davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1909-05-30

take look round, if it'll ease your mind any
No, no! should have known at first, says she,
jabbin at her eyes with handkerchief He's not
here But where IS he? Oh! where is he'
Il expect I'd have to pass it up, anyway says |:
but could speak more positive if knew what par
tc'lar deceiver you meant.
Why. Mr.. Hartley Ripple" says She Il
Mrs. Ripple. you know .
OH says l. beginnin to grin Then that's
different Now Just calm down Mrs Ripple It's
all right. He amt here just this minute, you see;
but l can give guess. and tips her the confden-
tal wink, meanin' to soothe her some But it don't
'Then-then he is with-with her, is her" she
ohokes out With that other woman! OH OH
What's that" says l. gaspin
"Oh, you needn't tell me any more says she. L
have suspected 1t tor a long time And now have
found him out! Oh the wretch! The villain!'
WITH that she drops on chair and starts sob
w bin string of charges and accusations
that sounded like bill of particulars in divorce
court.
Excuse me-" says l, but amt you Stain the
Mr. Ripple he amt that kind Of man wouldn't
have said he'd SO much as look Crosseyed at a
dummy in millners window
All but if you only knew him as do" she sighs.
You don't say?" says with my mouth open.
this Mr. Ripple framed up as the kind Of man who
spent all his off time at the family resde, and never
knew whether the lady stenographer was peach or
a dried prune And him with all his quiet ways
leadln the double entry life! Course, didn't have
many facts to so on; but cases of that kind don't
need much evidence If she'd tried to make me be-
lleve he was hero or entitled to any kind of
medal I'd had to be shown But somehow it's lot
easier the other way round
Geei" saysI And he always acted such mild
one, What you do put it up to him."
II shall suffer silence for awhile" whimpers
longer. | shall"
She didn't finish Stain her program, but goes off
into another fit of sobbn' She's still quivern and
or less damp when leads her down and puts
her into her carriage.
WAS intendln to give Sadie the whole yarn. know
in how shed appreciate 1t but when gets home
that night she's all full of talk about comm down to
town next day, goin' to matinee box party in the
afternoon and swell dinner in the evening So |
sdetracks the tale of the faithless Ripple and gives
my attention to putin up arguments that would let
me out of the festivities l manages to duck the
dinner but I'm counted in the theater party;
and l forgets all about the scandal until finds my
self wedged III the of the box, and notices
who's occupyn' the in the next one, just
the rail It's Mrs Ripple!
She's quick recoverer,' thinks |, and turns SO
she can't get full face view.
It's no use ben shy, though Our crowd hadn't
more'n got settled and Pinckney just handin'
Sadie and the young girl she's brought along josh
about my lookin SO COM
Evening star., 1909-05-30

it. Was this with medium, or
before the camera?"
No, no." says he; IAN artist is
painting my portrait ="
Obi" says /. Com to have a
real hand painted picture of your
self. to hang in the lib'ry. eh?"
1t is for Mrs. Ripple, says he.
Its to be a birthday surprise,
you see
Then hanged if he don't go into
all the details, and before | can
dodge he's towed me out to his cab
and is takin' me up to see it. sayin'
he didn't know whether he liked it
or not, and he wanted to see how it
struck me
Maybe you can guess how foolish
/ felt when he gets me lined up in
front of the easel, with him and the
artist standin' by. and Mr. Ripple
insists on my sayin' if | think It's a
good likeness or not. Well. | looks
at the picture. and then squints
at Ripple. and steps around to
get a diff rent light, and sparS for
Evening star., 1909-05-30

