Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1895-07-06
TALES OF THE TINES.
Algsrnea's /, lGiseoncsptien was Natural
bat 10 Was Fatal.

Algernon Potter made q mistake when
he tried to climb tree. Algy In his school
boy days was the best climber on the North
Side He could "shin" up trees and fag-
poles with an easy grace which won tho
| admiration Of his mates, and they dubbed
him "champeen." But this was when
Algy was young and slim and wiry and
trees In that part of the city were but sap
lings. Now Algy is stout In form and soft
In wind and muscle, while the same trees
about the trunks Of which he was wont to
twine his timber legs with ease are now
grown to stalwart proportions.
| Potter, his inamorata, Bessie, and girl
confidante, May, who was to be brides
maid at the wedding were lounging In the
shade under the trees In Lincoln LXrk on
Sunday last when strong gust OF wind
caught Bessies ,filmy kerchief and sent IL
whirling up into the air, to lodge In the
branches of big tree Algy saw the deli
| cate bit of lace webbed muslin float 10y and
recognized 1t as one he had given Bessie
few weeks before. He was bound to got 1t
back and was ready for action even before
Bessie on missing the spidery creation,
called OUT
"Oh, Algy get 1t back for me, won't
| you, dearP 1 would not lose 1t for any
| ,
| the others have"
This settled it, and Algy tackled the tree.
IL was hot day, and no had a new 500
suit of clothes on. The tree was n big pop
lar, and the kerchief was caught fast in
the first fork, % feet from the ground.
The first ten feet convinced him OF several
important. things-viz, his muscles were
soft, the 10 seemed to grow bigger In cir
cumference and harder to hold to the far
ther up he got, and whether he ever got
the kerchief or not his good clothes were
ruined. At 10 feet from the ground he
stuck, tired out, limp and disconsolate,
ready to slide down to Mother Earth In an
undignified manner, when he heard Bes-
sic say:
"He's doing splendidly, isn't he, Mayi
He'll get II. I, know he will Oh, Algy,
you're ever SO much better q climber than
you claimed to be-"
For the first time during the engage
mens Alg wavered in devotion to his
sweetheart. He had doubts as to whether
she had suddenly gohe pr9zy q was simply
chatting him. In either cAse II would
never do to give up at this junctufe, SO be
valiantly wiggled up I've feet more. His
hands were barked and torn, his chin
rasped where II had brushed against the
tree, his collar wet as bathing sponge
with perspiration, and all his clothing
clinging to his damp body so closely that
every effort to advance himself up the
tree threatened to separate Algy from some
useful portion 81 his wardrobe. But be
wiggled and Skinned upward until only
FIVE feet Of space was between him and the
coveted kerchief, the girls meanwhile keep.
ing up running comment OF the true
tone Of which Algy is to this day unable to
"ffs Just psfiectiy splendid to be man
and climb like that, isn't 1t, Mayr
And May not only said yes, but added q
wish to the effect that she were q man, SO
she could shin up tree and sit In the
shade of the upper branches on hot day.
Algy heard all this idle chatter, and 1t
drove him to desperation. He went on
with his climbing until he got one leg and
one arm around the first pNbspf6adlhg
branch, and there be hung utterly unable
to advance or retreat. Every man who has
ever climbed tree knows what q sudden
oozing out Of courage and vim follows the
moment of getting into the position Algy
found himself In. Thoughts Of getting the
kerchief had vanished. 1t was now merely
q question of how he was to get back to
terra firna without smashing himself to
Jelly. In his agony Of despair he was every
moment becoming weaker and drawing
nearer and nearer the time when he would
have to let go and drop to the ground and
death. Algy began to struggle to place
himself away from the danger point. In
doing this he split his coat up the back
and burst his suspenders. Then Algy got
some relief by swearing. The moment
came when the climber could hold no Ion
ger. He slid and scrambled back from the
limb to the trunk Of the tree, just how he
never will be able to tell. A second later
there was q wild rush and scraping, fol-
lowed by loud thump, and Algy was sit
ting on the ground at the foot Of the tree.
He was too tired and sore to move. His
coat was held together only by the collar,
his trousers parted when he struck the
ground, and he was not In condition to
rise and salute Bessie and May. To add
| to his bad luck both girls roared with
laughter when they saw him.
"He-he-he He looks too funny for any.
thing, doesn't he, Bessie, with his clothes
all torn that wayP"
| This from May. 1t was followed by an
equally exasperating remark from Bessie,
| who, between laughs, wanted to know II
Algy had got the kerchief, and the mis-
guided man began to brace himself for an
other outburst Of expletives when a small
boy came along. The boy had been fish
ing in the lake and had fshline with a
hook and sinker on 1t. When May suggest
ed that the boy could earn quarter by
getting the handkerchief, the urchin grin
ned and said:
"Dat's dead easy, seer All does is TO
t'row mo line up like dat and yank de wipe
out see?'
The boy got his quarter, and Bessie got
her kerchief f-Chicago Tribune.