Milly cx-
pressed it, if half the things were going
to happen which Marten predicted.
The whole village of Scarborough
was terribly excited over the event
Every body rccollected that wars, pesti-
lence, famine and other calamities fol-
lowed the previous appearance of
comet Ike this-with almost the iden-
teal tail. Schoolmaster Marten talked
about such uncanny things rs the ''stel-
larry system" the "cosmic law" and so
on. On the day on which Milly and
John had conspired to rout him Mar
ten was ut the Patterson farm holding
forth as usual. He had brought
newspaper with him and read out from
il imprcssively the announcement that
On the coming Thursday, precisely at
5:S4 p. M. there would be an entire
eclipse of the sun. and the inference
he left to be gathered from it was that
the general breakup was to begin at
that very second.
The old people sat listening blinking
solemnly. Milly was somewhat awed
herself and she was mighty glad when
John came into the room looking ready
for action.
John contented himself at first by
simply denying the arguments But
Martens superior loquaciousness was
rapidly getting the best of him and he
was gradually drawn into the meshes
of reason. That was all the school
master wanted. lie could reason a
bull into frog any day if the animal
only followed the process of logical
deductions: so by and by John found