The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1899-11-18

about the woodbox, which he declared
was always empty.
well, guess you'd fuss if you had
to cart as much wood as 1 do, and tend
to the hens, and go as many errands.
and pick all the berries for the rest of
the folks to eat, d-ohi-everything
else" The scOwl on his face deepened
till one could see nothing else.
Why don't you go away, then, where
you won't have to do it2'
Perhaps you imagine I haven t.
thought of that, but L have, and | am
going. l shan't be here much longer
Yes, L think 1 see you going. Who
eats more that half of every BURBERRY
pie that mamma makes? Who has three
out of every dozen eggs the hens lay?
Who has one box out of every ten of the
Strawberries? Yes, l would go, if l were
in your place, but you won't, 1 know"
Well you'll see; you just wait" and
with a decided shake of his curly head
he went out after another armfull Of
wood. He would take his money and
buy some hens, and then he could have
| the whole dozen instead of a paltry
| three: he would dig a place on the fur
| Their side of the hill, where no one could
see, and plant some strawberry vines,
! the whole crop of which should be his;
he would never come back till he could
bring pOcketful of money. How hate
full Nellie was, but then she was only a
girl. and how could she know what a
hard time boys had. He guessed she'd
be sorry some morning when he didn't
come to breakfast, and he couldn't be
found anywhere.
After thinking it over all day, Walter
decided to go that very night and so
show Nellie that he did mean just what
he said. He went to his drawer and
took out a clean collar. because mamma.
nj
and of course he should do as mamma
liked, even if he was away from home;
then he took the new silk handkerchief
Nellie had given him on Christmas, his
purse with nearly a dollar in it, and his
! bank book. What else should he take2
There was his ball and checker board.
his game of Halma and letters Finally
he thought his ball would be of more use
than the games. as there would be no
one to play with him. Into a, square
pasteboard box he packed them. tied it
up securely and crept downstairs As he
went by the wOOd-box he noticedAthat
it was nearly empty. He must fiji it or
mamma would be hindered in the morn
ing if he was not on hand. He laid down
his parcel and carefully unlocked the
side door, brought in from the pile
across the yard armfulS of sticks, de-
posting them quietly in the box till it
was full, then again took up the bundle
and started off down the road toward
the big woods.
John, John, who's in the kitchen?''
was the startled whisper of Mrs.
Harding.
I've been listening. and I think WAL
ter's filling the wood box
Then he's going away tonight; he
said this morning he wouldn't stay:
he's filling the wood box before he
leaves. We mustn't let him go. I'll get
nd "a h
"Oh, guess not: he'll go back to bed
again He probably thought he would
rather fill it tonight than get up early
in the morning"
But Walter didn't go back upsts.irs.
and when they heard tho outer door
close Mr.. Harding dressed and followed
him. He kept a little way behind and
saw him take the road to the village.
When Walter reached the edge of the
woods where the brook goes ripping
over the messy stones, he stopped to
listen, and sat down on a big white
stone. Only a few days before mamma
had read an old legend about the for
est, and told how the whispering n the
trees was made by angels; then she had
brought out the Bible and read about
the singing among the trees OF Leban-
on. He had heard the wind in these
trees many times, but tonight it sound
ed strangely; he wondered if there were
anSelS ABOUT, and what they would
think of his going away without tell
ing mamma. He wouldn't have mamma
to put on his clean collar for him on
Sunday if he went away 1t was so Etill
and lonesome here, the brook didn't
seem half so noisy as when the sun
shone, there must be a great many
angles to make such a rustling. sup
pose-he hastily snatched the box be-
side him and started up the hill toward
home, never seeing the tall figure that
slipped in the door just ahead of him.
never hearing the footsteps that went
out to bolt the door which he4had left
unfastened in his haste. Up the stairs
he ran, dropped his bundle on the bu-
reau, shook off his clothes and sDrang
under the quilts. glad to get away from
that awful whispering. Sleep comes
quickly to a healthy boy, and when the
moon looked in she saw eyes shut tight,
and perhaps even heard a mild snOre.
Walter slept late and neve2 undid
that box. but mamma found it and put
all its contents back in place. with a
full heart, as she realized that her boy
did love his home after all-1Irs. N A.
NJ. Roe in the Weekly Bouquet