The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-02-04

AA"NNN~~
through which the sun streamed
warmly and made. upon the dusty
floor. golden patch not unlike the
limelight upon stage.
He sat in a pile Of pink and yellow
and red scraps Of paper, from which
he had cut, with unusual cunning, q
dozen gayly angular figures Of mea
and women. These Carter had IN
duced, by means Of basic arrange
ment OF pins. to stand upright upon
the floor; In sing-song voice he was
droning out crude. fantastic nara
tive Of childish imagining to which,
with swift. deft hands, he suited the
movements Of his puppets.
"The prince, he cried, has come
to slay the wicked fairy-for-er--er
more" And the scarlet princeline
fell nightly upon the crumbling yel-
low fairy.
Carters mother paused on the
threshold; there was sick. scared
feeling at her heart.
oh he's got it, too" she thought,
bitterly. Her lips tightened with de-
cision.
Jimmie she said. sharply, what
are you playing there-with those pa
per-things? 7"
Carter hung HIS head shyIy. Il
don't know. " he faltered.
He some way hated 10 tell bis
mother that he called the game by
a name Of his own: "The Make-Be-
Iieve People. Carter had observed In
his young life that his mother did not
often understand what he meant BY q
great many "difrunt' things.
ITS not a nice game for little boys
70 play. You mustn't ever do 1t again
do you hear mother? Never again!
You may give me those paper things!
Carters chin QuIvered; he did not
cry. He wanted to save the red prince
terribly. His mother crushed them al
sternly IN her hands. and led hin
out Of the attic.
Carter's mother was III on his elev
enth birthday Perhaps It should be
said here that the lads father had
died--and he had lived-dreaming lonl
before Carter could frame an image
Of him on his baby brain. The boys
birthday was on a Saturday. In the
afternoon his mother called him tc
her bedroom and kissed him. slipping
a shining dollar into his hand.
you may take old Hannah and &c
down town to buy whatever you like
provided It Ia not something foolish,
she said, kindly. In the precise tones
she always used TO children and serv
ants.
At the corner. pasted on the fence
around simpkins livery stable, thel
found vilIianous. blood-curdllnl
scene in road. done with splendol
OF coloring and a scorn Of conyen
tion, that filed Carter and Hannal
with admiration and forbodihg. The.
gasped
What Is It. Hannah" whispered
Carter, wsde-eyed.
"A play-pIcture." Hannah explained
TITS going to be at the town hall to
day It's make.believe I"
-was it--splendid, Hannah"
1T was Just grand
"A make believe" The words faf
cinated Carter. They reminded hin
OF the scarlet prince.
Hannah. we're going to IT," he add
ed. conclusively-
The old servant demurred EervouE
~. But in the end Carter stoo
firm
1--WE got a dollar-and we're gS
ing" be repeated. quietly. Were &
Ing TO see It"
Presently they watched breathlesI
" the curtain rise on the most wor
derful thing In the world, 50 the la
thought For days afterward he ha
only to shut his eyes and he saw tn
beautiful lady who wore day an
might, through all her dreadful trol
Bile, a pale. blue silk gown; in hi
ears flowed the plaintive cadences (
some song she sang.
1t made little difference to Carte
that he was kept, in his room for tw
whole days after the play, and wa
not allowed to speak to anyone for
week--he was 50 sorry that Hanna
had to be sent away, He tried to e.
plain that 1t was all his fault. b.
his mother would not let him te
her.
In the night Carter heard her pra
ing;
% LORD, she said, take away u
curse from him." an he guessed
meant something about the re
prince
Carter grew up amazingly fas
When he was II he entered colleg
He had never seen another play
save those he fashioned for himself
his dreams--for he had promised b
mother that be would not so TO Il
theater until he was 20. Carter love
his mother.
Somehow he got through the fou
year course-neither he nor the IA
ulty was quite sure how he did
He studied little enough, heavl
knows: but he spent endless hou
In the college library over shakespea