steppn' low spoken modest dressed little men, that
come and go without maxim any more disturbance
than shadow
don't know whether it was his always wearin'
gray suits, with gray ties and gray gloves that
matched his eyes, the soft way he has of openin'
and shuttin doors. Anyway, for the first month or
so of his comm to the studio, he didn't make any
impression me than rubber heel leaves
an iron stair You see, I'd turned him to
Swiftly Joe for his exercise stunt, and it all
books.
There people like that, you know. You
see EN- hundred times and unless you tie EN-
up with something other they don't get your
register And right there you're apt to make the
mistake of thinkin they don't count and never can.
Wooden coespins come by the dozen, and they're
all just alike; but people diff'rent. Some may
look like blanks on the outside; but you don't have
to scratch EN- very deep to find they're built
lines of their own with set of variations that can't
be duplicated
FIRST hint / got about Mr. Ripple was when
! Swiftly comes into the front office day and
asks shall he send out the scrubwoman who's takin'
her reg lar Thursday swipe at the woodwork
Why is she gettin' under foot?' says
'Nah.' says Swiftly She's swabbin the paint
in the far corner; but this Ripple gent THROWN
ft-won't take off his collar until she's put out "
Honest | finds him there blushin' and gettin'
room where he's supposed to peel down to his
undershirt Course, after that tags HIM as the
with the Comstock mind In time notices other
points about him, too such as how fncky he is
about not mrssin the hair that he keeps smoothed
the thin place on top Of his head, and the par
tic lar way he has Of drapin his the hanger
He's a chunky built little man. not too stout for
comfort, but it that the size of his waist
measure which couldn't have been over thirty-six,
worryin' him lot. There's jast the faint
Evening star., 1909-05-30
By
Sewe11 Ford
Drawings by F. Vaux Wilson

GAY, other folks are curious, amt
- they? Course. you and | are
plain, every day, stock pattern
people. without any kinks in our
thought works; that is, barrin few
of yours that | overlook It's no
trick at all to tell how we'll behave
when this or that turns up, or where
to find us. But the rest of EN-
well. they're collection, eh9
And the particular name | has in
mind at this minute is Ripple. Now,
when l first begun to sense that
there was such party as this Mr..
Hartley Ripple, all | could connect
him with was Sunday afternoon in
a side street in Brooklyn, He was
as quiet as that, One of these soft
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06

small planet-earth = which they were.
leaving very rapidly. he felt some one
tugging at his shoulder. What did the
meddler want, anyway? Maybe some
comet man or boy was wanting to look
at him, thinking him a curiosity. stop
bothering me-" he exclaimed Cant you
see i am occupied with the telescope? Go
away"
But it's supper time. son. and the food
is on the table, getting cold. I called and
called. but you did not come down. Then
/ came up to find you fast asleep over
this great book you love 50 well. Come.
wake up, child, and come to your supper.
You are tired out from SO much study.
You must rest. my dear Tommy"
Tommy stirred, moved benumbed arm
which had lain beneath his head. Then
he opened his eyes to see his mother
standing beside him, shaking him by the
shoulder.
''Ohv' sighed Tommy. in disappointed
tones my ride on the comets tail was
only a far-fetched dream. How disap-
pointed I am. Why, I should not have
returned to this place for many years.
And here am in time for supper"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06
TOMMY RIDES THE COMET

Tommy went into the house. kissed his
mother, answered a few anxious inqui-
ries from her as to his day in school, ana
then hurried to his "den, at the top OF
books and papers Of a very. heavy and
serious aspect and began looking over
them. They dealt with the science OF as
tronomy and Tommy was soon deeply
buried in them.
AS the evening advanced Tommy con-
tinued to read by the dying light that
came through the one window. for he
meant to read as much as he could be-
fore his mother should call him to sup
per- which would be at half-past 6.
Tommy was on the point of rising to light
the gas Jet when he heard a soft tap
ping at his window. Then Of sudden
a great flash of light entered his room
He turned to the window to see who
might be there-three stories above
ground-tapping at the easement. and also
to ascertain where such brilliant light
figure of a little old man. half wizard
and half human, standing on the window
ledge outside. And around him glowed
and burned the brightest yellow light
Tommy had ever seen.
Hurrying to the window. Tommy opened
the sash and asked the man his bust
ness He was so much amazed at the
queer PERSONS appearance there. and as
tonished at the sudden light which seemed
to envelope the earth. that he did not
know just what to say, SO framed this
question: what do you want, sir. and
where did you come FROM
"well, young man. allow me to come
into your room and TIL make an explana-
ton. I'm rather uncomfortable here, with
such a small foothold." And the queer
man smiled.
Tommy stepped aside that the visitor
might enter. Once he was seated beside
the study table he looked into Tommys
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06

