Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-12-01

GNeIyDOuy ulu Jn1nK 80 when Sea Boy
said it. He was looked on with even
more respect by the community after he
became family man. He made more
money too. Shoe backing 'looked up, "
and it was common thing for mar
to give him a nickel when he bought q
paper and say, keep the change, Sea
Boy"
When the children found their moth
er was to be put in hole in the ground.
they were visibly distressed. 1t did not
seem anything like the comfortable
home in the elephant. There were nc
windows in the earth cell and no air,
and to put her in and then shovel three
feet of dirt ON her seemed an unsympa-
thetic proceeding. They gazed with dis.
trust at the men with the spades Sea
Boy didn't know whether he should pro-
test or not. He looked at the priest,
who looked at him and at the little boy
and girl smuggling timidly up to his
side, and when Sea Boy noticed what a
sweet smile came on the priest face
and that his eyes filed with water (they
all loved the water so that it was a bond
of confidence between them, that brim-
ming tear in the priests eye), why, the
boy father of the motherless felt it was
all right
Children, " said the priest gently,
''your mother is asleep, and this earth
isn't going to trouble her. She will
sleep there awhile, and then God will
say, Get up, my child, and she and
all the people here said Good night to
God before they fell into this long sleep,
and will come out of their warm, quiet
graves perfectly well and sound and
will go to heaven. We will fall asleep
like that some time, and we will all
wake up together rested and be happy.
For God is going to wake us all up at
the same time.
won't she have any pains in her
back then? p asked Sea Boy. The earth
looked cold and damp.
mo. She will never have any pain
again, said the priest warmly "And
Sea Boy, you must come to catechism
and bring the children, so that they
may learn what they have to do in or
der to say that good night to God all
right. Then they Will hear his good
morning all right when the time comes
for him to call us all. -
Sea Boy said that he would, and, of
course, having promised to, he did
Their teacher told them that the rising
up of the dead was called the resurrec-
ton, and that the Son of God had died
and risen again to show people that it
was all right, and that since he could
raise himself from the dead of course
he could raise the rest of dead man
kind.
This was a long time ago and away
off across the ocean. But it was in a
country on the seashore. This was a
happy touch in Difference to the love of
the sea that Sea Boy and the youthful
Garritys cherished, and helped to i'm
press the fact more wildly ON the chill
dren's mind. The teacher told them
that every year this day was celebrated,
and that the day was called Easter Sun
day. So the young ones had another
great day to add to Christmas and the
Fourth of July, the last named being
celebrated with immense gayety and
cheerful racket at the seashore resort
where the elephant stood.
Thus it was that Mrs Garrity's reck-
less goodness of heart to the little sea
waif was repaid to the hundredfold, for
her own motherless BARNS thrived and
were happy under the small father she
had adopted for them.
This went on for two or three years.
Then something awful happened. Sea
Boy had taken boys place one night
in a bowling alley while the boy was
away for some hours. He did not get
through till 10 o'clock, but he had go
cents in his pocket, which the different
bowlers had given him. The children
were at home abed and asleep. He had
told them to go to bed at 8 o'clock if
he wasn't back, and they hadn't the
slightest inclination to disobey the wise
and careful Sea Boy. They never had
any fear, for they were too used to the
dark old elephant to mind him, and as
for thieves-what had they to fear from
themH They never thought of them.
AS Sea Boy drew near the elephant
and looked up at the grim, dear old
blind creature, making believe watch
the sea, even in the dark, moonless
night, he stopped short, and his brave
heart thumped. The elephants eyes
were deep, dusky red
Sea Boy rubbed his own and looked
again. Yes, the eyes were a blood red.
And at that moment from the side OF
the big howdah, which was perched on
the elephants back, thin, long, quiv-
ering tongue of fire shot in the air and
licked the wooden column.
The elephant was ON fire
Sea Boy yelled "Fire Firel" with
all his might and started on a run,
hitching up the narrow leather strap
around his slender waist. He didn't
know what work lay ahead of him. He
could see the sullen light glowing
through the dusty windows. The tin
sheets of the elephants hide began to
curl up with a ripping crackle and
smoke oozed out as if the poor creature
were steaming. Then the panes broke
with sharp crash of the glass and
sparks began to mount like showers Of
frehies and were blown all about in the
dark sky.
The childrenl
When he got near, some firemen were
on hand already, Sea Boy tried to make
his way up the stairway in the leg tc
their room in the shoulder, but the
| snoLe at the ton was too dense. and he