Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1901-03-07
ARCHIBALO'S DISAPPEARANCE



Hilda severely when she attempted to
dress him, spilled cranberry sauce
which he had been particularly forbid
den to touch-on his attire. and had
called the cat bad name when she
scratched him, to say nothing of
number of minor inicuities. AS Mrs.
Rankin, his mother, explained to Cous-
in Martha, there were some DAYS when
the young one just got mean streak.
and then there was no doing the first
living thing with him. This apparent
ly, was one of those days.
There was q sort of family reunion
at the Rankin homestead, which made
it all the more aggravating. Pa and
Ma Conklin were there and Uncle AL
onzo and his family and Bert and Min
ME Beebe, as we'll as Cousin Martha,
and the dinner was to be according.
When you have dinner for IL to get
up, and the girl you have can't be
trusted to boil water without burning
it you may be excused from becoming
somewhat frustrated Mrs. Rankin
owned herself to be in that condition.
! She told Archibald that if he didn't
behave himself. and if she heard an
other word out of him, she would pad :.
| die him good. She said it as if she
meant it and Archibald believed It,
At this Uncle 'Lonzo felt in his coat
tail pocket and produced something
| like a wooden trumpet, which he SAID
was bubble blower and warranted to
keep any child amused and quiet for an
indefinite period of time.
Il should have thought that you
would know better than to give him Il
thing like that" said Mrs. Rankin.
He'll want to blow bubbles now, and |
just won't have him in the kitchen un-
der my feet"
Let him blow them in here" sug-
gested Cousin Martha
And have him stopping suds all ov-
er the carpet?"
He won't do that said Uncle Alon-
70 He'll be careful. Won't you
Archibald?''
No answered the infant who had
no notion of committing himself.
The end of it was that he had bowl
of soapsuds. which he was cautioned
under penalty of skinning not to spill
ha Oh hat fr,. I,c
next half hour he was almost forgot
ten. Then he tried to climb onto ths
chair on which the bowl had beer
placed in order to give the bubbles a
longer descent That overturned the
soapsuds on the carpet. Nobody was
looking at the time, and, being a bright
child for his ages years-he conclud
ed that It was a good time for disap,
pearing, and forthwith disappeared.
Presently somebody inquired
Where's Archibald?" But there wa,
no immediate uneasiness, Half al
hour later. however, the inquiry wa:
repeated and then Cousin Martha be
glt: a search. She went rrscrLlrs an;
called and she went into the kitchen
and outdoors to the barn, but no Arch
ibald responded to her falsetto. WheI
she came back to the kitchen. wher;
MIS-, Rankin was concoc.ine "A '.loat
ing island" she looked worried.
Where do you suppose that youni
one could have got to?" she asked o
his mother.
why, isn't he in the sitting room 2
mo, and nobody has seen anything
of him for on hour"
Mrs. Rankin laid down the forl
with which she was beating es%s, am
with hasty direction to Hilda to lool
after things, hurried into the sitting
room. The inverted bowl that ha,
held the soapsuds was on the floor, bu
no other trace of the child. Mrs
Rankin, followed by Cousin Martha
next went to the back of the house
where the stone foundation had fallel
down, and STOPPING shouted into tn
darkness that Archibald had bette
: come out of there if he knew what wa
good for him.
No response.
: Uncle Alonzo came up and was dis
patched to the haymow. and Rufus, tn
j, long-legged, gangling hired man, wa
sent to the chicken house. Just the
; Ma Conklin ran up at surprisin
pace for a woman If her age and in
= formed them, with great deal of ag
tation, that there was a board off tn
cistern.
: "Oh." exclaimed Mrs Rankin, an
pressed her hand to her side. For on
moment she looked as if she woul
: faint. and Cousin Martha put her arr
around her; the next she was runnin
toward the cistern. screaming as st
|, went When she got there she bega
frantically to tear the covering board
away. and Rufus and Uncle Alonoz ra