Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1898-08-03

"Yes'm." -
",What was it?"
"W-went to the circus"
"With your parents leave?"
Haven't any parents. Aunt's the
boss OF me-" GA.~ "'zN
did she give you leave?"
"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 "a my life be-
fore. All the boys hsye been. Every
b baby boy in TIA School has been
most Of EN- two or three times. Ny
aunt wouldn't ever give me the money,
an what | earn she k-keeps to buy my
clothes. Bout a week ago, comm
home from pasture, the circus poster
man drove by me.
81 see hisI horses girth was hangin'
m L hollered, Your girth's broke,
and he jumped out and L give him
string to mend it m 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 m
I went, and amt sorry"
Now Miss Dixon was firm dis
ciplinarian, unaccustomed to culprits
who looked her in the eye. She was
used to little boys who Frustrated
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 cheaply 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, I see
how you felt, and if you had come
frankly and told me all this think /
could have arranged to let you so
without running away"
Billy looked blank. Heknew Miss
Dixon's word.
"Why. n-never thought you'd
d-didn't know 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
I m-meant some other word.
d-didn't think you'd take it that way,
and maybe 1 amt very glad I went,
after ALL"
'I'll tell you how I came to under
stand, Billy. L 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. L 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, L have never been, and I'm
much more than eleven"
Billy was full of sympathy. 'Il
I'd been your brother-now what q
pity! My card said, And lady.
'Twouldn't have cost you a cent"
, 'But L 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 yor
, ought to seen them ride. But wa
sorry had to run away-I thought
Q had to-when you thought was sucl
t a good boy. And / didn't like bring
Q ing down the av'rige attendance. Nov
/: number eight is the highest"
1T troubles me more to have on
average standard of trustworthines'
h lowered. 1 did trust you, Billy"
"And saw some of the boys Their,
+ with their folks, but ! didn't want t.
S talk about it afterward, as 1 though
l should. 1 knew they wouldn't tell.
e "Iam glad you told me; but of cours
$ you would" $50
II felt mean not to, specially ate
IN stories. Andyou were real
!, ''asonable,' Billy? But coul'
%. ave reasonably expecte,
"1 " boy to stay alone il
y ~. T" night, with hi
y.~49 N ooul1 m,