old man. "But before we depart l wouia
better tell you that we shan't be back
this way for some time Can you remain
away for long period?"
again?" asked Tommy. hoping the man
would say Not for ten years" That
would give him plenty Of time In which
to study the heavens undisturbed.
seventy-five years." said the queer old
man. You don't mind short time ike
that, do your
mot at ALL" said Tommy. determined
to be as brave as any one could be. I'm
ready to go. sir"
Eyes. there1l be some change in thing,s:
on your little. slow-going globe. son.
smiled the old man. "And as life ID 20
short on the earth-as compared with h1e
on a comet-you'll find the grandchildren
Of your school friends quite old and worn.
But you'll be in the vigor OF your prime.
All. ha! Nothing SO fine as riding on
comets tail,'
Then Tommy followed the old man out
himself sailing through soft. radiant light,
in a sort Of airship. one very different In
construction from those invented by our
worlds people. Up, UP, up they went AZ
a terrific speed and before Tommy naru MARI
ly realized that he had left his own earth
he found himself sitting comfortably on
a shaft OF light. Behind him and before
him stretched light light, light. f0i
million miles he might have seen nothins
but light, light, had his vision been pow
erful enough to reach that far. He was
on the very center of the tail OF Halleys
cometi His heart beat high with happl-
ness. At last he would see Mars, venus;
Saturn. Jupiter, the moon! oh. he would
visit them each as the old man had visited
the earth; only he would remain longer
on each of the planets than his queer
companion had stopped on eartn
lust as Tommy was holding his eye to
a telescope to get a good look at the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06
THE HOB-NAILED SHOES.

- HESE people living In a small coun-
try just north Of China have often
4 had their home called the "Her-
nit Nation" because OF their dislike to
foreigners. All Of the common people OF
Korea dress in blush white. while the
rich clothe themselves in silks Of bril-
liant colors. The men wear long. loose
gowns. which hang from their shoulders
down to the ground. Instead OF having
buttons these garments are held In place
by strips OF colored ribbons and by stin
broad belts worn high above the waist.
The socks and shoes OF the Koreans are
like those Of tho Chinese, except that
the Koreans have their shoe soles thick
" covered with nail heads. To explain
this the queer people tell a story Of some
thing which happened many years ago.
Korea and China were at war, so an
army of 5000 Chinese were sent to fight
The Korean army Of only 5000. The force
met on a river which was frozen solid. so
there on the ice great battle was
fought.
The smooth-soled shoes of the men from
China caused the Chinese to slip help
lessly about on the CLASSY ice, but the
hob nails which the Koreans had put in
the soles OF their shoes enabled them to
stand as well on the fee as on the ground.
On this account the Koreans won the
battle To remember the event the men
OF Korea have ever since worn nails In
the soles OF their shoes. The hats worn
by the Koreans are OF several styles. but
the kind most used has a broad. Nat
br1m, halfway up the crown. The hats
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06
The Yellow Warbler.

~ FTEN this little bird is seen flying
In our parks. especially i'm the Cap
itol grounds. where 1t flies about
the lower branches Of the great trees. The
yellow warbler looks like a pet canary
which might have escaped from the cage
but it's song is very different. 1t sings
only, Sweet sweet sweet -sweet-sweet-
sweeter.'' This sociable little creature
branches OF the willow or alder growing
by the water. or in orchards. Seldom
does 1t care to live far in the woods.
As worms and insects are its chief food.
this bird leaves our city as soon az tho
worms 60 into the ground and the insects
become scarce.
Usually the yellow warbler is among
the first birds to fly south and one of
the last to return. In travelling their long
journeys they usually fly at night. when
many are killed against the lighthouses
and lighted towers. In the spring, when
helped by her mate. will build a nest of
plant fiber. grasses and leaves. and lined
with hair feathers or down from the
young ferns. The home will be put near
the water or some other place where in
sects are plentiful. The cow bird, which
may watch until the nest IL made. and
then lay an egg In 1t. Mrs. Yellow
Warbler Is such a good mother that she
will probably hatch out the strangers egg
and care for the baby bird. Sometimes
the yellow bird objects to the imposition.
sealing up her speckled eggs with the
COW birds eggs. When the COW bird re-
turns and lays another egg, another new
nest moor ID sometimes made
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06

