The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1900-03-08

is meant death for both mea. The
! hunter gazed steadily through his
sights at that spot, and paid rot the
slightest attention to Master Freddie,
who, in an agony OF apprehension,
screeched at the top of his voice:
"Don't miss, uncle, or you'll hit me!'
Seventy yards. fifty yards, thirty
yards! Uncle Fred fired. Flame and
smoke and roar and crash, and Freddie
found himself sitting on the grass
alone, and the wonderful Indian Jug
glers had both disappeared.
He picked himself up at once and
ran as fast as he could back to the
bungalow. It was past breakfast time,
and everybody was on the veranda.
! Freddie's mother was tying up he,
husbands arm in sling. Uncle
Fred was standing up and talking ex-
! citedly. Freddie heard him as he ran
! up.
''The closest shaven' Uncle Fred
cried. "By Jove, Dick, though say
it myself, it was great shot, too!
. Right on the vital spot, and he went
! to his knees with a crash! Halloa!''
"Freddie!" cried his mother.
s0Where have you been? Without q
hat! oh! dear, oh! dear? You'll have
sunstroker'
But Freddie leaped to his fathers
breast, sobbing.
''I'm SO glad" he sobbed.
didn't know whether you killed the
elephant or the eleo hant killed you,
and was afraid ; lie missed a2d
killed me, but I'm not killed, am T.,
papa?'
All three grown-ups raised their
hands, and their faces were pictures
of bewilderment.
chow do you know about the ele-
phant? Where were you?" his father
gasped.
"Didn't you see me?" Freddie asked
reproachfully. II was on the top Of
the elephant, where the mahout rides,
you know. The old juggler let me
climb the rope, and went to the
dockyard, and got on the Ra;ah's back,
and he went mad and ran away, and
T thought you were killed and-''
'sFreddieT cried his mother, '.you
have got sunstroke."
She picked the little boy up in her
arms and carried him into cool room,
where be was put to bed with ice on
his head, while the doctor was sent
for, in spite of his protests, but on the
yeranda his father and uncle stared at
each other.
.tJugglers! Climbing up the roper"
cried his father. ''The child must
have met a troupe of these travelling
coniurors!''
aBut-.but, said Uncle Fred
feebly, ''of course all Anglo Indians
knewtloe7s ss+sa-;seesS sseesS-sssTcEs ssc Tness Tsies
can perfo:m, which no man-no white
>passu, At any rate has ever explained,
but-but-oh, bless my soul-there
was an elephant, and you did fall, and
there was no boy on the elephants
back, and therefore Freddie couldn't
be there, but-but-oh, :~confound it
all, how did he know what happened,
before anybody but our two selves and
your wife knew any elephant had been
shot at all?''
Freddie's father jumped up angrily
in spite Of his sore arm.
'I've seen thatrope trick done often
and the man climb into the clouds.
Everybody has seen i and no one
ever explained it, save by hypnotism
of the audience. That's it! But the
idea OF practising their arts upon a
little boy! It's too bad! I'll send
out, and if they are caught, they will
have to hypnotize themselves out OF
iailr' 80,
::Of course" said tho uncle, still
with weak bewilderment, Sbut-but-
was Freddie on the elephant or was
he not? Don't you know? Oh, bless
my soul?''
So riders were sent out in all direc-
tions to catch the wonderful jugglers,
|! but it was no use-these had juggled
themselves far away. But Freddie's
mother was very indignanta at his father
and Uncle Fred for such suggestions
as hypnotism and iugglery:
'sYou two big sillies!" she said.
'sThe boy went to sleep in the sun and
| dreamed, and the rest is all coincl-
! dence. So, there!'
Still, however, men came from the
! dockyard to trace the dead elephant,
and they told Of his escape just as
Freddie did. So, there!-Sun.