The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1898-08-03

When Miss Dixon looked up Billy
was figuring as if it were necessary to
get through the arithmetic that night
"You here, Billy"
"Yes'm." Billy was pale, but he
went forward bravely. "Y-you said
you s'posed l had an excellent r-rea-
son to be absent"
Eyes; didn't you?"
"Yes'm."
"What was itP"
"W-went to the circus"
With your parents leave9"
Haven't any parents. Aunts the
boss of me-"
Did she give you leave7"
'N-no'm. Ran away"
This is very serious. At least, you
are sorry, Billy?"
"N-no'm," said Billy, firmly, look
ing straight at her. 81 amt. 1t had
to be done. I'm 'leven years old an
never went to circus in my life be-
fore. All the boys have been. Every
b.baby-boy in the school has been
most of 'em two or three times. Ny
aunt wouldn't ever give me the money,
an' what l earn she k-keeps to buy my
clothes. Bout a week ago, comm
home from pasture, the circus poster
man drove by mo.
II see his horses girth was hangin'
n hollered, Your girth's broke
and he jumped out aud 1 give him
string to mend it N some winter
green's, N he wrote on card, Admit
William Riley and lady, m said that
would take me inside the circus.
Knew I'd never get another chance N
l went. and amt sorry.'
Now Miss Dixon was q firm dis
ciplinarian, unaccustomed to culprits
who looked her in the eye. She was
used to little boys who prostrated
their heads and shed copious tears,
with perhaps the tail of an inverted
eye watching her countenance from
under cover.
She looked Billy over. He was
neatly if chesply dressed. Probably
the aunt who was "boss of him" did
her best, yet his thin, square face
gave an impression of having often
been set grimly to bear disappoint-
ment alone. Billy could not read her
face as he waited, glad that the thing
was done and bracing himself for the
worst.
At last she spoke. "Billy, 1 see
how you felt, and if you had come
frankly and told me all this 1 think l
could have arranged to let you go
without running away"
Billy looked blank. Heknew Miss
Dixon's word.
"Why. n-never thought you'd-I
d-didn't know-1 didn't s'pose you'd
be SO unreasonable about it.
'''Billy, we teachers are glad to be
as reasonable as you unreasonable
little boys will let us be-"
'Didn't mean to sass you. Perhaps
1 m-meant some other word. 1
d-didn't think you'd take it that way,
and maybe 1 amt very glad l went,
after all."
"I1l tell you how I came to under
stand, Billy. once ran away to the
circus myself"
Billy sat down ON the top of desk.
81 did. No, / rode away, hidden
by the buffalo which draped the old
buggy-seat. 1 crawled out half
smothered, hoping my brothers would
take me into the tent. 1t wasn't con-
sidered proper for girls to go then,
and although they were sorry, they
sent me home on a market-wagon.
Somehow, 1 have never been, and I'm
much more than eleven"
Billy was full of sympathy. 'If
I'd been your brother-now what o
pity! My card said, 'And lady
'Twouldn't have cost you cent"
"But I should not have liked to run
away now and leave my school in the
lurch. Did you have as good time
as you expected?"
"Yes'm, it was splendid. The
ponies was great, and the elephant
and the b-baby elephant. And you
ought to seen them ride. But l was
sorry had to run away-I thought 1
had to-when you thought was such
a good boy. And L didn't like bring
ing down the av'rige attendance. Now
number eight is the highest" D."
1T troubles me more to have our
average standard OF trustworthiness
lowered. / did trust you, Billy"
"And 1 saw some of the boys there
with their folks, but / didn't want to
talk about it afterward, as l thought
/ should. / knew they wouldn't tell. |"
"Iam glad you told me; but of course
you would"
II felt mean not to, specially after
them stories. And you were real"
Reasonable, Billy? But could
any one have reasonably expected
that little Dutch boy to stay alone in
the cold and dark all night, with his
finger in the dixie? And could any
one have reasonably blamed the little