face and said: well. young chap, I want
you. And I came from the comet"
1.-The comet?" And Tommy's surprise
was great
yes, Halley's comet. son. She's there
rushing through space at q fine rate She
came so close to earth that just slipped
down to see what I might see. Well. 1
landed on the ledge Of your study win
dow And beheld you porting over those
volumes, teaching Of the heavens. I knew
at once that you were one OF U.s." Again
the old man smiled.
Tommy was all interest now. A man
from a comet? And the comet within
reach Of tho earth? Oh, how perfectly
splendid! where do you want me to
go?" he asked In breathless anticipation.
with NEON the comets tail. son. It .
the finest place from which to study the
heavens you could want. And were con-
tinually running into new territory.
Change! Why. we get q new view every
million miles"
Pm ready to go with you. sir. at any
minute" said Tommy. I'm deeply in
terested in the study Of astronomy
"Then let's be of. son. said the queer
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06

US has appeared so far away? I don't
doubt but that you'll be able to go to
Mars or the moon at some future day.
And maybe the comet won't be tnaccess-
ible, for in this age of wonders some gen
Jus will suddenly invent an airship that
win not only travel like the lightning, but
have q store of good breathing air In
tanks to supply the lungs OF the naviga-
. tor" ~ ga
"All right. kids. laugh at the greatest
science II you WILL" returned Tommy.
But the study Of our neighbor planets
and those tramps, the comets. is Of deep
interest to me, and mean to be an as
tronomer some day. And II 1t Is ever pos
sible to reach a distant planet-which
sounds foolish to me now-1 shall be one
Of the first to engage a stateroom In the
airship making the journey"
d, As the boys had reached the gate to
Tommys home by this time the subject
Of conversation changed from comets to
Bingo. Tommy's fine old dog. who was
wagging his tail in welcome to his mas
ter And after a few minutes Of general
conversation, the boys took themselves
Off toward their respective homes. while
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06
Bottonless Lake.
See him try to balance
On his feet so small!
Then all of a sudden
Over he does fall.

OTTOMLESS lakes are a tradition.
y az the greatest depths OF water. salt
or fresh, have some kind OF q ground
formation under them. Roosevelt lake. in
New Mexico. IL 30 small that stone can
easily be hurried over It. yet It has q
depth Of over 800 feet. The water looks
q deep green. but It IL % clear that OBJ
5ects dropped into II can be seen for yards
and yards a. they 60 deeper into the wa
ter. It IL supposed that this lake and
others In the same chain tap the sub
terranean waters Of the Pecos valley, the
plains waters having in the course Of
time dissolved the gypsum until the deep
est bedrock has been reached.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06
HOW A BOY MADE MONEY.

these bits Of plain wood he would carve
the most exquisite designs. flowers.
quaint Dutch designs and fairy boats
bearing cupids. Again he would carve
conventional designs, but they were al
ways original. After the carving was
finished and the frame put together. 1t
would be treated to a coating of gilt,
bronze or ebony. The latter effect was
obtained by using a highly refined black
paint and soft varnish.
= Just before the holidays the boy would
put has hand-carved frames on sale at
some store and his friends would gladly
avail themselves Of possessing them. The
highest priced frame would bring but a
dollar and half. while some of the less
pretentious would sell for % cents. The
cost of the frames-not counting the
workmanship. of course-averaged about
20 cents apiece, or whereabouts.
When the summer vacation rolled
around the boy wOodcarver had q neat
sum TO spend on a trip to the seashore,
to the mountains, or to defray a camp
ing expedition on the river near to his
home.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06

