The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1908-12-12

better make up our minds now. This
W. Allen is evidently an honest,
straightforward old fellow, who will
treat US we'll and make no fuss
about il"
"We must get some buckshot and
load up few shells for that bear, "
remarked Dalton.
When Billy opened letter and
read that Mr.. Thomas Dalton and
Mr.. Edward Cornish wished to en-
gage two rooms for two weeks, and
would arrive on August 31st, he was
tremulous with joy at his success. He
gave the letter to his mother without
a word and when he saw how her
face lighted up, first with surprise
and then with sudden hope, he went
out and split wood for an hour, be-
cause he felt so happy that he had to
break something.
During the week before the thirty
first there seemed to be new spirit
of energy in the Allen family. Billy's
mother freshened up the spare rooms
with pictures and chairs from her own
room, and gaily stripped her own and
Billy's beds of the best sheets and
coverings.
'I'm going to see that our guests
go back inclined to give us recon-
mendation, even if the rest Of us have
to put up with few things" she said.
Her husband displayed a renewed
activity in cultivating the garden,
which at least had not suffered much
from the bad year. And Billy went
about, tinkering and mending, and
roofing the grass out of the path it
did not do much good, but it showed
a good spirit. Also he wrote a formal
letter to Mr.. Dalton, announcing that
he had reserved two rooms for him
and his friend.
On the afternoon of the last day of
August he was at the station, with
the old horse and wagon, to meet the
guests. When the train stopped and
two young men alighted, Billy saun-
tered forward, with broad, embar-
rasseo smile on his freckled face.
"Hello, son p said one of the young
men to him. "Can you direct us to
Mr.. w. Aliens house ?"
"I'm w. Allen" said Billy. "Let
me take your things
Dalton stared down at the small
boy. who strove to relieve him of his
valise.
"Well, well !" exclaimed the young
man. "And you're the gentleman
with whom I've correspondcd 7"
eyes, sir" said Billy, still tugging
at the valise. Wont you let me
take these?"
81 guess we're better able to lug
them than you are," Cornish remark
ed, looking kindly at the small, eager
figure. "You lead the way and we'll
follow
And that was what Billy did inde
fatigably for the next two weeks.
The young men had taken a fancy to
him, and insisted that he should ac-
company them on all their excursions.
He guided them to all the trout
brooks, where their success was be-
yond anything that they had dreamed;
they took him swimming with them
in the lake. Two days they beat the
mountain slopes in search of the bear !;
but traditional bear is always hard
to kill, and doubtless that one still
roams the forests of Little Hawk.
The young men joked Billy a good
deal about the bear, but on the last
day of their vacation, when they had
strolled to the hilltop for last view of
the distant lake Cornish said to Dalton:
"The little fellow ought to have a
gun. Did you see how he looked at
ours? Maybe he could kill the bear"
Dalton laughed. "There's a vii
lage boy who offers a muzzle-loader
for five dollars" he said.
That afternoon they sought out the
village boy and secured the gun, and
in the evening, just before leaving
for their train, Cornish gave it to
Billy, with an elaborate presentation
speech.
"But you oughtn't to give it to
me p cried the boy. "I haven't done
thing for you; it's all been fun for
me-"
"Never mind," said Dalton. "All
IL &c fIar h0n nI%
to stay with you next summer, you
have bearskin to show u.s..
The Aliens Summer season" did
not close for three weeks longer. On
returning to the city Cornish and Dal-
ton sent friend of theirs with his
two young sons.
The upshot of it all was that with
the returns from Billy's boarders and
the money that Emma earned at the
canning factory, where she had had
more work than usual, the Aliens
tided over their hard times. And
now even Aunt Sues boarding house
is no more prosperous and no better
supplied with croquet and hammocks,
and offers ice cream to its guests no
more frequently than the establish
ment which advertises under the name
of w. Allen YOUTHS Companion.
B0BBY'S LAST MOVE.
Bobby is the son of a Methodist
minister and has had the experience
of moving" four times in the space
of eight years life. He disapproves
strongly Of the itinerant system which
is the bane of the Methodist clergy.
Some time ago an elderly minister
was visiting Bobby's father, and di-
rected his attention to the small boy,
asking him many questions of a semi
theological nature. Finally the course
of the conversation turned to heaven,
and Bobby was asked concerning the
abode of the blest.