The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1904-07-16
HOW MISS ALmTRA CELEBRATED


IleIhef peace nor rest for the next twenty-four
hours Miss Almira had know how it would be
When Sam Atkins, her next door neighbor, came
nome from Pendleton hour ago. Every boy in
the nelghborhood had sent by him for frecrackers
and powder. Miss Ahnira was afraid of powder,
and NOISE gave her nervous headache. There was a
black cloud In the west that betokened rain. She
hoped it was not false prophecy, as she put the
tubs out under the caves
Tommy Atkins was firing off crackers the other
side of the fence. He was also watching Miss Al
mira out of his weather exc" Presently an APP
parently false motion sent flying over the fence
at Miss Almiras very feet. where it went off with
loud bang, startling her nearly into spasms while
her pet cat eaped wildly into the air and then took
refuge on the rdgcpolc of the cottage.
Miss Almira gave him look of keen reproach,
which failed of its intended effect. Tommy Atkins
was usually nice kind Of boy. What was it
about the Fourth of July that turned boys into
fend-!
Tommy was delighted at his success. He lit
whole bunch and tossed them over the fence when
Miss Allnira's back turned. They fell with
soft thump close beside her, and she watched the
swiftly burning fuse with fascinated gaze mo-
ment then fled precpitaely into the house and
shut the door against the fusade Of rapid artillery
outside.
Tommy was disguised. He had wasted whole
bunch one old woman, who had not waited to
be scared, There enough in that bunch to
have frightened all the cats in town into fits. Tom
my was of an economical turn of mind
After the smoke of battle had cleared away. Miss
Amira called in the eat, locked all the doors and
put down the curtains. Then she stuffed her ears
with cotton and sat down with the cat in her lap.
She knew what the next few hours would bring
forth. The Burch boys, the Brown boys and the
NanderbUrg boys joined forces with Tommy pres
entity, and pandemonium reigned. They always
celebrated close to Miss Almira's back door as
possible 1t was y o'clock when the last cannon
cracker went off amid hideous bowls of satisfac-
ton, which grew fainter, and finally faded away
altogether. IOmmys allies had gone home, and
Miss Amira trembling and unnerved. crept away
to bed. She fell into troubled sleep about / o'clock
which lasted undisturbed for two hours, and then
the time-honored anvil at Hackett's Corners awoke
the sumbering echoes, also Miss Almira. There
more sleep for her, and she lay and covered
miserably with nervous fear at the continuous ex-
plosions which tore, shreking through the silence
of the night Somewhere she had heard that heavy
cannonading to bring rain, and it the
only drop of consolation in the overlooking cup of
her misery; but she was destined to disappointment.
The morning dawned bright and beautiful. Not a
cloud softened the ecrulean blue of the sky, and
Miss Almlra took her wooden tubs back into the
cellar with evident disappointment. She had no
appetite TO breakfast and nbbled at her dry toast
and drank her English breakfast tea with a de-
pressed air, which lightened somewhat as the bug
gies and wagons began 10 go by. They seemed to
DC llled pFlnclpdlE WIN boys, Tor IllS she 1elU
thankful There were eight in Jerry Browns
wagon.
She frightened visibIy after they had gone by,
and drew long breath of relief How nice and
still it She thought of the noisy, distracting
crowds at Pendeton was shudder Miss Almra
never went to Fourth Of July celebrations. She
pulled the kitchen rocker up beside the window,
where the breath of the great sweetbrier
floating in, and sat down to enjoy the silence. She
must have dozed off for few moments, for the
next thing she was conscious of was confusion
of tramplng feet and a shrill cry of pain. She
started up in bewinlderment, and went to the door
just in time to see small, barefooted boy in blue
gingham shirt and overals scramble up off the
ground and limp to where old gray horse stood
deiectedy by the roadside. 1t was little Joe Tear
sail. He was an orphan and lived with old Mr. and
Mrs. McDermOtt. the State road. She had
seeen them drive by in top buggy an hour earlier.
It was Ike them to leave the boy to ride old Gray
to the celebration.
He grasped the bride and tried to lead the ami
NAL up to the fence, but it seemed to have gone
hopelessly lame. Hes gone and stumbled and hurt
hisself purpose, so | can't go to the Fourth he
said, desparingly, as Miss Almra came out to the
gate.
He has hurt you, too, hasn't he 2" she asked
pointing to Ioe's foot, from which the
blood was tricIling down.
Joe looked down unconcernedly. Huh that
amt nothing. 'Twouldn't hurt me none to ride"
he said
But YOU haven't got anything to ride now
Poor old Gray. You had better turn him into the
pasture here and come in and let me dress your
foot" she told him. 1t was not serious injury,
but the dressing was quite painful operation, !
which Joe bore without finchng. She bandaged it |
in arnica and made him as comfortable as pos
sible with dish of ripe strawberries smothercd |
in sugar snow, which was Miss AIniras idea of
offering consolation to boy
He ate them absently. however, with far-away
gaze which she knew instnctiyely was looking
across country to where the crowds were gathering
Al Pendleton. you can so to the celebration next
year. she told him. consolingly
There was reproachful disbelief in his eyes as
ne looked up into her face "'1aint likely Pm 10
year old and ] amt ndver went to one yet" be
said. Il amt never had but one bunch of fire.
hackers neither" he added in aggrieved accents
The distress in his face was very real it was
% thoroughly hopeless. Something came up into
Miss Almira's throat and choked her. as she real
zed the dull emptiness of his life and the magni-
ude of this disappointment which she had hoped
0 alleviate with strawberries. A sense of all that
he boy had really missed came to her in a sudden
ide of childish memories of waving flags and gay
informs, of throbbing music and marching feet,
f merry. noisy crowds, Of which she, herself was
he merriest and noiscst Even now her pulses
uickened to the rapid ryhtm of childhood at the