The Irish standard., 1905-11-25
F< z
| The Hermit
" A Story of the Wilderness l.
~ By CHARLES CLARK MUM y
Author Of Pocket Island" Uncle Terry"
ard Rockhaven."
CHAPTER Nj.
Copyright. 1903. by Lee and Shepard,
AUNT COMFORTS ASYLUM.

EuuudS utoiHlilS, Uul no answer came.
Il declare l never see the beat O. tina.
boy" she muttered, returning to the
sitting room, hes never round 'ceptin'
meal times, n then he's allus under
foot"
What is it, auntie," inquired a
younger lady, dressed in gray CASH
mere, and drawing on a well-worn
glove, anything can do for you?"
Il want sprig O. fennel and bunch
O them laylocAs to put on the pulpit,
N the last bell IL be ringin' in
minute" the elder one responded in
a clustered" tone, while CHANGING into
small, gilt-framed mirror
Without word Angie gathered her
skirts up, barely showing trim ankles,
and, tripping into the garden soon re-
turned with cluster of fennel still
moist with dew. Then. stepping out OF
the front door, she broke long twigs Of
lilac blossoms from the two luxuriant
bushes thanking the porch.
I'll so on ahead, auntic," she said.
placing her fragrant bouquet on the
stone step While she drew on the other
glove, "and you and Hannah can come
when she is ready"
Angie had always gone ahead" in
Aunt Comforts home. ever since she
had reached the close of school days.
And now, little past 'old maids COR
ner," but not looking it. she ruled the
household
1t was an odd collection, too, for
Aunt Comfort, large of heart as per-
son. had, in the sixties, contributed
husband and only son to the nation,
and to console herself in part had es-
tablished a sort o. 'sylum for the
homeless" as Greenvale would put it.
First came Hannah Pettibone, a hone
less spinster, so angular of temper and
features that no one but Aunt Com
fort would have her around. Then
Angie, tot of six. who one morning
had awakened to complete orphanhood
and desertion in the house near the
mill, and scared. hungry, and in tears,
had to run to her aunt's with her tale
OF woe and the first news of her
fathers disappearance. After Angie
came Hans, an import, who walked
barefoot into Greenvale one hot sum-
mer day, his possessions tied in a rcd
bandanra, and he unable to speak a
word of English.
1t mattered not, however, for as
AUNT Lorena" Thorp phrased it, "if q
tramp was lookin' for a hum, he'd find
Aunt Comforts door OPEN"
Her last addition to this motley COL
lection was Ebenezar Talmage, or
"Nezer," whose father had been sent
to jail for stealing, and whose mother,
discouraged by poverty and cough,
had gone hence, leaving him town
charge.
AS was customary in Greenvale,
Meier was then bound out" to the
highest bidder That is, some land
owner gave bond for the boys MAIN
tenance, agreeing to allow him SO many
months schooling until he reached the
age OF II, and, in lieu thereof to re-
ceive his labor until of age. In this
case David Curtis became Nezers pro.
prietor, but as David's tablet board was
notorious for its "thinness," the hun
cry boy was soon driven TO secret WIS.,
Its pantryward, to end in discovery. n
whipping, and q bread-and- diei
for three days.
But Meier was not the boy to en-
dure this for long, and one cold winter
morn Aunt Comfort found him hall
starved, at her back door, crying am,
begging for food
How her motherly heart opened, how
she warmed and fed him beside thu,
kitchen stove; how he pleaded to re-
main. willing to work and sleep in the
barn; and how she, with misgivin.s
as to "lhe law Oh t." finally consented.
is numbered wi'h her many Good Sd
marian acts
Its burnin shame to treat n poor
orphan that "ay," was her comment,
on ii David Curtis wants him back.
let him come n fetch him. If he
does, he'll git u piece o my mind"
But David made no effort to reclaim
Meier, and as no one else cared what
became OF him, Aunt Comfort added to
her assortment of unforlunates. AMI
set about bringing him up according TO
her light. He was a hard problem to
solve, however, for once fed and
warmed. his sole ambition was mis-
chief of til. most diabolicaI Lind. He
shod Aunt Comforts cat with clam
shells, fastened by grafting-wax, and,
with a fish-line for halter, gave that
unhappy cat her first lesson ia sl;at-
ing on the mill pond Ii wa, ioy SUI
DremC to Meier Whi,o ho watt ho1 hi.
victim humping, yOwling, and vainly
clawing the smooth ice as the wind
drew her across. only to be dragged,
BACK and repeat the exercise. When
early spring came, ne found nest of
black snakes, still dormant, and put
ting them in a bag, took them to An
gis's school, where he was pupil, and.
slyly tucking them under the Franklin
stove, awaited developments, which
came in due time, and resulted in every
girl. including Angie, seeking safety
on top of benches and desks and
screaming with dclirious fear while
the big boys enjoyed snake-k killing
bee.
Nezer's star act came later, however, \
when he caught and placed a large eel
In Hannah's bed one night, and as
that spinster felt the cold creature
squirming around her attenuatcd legs,
she paused not at all until she landed
ut the foot Of the back stairs with Il !
broken arm, besides serious injury to
Aer feelings.
Angie, however WAS the bright mar.