Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1902-02-13

M%~W&
1t was the Rev. George Gasket who
first nicknamed Tommy 1.-THE Whelp."
The Rev. George began fairly enough
with the lads of his new parish. He
got them together within a fortnight
of his arrival and talked football and
baseball to them until they were as
wax in his hands. Tommy, who was
fifteen and overgrown to hnllziness,
hung upon his words and thought it
would be fine to die for him. And then
the very next week, when Tommy
stumbled over his own feet and fell
down with the ball, thereby letting the
minister's side get whitewash, that
gentleman said irritably, 81 knew The
Whelp would beat US, but really it
didn't seem fair to shunt him off on the
other eleven"
The field rang with laughter as later
the school and playground rang with
it when somebody called: "Whelp!
Whelp-ee! Are you goin' to eat us all
when you grow up?"
Children reflect wonderfully the So
cial color of their homes. For awhile
all the parish was entranced with the
new pastor-so much SO indeed that
whisper against him would have been
received as something between high
treason and the objectionable sin. The
Rev. George was youngish, fair look
ing, quick and deft in phrasemaking,
suave. He admitted in his private
talks temper, but said, with eyes up
cast, that he kept it under by help of
strength beyond his own. He was sin
gle. That of course set all the mothers
In the church to work mating him
suitably. He saved them the trouble
of choosing for him by devoting him
self to Alison Prior from the day she
came home.
If only she had been home from the
first, Tommy would never have been
The Whelp. Tommy was Alisons
brother and i'll many ways her chum,
yet she only smiled when he explained
the minister's sin and said at last:
what a whelp is like, but you do look
very much what 1 fancy it is-all legs
and arms, SO much too big that they
are in their own way and everybody
else's."
When Tommy had gone away, how
ever, trying to stand very stiff and
keep his elbows primly beside him,
Alison looked after him lovingly, then
turned and shook her fist at the recto-
ry, which was visible across half a mile
of fields.
If only Tommy had known that; but
how should he? He was very human
boy. He loved Alison so well he would
have grudged her to any fellow. It
was unbearable to think of her marry
ing that preacher and sitting perked
up in the front pews, never daring to
smile or whisper. Besides, there was
his affront. Tommy flung himself up
on the grass out in the pasture, dug
his heels in the turf and thought very
hard, tears resting upon his freckled
cheeks.
All at once something came with a
rush, struck him a sounding tbwack on
the back and sent him rolling over and
over. AS he got up he felt harder
thwack and tumbled all in a heap.
When at last he scrambled up, leaping
nimbly aside, to shin up a convenient
apple tree, Blinky, the big Cotswold
ram, stood at the tree foot, shaking
his head up and down, evidently invit-
ing Tommy to try conclusions again.
Tommy had no mind for that. In
stead he sat up among the laden
boughs and thought harder than ever.
After little he whistled joyfully, fill
ed his hands with red apples and
climbed down to the lowest fork of the
tree. Blinky was at him in minute,
but stopped short as Tommy tossed
him an apple. AS soon as he had de-
voured it he looked inquiringly at Tom
my, who tossed him another, redder
and juicier than the first
| Twenty minutes after Tommy passed
Blinky trotting behind, a pattern of
content. Every day for the next fort
night Tommy gave Blinky apples, tufts
| of sweet late grass, nubbins of corn
and pungent dashes of salt and red oak
bark. Blinky followed him like a dog,
never trying to butt or chase him,
! though toward the rest of the human
race he preserved an unregenerate
! mind.
Whom the gods would destroy they
| first make mad. The Rev. Georges
particular madness that autumn was
| golf. Golf was but an idle name in
the parish until he came to it. Fancy
his delight, muscular, masculine and
missionary, in laying out links and
teaching his parishioners the game.
Alison was one of his earliest and most
promising pupils. They spent hours de-
liciously together, yet apart, upon the
course. Alison was certainly devoted
to the game. AS to whether she was
also devoted to her teacher she her.
self did not quite know.
Love may be slain with a laugh.
Tommy was not enough of a psycho1o-
gist to know that, but he did know
Alison, and he laid his plans accord
ingly.
Upon perfect Indian summer after
noon all the golf crowd of their parish
met all the golf crowd of another
parish upon the home links to settle
various foursomes and other things.
Alison and the Rev. George were the
mainstay of the home crowd. Tommy
meekly asked to be his sisters caddie
and clustered good bit when he was
transferred to Mr.. Gasket But there
was a twinkle in his eye as he paced
soberly from hole to hazard, from
hazard to tee, from tee again to