Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-01-28

! ga VI LIE I'M VI Tree TO rest While
I her companions gathered nuts. She
i was soon conscious of" the, awkward
approach Of the dwarf, who placed a
! large leaf filled with chinouapins at
| her side.
'":Tenkye, missus, fur bein' so kline ter
| a POI boy'
Alice smiled and motioned to him..
With backward pull or scrape of the
| right foot and sort of jerk of his
front hair he obeyed.
what is your name?'
Tony, ma am
what is the matter with Won? Whv
do you live on nuts and say you have
no place to spend money? The city is
very near, and you can walk in if you
can come OUT
The boy hesitated
81 'fraid fur tell you de trut'. 'cause
you mout tell way u.s.
Alice FASTENED to reassure him.
"Oh, missus, you ane know wat q
hard time po' niger kin have. My
mudder love me, do is got a hump
back, an she nebber lick me. I ane
nebber bin strong huff ter wuk, an, do
use ter help her wat could, tame
bin much could do. After she dead
ane know no time I ane git kicks an
knocks from my daddy, cause e say
cen e way an e ane gwine feed a big
boy lax me. Sometimes I goes days
Ndout crus' er bread, an one day e
beat me so an t'row me ag'in de wall
I
wake up, it wuZ mos mite an l can
STAN no mo-, so 1 git up ter go, an 1
| tine my aims an back so hut me I
kin hardly walk. l was cumin' out de
place Wen l see a hunk er bread an
a piece er bacon cen de closet do, an,
| mlssus, bin so hongry I TEX um an
sneak off. l know l wuz wrong, but l
wuz so weak an hongry l couldn't help
it. Den sneak an hide an sneak an
hide till I cum yeah, an l bin yeah so
long now dat 1 gittin' berry sick. l
ane had all dis time ting ter eat 'cep'
de nuts an berries. begs de good
| Lord cherry mite ter TEX me befo' nv
daddy cum, cause l can't let UNI kill
| me, an I too little an too weak ter
| help myself
The poor little fellow burst into
tears. Alice was not ashamed to let
her own tears fall freely, and soon
band of sympathizers stood around the
unfortunate child. A basket of food
intended for lunch was quickly
opened, and Tony made a royal meal
Before leaving Alice said:
| S"TOnV do Won know tho Wo1
I live on Rutledge avenue near Spring
street, and if you will come to my
house l think we may find job for
you."
"Oh, missus, 'fraid ter go cen de
town less l know fur sure l ane
gwine meet my daddy"
"Alice," said one of the larger boys,
''let him stay here tonight, and tomor-
row 1 will come out with an officer
and bring Tony in under his protec-
ton. If that brute shows up, he will
be arrested"
This suggestion meeting with ap-
prevail, the picnickers soon after de-
parted.
After prayers of thanks to God for
his deliverance Tony lay down and
slept the sweet, untroubled sleep of
childish faith in the eagerly expected
tomorrow" In the morning he almost
forgot in his joy his past enforced ST.
lence and played happily in the woods
for some time. The sun was hot, and
he soon became tired and hungry. Co.
Ing to the hollow tree which served as
his storehouse, he and the squirrel were
soon enjoying the remnants of the good
things Of the day before. Suddenly he
paled, and his heart stopped in fear
He heard stealthy steps behind him
and, looking round quickly, was just in
time to save himself from an appraised
stick in the hands of his enraged IA
ther.
Flying up the first tree he saw, Tony
failed to notice until too late that it
was not strong enough to bear his
weight; so, holding on as tightly as he
could, he trembled for his safety either
way. A storm of wild abuse came from
the man, who was in fury. He vio-
lently shook the tree, which almost at
once dislodged his victim No sooner
had Tony touched the earth than he
was seized by the rufian, who. bella
bored him, accompanying each blow
with the vilest language and most:
frightful kicks. Scream after scream,
filled the air UNTIL with one piercing
shrek, the sufferer sank into blessed
unconsciousness. Rapidly approaching
footsteps were heard. and the wretch,
hurling the little PROSTATE form against
a tree, took to his heels. He was too
late, however. An officer and two young
men seized him, and wild fight for
freedom followed. The coward was
soon conquered and was with much
trouble taken to the station house,
while the unconscious boy was cared
for by persons attracted by the noise
AS soon as Tony was able to attend
court the wretch who caused his suf-
ferings was tried and sentenced to a
term Of years at hard labor in the penI-
Tertiary.
Tony soon after became stable boy at
the home of Alice Brewster. The little
fellow developed a spirit of true cour-
age and a rare degree of gratitude AS
| ~ a po1l ho n ,hoon kftod fror,, hi. 1;fo