The daily sentinel., 1910-02-15
BEING A HERO. :
BY M. QUAD.
Copyright. 1893. by American Press Asee

that of his boss on the west. Ebene
ger was twentyfour years old. plain OF
face and ungainly OF form and without
slO0 worth of property. The widow
was less than forty and well OF. Ebe
nezer was rated as good hearted. bu
rather dull One evening as he dSop1
ped in TO see the widow about borrow
ing some farm implements next day he
found her reading a love story. She
read few chapters to him and after
ward acknowledged that she had all
ways been romantic and that II she
ever married again 1t would be TO
hero. The farmers hired man didn't
rush right of that night and try to, be
a hero. but sat down to think.
Three or four days after Ebenezer'S
thinking bee a tramp came along the
road and. seeing the young man hce-
ing corn just over the fence. halted
for word or two. Ordinarily Ebehe.
ger would have leaped the fence and
run the wayfarer half u mile. but on
this occasion he iuvired him over into
the corn and sat down with him for a
confidential conversation. The result
of that conversation was that at $
O'Clock that evening the tramp ap-
peared before the Widow Tompkins |
and made threats of what he would
up old clothes and come down with a
dollar in cash. Ebenezer was not er
away, just far enough to come run
ming up and knock the tramp hepd
over heels ard rescue the widow. But !
as he started to come running he fell |
down and got tangled up with the
bushes. and before he could get away
the widow had broomsticked the tramp
into flight. She didn't say she vsas 4
glad that the would be hero was 50 l
near at hand. What she did say was h
that she wasn't afraid of any Sid
tramp walking the roads.
Ebenezer's first try was failure. ]
but within a fortnight he was ready
for another. Behind the farms rah
river. The widow had skiff on the
water and often rowed herself up and
down. One night the farmers hired
man took some tools down to the
landing and was busy for an hour.
Two evenings later. just at sundown.
he saw the widow making across the
field for the river, and he was not long /,
in following her. He expected to hear
cries for help. but they did not come. (
He expected to lind a woman cllnGtng /
to a swamped boat. but he didn't. She
was wading ashore when he arriy.
on the bank and dashed in. and all
got out of 1t was a good sousing anc
cold in the head.
A cold in the head casts q man dow /
for few days. but il there be at
hero about him he rallies and become
more daring than ever. EbeneI
rallied. Two or three farmhouses Ia
the township had been robbed, aud
this fact became the basis for his third (
plan. One night at midnight he left
his bed. descended u earth 1y~vTdy Cf I
a window, and. armed with club. he
became a guard for the widows house.
He circled around 1t and patrolled the
garden and the orchard. and he felt
that he would give year of his lifetf
a robber would appear. He would 6rst
fell him and then arouse the house
and when the widow came to know
that he had been guarding her for love
heI heart would melt toward him. But
no robber came. Instead of that his
footsteps awoke the widow. and. pear
Ing out. she saw some one walking
about. and she got out u shotgun apd
raised window and blaZed away. The
gun was loaded with bird shot to shoot
hawks that might come swooping
down on chickens, but In this case
they answered just as well for a man.
Ebenezer received about twenty of
them and ran two miles to a doctor to
have them picked out. He also had,a
vacation from work for u week under
the excuse that he had sprained his
back turning over In bed.
Ninety-nine out of hundred would
be heroes would have given up the job
right here. but Ebenezer was man
to hang on. 1t was while he was
limping around on his vacation and do
ing lot of standing up and wander
ing over the fields that he came upon
the widow fishing in the river at 4
certain point. He did not show him
self, but fifty feet from where she sat
under tree he discovered a bumbje-
bees nest in the grass. 1t was large
and liberal nest. and 1t gave him .
thought The bees wouldn't bother
anybody so long as they were let alone.
If stirred up they would look for meat
There was a haystack not far away.
and Ebenezer had matches in his
pocket He retired behind the stalk
and collected hatful of stones from
the plowed land. These he threw one
by one at the spot where the bees
were pursuing the even tenor of their
ways. The plot thickened. You can
thicken bumblebee plot in very
short time. All you've got to do is to
tread on their coattails. When the in
sects found the rocks dropping on theh
heads they swarmed out of the grass
to look for the enemy. They should