The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1900-04-14
THE DREAM RIDE OF A BOY,
An AdrenfUre 4fttrr Meeting Two Indian J"yyle,s

The shooting party had gone away
and left eight year old Freddie behind
to his great disgust. 1t was just about
sunrise, the coolest, incest time O day
in India, and his mother was not yet
up, and the servants were busy else
where, SO there was nobody to pre-
vent him from wandering to the
boundary Of the tea plantation. There
he observed Of sudden quite unex-
pected and amazing sight.
Two brown men, one quite old and
the Other quite young, were in the
shadow OF the trees. They were
stripped to .he waist, and the old man
wore q cummerbund and sandals, while
the young, wiry mans legs and feet
were bare. The old man was evident
ly instructing the younger and super
vising lesson far more interesting to
Freddie than the worrying intricacies
Of the rea ing book and multiplication
table. Fish, flash! Flickerty, flick,
Upin ths air, glancing in the mornings
slanting sunbeams, quivered prodi-
gious number of knives. They must
sometimes have touched the juggler's
lands, but SO deftly did the man fin
ger them that the knives darted about
his head and body like swarm Of
great dragon flies, grazing his ears,
soaring above his turban, swooping to
his knees, but never by any accident
touching the ground until, with
swift clatter and clash, they all came
together in the jusgler's grasp, and
he laid them down.
Now, the little boys eyes and mouth
we're soon very wide open indeed, and
when the feat was over, his uncon-
scious legs had borne him, step by
step, right up to the jugglers, where
his brown hair and pale face and
pretty suit of snow white duck con-
trasted strangely with their 3usky
skins and bright black eyes and cloths
M glowing colors. He was Immensely
interested and rather awed, but by no
means afraid, for he had been born
u India and was accustomed to COM
nune in lordly manner with all sorts
q natives. Even travelling iugglers
sere not unknown to him. SO when
ias swarthy men salaamed humbly to .
ne little sahib, the boy acknowledged
iaer salute and said, with the simple
Sweetness of one used to being
stsyed:
DO it again"
The older man turned to the boy at
nee with an air of having expected
lm and smiled and .salaamed very
Ss IN quite gratified way. They
asyed him at once, and the young
an6s began to perform even more
Ding IT, tricks Il was almost terri
ihe a. 'urious and rather un-
Ssah " u lake he o. s,,ju ggler
m !, ine oid man gave hiul mat to
On and smiled into his face MI, ~
S sada pa'efcing eyes, and told him TO
sos suoa and he would see wLot ho 10
nmsa see The old man then took
I'm, D, s.one from a basket, and caro.
~. Pianted it. Then he coyered tho
IA S' = ,of an instant with tho hoa,. ." .ae
Ioroa4;a - mere was the young plant alreod,, ad',
a.nsS Ss rom the earth. Freddie
I'm h.t aua the plant grew and grew
Esv a., .s. Us,ore his eyes. It grew and 5e. "
m, !. ana 1t grew, until in a yrv n shor. :,
~ = y was tree. Than ;e'y -. snort
a spread and had MANY brapcbsa tss
san'ss es' and at last little manooos
pened i appear, and they grew and
+. .pp,ueked big juicy one anJ an1'l na,.e Inc
I I.aa. Then the juggler 'o~au wavea Il :
Goodnaa" -'he tree was gone
~ sas ss hss me! cried Freddie. "f
=. e y,w now that was done
M r. =, rope from the wonderful i !,
Ia fact "as a very ordinary rope, :, -
threw a. = wash line. But the :. :.
~ m one end OF the coil far nv n' II
mna amarvelling boy saw that at up up, al
Ae skr Ivy " ont, up and up tow. II, ~
sere i,ni9i iaite strai ut as if some. 10 10
Ltoap..an ana up until the end vow @ .o,I1
a'tsee bew beu0.y. .i. cried Freddie. af Of
oll sm nov that was doner' OF
Y yonna sn clapped his hands fo 70,
= ana mug man leaped at the ron, hu
q ia h.,s seized it and began ,se rope pc ow
asrass ate" ,nd d'sr :, hand, at tre, ~, :"
ne also was out of sight. h;e 'he