Oxford Democrat., 1907-07-02

| He heaped one Of his eight ounce rocks.
watermclons until, when Peter started
| for home that night over Il lonely road.
| they held certain dominant position
| in his mind. Alex had come with him
as far as the fence in order to protect
him from a possible attack by the
mongrels. There they had cheerfully
parted, two honest men.
The night was dark and heavy with
moisture. Peter found it uncomfo"ta-
ble to walk rapidly. He merely loiter-
| ed on the road. When opposite 81 Bry-
ants place he paused and looked over
the fence into the garden. He imag'
ined he could see the form of huge
melon lying in dim stateliness not ten
yards away. He looked at the Bryant
| house. Two windows downstairs were
lighted. The Bryants kept no dog, ole
Sis favorite child having once beer
bitten by~a dog and having since died
within that year Of pneumonia.
Peerng over the fence, Peter fancied
that If any low minded night prowlef
should happen to note the melon he
would not find it difficult to possess
himself Of it. This person would mere
ly wait until the lights were out in the
house and the people presumably
asleep. Then he would climb the fence,
reach the melon In Il few strides, sever
the stem with his ready knife and in
trice be back in the road with his prize.
There need be no noise, and, after all,
| the house was some distance.
Selecting Il smooth bit Of turf, Peter
took a seat by the roadside. From
time to time he glanced at the lighted
window.
When Peter and Alex had said good
by, the old man turned back in the
rocky field and shaped slow course
toward that high dim light which
marked the little window of his shan
| ty. 1t would be incorrect to say that
| Alex could think Of nothing but water
melons But II was true that 81 Bry-
ants watermelon patch occupied GER
tain conspicuous position in his
| thoughts.
He sighed: he almost wished that he
vas again conscienceless pickaninny
instead of being one Of the most or
| nate. solemn and look.at-me-sinner dea-
cons that ever graced the handle of Il
| collection basket At this time 1t made
| him quite sad to reflect upon his grail
| lite integrity. A weaker man might
perhaps bow his moral head to the
temptation, but for him such fall
was impossible. He was a prince Of
| the church, and II he had bean nine
princes Of the church he could not have
been more proud. In fact, religion
was to the old man a sort of personal
| dignity. And he was on Sundays SO
obtrusively good that you could see his
sanctity through door. He forced 1t
on you until you would have felt Its
influence even in forecastle.
1t was clear In his mind that he
must nut watermelon thoughts from
him, and after moment he told him.
self. with much OstentatiOn, that ne
had done so. But 1t was cooler under
the sky than in the shanty, and as he
was not sleepy he decided to take a
stroll down to 81 Bryant's place and
look ut the melons from u pinnacle or
spotless innocence. Reaching the road,
he paused to listen. 1t would not do
to let Peter hear him, because that
graceless rapscallion would probably
misunderstood him. But, assuring
himself that Peter was well on his
way, he set out, walking briskly until
he was within 400 yards Of Bryants
place. Here he went to the side OF
the road and walked thereafter on thc
damp, yielding turf. He made NJ
| sound.