can't be seen with the naked eye Aoi ~
is something like 4OO.O0O.0o0 miles distant
from us" he went on to explain But
there is a Photographic instrument IN use
nv the astronomers that can take the
pictures of bodies In the heavens which no
telescope can bring close enough to De
seen by the human eye"
..Say, Tom, you ought to be an astron-
omer." suggested Fred Davis You're
always reading everything about planets
and moons and comets. AS for me. pre-
fer to keep both feet on the ground and
let the heavenly bodies take care OF
themselves. hope the comet won't come
SO close to earth that It can be seen with
the naked eye. for In that case this globe
might go through Mr.. Comets tall Ana
that would be the last Of U.s."
bah. ignorant kid!' sneered Tommy:
eff you'd read along these lines you
know that no comet can ever hurt US.
we each have our place in the great sys-
tenn. and one planet recognizes the rights
Of his neighbor."
All the boys laughed at this. and Art
Wilson said: well. seriously. Tom, do
you have a keen desire to have personal
introduction to this comet which you tell
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06
Outdoor Game.
BALL GhAaa

A NY number Of players stand in a ring.
One player who has a bean bag, soft
ball or rolled-up handkerchief throws 1t
at some other person, and calls ''One."
The player struck calls 1.-TWO" and
throws at a third player. who calls
Three" Three" throws 1t at a fourth
person. The fourth calls. Ball chase"
He must catch any Of the three players
who have thrown the ball. Ii one player
Is being chased by ball chase, either Of
the other two players who has thrown the
ball may run between ball chase and the
chase will then have to pursue the cross
runner until caught, or until another
player saves him by running between him
ana ball chase. The one caught starts
the next game.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06

obliged to cali to the maid to assist ut
her toilet when her mother was absent.
Within a few minutes after determining
to try on the frock Lena stood before
the mirror resplendent. Then. to see
just how she would look at q party. she
got from the closet her big Sunday hat
and put Il on. Oh, how very nicely the
new frock and hat harmonized! Then
Lena got her Sunday gloves-little white
kid ones-and put them on. Yes. the
whole was perfecti Mamma had certain
ly made a love Of q frock and It lifted
to perfection.
Lena looked at the clock. 1t was 30
O'Clock. How foolish for her to undress
now. for 1t would not be very long till
time to start to the party. Why should
not she remain dressed and save the time
and trouble Of doing 1t all over again!
Yes, that was the best plan. She would
keep on her new frock, even keep on her
hat and gloves. So decided. Lena sat
down beside the window and watched
the passersby. Pretty soon she saw Ma
bel Adams coming down the pavement.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06

r T Is the nature Of boys to be indus
trious. They like to feel a bit indie
pendent Of their parents when It
comes to money. Almost every boy one
meets 10 DESTROYS Of earning a little
spending money" and will welcome any
suggestion by which he may be enabled
to do so. And these boys want the
money for good purposes. too, sometimes
helping to defray their own educational
expenses.
A boy once known to the writer was
q real money maker. He attended high
school regularly, and never missed day.
nor did he evers miss in his exams. And
yet this same boy earned about So each
winter during the school term. He was
more than clever at carving on wood.
and his evenings and Saturdays (after
his lessons for the morrow had been
learned) he spent in carving photograph
frames from pine wood. Sometimes these
frames were unique in shape. being oval
or heart-shaped. But he usually chung
to the more conventional square. On
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-06
The Boys and the Tramp

serious Charlie went close to the old
man and STOPPING over him asked:
Are you really a Mason, sir?"
Yes, lad: I have been a good Mason
Tor years. And this pin has served me
well before today. But-there are poor
old men who are In sad distress like my
self who are not Of the order. and It IL
very wicked to use them a. you have
this day used me. am not q tramp
one who follows the profession of beg
ging for food from door to door. have
been a Woodworking man until six
months ago. Then / was taken Ill. lost
my Job, used up my little savings and
today md myself without . cent in the
world, without work. Ill and friendless.
was on my way to the Masonic Hos
pital to ask for medical aid when over
taken by you boys. i have tried to get
for have always felt a pride In doing
for myself. But In my old age II 10 very
different. I can no longer battle against