Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-11-29
BILLY.

|
plain enough if one but looked at his
tron trousers. his ragged shirt and his
battered straw hat. To be sure, hes"
v ere his everyday summer clothes,
and he had better ones for Sunday.
Ills father Was an honest man and
worked hard in the mills. and who
might have cared for his little boy
if he could have spent more time with
him.
When the schools were going Billy
faeneraIly went to school but all
through the long summer days he Just
ran wild. Only one person in tn"
world seemed to take a real Interest
it him, and that was Mis- Alic". who
had been his teacher the las1 Eear
Even of her Billy was Shy, hn}}-s2
he would have done almost anyjhin&
to please her. \ long while ago Sh
had picked him HIP on the street on
Saturday afternoon and had led him
te her home There she talked With
HIM. showed him pictures. read q
story. ard finally took comb and
pulled the tanalcs ont Of his yellow.
ftowslcd hair. That vas too much for
him. He could stand the pictures and
tho $ ories. but for a fellow of 3 to
have his hair combeel,
Since then h genparlly lodged
around the corner if he saw AT>i
Alice coming To his thinking,
tangled mair was best suited to
fyeckes and torn clothes. Anyway he
was not a baby, to have his hair comb
ed He did love Miss Alice and woul1
not willingly have displeased her, bu'
yet he was very shy.
One day the billposters cane to
town Up went the great flaring
sheets. yellow and red and blue, on
all the sheds and billboards to tell
| the boys and girls and every one els y
that the circus was coming on tn
18th. Billy read it all, just as tn
other boys did Perhaps h wished
that some fairy. or even some oil
ugly goblin. would come along and
give him the necessary half dollar
but if he did wish it that was all h
good there was in it. The bills We"
UP ten days before the show, ard o.
ly read them daily, but he kneW that
he could not hope to 90
On the afternoon baforo showdav
Billy went fishing. alo~o. He knew
he fellows he played with wore goinG
to the circus. and that soae of them
We're mean enough to taHnt him be
cause he could not go. In fact. h
had not been at the river great
while before several of th ose very
Toys came by The first thing thy did
was to call out
cob, Billy, are yoa going to the
crcus?"
"Nope.' said Billy .erisply; 81 went
II a circus once, and circnses are all
alike. They never have anything new,
m not going
oh ho," lauehea tha boys would
IL 90 if you could, would yo9?"
Billy felt his blood tirgle. but he
did not answer.
"supose l gave you ~ half a dol
ar. Billv would you go??"
1T was Tony who spoke and at tha
same time ran his hand TO his pock
et as if to show that the nJ9ev was
actually thare But just thea Tony's
face suddenly changed its triumphant
expression. He began TO turn his
pockets inside out and to look in az
directions The money was gone
Usually Billy would have felt sorr5,
fer Tony, but somehow he did not
this tine. He slowly wound up his
fshline and arted for home.
About half way across the meadow
kls eye caught the sight of something
bright lying just ahead, in the path
Il was a silver half dollar and di IL
not take Billy long to guess who haG
lest it. Here was his chance to GO
even All he had to do was 10 take
the money, go to the circus and say
nothing Tony had teased him and
he deserved 20 miss the show.
Something under the bosom Of his
ragged shirt kept saying: Run home
end tell Miss Alice about i"
No, Billy could not do that. He
k,cw quite we'll what Miss Vice
would say. That settled il. With his
teeth shut light as if TO keep his hear
from jumping ito his throat he ran
back TO the river.
Here. Tony | have found yonr 81
cents. You must have lost it COMING
across tho meadow
Tony was speeches.. Before h
could find his tongue BillV was halt