Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-09-07

sand lot is called "The Beach" on the
upper East Side, and every afternoon in
the summer time there gather here hun
dreds of boys, who, clothed only in
short trunks, spend hour after hour
IN the water, drying themselves after
the swim iu the hot sun, or IN front of
an improvised fire.
Itwas here that The Boy That Dared
was to be found on certain very hot
afternoon not so long ago. James
Jackson was his name, but January
was what they all called him; why, no.
body-not even January-knew.
If January were to be pitied, he GER
tainly did not know OF it. His life
was comparatively comfortable. In
the summer he loafed and slept in the
open air. In the winter he did about
the same thing, only he slept in stables
and hall doors. Two nightmares he had:
the police and the Children's Society.
Brass buttons were the emblem of
both Nightmares, and January hated
brass buttons.
January was the leader of "gang. :"
That is the proud eminence to which
every little wharf-rat aspires. To be
leader of a gang one has to swim
better, fight better and excel ones fell
lows in all other branches of athletics
and art, and January so excelled And
above all things, January never "took
dare. Lots of boys will tell you
they never took one, but there are
mighty few who can say so truthfully.
January was the one boy who never
had backed out of any task set for him
by his comrades, and so they looked
up to him and thought him the finest
leader a gang had ever had. A gang,
it should be said, is not the horrible
thing the world makes it out to be. 1t
is simply little clan of boys who
stand by each other when there's a
SNOWFALL battle going on, and who
treat each other when there are any
pennies in the exchequer.
1t was hot afternoon, then, and
January and his friends were dress
ing themselves-or undressing them
selves, rather for q swim. There were
about twenty boys in the party, and a
great overgrown mongrel cur to watch
the clothes while the boys were in
swimming.
Pedro was very warm himself, and
would have liked nothing better than
dip in the water, but heavy fog lay
down over the river and the beach,
and Pedro knew that if he but left the
clothes for one instant somebody might
creep up in the fog and steal them.
So at the word of command from
January, he threw himself down on
the hot sand and put one great paw on
top of the little pile of old trousers
and shirts that did duty as clothing for
his two-legged friends.
All undressed, the boys We're about
to make dash for the water, when off
in the fog they heard the footing of a
steamboat. A few seconds later the
strains of brass band came over the
water. The boys stopped and listened
They could plainly hear the churning
of the steamboats, paddle-wheels, and
the strains of the ! nd, and the
laughter of those on board. Pedro,
who didn't like music, howled.
'What's dat?" asked very young
member of the party.
''Picnic," SAID one of his elders, and
then, wbooping and howling, they ran
down tn, beach. Suddenly pierc-
ing shrek came through the fog. The
boys stopped short again and looked
at each other. Again the shrek came
over the water to them.
By this time the excursion boat was
very near to them. The shrieks of a
woman plainly told all they wanted to
| know.
cts kid" cried January.
''You dassn't," exclaimed boy near
him, and January and all the rest Of
} the crowd looked at him.