Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-01-17

, limp. was the real head of the eXpe.

a limp, was the real head of the expe-
dition.
1t was an expedition with a serious
object in view, for which Dot-and-
carry-one was responsible.
1t had not escaped the attention Of
the man who had accosted the chill
dren that Little Make-Believe's face
was whittier than usual, and that she
exhibited symptoms of suffering SIM
gularly at variance with the eXaltation
with which her position and the blue
paper flag she carried should naturally
have filled her soul.
But in the very whirl Of the highest
forms of mental rapture there are hui
man feelings which will not be denied.
Hunger is one.
Little Make Believe had been select
ed to take the supposed command OF
the expedition by virtue of the reputa-
ton she had gained by always pretend
ing.
1t was at the suggestion Of Dot-and-
carry-one that the Office was bestowed
upon her.
The cunning young rascal, who, de-
spite his tender years, was sufficlently
gifted to devise any act of mild viii
lainy. and sufficiently brave to assist
out of danger Gn this respect resemb-
ling more advanced humans that way
inclined), had formed very definite
scheme of punder by which his stom-
ach was to be substantially benefited.
In furtherance of his scheme he had
gathered his band of juvenile waits
and strays and had supplied them with
, flags, with which they were nightly
tickled The last soldier he enlisted
was Little Make-Believe.
He found her sitting disconsolately
On doorstep. She was in truth in the
saddest Of moods.
1t was seldom that her good spirits
deserted her, but she had not tasted
| food that day, and she had, besides,
even stronger cause for dependency.
In the morning she had left. from
her stock of the previous day, four
boxes of matches.
These she had sold for twopence.
| with which she had purchased food for
Saranne, taking it home to her sister.
and sitting patiently by it while 1T
/ was eaten, touching not morsel of 1t
| herself.
at amt 'arf enough" said Saranne;
"my stomach's as empty as bandbox
with nothink in it,"
"What'd yer IKE for supper?' asked
Little Make-Believe, with a remark
able assumption of cheerfulness con-
sdering the state of her own stomach.
"a pic" replied Saranne. her lips at
work in anticipation. "a meat pie
"All right" said Little Make-Believe,
"I'll get yer one, Saranne.'
She spoke with the air of a person
who possessed magic ring. with
! which she intended to go direct to an
Aladdin's cave filled with meat pies.
She had a firm faith in her own re-
sources, and believed, if they failed.
that something would turn up to lead
to the fultillment of Saranne's wish.
As she went out into the streets she
INDUCED in delightful visions-saw
shops crammed with meat pies, smok-
ing hot. and man with Deamlng
countenance behind the counter, to
whom she appeared and said. "'Ere,
old chap. give us arf a Dozen
She went home and laid them before
Saranne. who said, You're somethlnk
like sister! Take bite at one yer
self"
The airiest of airy fmaginations.
The afternoon waned ard the meat
pies were as far off as the Promised
Land.
Then she began to despair. Not for
herself. Hunger she had borne, and
could bear. She suffered not only from
her own pangs. but from Saranne's.
She looked upon it as crime that
she could not satisfy Saranne's long
ing.
Her loving heart made her self-tor.
menting most unbearable.
She tried hard, very hard, to obtain
copper or two; went to the shop
where she bought her matches, and i'm
plored the man to give her credit for
dozen boxes, strengthening her ap-
peal by the solemn declaration:
MAY 1 never drink another drop o.
( water If l don't pay yer honest to-mor-
how morning! I'm sure to sell 'em,
sir, if l stop out all night. Wont yer,
sir, wont yer?"
No. he would not, and he was not to
be blamed for it, being himself strug-
Cling man with an enormous family
| trlplets the last presentation, for which
he received three pounds from Her
Majesty the Queen.
Mournfully Little MakeBelieve left
the shop, and it is not too much to say
that il Satan himself had suddenly ap-
peared and had proposed to make a
bargain with her in that birthstone
depot she would have jumped at any
reasonable offer.
She ventured in the streets to pull
the coat tails of benevolent looking
gentlemen, but she was impatiently
shaken off, and each time fell back,
fearful lest dreadful consequences
should follow her boldness. The per-
sons from whom she endeavored to OBJ
tain practical sympathy for her silent
agony were not in the main of an I'M
kindly nature, but these appeals were
so common, the streets were so full of
imploring faces! If by a miracle IL
could one day happen that angels
should descend from Heaven and by
simultaneous Divine movement lift
the weight of suffering from the hearts
Of those in want of food, flood OF
such sweet sunshine would illumine
the narrow thoroughfares of the mod
ern Babylon that this City Of Pain