The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1897-04-16

Il
scarecrow, ended by lying in watch fol
Billy and as soon as he was safe behind
his mothers door rose up and possessed
himself of the apple
Then he hid it where, as he rightly
thought, no human creature would .veI
look for it. And the next day, when
Billy raised hue and cry over his loss,
Peleg's face of blank innocence was
beautiful TO see. He was too shrewd to
make himself officiously foremost among
the searchers. Neither did he Try, as
some others did, TO discredit Billy's
story of the find. ''What for should he
tell us fairy tales?" he asked judicially.
Besides, we all know harvest apples are
ripe in some places. I'm going to walk
the road by our house every morning
now and see if l can light on one my.
self. !"
Still unbelief grew. Before nightfall
Billy's mother had had no less than
seven tiffs with friends who called to
| tell her that Billy was outgrowing her.
She should really let man have the
management of him. And Billy himself
had had three fights ON the Same count,
to say nothing of the bad blood that had
arisen between his grandmother and
his Aunt Sarah, who, being spinster,
believed fully that every boy was deceit
full and desperately wicked. The store.
keeper was Billy's friend, but the min
lister looked at him askance
By o'clock Sunday morning things
were in train for very lively day.
Nobody thought any moro Of the ap-
pie except as the occasion of Billy's
unveracity or his despoting. If his
friends were in the minority, they made
up in partisanship what they lacked in
numbers. In all the Townland there was
just one impartial person, Dame Bent,
who had hung about the store an hour
listening to all the hot discussion, but
shaking her head and saying, Il know
nothing, L care nothing" if the dis
putants ventured to ask her opinion.
He has disgraced the family. You
should rise in meeting and ask prayers
for him, then tomorrow beg the school
master so to deal with him as to make
him own to his lynn" Aunt Sarah
said to his mother ing in ON her
way TO church.
"No you don't, Sabrina! The boy
never yet told me story. don t think
he is beginning now," grandmother
painted, dropping into chair and TAX
ing last pinch of snuff. Come here,
son" she went on 'Tell granny all
about it one more time -
1T was big, Il heap bigger'n both
my fists" Billy began. And grand
mother nodded, Eyes. -
"And yellow-yellow'n gold" said
Billy.
Yes" nodded grandmother.
"Sweet? Oh, my, can smell it right
nowl 'Twould have gone over the meet
ing house in no time," Billy went on.
"Bless the Icy, yes! Them Harvests
do outsmell creation" grandmother re-
turned with u succession of mods that
almost set Aunt Sarah off in fit.
"And it was-was juicy; just ready
to melt in your mouth" Billy had be-
gun, when outside there arose SO fine an
uproar no living boy could have helped
running to see what it meant. 1t came
from toward Dame Bent's garden. q lit
tie place, but trinity planted with gar
den stuff Of every sort III little square
plats. The fence about it was half ruin
ed, but so far it had escaped the ma
raudings of the Bloxham pig. That was
one thing which had given rise to the
talk of magic. Then, too, though the
garden was always in the highest posi-
BILE filth, you never saw a soul working
in it, not even the dame herself.
Now she was running about it, her
cap off, her wispy gray hair wildly fly
ing, long broomstick in her hand and
crying at the rop of her voice: "Oh, you
thief, robber, murderous migrate! You
will rend my vines-my beloved cucum-
bers! You have ruined my best bed! My
new potatoes! Quit Away with you!
May your ears be torn from your head
May every bristle fall off your wicked
backp'
But the DANES crying was as nothing
to Peleg Mayne's. He came tearing out
of his own yard, across the Sanders
field, was over the fence and in the
DANES garden before you could say
Jack Robinson. At his heels was his big
dog Lion, Of whom any reasonably
minded pig that was merely pig
should have been afraid. The Bloxham
pig merely grunted a protest when Lion
and Peleg made at her. She was down
on her knees, with her head half buried
in the light black mold, and roofing,
roofing as though life depended ON it.
Source, sou-ee! Oh, you mean old
beast! Source! I'll kill you! Sick her,
Lion! Sick herl" Peleg shouted, strik-
ing at the pig with paling. he had
snatched off in passing. She came out
of tho roofing with bounding leap.
Something round and yellow and juicy
was half crunched in her jaws. Some
how she backed into corner, bristled,
gave gnash of her long tusks, then
bolted tho precious morsel, made rush
which scattered her assailants right and
left, leaped the fence and ran away.
$50 here is where you chose to hide
my apple when you stole it?' Billy said,
white with rage. He was ready to give
Peleg the thrashing of lifetime, but