The Washington herald., 1911-06-18

began to rail at the other mankins for dis
turbing his slumber.
And presently all three of the manikins
were singing and wrangling and cabling
together, to the great delight of the boys.
Then the ventriloqust placed all Of the fig
ures in the box out of sight and began to
cell his nostrum to the great crowd he mad at
traete1, and Sam and Dolby fingered; wait
ing to see what he would do next, till the sun
triloqaist closed his sales and began to take
down his stand.
Then, as they turned reluctantly way at
last, Sam suddenly recalled little Junior
Away he raced, with Dolby at his heels, 10
the bench where Junior had been left.
The little fellow was gone!
They hunted this way and that and asked
questions on every side, but no trace of the
missing child could they find
Then when it became a certainty in their
minds that Junior was lost and Sam had
grown sorely frightened Dolby Blackwell,
who secretly blamed himself deserted Sam
and hurried homeward.
In VAIN Sam hunted hither and thither.
N" Junior could be found. And, finally,
when the dusk had turned to darkness and
the watchman, who had at length assisted
him ia his search told the boy there was
nothing left for him to do but to inform his
parents, poor Sam was almost frantic;
Junior was lost, and he had lost himl
As he crept away through the darkness,
Sans eyes were moist and his throat dry
and parched, as there arose in his thoughts
the picture of how little Junior had looked
when he took his last careless glance at him,
sitting contentedly on the bench under the
tree, with his little hat pushed back on his
three little curls, munching the peanuts and
swinging his copper toes. ''
Sam broke into howl Of anguish, and ran
swiftly down the the street toward the Bloom
house.
He was gasping and sobbing when he
burst into the room where his parents were
and cloked out that little Junior was lost.
There were excited questions, weeping. and
hurrying hither and thither. Mr. Bloom went
with Mr.. Jarrett and Sam to the fair grounds,
but nothing came of the search there. -
= After awhile they were Joined by a small
squad of citizens. which, by-and-by, had in
creased TO a crowd. ..t
All sorts Of probable and improbable places
were searched, but no clue to Juniors where
0bouts was discovered.
There was little sleep in the Bloom house
that night. Mrs, jarrett was almost prostrat-
ed with grief. Mr.. Jarrett was terribly anx-
i0us, and Sam tossed and tumbled in his bed
TIL almost morning in an agony of grief and
sHlfnccusation. .
30 Tar. Ill the alarm and sorrow, no one had
paused to ,censure Sam, but guilty con
science needs no accuser.
Next day all was excitement in the town.
Mr.. Jarrett had caused handbills, offering q
reward for the return OF Junior, to be print
ed and circulated broadcast. Search parties
investigated every nook and corner seem
ingly, The reporters interviewed everybody
WI! who knew knew or seemed to know anything bear
ing even remotely, upon the affair Boys
scuttled hither and thither, or converaed in
buildings. ""N Oel'''N
IT came to be believed that Junior had been
stolen and several suspicious-looking but
doubtless worthy persons were Arrested Inv
JEALOUS officers, only to be released almost i'm.
medlatcly; and, OF course, all this added to
the excitement. but none of il produced
1t was sad but sOrrowful little party that
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