Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1903-10-24

A04 hE urst any Oh IlmOtny
~ Farnham at the Los An
s II 8 gelss high school was dis
u tinctly uncomfortable, ant
sost the other days of the weeI
were no less unpleasant to the boy
Timothy's father and his family had
recently arrived from the East,
which in Southern California means
from some portion Of the United States
east Of Denver; in Nmothy's case II
referred to Southern Kansas, where
the waters Of the Ehallow streams
grow warm early In the summer and
stay warm till late In the fall.
Timothy found the Western boys OF
his own age no more than his equals
In school work. and hoped to gain
standing and make friends among
them. as he had done among school
mates In the East"
In the middle Of the morning session
Of the first day Timothy saw on his
desk an envelope addressed to him.
He opeend 1t and drew forth the en-
closure. Something few out as the
folded cardboard Enclosed. and limo
thy struck ut 1t. uttering shrek
worthy of the most nervous girl In
the room.
Then he discovered 1t was a kissing
bug" that is to say, hairpin and a
piece of rubber SO twisted together as
to unwind with buzz when taken
from the envelope. Timothy had been
startled even more than the maker Of
the kissing bug had hoped, and there
was smothered laughter among the
boys and giggling among the girls.
As the teacher in charge turned tow
ard Timothy, william Peters rose.
II put a kissing-bug on Mr.. Farm
hams seat" he said. Il thought he
would open the envelope before the
class was called to order. and, really,
! didn't know that Timothy was so
timid." And the force Of the teach
er's reproof was lessened by the smile
he could not hide.
II the matter had ended there II
would have been forgotten very soon.
But at noon VIII, who was leader Of
the boys inclined to athletic sports,
declined to allow Timothy place in
the lineup for practice football
game. and Timothy made such re-
marks as wit and Ill nature suggest
ed, the result being that two boys
who might have been good friends
were In a fair way to become bitter
enemies. To Timothy even this seemed
less to be regretted than the fact that
the other boys Of the class were in
clined to follow Wills lead.
Three Of his friends. ALI johnson and
Joe and George Brown, were espe.
cially ingenious and persistent in in.
venting alliterative variations Of "Tim.
othy, the Timid" and "Timorous Tim.
N.Y." which the other boys took up and
repeated till 1t seemed that Timothy's
name was never mentioned without an
adjective implying cowardice. AS the
days passed. even the little fellows
in the classes below Joined in the sport,
greatly to Timothy's discomfort.
Thinking over the matter, he sensibly
concluded to do nothing until some
thing seemed certainly the right thing
to do; and he made no answer to gall
ing remarks.
Schoolboys as rule soon tire Of any
game steadily pursued, and Timothy's
plan of non-resistance would In time
have secure immunity from persecu
ton at worst only half ill.natured.
But his patience was not put to test
On Saturday VIII and his three
friends rode down to the beach on
their bicycles. reaching the seashore
at o'clock In the morning. limo
thy also decided to go swimming &c.
taking the electric car for Santa Mon.
lea, he entered the bathhouse from
the shore side as the clock struck
10. He undressed. donned a bathing
suit and went out on the beach.
Many people sat on the benches. and
more on the sand, but there were no
bathers in the water. The sea was like
q vast mirror. Five or six hundred
feet from the land the shining water
rose slowly, green and graceful. as
heavy ground swell swept shoreward.
Half way in fecks Of white foam APP
peared on the crest of the little noun
tain of water; all the top grew white
as the wave became perpendicular;
then the mass toppled upon the sand
with q tremendous slap that woke the
echoes in the bluffs till all other sound
was drowned in the roar of surf as
the wave broke on the beach.
With both the sights and sounds
Timothy was familiar. having spent
q month along the sea before school
began. Tumbling walls Of water six
feet high more than tempt the bather
10 stay ashore. Timothy sat down on
the sand, just out Of the reach Of the
waves. listening to people who spoke
low when the kissing water receded,
or who shouted In vain attempts to
make their voices heard as the waves
broke.
Generally four or five waves could
be seen. that nearest the shore roar.
ing mass Of foam. the next growing
white along the crest as the front as
sumed the perpendicular. while those
farther seward were hills Of green.
lower as the distance increased. SEEM
ing smooth, as II cut from solid glass.
No two waves were ever alike. so one
wave kept its form second. but dis
tances between them seemed not to
vary BY q hands breadth as the surges.
miles In length, swept toward the
shore.
; A quarter of q mile from the beach.
well outside the breaks and little af-
fected by the swell. was a small boat
with big sail. carrying four people
in bathing dress, evidently men, as
they were bareheaded. Timothy
watched them. wondering idly why
they had hauled the sheet aboard while
sailing dead before. the wind. As he
looked the helmsman put the tiller
down and the little craft rounded up
to port and heeled over as the breeze
caught the sail, still hauled close.
"What do you suppose he thinks he's
trying to do?' laughed a man sitting