The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1896-12-24
A HELPING BIRD.

"Hi, hi All right, all right Now we
sha MT DO long," said the gray parrot
i regret 10 say that the irrepressible
young man that brings the daily milk Is
the tutor OF my parrot In the latest mp to
date slang Of the day.
i am an old sen captaip-at least not
old. Perhaps the word slipped out un-
awares. i am the right side of so anyhow.
But being in receipt of pension and a
small private income TO boot, / have cast
anchor In my present abode in the expec-
tation Of weathering many a storm yet.
Being without a known relation In the
world, willingly fell In with the sugges-
tion that 1 should pick up my moorings
alongside my old friend and messmate.
Captain Travers, late Il. N, who, having
left one Of his legs on the west coast Of
Africa while capturing SLAYER, was pen
stoned OF at nm even earlier age than my
self and now lived with his sister-a most
comfortable party, fat, fair and 40 or
thereabout-in the adjoining house to
mine in the neighborhood Of London We
had always got on well together, our
tastes and dispositions were similar, and
we had often met during our naval ca
reers His sister had not previously been
acquainted with; but, being in many re-
spects like her brother, we were soon firm
friends.
Captain Travers and myself had each a
favorite parrot-his the common African
gray, with red tipped TAIL and mine the
purer variety, without trace of color, but
otherwise similar.
had not long settled down in my new
quarters and got everything shipshape, or
what seemed 50 to me-a very important
difference, as know today-when, almost
unconsciously at first, I began to feel what
lonely old bachelor was and what set
of to all my other belongings the figure of
Miss Rachel Travers would be by my fire.
side. But just here the curse Of my life
began to make itself felt. Inherent shy
ness in the presence of the opposite sex
has dogged my footsteps from my earliest
recollecrions. Give me gale OF wind In
the bay OF Biscay, o tornado In the tropics
or 20 hours duty on deck, wet through to
the skin, and Captain Manley, late of the
p. and o. service will thank you for it
and consider life we'll worth living. But as
dispenser Of delicate attentions to the fair
sex, intensely as he inwardly adn,ires their
pretty ways, Captain Manley does not.
no, he certainly does not-show up to ad-
vantage.
My complaint got worse and worse, and
many an hour did spend pacing up and
down my quarter deck-I mean my front
parlor-saying, "Rachel, love you," in
various tones practicing which would have
the best effect when 1 should have "a suit
able opportunity.
At last heard my parrot saying, "Ra-
ra-ra, in preliminary effort to acquire
my sentence, and with the idea of hearing
the effect from other lips-or should 1 say
beak--I taught the bird to repeat the
words.
Although fond of pets generally, have
an antipathy to cats, especially at night.
am not aware that our neighborhood was
particularly beneficial in it's aspect or 9TH
er qualifications to the feline constitution,
but i know that until / was inhuman
enough to start an air gun cannonade on
my numerous nocturnal visitors L was
frequently unable to get respectable
nights rest One internal black and white
Tom tleaod my finest efforts, II ,erage
cate have nine lives, hrD sure this one
Must have had 10 and ,oegan to wonder
what sort Of uncanny being this was that
had no objection to,otting my bullets pass
apparently through it's body without suf-
fering any Inconvenience. But, after all,
1t must have been my bad craftsmanship,
for one afternoon saw my enemy quietly
walking up the low fence that divided my
back garden from Captain Travcrs'.
Tho opportunity was too good to be lost
| and, quietly getting my air gun, ! took q
steady aim and fired. There was no mis-
take this time, and without sound poor
L l,xa<1 IsNnf
rs the proverbial doornail.
! My cxultation, however, was of shor'
duration, for to my horror and disInay, OF
proceeding to pick up his unfortunate car
cass and give 1t decent burial, saw tina
my shot had passed right through the un
lucky animal and killed my neighbor'
parrot, which had been put out to sun II
self in little summer house that stood q
tho bottom of the garden. -
was staggered ut my position. knew
the parrot was supreme favorite wit
Miss Travers, and how I could ever OF
plain my carolessness could not imagine
Suddenly n way out of my dilemma pre-
sented itself to my mind, and hastene
to put IL into execution. knew that tn
Traverses were ont and would not be bac
for some little time; 80, hurrying indoor
| anu e1hib8 ny OWh lHsAhO"AAOsaA '~S 80,
carefully painted the end Of its tall wit
red ink, in imitation Of its deccased CON
rnde, and, finding no one was about
stepped lightly over the fence and subst
tuted the living for the dead bird, whic
buried, together with the cat, In my ow
garden. i knew that my parrot woul
not readily talk before strangers, and
hoped that by the time 1t had got used
Its surroundings It would have forgotte
Its former accomplishments. At any raj
must risk It. M
Alas Uneasy lies tho head that wea'
n crown" sang some poet, who, expec
never wore anything harder than nigh
cap; but, true M IL may be, compared I
the torture Of my mind, now launched O
q course Of duplicity, II would be bed {
roses.
had bean in the habit of frcqucntl
taking my evening meal with the Travers'
and accompanying my old friend in col
solatory pipe afterward. / avoided then
however, during the next few days IN o
der 90 give things time 10 settle down