The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-27

voice itself in my ears, and l found no
comfort nor help in the bright sunlight,
the benefcent SKY or the gracious air. l
said to myself: I'VE are all caught in the
tolls and there is no one to help US.
shall not come to the hill again. II can
not bring one ray Of light into the lives
of my fellows, at least shall not climb up
here and contemplate their misery"
was very miserable, for like many phi
losopher l thought, because I did not
know definitely to the contrary. that the
world was stepped in misery.
It was just at this juncture that
first saw my friend Patsey
Quinn. An enterprising wight was
Patsey. and in the course of his pere-
erina tons about the cliff he came upon a
thick timber lying somewhat apart from
the others 1t was tempting stick.
nearly twice Patsey's length, and quite
half the thickness of his meager body /;
smooth, grooved and with one rounded,
slightly up-curved end. There was money
in that timber if Patsey could but get it
off the hill. But it was heavy. He might
as we'll have tried to lift the great bulk
head itself as to carry off unseen that bit
moved clumsily, swung around little and
rested with Its rounded end pointing down
the hill. The grade here was washed al
most to bedrock by the rains and was diZ-
lilly steep. AS he glanced along the pre-
cipitous descent there popped into Pat
sey's brain mastery strategem whereby
he might obtain undetected possession OF
the coveted tim Der.
Seating himself at the upper end he
erasped the grooved sides firmly, pushing
vigorously with one foot against the stony
ground. Gradually his i'm provised coaster
stirred. slid little way and began to gain
impetus. The motion quickened and at
last Patsey, with a sudden turn, lay fat
upon his stomach along the descending
cyclone. TWAS coasting that would have
satisfied an Alpine ADVENTURE. The
ground seemed to slip away beneath the
upturned nose of the curious sled, aud
Patsey chung desperately to the crooved
sides. breathless, sightless. lost to every
sensation save the wild Joy of that reckless
rush.
Probably no real boy ever thought Of
danger as anelement in any mad escapade.
The agonies of dread experienced by those
who witnessed his performances have no
partin the consciousness of boyhood, and
it was with honest surprise that Patsey,
his race with death run to finish in the
soft sand of the street below, found him.
self the center of attraction for horror
stricken throng of people who had hast
ened to gather up his ifeless remains.
He had only intended to slide downhill
upon his prize and make off with it, but
the very brilliancy of his little scheme had
drawn all eyes to him. He had come down
the hill as though shot from a cannon, his
queer craft, by some marvellous interposi-
ton ofthat special providence that watches
over the bones OF boys. gliding fromsrcck
to rock in the descent without oyerturning.
Patsey could not understand why the
women looked so scared, and why even
the big policeman who held him by the
coat collar still had a startled air, despite
the vigor of the shaking he was admins
tering, and the emphatic nature of the
language in which he was informing the
boy what he, the big policeman. would be.
if he didn't run him In the next time he
caught him at any such monkey-shines.
What Patsey did, however. fully appre-
ciate, was the urgent necessity for absent
ing himself W hen he behed the foreman
of the construction gang nearing the scene.
But he was unable to wrigsle himself from
the grasp OF observation-disclosures ere
the man was upon them. He. too, wore