The Advocate and news., 1898-05-18

and at last Tom fell asleep.
Toms aunt and uncle did not scold
him. They seemed to know how bad
he felt about the trouble he had caused,
but Uncle Will explained to him that
city boys could not do all the things boys
in the country could.
1t was almost time for school to begin,
and in few days Tom started with Fred
and the Doyle boys, who thought him
quite a hero since the fight, even II he
did get caught by the cop" The school
was not very much like the country
school in Kansas, where the children
went barefOOted in warm weather and
had all the yard they wanted TO play in.
In New York there was no yard and the
boys and girls did not play together;
they went to different teachers and en-
tered at separate doors, and the children
had to stand in a row as precisely as
soldiers, not daring to talk or step one
bit out of line. The boys didn't have
as much fun playing as they did in Kan
sas. He thought of Gibbie and Skinny
and Bill Brewer riding to school on their
ponies and running races along the coun-
try road. He felt just like a young coyote
in cage and wrote to the boys that the
New York schools were mo good" for a
fellow couldn't have one bit Of fun"
However, he was learning much, even il
he didn't like school, and in his letters
he had ceased to call his father dear
Paw"
On Saturdays they listened to the play
ing Of the street piano men. These were
little Italians one turned the crank and
played the tunes while the other walked
along looking up at the windows and
holding out his cup for pennies which
people threw down to him. How the
children did turn out as soon as the first
notes of "McGinty" or Sweet Susie
OGrady" struck the air! and how the
girls did dance all through the whole
list of Henrietta" MY Pearl is a Bow
cry Girl" and "The Sidewalks of New
York." using the pavement as a ball
room, courtesying to each other and bob
bing their bare heads up and down, their
faces red from exertiOn and their clumsy
little braids Topping about and not one
OF the girls caring bit about the pass
ers-by who stopped to see the dance. The
boys didn't dance but they kept time, and
now and then one of them would get the
Italian to let him play tune
Late one cold winter night Tom was
suddenly awakened. Aunt Sarah stood
by his bed. TONI" are you awaken"
There were strange, excited noises out
side and the sound of running feet along
the sidewalk.
"There is a house afre across the
street. Do you want to see it?"
Tom got into his clothes quickly, fas-
tening the buttons as he ran to the front
windows Below stood fire engine and
farther down the street were others
thrObbing like threshing machines and
putting out smoke at great rate. Men
were running from all directions, win
dOws were raised and excited half
dressed people thrust their heads out in
quirngly. At the house opposite some
one was throwing things out of a win
dow and people were hurrying out the
door carrying children and furniture.
The sky was black with smoke which
came pouring out from the back of the
house Firemen in rubber coats and
boots were tending the engines or seeing
that the people got safely out of the
burning house. Others were laying a
line Of hose along the street. Some of
them were running it through the base
ment Of a neighbOring house so that
water could be thrown on the back of
the burning building and others were
taking line of it up to the roof.
(To be continued)