The record-union., 1894-08-11
sAoRAAENTo SATURDAY.

The lad Immediately began to whine
and plead for mercy.
Il fan thu door op'n. an I jess pushed
un imp
Never mind that" replied Hardy
cheeringly. "What are you after up
here, anyhow"
''Staarlin's, sir, fur Kersmas pie!"
'Starlings! - and for Christmas pie?
Not this time Of the year, sonny; nor in
church belfries, and not fit to eat at
any time, you young rascal. Try again,
now."
The lad sat down on one of the stone
steps as If from very exhaustion at the
writer's ignorance.
''Skin 'em an eat 'em, an cell knaw,"
he finally re.orted triumphantly, and
then added with fine iplomacy-"Wu ust
ee give me a. Fll scat T. lens (all PHI
knock TO pieces)?n
In this belfry?"
"Yes, i th' beelfry.v
"How do they get in there?"
"Ih' STORM dreaves hunners (hun-
dreds) o. 'em in th' craZen'd (broken)
shutters"
Come on, ladi You shall have every
starting in the belfry," exclaimed Hardy
excltedly, as he led the way.
| "Durk th' kendle!-durk th' kendle
| lput out the lighD." whispered the lad
hoarsely, springing after him.
Haldy did as Didden, but not until his
head was above the belfry floor, and a
| quick and searching look had revealed a
remarkable spectacle.
Within countless hooks and crannies,
crouchlng upon stone, iron and timbered
! projections, cJInglng to wheels, pulleyS,
stocks, blocks and stays, and-far more
important III its meaning to him, thlckly
crowded upon the taut but swaying rope
OF Joe Davy's tenor beil-were hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of dazed and half
starved starlings, which had thus taken
refuge from the storm.
The sudden impulse of flight given the
huddled line of birds upon the rope, he
had noticed, was even then as the light
went out swaying from its poise the huge
mouth OF the bell.
In another instant there was a deafen-
ing clamor in the beltry. AS though a
| thousand brazen throats had madiy
shrieked protest at intrusion, the great
bell swayed and groaned and thundered,
startling and stunning the young writer
until he Shrunk down upon the belfry
floor, and the lad, springing past with,
Mind yer eyes ana feace, am let me at
un," began shouting and swinging his
bat like wicked demon of the dark.
| Almost as terrific as the thunderingS of
the bell were now the tfutterings, dart
ings. shrlekings and plaintive DEATH
gurgles OF the birds about him. How long
1t lasted he never knew. But when the
/ young bird-butcher desisted from sheer
exhaustion, Hardy realized that his face
and hands were bleeding from countless
strokes and gashes OF the bills and talons
of the frenzied starliugs; that the villa
! gers were astir from the Ill-timed ghost
peal Of old Joe Davy's bell and were tug
ging at the locked door below, and that
the sturdy Cornish lad who knew how
TO provide his own and neighbors' lard
ers with material for Startling pie, had
slaughtered more birds than they both
could carry to the street, while from out
the dark ness as the first faint, weird
flash Of the lads 'kendle'' broke through
the gloom, he could hear putting, pant
ing Cornish voice as it triumphantIy
muttered:
''Wass think o. un now? Wass think
O. un now?'
The next morning when VIM. Hardy,
| literator, appeared late in his place at the
breakfast table OF the rectory, his ordi-
narily expressive face was drawn into
immObllity by sundry cubes and paral-
kilograms of court-plaster, crossed and
interlaced in strange and fantastic confu-
sion-
''Bless usp' exclaimed the rector in un-
feigned alarm.
''Mercyr cried the startled Rose.
"Why, Mr.. Hardy. can it be possible
that you encountered the ghost?'
"N-not exactly" responded William
Hardy grimly. while extricating the
edges of his cuffs from the pale cubes and
parallelograms upon his hands and
wrist. but If the Rev. Mr.. Dunlea will
expend the matter of about two pounds
in repairing the broken shutters of bis
belfry = so that the starlings cannot
utilize it as cote in time of winter
storms and practice peal ringing upon
old Joe Davy's tenor bell-the Ghost
Bell of Stithney will be forever stilledp