Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-11-10
BILLY.
or sale by L. B. Coon. 21O Main.

plain enough if one but looked at his
tron trousers, his ragged shirt and his
battered straw hat. To be sure, these
were his everyday summer clothes,
and he had better ones for Sunday.
]Jis 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
generally went to school, but all
through the long summer days he just
ran wild. Only one person in the
world seemed to take real interest
ir him, and that was Miss Alice, who
had been his teacher the last year.
Even of her Billy was shy, though
he would have done almost anything
10 please her. A long while ago sh1
had picked him up on the street one
Saturday afternoon and had led him
to her home. There she talked with
h121, showed him pictures, read
story and finally took a comb and
pulled the tangles out of his yellow,
frowsled hair That was too much for
him. He could stand the pictures and
tho sories. but for fellow of to
have his hair combed'
Since then he ecnearlly lodged
around the corner if he saw Mist
Alice coming. To his thinking,
tangled nair was best suited to
'.ecItles and torn clothes. Anyway he
vas not a baby, to have his hair comb
3D. He did love Miss Alice and would
not willingly have oispleased her, but
! yet he was very shy.
One day the billposters came to
town. Up went the great fiaring
sheets. yellow and red and blue, on
all the sheds and billboards to tell
the boys and girls and every one els
that the circus was coming on th ,
17th Billy read it all, just as the
other boys did Perhaps he wished
that some fairy, or even some Old
ugly goblin, would come along and
eiye him the necessary half dollar,
but if he did wish it that was all the
good there was in it. The bills We're
Iup ten days before the show, and Bill
" read them daily, but he knew that
he could not hope to go.
On he afternoon before showdav
Billy went fishing, alone. He knew
the fellows he played with were going
to the circus, and that some Of them
VI ere mean enough to taunt him be
tcause he could not go. In fact, n
had not been at the river a great
while before several of these very
Logs came by The first thing they die
was to call out:
"Oh. Billy, are you going to th%
,circus?"
Nope said Billy crisply; 81 Wen
to a circus once, and circuses are al
alike. They never have anything new
I'm not going"
| oh. ho!" laughed the boys; would
Mt go if you could, would you?"
Billy felt his blood tingle, but ht
did not answer.
Suppose l gave you my half a dol
lar, Billy, w.uld you go?'
1t was Tony who spoke and at the
same time ran his hand into his pock
et as if to show that the money was
actually there. But just then Tony's
face suddenly changed its triumphan
EXPRESSION. He began to turn ms
noc,ets inside out and to look in al
directors. The noney was gone.
Usually Billy would have felt sorr3
for Tony, but somehow he did no
thjs tine. He slowly wound up his
fshIine and started for nome.
About half way across the meadow
n. evo caueht the sight of somethinS
bright living Just ahead, in the path
IT was a silver llah dollar, and dl
rot take Billy long to guess who nat
1~s. it. Here was his chance to &c
ayen. All he had to do was TO tak'
the money, go to the circus and SAY
,otb;ne- TONY had teased him an
h, deseryed to miss the show.
sorneth ng under the bosom OF nj
ragged shirt kent saving: Run nome
ard tell Miss Alice about H."
No, Billy could not do that. n
; knew quite we'll what Miss 1Hc'
would say. That settled it. With nj
teeth shut tight as if to keep his hear
! from jumping ito his throat ne ra'
back to the river.
Here, Tony, l have found your .